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Stats on how many kids lose their merit aid due to GPA


Hilltopmom
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I’m looking for some stats (or personal stories) on how many freshmen wind up losing their merit scholarships due to not keeping up the required GPA.

 

I’m curious (I lost mine after freshman year to too much partying, I admit). And ds has a nice merit award so far at his second choice school, dependent on keeping a 3.0 -not a problem for him in high school and DE classes but I know freshman year on campus is a big adjustment and he has some issues that may cause extra stress.

 

I’m hesitant for him to go to a private school with this scholarship because if he lost it, there is no way he could stay at that school.

Edited by Hilltopmom
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I have three sons who are college graduates and one lost his merit scholarship for one year after dipping below the minimum 3.2 GPA requirement and then got it back for his senior year.  My other two had no problems.  It was definitely a concern of mine, but my boys went to a state school so it wasn't a huge deal like it would have been for a private school.  I do think that the minimum GPA of 3.2 for engineering is kind of high, though, and unfair for the more challenging majors.  Your ds will probably be fine, but I do feel bad for kids with that added stress of having to maintain the GPA for the merit money.  

 

 

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I’m looking for some stats (or personal stories) on how many freshmen wind up losing their merit scholarships due to not keeping up the required GPA.

 

I’m curious (I lost mine after freshman year to too much partying, I admit). And ds has a nice merit award so far at his second choice school, dependent on keeping a 3.0 -not a problem for him in high school and DE classes but I know freshman year on campus is a big adjustment and he has some issues that may cause extra stress.

 

I’m hesitant for him to go to a private school with this scholarship because if he lost it, there is no way he could stay at that school.

I don't know stats, but I lost my 100% merit aid due to not keeping up my GPA. I could've gotten 2 B's or one C per semester. I got a B (science, ugh, expected in my case) and a C in Composition. I disagreed with the teacher on a couple of key issues, and I was a teenager who hadn't learned any suckitupness yet. I tried to appeal, but it was her last semester as a professor and the department obviously wanted to send her off well. I went on to do perfectly well in Comp II, but the damage had been done. Fortunately, it was 20 years ago and a local college, so I was able to afford to continue. 

 

What you've described is definitely a fear of mine as well. It was my fault that I lost my scholarship, but it was completely unforeseen to me. I fully expected to get a low A in that class. Our final portfolio was 50% of our grade and she just tore it to pieces. 

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I imagine statistics would be hard to gather since it would vary by what the GPA cutoff is.  At older dd's school, the required GPA for merit aid is much higher for engineering than it is for theatre. So, theoretically harder to lose the merit aid for theatre.   

 

And then there's the question of the actual comparing two different universities -- is a 3.0 GPA at School X really the same as a 3.0 at School Y?

 

Having said all of that, dd has kept her merit scholarships. 

 

 

 

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I'm curious too. We don't have college in our state for my son's degree program. The University of Missouri Science and Technology is an option only if he can keep his merit which requires a 3.25 and though his GPA looks great now I don't know what it will look when he is on his own, dealing with life, sharing a room, and taking a heavy course load. If not he would probably have to drop out because he would already be taking loans with the merit aid. :( So I'm not sure how to advise him. The majority of other schools are more expensive unless he gets merit aid. It may be sink or swim regardless.

 

I keep trying to find the average GPA of S&T students but I'm not having much luck. I guess these are questions for the admissions office.

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While DS kept up his GPA and maintained his scholarship, I know several students (my niece was one) who did not, due to being overwhelmed by the jump up in workload and getting buried by Chemistry or other rigorous science course.

 

One other thing to watch out for in making your decision is those few sneaky scholarships that require an *increasing* GPA to maintain, just when the work load is getting harder as the student takes on more degree-related coursework. So the scholarship may require a 3.2 GPA in the freshman year and 3.5 GPA in the sophomore and beyond years.

 

Losing a scholarship and having to transfer to a lower-cost college is super tough, as it not only ends up costing the student the shot at the big scholarship $$ by only being eligible for transfer scholarship money at the new school, but it may take longer to get the degree, as not all courses transfer and match up as fulfilling the new school's degree requirements. ug.

 

Worse, a few scholarships require the student to *pay back* the money if the student's GPA drops below the required GPA -- not only for the semester in which the GPA dropped below the minimum, but sometimes for the whole year! (:0

 

So definitely check in to the school's scholarship recovery policies -- many schools have a policy that puts the student on academic probation if they drop below the required GPA, but reinstates the scholarship if the student pulls up the GPA the following semester.

Edited by Lori D.
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I lost mine, but in my defense, it required a 3.75 to keep. 

 

Ds needed a 3.0 to keep his when he started college, then they lowered it so that as long as you are in good academic standing (not on probation) you keep all merit aid at his school. I think this is fantastic. It is a private college and many people would have to leave if they lost their scholarships. 

