FARMHOUSE
QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK
(From recent Inside FH newsletters)
Scholarship
- "I think our minimum GPA standard might be a bit low. Could you share where we fall?"
- "What are some of the key things judges are looking for in the scholarship applications and about how many applications do you get a year?"
QUESTION OF THE WEEK?--- "I think our minimum GPA standard might be abit low. Could you share where we fall?"
Our base expectation for all chapters isa 2.2 to initiate and 2.2 for active members and a 2.25 to hold office (however it's only an expectation noted in the Chapter Award of Excellence minimum standards application). Most chapters choose higher standards, but we've never mandated GPA requirements in the FarmHouse International bylaws.
One of the reasons we haven't instituted a higher GPA requirement or sought to have it inserted into the International Bylaws is that the all-men's GPA averages on campuses varies tremendously. For example, the all-men's average in 2002 at Troy State University was a 2.37 GPA, while the all-men's average at Nebraska was a 2.93 GPA. Both FarmHouse chapters placed at the top of the men's fraternities on campus and both received our prestigious Summa Cum Laude award for being 30 percent above all-men's average on campus - but the GPAs on each campus differ greatly.
Some chapters have faced some real problems when increasing their GPA requirements too high. Alumni have pointed to Master Builder winners and other top alumni who had their fair share of academic challenges, yet went on to accomplish great things. On the other hand, sometimes chapters set the bar too low and end up recruiting some guys who bring the chapter GPA down for four years and end up lowering the standards you seek.
Other chapters have recently had problems with not being able to initiate a very large percentage of their pledge class because the GPA standard is so high. We expect chapters to strive towards initiating at least 90 percent of their pledge classes - but that shouldn't come at the price of bringing people into the membership who will drag down the standard of excellence you aspire towards.
The GPA expectation should be the same for actives and pledges, with top chapter officers being held to a higher standard. We expect chapters to hold those brothers who fall below their academic standard accountable and develop programs to help those brothers achieve the standard.
Ultimately, it comes down to a decision the chapter must make. We'd encourage chapters to set a GPA standard that will help you achieve the level of academic excellence to which you aspire and carefully determine whether candidates for membership can meet and/or exceed that expectation.
Attached is a copy of a breakdown of chapter GPA requirements and all-men's campus averages.
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QUESTION OF THE WEEK? --- "What are some of the key things judges are looking for in the scholarship applications and about how many applications do you get a year?"
RESPONSE --- With more than 1,300 undergraduates and dozens of FarmHouse men in graduate school on the campuses where we have chapters, you might expect that we'd have hundreds of applications come in for FarmHouse Foundation scholarships each year. However, we typically average between 15-20 scholarship applications and grant seven scholarships annually, so if you're a top student, your chances are better than you might think.
Some of the key things the scholarship selection committee looks for include:
- Demonstrated academic success and commitment to scholastic achievement;
- Leadership to the chapter and/or the campus;
- Commitment to community service and making those around you better;
- Financial need (as gleaned from letters of recommendation) - not necessarily a determining factor, but taken into account
- Letters of recommendation - Judges are looking for demonstrated integrity, initiative, work ethic and commitment to help others. It's imperative that you have at least 3 letters of recommendation (but no more than 5) submitted with the application (it's ideal if the letters of recommendation and application are submitted together in one packet).
Applications and letters of recommendation must be postmarked by June 1. This is a hard deadline - if it's not postmarked on time, you won't be eligible. One application qualifies you for consideration for all seven Foundation scholarships. A total of $8,300 in scholarships are open to all members from all chapters throughout the Fraternity (another $22,000 in local chapter scholarships is granted annually by the FarmHouse Foundation).
The 2004-05 scholarship applications can be downloaded at http://www.farmhouse.org/pdf/scholarship_applications.pdf
Be sure to allow yourself at least a week or so for those you ask to write letters of recommendation to complete them. It's best if you take the initiative to personally collect the letters of recommendation and put them together with the packet you will submit.
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