Scholarship Loss

• Some scholarships, particularly those that are hard to acquire, require the maintaining of a certain grade point average and give scholarship holders no second chances if they fail to maintain these high marks. In some cases, if your grades slip even once you will be stripped of your scholarship with no opportunity to appeal. If the scholarship that finances all or part of your college is of this type, a focus on grades is a must.
  
  

Academic Probation

• Some scholarship committees recognize that the adjustment to college can be a rough one and, in an attempt to help out their students, give students a grace period of sorts in the form of academic probation. Depending upon the nature of your scholarship, you may be entitled to a time period during which you can work to raise your grades. During this time period your scholarship is in limbo, with your ability to keep the scholarship depending entirely upon your ability to raise your grades.
  
  

Removal From School

• Depending upon how far your grades slip, you may not only be at risk of losing your scholarship; you may find your admission to the school as a whole in jeopardy. Some schools have strict grade-related enrollment requirements that, if not met, can result in expulsion from the institution, making the keeping of your scholarship a moot point.
  
  

What to Do

• While the best thing you can do is stay on top of your grades from the start and ensure that they don't slip, accidents do happen. If you find yourself saddled with grades that you can't bring up mid-semester and are worried about your ability to keep your scholarship, the best thing you can do is speak to an academic advisor. If you tell this advisor what grades you must maintain, she can likely give you some options, perhaps suggesting that you drop some classes or take some for pass-fail credit. In doing so, you may be able to salvage your grades.
  
  Another option is to compose an appeal letter. Particularly if there are extenuating circumstances that led to your low grades, a letter appealing directly to the scholarship committee may encourage them to give you a second chance even if they otherwise wouldn't have.