Introduction
Whether you’re a student or a parent, it’s always good to know the rules before entering into any agreement. If you’re applying to college, there may be an agreement between yourself and the school that requires you to maintain specific grades to keep your scholarship money. However, what happens if the school pulls back on its end of the bargain? Is there anything that can be done about it?
If you receive federal or state grants and loans, which may be the case for many scholarship recipients, you must maintain specific academic standards to continue receiving aid.
If you receive federal or state grants and loans, which may be the case for many scholarship recipients, you must maintain specific academic standards to continue receiving aid. These include:
- A specific GPA (grade point average)
- Completing a certain number of credits each semester
- Completing the program in a specific amount of time (for example, four years)
- Meeting other requirements that may apply to your particular scholarship (such as maintaining good character or agreeing to submit to random drug testing)
Colleges expect students to meet specific benchmarks yearly to promptly stay on track toward a degree.
You’ll have to meet specific benchmarks every year to maintain your scholarship. Your college or university will tell you what those are and how they expect you to do it.
Some schools award scholarships on a semester basis, while others award them annually. Either way, they’ll expect you to fulfill the requirements of the scholarship by maintaining a certain GPA and fulfilling your service obligation, among other things (more on this later).
Make sure that you understand what it requires when you receive a scholarship from a school. Most colleges will spell out their policies for maintaining scholarships in detail on their websites, so take some time and read through them carefully before deciding where to apply for college.
Most colleges require you to maintain continuous enrollment to keep your financial aid.
Most colleges require you to maintain continuous enrollment to keep your financial aid. There’s a whole spectrum of ways this can get tricky, but the broad strokes are:
- You must be enrolled in at least six credit hours each semester.
- You must be enrolled in at least 12 credit hours each year (sometimes called full time).
- You must be enrolled in at least 18 credit hours each year if you are a freshman.
Many scholarships come with strings attached; sometimes, a change in your situation can cause you to lose them.
Many scholarships come with strings attached; sometimes, a change in your situation can cause you to lose them. If you switch majors, for example, or move away from the school entirely because of a job offer (or any other reason), your scholarship could be revoked. Your GPA, financial situation, family size—all these things can affect whether or not your scholarship will still be in place after graduation day. And don’t forget that if there’s some clause about keeping good grades throughout college—the kind that may require an appeal process if they’re changed significantly later on—that would also count as a reason why the school might pull their funding!
The bottom line is that whatever stipulations come with your award meet the needs of both parties before accepting any offer. Suppose something comes up along the way and makes it seem like those requirements aren’t being met anymore (like graduating early). In that case, it might be worth considering asking for a transfer or cancellation so that no one feels bad about how things went down south…
Scholarship recipients have responsibilities they must fulfill to receive their awards, so be sure to understand those obligations before accepting any money.
Before accepting any scholarship, be sure to read the fine print. You’ll want to make sure you understand all of the terms and conditions of the award. Just because you’ve been awarded a scholarship doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to receive it if you don’t fulfill your obligations.
Some scholarships require students to maintain a certain GPA or number of classes each semester to remain eligible for their awards. Other scholarships may require students to enroll full-time or take on part-time employment while going through school, which will help them pay off student loans after graduation. If this interests you, ask if there are other conditions for receiving these specific grants so that no one gets disappointed later down the road when things don’t work out as planned!
Conclusion
A scholarship is an investment in your future and comes with certain obligations. Read the fine print carefully if you accept a scholarship from a college or organization. Make sure you understand what’s expected of you in terms of GPA, attend classes regularly, maintain good standing academically (if applicable), etc. The last thing any student wants is their dreams dashed by something as simple as failing to meet academic standards!