<p>Okay, I was looking through this thread and noticed some details in it that make people worry, when really, they don’t need to worry that much. I am entering Texas Tech as a freshman under this very scholarship, and I learned a LOT about it before accepting. Here’s what you need to know.</p>
<p>First, yes, the Health college is NOT the same as Texas Tech University. So, the national merit scholarship won’t work for there. That said, I do think there is another scholarship equivalent for the Health college, but I would not know.</p>
<p>Second, about which scholarship you receive. National Merit Finalists receive BOTH scholarships, meaning that the total amount turns out to be 98,000 over 5 years. Though Tech says that you are only able to receive one merit scholarship, National Merit Finalists receive both the University and Hospitality services scholarship. And yes, budgeted correctly, you can make this last for all 5 years.</p>
<p>Finally, about the 3.5 gpa/15 hours per semester requirement. What they don’t tmake clear at first is that this is an average/cumulative requirement. In other words, you need to have an average of 15 hours per semester (so, 17 the first semester and 13 the second would average out to 15, meaning you’re safe), and your gpa over the long run must average 3.5. So, you take the gpa of a class, multiply it by the number of hours credit given, do this for each class, add them up, then divide by the total number of hours, and you have your gpa. As long as this doesn’t go under 3.5, you’re golden. </p>
<p>What if you do fall under? Well, you aren’t out yet. You are put on probation, under which you must meet ALL requirements on a semester basis instead of the long run. So, you need to take 15+ hours and keep a gpa over 3.5. Not easy, but it can be done, and will most likely get you off of probation. However, a 2.0 or less cumulative gpa will result in automatic loss of the scholarship.</p>
<p>As for the hours and external credit, the credit hours DO count towards the 15 hours per semester requirement, though not to the GPA. For instance, I’m entering with about 51 hours of credit already, so all I have to do is have a minimum of 12 hours per semester since that is required to be considered a full time student. That is another understated requirement; you have to be full time. So, yeah, I could feasibly take 12 hours a semester for the next 5 years and be fine. Of course, I’m not… but oh well.</p>
<p>Hope this answers any other questions about it. I noticed some other posts made keeping the scholarship seem a lot harder than it really is, so I figured this might shed a little light on the subject. Just don’t mess up freshman year, so you’ll have a little breathing room. :)</p>