The Ultimate Guide to the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship

If you’re a high school student in South Carolina planning on attending college in-state, then you may qualify for some great merit scholarship opportunities, one of the best being the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship! In this guide, we’ll break down what the scholarship is, who’s eligible to apply, and some tips to give you the best chance of winning. Let’s get started!

What is the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship?

The Palmetto Fellows Scholarship is one of the many grants and scholarships funded by the South Carolina Education Lottery. Palmetto Fellows is a merit-based program that aims to recognize and award South Carolina’s most academically talented students.

High school seniors who attend an eligible college or university in South Carolina may receive up to $6,700 in their freshman year and up to $7,500 for their sophomore, junior and senior years. The award must be applied directly towards the cost of attendance, and is distributed in two parts: the first half in the fall semester and the second half in the spring semester.

In 2007, the program established Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Enhancement, which awards an additional $2,500 a year to students pursuing certain majors. Eligible academic focuses include STEM, Education, and Accounting. This advancement is only available after the student’s freshman year.

Who’s eligible for a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship?

For all South Carolina State grants and scholarships, students must adhere to the following requirements:

• Be a US citizen/permanent resident
• Be a South Carolina resident
• Have no felony convictions
• Have no second or subsequent alcohol/drug misdemeanors
• Not be in default for any state or federal loans
• Enroll in a degree-seeking program at an eligible SC institution

For Palmetto Fellows in particular, students must meet a few additional academic requirements in order to qualify. Students must:

• Have a 3.5 GPA (unweighted)
• Have a 1200 SAT or 25 ACT score
• Be in the top 6% class rank in either grades 10,11 or 12

If your school does not have a class ranking system, then you must have at least a 4.0 GPA (unweighted) and a minimum 1400 SAT or 31 ACT score.

Also see: How to improve your SAT scores in 6 steps

In order to continue to receive the Palmetto Fellows scholarship once they’re in college, students must maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 and earn an average of 30 credit hours by the end of their first academic year.

Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Enhancements + Eligibility

Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Enhancements provides an additional $2,500 a year to certain majors and programs. This brings the total award amount, including Palmetto Fellows, to $10,000 a year! Students become eligible for enhancements after their first academic year of college. In order to qualify for these scholarship enhancements, there are a few extra eligibility requirements.

For the STEM Enhancement, students must:

• Earn 14 credit hours of approved STEM coursework before the start of their second academic year (based on initial college enrollment).
• Students can use AP, IB, CLEP, Exempt, and Dual Enrollment credit hours to meet the 14 credit-hour requirement (if applicable).

For the education enhancement, students must sign a contractual agreement, committing to either:

• Work in a South Carolina public school for each year they receive the enhancement, or
• Repay the funds received if they do not fulfill the service requirement.

Along with the contract, students must obtain teacher certification to qualify for scholarship forgiveness.

For the accounting enhancement, students must:

• Earn 14-credit hours in math/science during their first academic year to receive the enhancement.

How can I apply to Palmetto Fellows?

Students cannot apply directly to Palmetto Fellows themselves. Instead, they’ll need their school counselor to apply for them. If you’ve stumbled upon Palmetto Fellows and think this scholarship might be something you’re eligible for, then your next step should be to meet with your school’s counselor. They can walk you through what materials they may need from you in order to apply and confirm that you’re eligible.

This scholarship can only be earned and applied to during a student’s senior year of high school, but there are some circumstances in which students can submit an additional scholarship request.

If you’re an in-state student who currently receives Palmetto Fellows and would like to transfer from one South Carolina eligible institution to another South Carolina eligible institution, you can submit an In-State Transfer Request.

Or if you’re a current Palmetto Fellow student who either 1) took a gap term/year, or 2) are transferring from an out-of-state institution to an eligible SC institution, you can submit a Reapplication Request.

Check out this video for a more in-depth look at the Palmetto Fellows application process!

Related: High school checklist: Freshman through senior year

Tips to help you win the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship

As mentioned above, you’ll need a counselor from your school to apply to Palmetto Fellows on your behalf, so our first piece of advice is to connect with your counselor sooner rather than later. The application typically opens in July and closes in July of the following year, giving students and counselors a whole year to apply.That being said, counselors can get quite busy, especially at certain times of the year such as class registration, college application season, and near graduation.

If possible it might be a good idea to set up a meeting with your counselor during your junior year of high school to start talking about Palmetto Fellows, as well as any other scholarship opportunities that you might be eligible for.

The next step you’ll want to take is to make sure you’re keeping your grades up and doing your best on the SAT and/or ACT. This might mean taking practice tests or using free tutoring resources to prepare yourself. This is a merit-based scholarship, so having impressive academics is extremely important.

Read Next: ACT vs SAT: How to decide which test to take

Next Steps

• Make an appointment to talk with your high school counselor and see if Palmetto Fellows would be a program you’re eligible for.
• Study and practice for the ACT/SAT to get the best possible scores.
• Look into schools in South Carolina and make sure that the colleges you’re interested in are eligible for Palmetto Fellows.
• Work with your counselor to make sure your application is completed on time and apply to other scholarships to give yourself the best chance at securing some fund for college!

SC scholarship alternatives to Palmetto Fellows

You can also look into other state grants and scholarships in South Carolina. The Legislative Incentive for Future Excellence (LIFE) Scholarship is a similar scholarship to Palmetto Fellows, but instead of applying through a counselor from their high school, students apply directly through their school’s financial aid office. The school must be an eligible public and independent college and university in South Carolina.

There’s also the South Carolina HOPE Scholarship Program which is also a merit scholarship, aimed at students who didn’t qualify for Palmetto Fellows or LIFE. This scholarship is only awarded during a student’s freshman year of college.

Also see: Top South Carolina scholarships

Other scholarship opportunities

If you’re not eligible for any South Carolina State Scholarships, there are plenty of other great scholarship opportunities for high school seniors looking for merit scholarships. Below is a quick list of our top prestigious merit scholarships overall for students all over the country:

• Generation Google Scholarship – For HS seniors, college, and grad students who plan to study computer science or engineering. Worth $10,000. Preference given to women and ethnic minorities.
• Taco Bell Live Mas Scholarship – Video scholarship for students between 16 and 26 with a passion for the field they are pursuing. Worth up to $25,000!
• QuestBridge Scholars Program – Highly competitive full-ride scholarship based on merit and financial need. Students apply during their junior year of high school.

You can also check out Scholarships360, where you can get matched to scholarships based on your location and academics!

Frequently asked questions about the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship