Want to endow a scholarship for students that don't get good grades

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So you are disincentivizing doing well in school?

Did you read the post? That is not at all what OP said.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I don't understand this.
Do you wish to consider extenuating circumstances such as learning disabilities, life happenings, other proofs of talent distinct from mere grades, such as having written a book, etc?
Because merely saying you want to throw money at kids with poor grades sounds... stupid.

[Anonymous]

OP, I think you need to think about what attributes your scholarship students should have, as opposed to what they should not. Is it about character? Well-roundedness? Being a team player? What about the kid who's teachers adore him despite not being a top student?

If I could make a scholarship I'd call it the jack of all trades scholarship...designed for kids who are pretty good at lots of things, have lots of interests and are just plain good kids.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you make a scholarship for a student who receives accommodation for a specific learning disability? This could be someone who might not be an A on paper, but who works hard to persevere in the face of a serious challenge. Otherwise, I'd fear the scholarship would go to some unmotivated frat boy (like my brother) who has weak grades for no good reason.

[Anonymous]

Rather than sorting through worthless opinions that don't align with what you want to do - I would offer this

If you want to create a scholarship a university will take your money to do it. You can define the recipient any way that you want to and depending on the school, can probably help to select the student.

Would try to narrowly define the goals and requirements of the scholarship

"The XXXX memorial scholarship is intended to reward students for their effort and progress in XXXXXX. The scholarship will not take grades into account and will in fact reward students who are progressing toward a degree, and are motivated yet do not have the grade point average to support their progress by traditional means. Winners will be selected based on essay and potentially interviews and will attempt to evaluate the entire applicant and their progress within their selected major"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Didn't David Letterman do this for Ball State?

In fact, the Letterman Telecommunications Scholarship at BSU has no grade point criteria:

http://cms.bsu.edu/academics/collegesanddepartments/telecommunications/scholarshipsandfinancialaid/scholarships

[Anonymous]

Quick questions -- are you thinking of this as a one year (or renewable for 4 years) scholarship and is the GPA HS or college?

Personally, I don't think it's stupid to create a scholarship for students with average grades. You have a chance to encourage students who might not graduate otherwise. I'd probably look for candidates who might have more time for schoolwork if they had more $ (so they could work less, afford more childcare, afford to take a low or non-paying internship).