Both of mine had the GPA requirement clearly spelled out on the university scholarship letter.
And both need to keep a 3.0 or higher for their program.
Yes, it can be tricky for engineering due to having several challenging classes a semester.
Narrator Voice: It was actually an A.
My daughter was nervous yesterday. The syllabus said to get a book from the library to read for a quiz. She went to the library and there were no copies of the book left and they said it was doubtful they would get any back until after her class Thursday. DD was getting a bit of anxiety over failing the quiz but texted a few people to see if they had gotten the book. Fortunately last night the professor emailed and said he knew there was an issue with the library so no quiz Thursday.
Since honors programs vary from school to school just curious what that means for our students.
For my daughter it means:
1 $1000 additional merit scholarship renewable with a 3.5 gpa
2 eligibility for honors housing - which for freshman is a suite vs traditional dorm room (cost $400 more though)
3 honors lounge with free unlimited printing (no idea what else is there)
4 8 honor classes needed for graduation - a mix of some general ed classes as honors sections, a few classes in your major with additional requirements and I think 2 specific honors class
5 some honors specific programs/activities - many optional 3 are required a semester
6 honors advisor and honors peer mentor (in addition to academic advisor)
Hard to believe S has midterms next week! Iām looking forward to seeing him next Friday for parents weekend: long talks, meeting his friends, just spending time with him.
@momtogirls2 I canāt recall where your daughter is going but my daughter at Clemson Honors has essentially the same kinds of perks for honors. Does she happen to be at Clemson hers sound so similar?
@momtogirls2 I think Dās honors set up is similar. She also gets priority registration, a mentoring group, and community service hours are required, I think. Thereās no additional scholarship but the college is very generous with merit anyway for kids who have the stats to apply for honors.
There is a high GPA requirement for both continuing in honors and her merit scholarship, which is scary because sheās in engineering. But we spoke with a lot of honors engineering students and an engineering professor who addressed the gpa issue, and it seems like honors engineering students donāt have a problem keeping staying in honors and keeping their scholarships all the way through.
We also have the consolation of knowing that even if she lost her scholarship, the full price of her university is comparable to what her other options would have cost with those collegesā top scholarships. So if she loses it, it wonāt be the end of the world, but then sheād have to take the federal loans.
She has a very studious friend group that spends a lot of time studying together. Iām grateful for that. Dās always been serious about doing her work and itās nice she found others to work and socialize with.
My DDās Honors College is also similar and her Tuition/Housing scholarship comes with a 3.0 gpa.
DD recently declared a History Major with a Minor in Biology - her end goal, Med School - She wants to be a medical examinerā¦or a History professor, she would seek a PHD - she is determined to have more initials than her Physical Therapist brother - this is sibling rivalry I can embrace.
Her HC has many of the same perks as noted. The ones that swung her decision to participate include:
Really good study abroad offerings with an airfare allowance paid by the HC.
Low fee at $175 year that the bank of Mom and Dad agreed to pay.
Honors specific housing - they have their own dorm - all Suite style.
Honors lounge with free coffee.
Early registration - she chose next years classes two days ago.
Early move in and welcome week activities for the HC group.
@DavidPuddy Doesnāt that just kill you w/ the grades! My youngest is like that, whereas DS is the opposite, and he is the one on full tuition+ scholarship; DS is also at Bama. I know they recently changed some of the scholarship requirements, so would be good to take a look at that.
@mommdc We did take a look at that meal plan, but DD thinks her sushi habit falls under: āCertain products cannot be purchased with MCC (see the location for specifics).ā Told her to double check on that.
DD was not accepted to the Honors College, only 40 kids were selected after interviewing; we estimated around 300+ were offered the chance to interview . She was disappointed, but I was thrilled as they are required to live in the $4K more per year suite style honors dorm, which did not make me happy. I realize the numbers are low, but seems incredible insensitivity to students w/ financial constraints. She was actually asked about living in that dorm, & I wonder if that went into the selection process?
Her current roommate is very studious, so I think that has helped cushion the blow. She was really worried about getting someone who liked to party a lot, as that is what she was seeing a lot of on the social sites.
@laralei
I think the policy is still that students must maintain an overall 3.0 UA GPA to remain on scholarship at the University, but RRSP and Honors require 3.3 anyway. Iām more concerned with RRSP since the scholarship review also includes an advisory review period; not sure you get that āgraceā with RRSP.
I think that my daughter may get priority registration but not positive. She has dual enrollment credits and will get to register with early. Her honors program picks people from applications somehow otherwise you canāt choose to apply. You can be in honors but not do the honors housing if you choose.
My daughter has asked me not to name her school but it isnāt Clemson. She chose a local school about 45 minutes away in New England. She is an accounting major which she fell in love with in high school . The school has a figure skating club which she really wanted to be able to participate in on the college level. Her class sizes are all 18 to 28 this semester and we were told wonāt go over 40. All classes even non honors are taught by professors.
@SnowflakeDogMom what does the $175 cover. My daughter has no additional fees beyond housing. I can handle $400 more for a suite vs traditional dorm but not $4k more.
The whole school has to do some community service for a required social justice class. She is working with students in a low income school on some math and science program. Fortunately the school provides transportation. The school coordinator set the hours etc. The ride showed up a half an hour early yesterday and left so the kids had to wait outside in the rain for an extra 45 minutes until the ride came back. Hopefully it is correct next week. A teacher from the school waited outside with them which was nice.
@laralei $4K more just for housing! Oh heck no.
@momtogirls2 the annual fee is not really attached to anything specific, I believe its part of the general fund used for: activities, dinners and the travel allowance for study abroad. The travel allowance is substantial and will cover 100% of the airfare to any program.
DDā18 was injured in an athletic event. She was unable to attend classes for a few days and is in pain. So, as any parent, I asked if I could come up and visit: āAbsolutely not!ā Now, Iām in pain too.
@glido I hope she heals quickly. Iām sure the Air Force Academy will take good care of her.
@glido Oh, no! I hope she heals soon.
@glido That makes my heart hurt, Iām sorry, I guess once they are part of the Air Force our roles as parents change. Hope she is on the mend quickly.
@glido I hope she is doing a little better and soon heals completely.
Injuries are so hard. My D was just telling me that she thinks her concussion last year has affected her focus and memory. Sheās fine, but she has to put a lot more effort into staying on top of things.
Itās life but we wish our kids didnāt have to deal with stuff like this.
@burghdad , @DiotimaDM , @SnowflakeDogMom and @MACmiracle - thanks so much for your kind comments. Our DD is still in the concussion protocol, which unfortunately severely limits her ability to attend class and read. (She reports that she has no problem reading, but that she is not allowed to read as much as she wants to and needs to.) Physically, she is mending. She actually is back to complaining about the military, which for anyone who has served in the military knows, is a sign of good mental health! Itāll be a few more weeks, but sheāll get through it. Thanks for all the support.
Got the FAFSA completed for S for 19-20 school year. No issues luckily.
Weāll need to get to on FAFSA soon; since S16 is looking at returning to college spring semester weāre looking at doing 2. At least we donāt have to deal with the CSS again; that was a pain.
S18 called yesterday just to say hello and to tell me he got his flu shot at the health center. It was so good to hear his voice. Of course, the crazy momma in me was thinking āwhatās wrongā as soon as I saw his number on the caller ID!