Accepted to University of Tulsa, but scholarships require keeping 3.0 gpa – if engineering/physics major is as hard as people say, should I still go and just “work hard”?
You need to consider the context:
If you lose the scholarships, will Tulsa be affordable?
Do you have other choices?
How much do they cost? How does that compare to Tulsa in both the keep and lose scholarships cases? Do they have GPA requirements to keep scholarships?
Do any of the schools have GPA requirements to get into your desired majors?
You need to find out what the average gpa is there in those majors. Do they check gpa after each semester or each spring? If you get below the required gpa what happens, is there a grace period to raise gpa, can you get the scholarship back after losing it?
And you should plan to work hard regardless, higher gpa might mean better internship/co-op chances, maybe additional scholarships, better job prospects or grad school chances after graduation.
Plan to join study groups, ask professors for help and take advantage of tutoring offered if you run into difficulties.
Sometimes you just have to be determined to do it. My daughter is in engineering and has a gpa to maintain scholarships. One is 3.0, one is 2.8. She does it because she has to.
As asked above, what are your other choices? Do you have an offer from a school without a gpa requirement?
It’s a legitimate concern. I know engineering students who’ve lost their scholarships or come close - smart students with high test scores and excellent HS GPAs who went to class and worked hard. But I know many more who’ve met the 3.0 requirement (or much higher). What are your other alternatives? I would not turn down a good scholarship out of fear that I wouldn’t meet the GPA requirement - you need to have confidence in the abilities that got you the scholarship in the first place - but be prepared to work hard and to protect your GPA. That means not taking too many difficult courses at the same time if you can help it, not taking multiple lab courses at the same time if you don’t need to, joining study groups, going to every class, going to office hours, seeking out help at the first sign of trouble, etc. Engineeering courses get harder as you go along, so try to give yourself a cushion with a great GPA freshman year.
I’d view it as good motivation. Maintaining a 3.0 is more a function of study habits, not intelligence.
Do you feel your high school has given you a solid foundation? Have you been able to take Honors/AP classes in Calc, Chemistry, and/or Physics?
GPA 3.0 is around or even below the average. If this is a larger scholarship that the school only gives to the top couple percent of students, they do not expect you to drop below average. GPA 3.0 is a very reasonable renewal requirement and it is not hard to achieve for those who received the scholarship at the first place. My D got a top engineering scholarship in a very competitive engineering school with the same renewal requirement. Even she started her freshmen year with mostly sophomore classes, it was never a concern to go below that requirement. You should feel more confident and not to worry about it too much, unless that GPA 3.0 is already well above the average.
And if you can, plan your early courses carefully. My daughter does better in the math and science courses than the (few) required liberal arts courses for an engineer, so she took some classes out of the suggested order. She did not take the second English course until she was a sophomore (and then got an A, so what do we know?). My other daughter is not strong in math, so she’s put off a math class until she has a stronger gpa established (and some better study habits).
My engineering daughter is an athlete and had required study tables in the library, 10 hours per week, her first semester. Best grades so far came in that semester. She also goes to office hours and extra study sessions. She talks to her teachers. She helps classmates who miss class because of sports, and that really helps her learn the material (when she teaches it, she realizes if she is missing something herself). Establish a good study routine and stick to it. Get help early.
Is your alternate plan to go somewhere else and not work hard?
My S is at Tulsa, and of his six suitemates, 5 are engineering or physics majors and all 5 had GPAs of 3.3 or higher first semester. They also are all division 1 athletes, so they are quite busy. I would say if you qualified for such a great scholarship, you are also capable of keeping the GPA. Good luck! Feel free to PM me with other TU questions. It is a GREAT opportunity.