One thing is for certain when you begin looking around for various scholarships to help pay for your college education: if you don’t have a decent Grade Point Average (GPA), you’re pretty much out of luck with most scholarships. The vast majority of scholarships throughout the United States have certain requirements, including a minimum GPA. It could be a 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, or some other level. It all depends on scholarship committee and the purpose of the scholarship in the first place.
For students who didn’t excel academically in high school, whose GPA may be around 2.0, 2.2, or maybe even a 1.9, if they have a difficult time paying for college, they can feel as though there are no other options aside from taking out a student loan. Many college students want to avoid student loans as much as possible. However, it has become increasingly clear that more and more jobs, especially high-paying jobs, require at least a minimum of a college undergraduate degree.
The change in 20 years.
20 years ago things were much different. A high school diploma was generally the basic minimal requirement for many jobs. As the job market has become much more competitive in recent years, more and more employers are looking for applicants who have pursued a college degree.
While a college education isn’t going to provide somebody with all of the skills and knowledge necessary to perform most jobs, it is a launching point. This is why many high school seniors and recent graduates who didn’t focus on their academics when they were in high school suddenly realize how important their GPA becomes.
When they begin looking for various scholarships they could be eligible for, it can be disheartening to see every single one having a minimum GPA requirement that is higher than the GPA they earned during their high school career.
What are their options?
The first option for any college student who may not have an exceptional grade point average is to enroll at a junior community college that is close to their home. Junior and community colleges are much more affordable than larger four year colleges and universities. The tuition will be a fraction of what it would be at these larger public and private institutions.
The students can enroll in a couple of classes per semester which would generally be their basic requirements at any other college or university. These core requirements can include English, math, and certain sciences.
While they are attending these junior or community college courses, focus on working as hard as possible, studying as much as needed, and establishing some strong grades. While most of the grades from these junior or community college courses will not transfer to their future four-year university, the GPA could certainly put them in the running for various scholarship awards.
Another option to consider are scholarships that are not based on GPA, merit, extracurricular activities, or any other things that most scholarships seems to look for. There are a number of different scholarship programs that provide awards to students that are based on things other than their academic achievement. For the most part, the scholarship awards are provided at random.
All a student needs to do is fill out an application form and wait. Here are a number of scholarships for low GPA and for those students who may not have participated in extracurricular activities during their high school career.
$1,000 Every Month Scholarship
GotChosen provides $1,000 monthly scholarships to students, including United States and international students, who are over the age of 18. You need to register with GotChosen and you can enter the monthly random drawing.
Applying for this particular scholarship doesn’t require an essay, a long form application, or a good Grade Point Average. You’re not really taking a gamble with this. There are monthly drawings so even if you are not chosen for a scholarship one month, you may enter it again in another month.
Any students who are interested in this monthly scholarship should visit their website here.
A GPA Isn’t Everything Monthly Scholarship
The name basically says it all. This $1,000 monthly scholarship is provided by Cappex. All that’s needed to become eligible for this scholarship is to fill in some basic information about yourself and your educational background as well as your college plans. Current high school or college students who are actively enrolled or who plan to attend school within next 12 months can be eligible to win this scholarship.
There is one winner chosen every month and you can reapply the next month if you don’t win. If you’re interested in this particular scholarship, visit their website here.
Zinch’s Weekly Scholarship
This company provides a $1,000 scholarship award every week. It’s a fun scholarship to apply to. It is available to American high school or college students are at least 16 years old.
You do have to answer a short essay question and some basic information about yourself. The essay itself is 280 characters or less. That’s pretty short.
What’s fun about this scholarship is you get to answer an interesting question in just a few short sentences. You can either win the $1,000 scholarship or not. Either way, you can have fun with it. The more you do it, the more experienced you become at writing quality answers to some interesting questions.
Interested students should visit the website here for more details.
These are just a few scholarships for low GPA and for any student who may feel left out from other scholarship opportunities because of their low grade point average, there are plenty more like this out there.
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