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WestrnMom
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | West Coast, USA |
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Posted: Thu Dec 21st, 2006 03:57 am |
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When you are offered a scholarship, how do you know if it's for 4 years or just the first year if it doesn't say in the paperwork? Is that information they will give you before you need to make a decision? Also, do schools give out scholarships before a student has been admitted? I talked to a mom whose child was given a verbal scholarship offer for an EC--full tuition and room and board, but has not yet received a letter of acceptance. Is that common? Finally, if you accept a merit scholarship for an EC (either athletics, music, etc) and decide after one year you can't continue in the EC due to time needed to study, etc, is it too late to apply for one based on academics or do you forfeit all merit aid?
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jocelynDAD
Member
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Posted: Thu Dec 21st, 2006 04:28 am |
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'The Devil is in the details'
First: Merit Scholarships are (usually) annual but many if not all schools have a GPA requirement that is tagged to the Merit Scholarship. It might be as low as a 2.0 or as high as a 3.5.
Failure to maintain the GPA required could end the scholarship either temporarily or permenently.
In all cases you have to ask and get the commitment in writing, usually it will be included in the Financial Aid award package.
However, do not ASSume anything, inquire and get it in writing.
As for specialized scholarships for Music and Athletics etc, I have no direct knowledge, but the above caution should apply here as well, inquire, and get it in writing.
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DesperateDad
Member
| Joined: | Tue Mar 14th, 2006 |
| Location: | California USA |
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Posted: Thu Dec 21st, 2006 04:03 pm |
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| one other thing to ask: does the scholarship keep up with increasing school costs over the four years, or does it remain a fixed, flat amount, so you would have to absorb the increased costs.
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WADad
Member
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Posted: Thu Dec 21st, 2006 05:53 pm |
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| I have heard that many athletic scholarships (at D1 schools) disappear if the student drops the sport, or sometimes even if the student is injured and can not participate. So get everything in writing, as ask the financial aid office for the details.
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WestrnMom
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
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Posted: Thu Dec 21st, 2006 06:14 pm |
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That is excellent information, thank you. (I noticed only Dads answered--do fathers pay more attention to monetary details than moms?--just curious!) Mine has received one, and has a verbal offer of another--although no amount yet, just the fact that there will be one if he's admitted.
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Northeastmom
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
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Posted: Thu Dec 21st, 2006 09:16 pm |
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| Every single scholarship that my son received was a fixed amount. The gpa requirement varied from a 2.7 to a 3.2 to keep it. 1 school offered a one semester grace period in writing, to get that gpa up to a 3.0 or lose it, but they are also known for poor financial aid packages. This was very important info for both my H and myself. In the end, my son chose a state school, and I think that one reason for his decision was the fright of the unknown, and whether he could live up to the expectation of keeping a 3.0 in college. He was also nervous about the prospect of being forced to leave a private school (by his parents) if he lost a merit award. We are not able to get much in the way of financial aid grants, and are not willing or financially able to take a 40,000+ (3.5 years of merit awards averaging 10,000/year, some schools offered more) hit if he came up short in the gpa department. We felt very squeezed financially with the merit awards in place, and before the annual increases to come in each year.
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WestrnMom
Super Moderator
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Posted: Thu Dec 21st, 2006 09:50 pm |
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re: Keeping a 3.0 or 3.5 GPA in college: I'm wondering how closely the high school GPAs match the college GPAs. My daughter and her close friends have done very much the same in college as in high school, but I don't know if that is unusual or typical. If they were 4.0 students in HS they are doing about the same in college. A few students have done better. I haven't heard a word about anyone doing worse, although they may not talk about it if they are.
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binx
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Posted: Fri Dec 22nd, 2006 02:57 pm |
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S1 received "grants" rather than scholarships. (He went to Penn - Ivy's don't give scholarships.) We had a letter guaranteeing a grant for the total amount after EFC for all four years. It was that letter that helped us decide to foot the bill for the rest of it.
He also had an outside scholarship that was one time only.
S2 received a scholarship. There is absolutely nothing in the paperwork that implies he would receive it year after year. He is a junior now, and has received the exact same total amount every year, but each year the name of the scholarships (named after various donors) is different. On year he was required to write thank you notes to the donors; other years not. I think the school purposely leaves it vague, so they can pull it out if S doesn't perform well. We are very grateful for what they've given him so far.
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DesperateDad
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| Joined: | Tue Mar 14th, 2006 |
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Posted: Fri Dec 22nd, 2006 03:14 pm |
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westernmom:
it's very atypical to obtain the same grades in college that one does in HS. As one college dean says every year to the incoming matriculants: while all of your were in the top xx% of your HS class, by definition, half of you sitting out there today will be in the botton half of this class by the time you graduate.
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WestrnMom
Super Moderator
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Posted: Sat Dec 23rd, 2006 11:36 pm |
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One more scholarship question. Do they usually come with the acceptances or afterwards? If afterwards, when?
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jocelynDAD
Member
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Posted: Sun Dec 24th, 2006 12:04 am |
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Ah that does depend on the school - some do it together, others separately, some even tell you about the scholarship/merit aid before the official acceptance.
Get on the ferris wheel and wait until the operator tell you to get off, meanwhile enjoy the ride. 
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