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Yep, lost my free ride. It required 15 hours per semester with iirc a 3.25 GPA for the first year, and then 15 hours per semester with a 3.5 GPA after that (it's possible I'm mistaken about the exact numbers, but it was something like that). The first semester I started with more than 15 hours but ended dropping a class so I was below 15 hours. The second semester I actually got a really good GPA with 19 hours, but then I still needed to take a summer class to get my hours up to the 30 required for the year. And then in the Fall I ended up dropping pretty much everything, getting on scholarship probation, and the 4th semester I dropped everything because I was pregnant and that morning sickness was 24/7 sickness for 9 months. I should've done a medical withdrawal at that time, as that should've enabled me to keep the scholarship, but the paperwork intimidated/confused me (I also qualified based on moving more than 50 miles away, and I couldn't decide whether to file paperwork for the pregnancy thing, or for the move thing, or for both, or what, and the administrative people who dealt with that kind of stuff were very unhelpful in helping me figure stuff out, and there were very rigid deadlines for these things). 

 

For some reason, all of those hours paid for by the scholarship (including the hours I dropped for medical reasons but didn't file the paperwork for) were counted toward financial aid eligibility etc, which is the main reason I have excessive hours. I would've been so much better off if I hadn't gotten that scholarship to begin with (I'd wanted to take only 9 hours that first semester, for example, but instead I took over 15, and then 19 the second because I needed to get to 30, and I don't know... just too much pressure and nonsense etc). 

 

ETA: at least I've never been on academic probation, just scholarship probation and then lost the scholarship.

Edited by luuknam
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Worse, a few scholarships require the student to *pay back* the money if the student's GPA drops below the required GPA -- not only for the semester in which the GPA dropped below the minimum, but sometimes for the whole year! (:0

.

This is something I've never seen mentioned here before. A family friend went to Duke with a large scholarship and was so unhappy there, he decided to leave after a couple of years. He has to pay back all of the scholarship money. I think he owes $60,000.

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I was so worried about this with my twins before they started because their school is on the list of hardest schools to get an A. I also graduated from this school, and it was no surprise to me that they made the list. They also have a higher gpa requirement than most schools to make Dean's List. They have the standard 3.0 gpa requirement for keeping scholarships. So far they my girls are doing great, but I still don't quite understand the requirement. This is how it's worded: 

 

Freshman Scholarship recipients must earn a minimum of 24 Auburn credit hours from fall to spring semester of each academic year and achieve a minimum 3.0 cumulative, unadjusted Auburn GPA by the end of each spring semester to be eligible for renewal of their scholarship for the next academic year.

 

Does that mean they look at each year individually? or are they just basing this on your cumulative gpa period? Does my question even make sense?

 

Asking because one has a 4.0 and one has a 3.6. If it's just based on their total cumulative gpa at the end of each year, then they can breathe a little after this year. kwim? ETA: They will be juniors after spring.

 

I never found any stats. I just figured my girls had a 50/50 chance of keeping their scholarships, so we weren't that hopeful. That's because dh had a rough freshman year and I had a rough sophomore year. They have surprised me actually. They care a lot more about their grades than I did about mine.

Edited by stephensgirls
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This is something I've never seen mentioned here before. A family friend went to Duke with a large scholarship and was so unhappy there, he decided to leave after a couple of years. He has to pay back all of the scholarship money. I think he owes $60,000.

 

Yikes!!

 

I didn't even know there was such a thing as paying back scholarship money until Lori mentioned it. That will be something to watch for.

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This is something I've never seen mentioned here before. A family friend went to Duke with a large scholarship and was so unhappy there, he decided to leave after a couple of years. He has to pay back all of the scholarship money. I think he owes $60,000.

 

oh my heck. :mellow: :ohmy:  What a nightmare!!! :scared:

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We worry about this.  There is no state school that will meet our needs (way too long and complicated to explain and argue, just trust me, we have exhausted all possibilities), so off to private he goes, with a scholarship to bring it *almost* to NC State school prices.  He is paying the difference.  

 

BUT, that is WITH the scholarship.  He must maintain a 3.0.  Thankfully it is quarter system and if they lose the scholarship, it is only for the quarter or quarters they are below a 3.0.  We have told him if it happens once we will work with him, but if it happens twice, we aren't paying the difference anymore.  

 

Hopefully it won't be an issue.  He has gotten 12 As and 2 Bs at community college, so we are hopeful.

 

ETA:  But I am also a worrier and think of all possible negative scenarios in my head.....I wish I weren't this way, but I am.

Edited by DawnM
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I would not  worry about the negative, and focus on doing the best. Just can't predict what is going to happen. I have previously shared how I failed a class at a highly selective school (in my major, no less) and how it came about.  I did not lose FA. I Just buckled down afterwards.  Ended up at an even more selective professional school. 

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Both my sons got merit aid contingent on keeping a min. GPA.   I know first hand how much stress this caused my kids - even though they kept the merit aid for all four years.  However, both of my kids sighed relief when they completed their senior fall semester.  They were glad there was one semester left where they didn't have the threat of losing the merit money. 

 

I do know that that merit money made my kids nervous about exploring options that they might not succeed at...... so although the $30K a year was great, and without my kids couldn't have attended that college..... it did come with strings attached.

