I am a future economics major but I am going to school on an academic scholarship. I have to have at least a 3.5 gpa to keep my scholarships but I do not want to get lower than a 3.6. My other option is to become an international relations major. I think the IR major would be easier for me, but I want a degree in economics and to eventually maybe go to graduate school. I am ok at math but I don’t want to make a mistake by choosing economics and possibly losing my scholarships because I underestimated the difficulty of the major. Any advice?
If you lose the scholarship, will you still be able to afford college?
I’m going to a private college so they are offering a lot. I have an EFC of zero so I wouldn’t be able to afford a lot of colleges. I don’t want to be in huge amounts of debt when I graduate.
Is it a school that meets 100% of need?
Wow, you have to be a cum laude to maintain a scholarship? That is harsh. The posters above are on the right track. With a 0 efc, your scholarship should be need based, not merit based.
What does the school’s net price calculator tell you about its net price on need-based financial aid without the scholarship?
A 3.5 college GPA can be pretty tough to maintain in any major.
Preparation for graduate study in economics includes extensive advanced math and statistics courses, like real analysis, proof-based linear algebra, and calculus-based probability theory.
Sorry for not clarifying. I am receiving a scholarship based on merit that I could lose. I just don’t want to lose it because it is a lot of money. I am receiving need based scholarships as well, but they do not cover everything.
Do you have to choose your major right now? If not, why don’t you take introductory courses that could apply to both of those majors this year, and see how it goes.
You said you are “okay at math”. Did you mean only “okay” or did you mean you are actually quite good at it? If your math grades are not great, this is a significant consideration in going into a major that involves a considerable amount of math. It is good to be realistic.
My daughter has to keep a 3.5 to keep her scholarship, as I had to do back in the day for my own scholarship. I managed it just fine, and so far, she is doing very well also. It is doable, but you have to work hard and go for help promptly if you need it, so as not to fall behind. However, you didn’t get your scholarship by being a lax student, so presumably this is not an issue. You obviously did very well in high school or you would not have gotten the scholarship in the first place. Believe in yourself!
Do you have a backup plan for if you lost the scholarship? My daughter’s backup plan is commuting to a directional state university. If you have another option if the scholarship were lost, that reduces the risk involved in choosing the harder major.
I don’t think we know enough to help you decide this yet.
What math did you take in high school and what grades did you get? Also, if you think math is difficult, roughly at what age/class/point did you start thinking that? Finally, did most classmates think your teachers were explaining the concepts well (and did you agree)?
We get that. The question is will you get need based if you lose the merit? Didn’t you get into any schools that will give you money on need? That is a very high gpa to have to maintail. So you don’t want to be in the position where you have to drop out
What college is it? How do you know already you need grad school, for what purpose, what type of grad school?
I think I’ll do what happymomof1 suggested and take introductory courses. I also found out that a nearby community college offers math credits that transfer and it won’t count against my gpa. I think I’ll try that and see how it goes. As far as my math abilities go, I ended up taking calculus as a senior and passed with a low A. Also, the only reason I mentioned going to grad school is if I went into a major that wasn’t as difficult but the job prospects for it were not great. Thanks for replying! Your questions were questions I should have been asking myself so it helped.
Check on this with your new hour year school. That may make you a transfer student, or they may accept nothing.
Again, check your school’s policies. As some schools you must get a permit to take classes at a college outside of your home school in order to receive credit by your home school. Because you will not be a degree seeking student at the CC, you will also have to pay for the course (no financial aid).
Just because a nearby CC has classes that transfer doesn’t mean you have permission to take classes there after your enroll a the 4 year. Be sure to check out policies before you do something. Also I don’t know why you want to pay for classes elsewhere when you are enrolled somewhere else. I think you should take the classes your own college offers to get used
As stated in reply #5, run the school’s net price calculator to see what its need-based financial aid will be like if you lost the scholarship. This can let you know whether losing the scholarship will force you to drop out because it is financially out of reach, or if you are panicking over just needing to take a small federal direct loan or a part time job to cover the difference.
With only a little information, I would recommend you do what it takes to keep the scholarship.
As another thought, you could start by taking general requirements your first term or two and figure out how you are doing generally at the school before committing to either major.
What school is this? If it’s a school that promises to meet need, then even if you lose your merit, that would get replaced with need based aid.
What school is this?
Do check with the CC credit transfer policy as it vary from school to school and it may depend on the CC and which class too. My D is taking a Physic 200 level class at a local CC this Summer and she found most of the students are actually from her class in Engineering school. So it is definitely not uncommon if your school policy allows.