Questions about the Required GPAs for Scholarship Renewal

My DS20 plans to study engineering. We have identified a few OOS public universities that might be a good fit for him, but I’m concerned about the required GPA to renew scholarships. The University of Kansas has been recommended to me, but the required renewal GPA is a 3.25. A 3.25 seems quite high for an engineering major. I like Kansas but don’t want to pay the full OOS rate for this school. Michigan State requires satisfactory academic progress which after digging around on the website I believe is a 2.0. Florida State requires a 3.0. I can’t find the renewal GPA for Colorado State.

This information to renew scholarships is often hidden or non-existent. I have 2 questions: 1. What renewal GPA should I be comfortable with for an engineering student who, while very bright, could hit a few rough patches and 2. Is there a source that lists renewal GPA requirements? Or am I best off emailing each school directly?

Thanks for advice.

Go directly to the source for the most reliable and accurate information.

Personally I think a 3.0 is a reasonable cut off. If a student is struggling to maintain that average, they may be in the wrong major. Many companies are looking for at least a 3.0 GPA for employment.

@momofsenior1 A 3.0 doesn’t seem unreasonable to me. I told my DS that his grades in Calc BC and Physics C will be a helpful gauge in determining how he might do in freshman year engineering courses. If he doesn’t enjoy Calc then he might need to rethink his major.

You’re wise to look into that now. I know an engineering student who just accepted a near full ride to Rutgers - with a 3.5 GPA requirement to keep it. And the parent I spoke to wasn’t aware of that requirement, even though it’s clearly stated on the website!

For my S18, his acceptance lette had his merit aid in it and it stated the needed GPA to renew the merit aid. He has it guaranteed for 4 semesters and then it’s renewable for up to 4 more semesters if he maintains a 3.25 GPA. I think that a 3.0 is definitely reasonable, a 3.25 is okay, but a 3.5 would probably give me pause.

This really depends on the student. Many parents can not really assess their student’s abilities, which is what makes this unnecessarily difficult. One of my mentees took a 3.5 GPA to renew full ride at a top engineering school and is having no difficulty maintaining his scholarship. We had no doubt it would be fine for him given his study habits and prior performance. We were not wrong.

So, just be realistic. If there is any doubt in your mind, don’t go higher than a 3.0.

This also really depends on the school. Try to get information on the grade distribution by major. For example my D’s scholarship has a 3.5 GPA requirement for renewal, but none of the recipients have difficulty with that because her school has such generous grading policies across all subjects (the median GPA is about 3.5 for the college as a whole).

Consider how recipients compare to the rest of the student body and what percentage of students achieve the required GPA. So a scholarship that is offered to the top 1-2% of students with a renewal requirement that at least 20-30% of students achieve wouldn’t be of much concern to me.

For comparison, many employers of college interns or new college graduates use a 3.0 GPA as one of the initial screens to filter applicants to prioritize for interviews. But a 3.5 GPA is the kind of GPA that pre-meds need to exceed.

While a 3.0 GPA requirement should be attainable without a lot of difficulty by any strong student with a reasonable commitment to school work, a 3.5 GPA requirement may be more likely to incentivize grade grubbing type of behavior or deter the student from taking interesting courses that may be grade risks because they may be hard.

Thanks for the comments. I’ll ask about the grade distribution for his intended major. He is going after scholarships meant for OOS students to bring the COA down to a more reasonable price.

I understand your worries. Our son goes to Kansas State and has an excellent OOS scholarship with a 3.5 GPA renewal. We worried but it has been no problem at all but he isn’t engineering. Some of his engineering friends are near the cutoff but have been able to do it. I totally agree to look at the grade distributions to make your decision. Good luck!

And in your son’s email to the schools-- get specifics.

1- is there a grace period? i.e. if the kid has a bad semester, how long until the money goes away? At some, your kid will have an entire semester to bring up his grades before any action is taken. At others- nope.

2- What’s the policy on grade replacement- if your son flunks a class, if he successfully retakes it, does the F go away (and no longer drags down the GPA)?

3- Does the college offer Pass/Fail for courses outside his comfort zone? Or Pass/Fail freshman year while everyone is acclimating to a heavier work load?

4- Summer session- is there an option to spread out some of the very intensive/tough classes by taking summer school?

Pitt has a GPA requirement of 3.0 to keep merit scholarship.

@blossom Thanks. These suggested questions are very helpful.

My daughter had 2 different awards with gpa requirements. The state program has the same 3.5 (higher award) or 3.0 (lower award) for all students, all majors, all colleges in the state. The program didn’t care if you were in a hard major or at a killer school, the rules were the same for everyone. Many students did lose their scholarships.

Her requirement for the school merit award was 2.8. She really had no problem making that, even with a STEM major.

I guess what you have to consider if he’s giving anything up for the scholarship. If he loses the scholarship and has to transfer, would the finances be the same at the transfer school as if he’d gone right out of high school? If not, the take the risk.

As an engineer, I will offer this up. Many kids I have known are “interested” in becoming an engineering major. Then they go off to college, some with very strong math skills and background, some without. First year is tough with all the distractions. Really tough for kids who have not taken Calc BC and Physics and done really well in them in HS. I cannot tell you the number of kids I know who have dropped out of engineering the first year. Many has stuck with it, but it is hard. My D is an athlete and there are no engineering majors on her team, none. She said they don’t have time. Everyone who is not an engineer has no idea the time or work and commitment to get through the program. I would not sign up for any scholarship that required more than a 3.0 as an engineering major, unless you can pick up the tab yourself. Most schools give you at least a semester to bring the GPA up, but it can be tough. Good luck!

In addition to the comments above I would ask if there is an appeal process. If a student becomes ill or has an extraordinary sitation, is there any process to appeal with proper documentaetion. Ask how is GPA calculated? If they come in with dual credit does that impact GPA. If a summer class is taken at a community college is that part of the GPA.