 

A friend of mine has a son that got into a different college on merit scholarship.  But his college did not require a min GPA because they didn't want to limit the kid's exploration and stretching himself during college there.  I think that is the way it should be.  The colleges want to attract the high GPA student to their school as it improves the college rating, etc - but it can come at a cost for the kids both stress-wise and limiting experimentation with courses.

 

 

Myra

 

Edited by Myra
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Both of my boys applied to a public out of state college that has a high admit rate...after reading this thread I looked into their merit scholarships more closely, and the larger ones (which they would qualify for) require keeping a 3.6 gpa! And they are both going into engineering. So I'm guessing we'll end up moving this college down on our list as far as balancing desire to attend/finances/fit etc.

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Both my sons go merit aid contingent on keeping a min. GPA. I know first hand how much stress this caused my kids - even But his college did not require a min GPA because they didn't want to limit the kid's exploration and stretching himself during college there. I think that is the way it should be. The colleges want to attract the high GPA student to their school as it improves the college rating, etc - but it can come at a cost for the kids both stress-wise and limiting experimentation with courses.

 

 

Myra

May I ask what school that was? I agree that it will greatly limit a student to have that hanging over his head. Edited by frogger
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May I ask what school that was? I agree that it will greatly limit a student to have that hanging over his head.

 

Sure -it was Ursinus College in PA.  This was about 5 years back so you would need to check out if the policy is still in effect now.\

 

 

Myra

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When we were chasing merit scholarships for our daughter, we looked at the requirements to keep them. She ended up going to a college where she needs a 3.0 gpa but that we could still afford without the merit. For her, this has been a plus because she needs external accountability to do her best. She went in undeclared and needed time to explore several possible majors. Her scholarship came with priority registration, which combined with multiple AP credits, made it possible for her to change her mind several times, due to unexpected health issues take the minimum number of credits for full time qualification, and still graduate on time.

 

One other thing to check is how things are handled if the gpa requirement is not met. Do they lose the scholarship straight away or do they go on probation first etc? My daughter’s first quarter was full of fun and socializing and her gpa was dreadful. She went on probation and pulled through with flying colors the following quarter and never lost her scholarship.

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Sure -it was Ursinus College in PA. This was about 5 years back so you would need to check out if the policy is still in effect now.\

 

 

Myra

I think this is still in effect. We visited recently and I think the policy is simply to stay in good academic standing to keep scholarships.

 

My dd really liked Ursinus but is a little concerned about the drinking culture after we heard quite a bit about drinking in the tour. Dd read some reviews to follow up and they seemed to confirm her fears.

 

I'd love to hear a different perspective....

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My oldest lost her scholarship after sophomore year. Her scholarship required a 3.25 to keep, and after her first semester sophomore year she had a 3.2. She wrote a letter explaining extenuating circumstances and they gave her one semester to get the gpa back up, but she did even worse second semester. In a way it didn't matter since she was seriously considering transferring anyway, and losing the scholarship made the decision easier. She transferred to a school closer to home and commuted to make up the money, and she probably would have made the decision to do this even if she hadn't lost the scholarship.

 

If you are planning on merit money I would recommend you save some "easy" classes for your kids for freshman year and don't AP or dual enroll out of everything. Starting out with a high GPA can provide a buffer. But the bottom line is it is somewhat of a risk, and something like a badly timed case of the flu can torpedo a semester quickly even for the best student. In our case we know we can afford for our kids to live at home and commute to the state school, so the kids know they have a backup plan if they lose the merit money.

 

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I was the last person ever to receive a scholarship check from my Dad's company,   It had a 3.0 GPA and 30 credit minimums.   There was an ownership change at the company, and they stopped it after granting them my year.  There were three of us that got it.  One of the others was a girl who was valedictorian at her super tiny rural school and really wasn't ready for college.    The stated excuse was that she dropped out because she was pregnant, but she'd been floundering academically before that.   The other person was a guy who had a 4.5+ GPA from a huge inner city school.   He had a really sweet deal.  He went to West Point and was getting scholarships that added up to the median national income at the time.  Since it was West Point, that was basically income.  He dropped out of West Point after the first semester, and didn't apply to anywhere else in time to do a Spring semester anywhere.  Normally I wouldn't have known the results for the other kids, but the parents were all programmers for the giant non-computer company.  So, they knew each other and discussed their kids sometimes.  If they'd offered one less scholarship, I am certain that I would have been the one cut.  So, I thought it was interesting that I was the one that stuck with it.  

 

The parents in that department had four kids in the same grade.   The fourth went for her Mrs. degree.   She didn't have a desire to be a SAHM, she just wanted someone else to provide the money.   Her mother was disgusted with her and wanted her to be able to stand on her own two feet.   I always admired this mother.  Tiny Asian woman that was a force of nature.  Based on eventual standard of living, this kid came out best.  

 

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[anecdotal]

A long time ago:

My Freshman year was great - Dean's list!

Joined a Frat 

Spring of Sophomore year I went off course - GPA dropped 

Fall Junior year lost my scholarship ( lesson learned never take a course you do not like even if someone else says that it is easy - also withdraw as fast as you can when you realize it - wrecked my GPA)

had to transfer from private college because I could not afford it and I would never ask my parents for help since my fault

regained some maturity and was successful at State U!

 

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