There are a couple of state scholarships that PHEA helps with. Information on the state scholarships is available at the CHE website.

Some of the state scholarships and other scholarships require a class ranking. In order to provide this to qualified students we need the grade point average (GPA) of all of our seniors. We now require all our families registering students in 9th grade and above to send us their grades so that we have this information available in a timely manner. We also need a copy of their SAT and/or ACT scores. The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education reviews this data to award their scholarships. If there is a significant discrepancy between GPA and test scores, we will work with you to recalculate the GPA.

Palmetto Fellows Scholarship

PHEA does the nominating for this scholarship. Because we do a class ranking, all qualified students registered with PHEA must be nominated through the association. There are two ways to qualify:

The first way to qualify is for the student to meet the following 3 criteria:

1) the GPA must be 3.5 or above on the uniform grading policy;
2) the SAT score must be at least 1200 (25 on the ACT); and
3) the class rank must be in the top 6%.

The second way to qualify is for the student to meet the following 2 criteria:

1) the SAT score must be at least 1400 (31 on the ACT); and
2) the GPA must be 4.0 or above.

Any eligible student will need to be a part of the Early or Late Award application process during their year of graduation.

There are two opportunities to apply:

-Early Award: May 1-April 15; end of 11th grade SC UGP GPA; rank from 10th or 11th grade

-Late Award: May 15-June 30; end of 12th grade SC UGP GPA; rank from 10th, 11th, or 12th grade

• A student cannot use use Early Award documentation for the Late Award.

• A student cannot apply or earn the PFS once they have graduated high school.

All qualified applicants will be nominated by PHEA. If your student qualifies with the second criteria and you try to apply on your own, they will reject your application and send you back through PHEA. This has happened in the past.

LIFE Scholarship

The state university or college that your student attends will do the paperwork for the LIFE Scholarship. Eligibility requirements for the Life Scholarship are the following:

• Eligibility at a two-year institution—3.0 cumulative GPA based on the SC UGP upon high school graduation.

• Eligibility at a four-year institution—must earn two of the following 3 requirements:

• 3.0 cumulative GPA based on the SC UGP upon high school graduation; 1100 on the SAT or 24 on the ACT; rank in the top 30% of the graduating class (if applicable).

Find out more about eligibility and award amounts here.