South Carolina College Scholarships

In South Carolina, you'll find a number of funding options to help you pay for your college, many of which are administered through the South Carolina Department of Education. The SC Commission on Higher Education is also the overseer for state colleges and universities, and South Carolina scholarships are governed through these two bodies, disbursed as necessary to aid students in funding a college degree.

The South Carolina HOPE Scholarship, for example, is a merit based award for academically talented students who have not received any other merit based awards to help fund their tuition. Recipients are to attend a school within the state and must be freshmen to be eligible. The LIFE Scholarship is also based on merit and requires that academically motivated students earn a GPA of at least 3.0 (other academic criteria may apply). The program is partially funded by the state lottery, so candidates must attend a school in South Carolina to be eligible. The state lottery also funds the SC Lottery Tuition Assistance program, funding all levels of education as long as the student is at least attending a two-year state institution.

Other specialized South Carolina scholarships include the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, which offers up to $6500 per academic year to entice the top students graduating high school to stay in state and the Archibald Rutledge Scholarship, unique to South Carolina and providing arts-centric students with $5000 scholarships in pursuit of studies such as music, art, writing, dance, and other creative forms of expression.

List of South Carolina Scholarships

• Legislative Incentives for Future Excellence Program — $2000 to $5000 awarded each year to varied number of undergraduate and graduate students attending a South Carolina college.


• Richland/Lexington SCSEA Scholarship — $750 awarded each year to three undergraduate and graduate students attending South Carolina college and member of Society of Architectural Historians.


• South Carolina Junior Golf Foundation Scholarship — $2500 awarded to varied number of undergraduate students attending a South Carolina college.


• South Carolina Press Association Foundation Newspaper Scholarships — $1000 awarded each year to three junior undergraduate attending a South Carolina college.


• Southeast Greenhouse Conference Scholarship — $500 to $2000 awarded each year to one undergraduate or graduate student attending South Carolina or other select state college.

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Paying for school is not easy, but we are here to help. OEDb's student finance section will help you find the money you need to pay your tuition and other college expenses. We cover scholarships, college grants, and student loans. Scholarships and grants are both forms of "free money", meaning they don't need to be paid back. Scholarships are typically awarded by businesses or individuals, with the money being earmarked specifically for tuition. They can be awarded based on a student's location or by religious affiliation, such as Catholicism or Islam. Grants are typically awarded by governments or non-profit organizations and the money often can be applied to several different expenses a student may incur, not solely tuition. They can be awarded based on location or ethnicity, for instance African American or Hispanic. Loans are not considered "free money", because unlike scholarships and grants, they do need to be paid back after graduation. Common federal loans include Perkins and Stafford. Loans are also available by location.