3.0 GPA

General Discussion for SMART Scholarship Recipients
SMARTgirl

3.0 GPA

Post by SMARTgirl »

I attended my current university 10 years ago. I was fresh out of high school, and ended up with a very low GPA before I dropped out. Three years ago, I decided to try again and got my AA at a community college (graduated with a 3.92 GPA).
I received this scholarship when I was accepted back into my previous university.

I just completed my first semester back with a 3.8 GPA, but my overall university GPA includes those semesters from 10 years ago.

Has anyone had any experience with explaining a GPA below 3.0 to SMART?
Also I'm in the process of attempting to erase one of those bad semesters from my transcript, which (if successful) will raise my overall GPA to 3.25. However, my school is on holiday leave until the third of January. How long do I have before I have to submit my transcripts to SMART?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Guest

Re: 3.0 GPA

Post by Guest »

Transcripts are due 30 days after the end of your semester I believe.

For your question about the GPA issue, I was in the same boat in the past. GPA dipped below 3.0, and they put me in on a conference call to discuss the issue. I was told that I had one semester to bring the GPA back up, or they would have to remove me from the program (and face repayment and all of that). I was able to bring it up the next semester and have kept it above 3.0 since then, and haven't had any issues with SMART since it happened. During the time period where I was below 3.0 and working to bring it back up, they still paid tuition and stipends. As far as explaining it goes, just be honest with them as to why your grades slipped up. In your case, try telling them about the semesters from a decade ago and they might be more understanding, since they certainly (I assume) funding your degree back then.

GPA_Guest

Re: 3.0 GPA

Post by GPA_Guest »

From my understanding, SMART typically only cares about your cumulative GPA for semesters that are funded by the program.

In other words, if my understanding is correct, your GPA was "reset" to 0.00 when you started Phase 1. If this is true then your cumulative GPA in the eyes of the scholarship program would be 3.8.

I believe this is how the GPA issue was handled when I signed on, but the policy very well could have changed since then. Regardless, I've found that open and professional communication with your coordinator can go a long way towards mitigating issues.

I hope this was helpful. Regardless, kudos for the persistence you've shown during your academic journey.

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