I received the same letter too. I think it means that we are on the radar for all scholarships, and some may be invited for the weekend while others may not. I don’t know much about it either to be honest but that’s what I’ve gathered. But I do know that if you received that letter, then you will hear about your scholarships by at least March.
At this point, I don’t believe that McNair/HS invites have gone out yet. I just got the honors acceptance today, so I assume that we will start seeing those invites flying in sometime in early Jan.
Thanks for the info btw, madmik. I guess it’s too early to theorize who gets those scholarships! I think only 20 people get each right? It’s going to be a tough competition.
If they follow what was done in the past, McNair invites will go out in February. Getting in-state tuition is not alone enough to say you’re being considered for McNair (non-honors students get in-state also depending on stats) but it is likely encouraging that you are already accepted to HC. But honors acceptances continue into Feb. I think that students that make cut-off for HC do get in-state tuition at least.
The dates for McNair weekend and Carolina scholars weekend are on-line - Carolina is I think the last week of Feb. Final financial awards packages come out in March and include everything except Leiber (for NMF) for some reason which seems to come a little later but is a guarantee if you are NMF.
I am a current McNair Scholar at the University of South Carolina. Invites should be sent out beginning in early January and continue until all 40 spaces for the interviews are confirmed. Next, the students, as well as “ONE” parent will be invited to the school for an orientation/interview weekend. The great thing about this Scholarship is that you are already guaranteed a nice scholarship package before even interviewing for the largest scholarship offered, the Carolina or McNair. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. Like I said, I just went through this process last year! Good Luck!
Has anyone heard about the McNair invites yet? I don’t know if they have started going out yet. Really hoping for one but who knows.
Also, are the invites typically email or letters?
They (in past) came fedex. Look for them nearer end of Jan, first of February. You can prob look in past threads to see when the came out in prior years or just call and ask.
Yes. If they haven’t changed their methodology. Here is what website says about the top scholarships and the dates fr the interview weekends if invited.
"The Stamps Carolina Scholars, Carolina Scholars and Hamilton Scholars Awards are the University of South Carolina’s most prestigious awards bestowed on South Carolina residents. Fifty scholar candidates are invited to participate in an interview weekend, after which 25 candidates are named Carolina Scholars and 25 are named Hamilton Scholars.
Additionally, the top five candidates named as Carolina Scholars will be nominated as Stamps Carolina Scholars and will interview for the chance to receive an enrichment stipend to fund opportunities such as undergraduate research, study abroad, service projects or unpaid internships. Candidates must participate in the entire weekend (Feb. 20-22, 2016) in order to remain in consideration for these awards. In 2015, Carolina and Hamilton Scholars had an average SAT score of 1436 (ACT score of 33) and had an average weighted GPA of 4.80. "
'“he McNair and Horseshoe Scholars Awards are two of the most prestigious awards at the university. Forty out-of-state students with strong academic records who are leaders in their high schools and communities will be invited to participate in an interview weekend. Of these 40 candidates, half will be named McNair Scholars, and the other half will be named Horseshoe Scholars. Candidates must participate in the entire weekend (Feb. 27-29, 2016) in order to remain in consideration for these awards. Last year, McNair and Horseshoe Scholars had an average SAT score of 1513 (ACT score of 34) and an average weighted high school GPA of 4.82. Recipients of these awards qualify for the in-state tuition rate.”
You can call and ask for time frame but really is a little early based on past years and they go out all at once ( with my D it was a FedEx arriving on a Saturday but that was a few years back)
Exciting update! I got my letter invite for McNair/HorseShoe today! I’m coming from the south (Dallas, Texas). Can’t wait to see everyone in South Carolina later! Post if you’ve received yours as well.
Okay, I got my letter yesterday and I’ve been looking at the other scholarships. It says that the 6k per year National Merit Scholarship stacks with other admissions based scholarships(and is the only one that does). So that means if I get McNair I’ll also get another 6k? …a full… a full ride? Can anybody confirm this?
Congrats to everyone who has been invited for the McNair weekend! Anybody hear about Carolina scholar invites? Do they typically come out at the same time?
As far as I am aware from looking at past posts on CC, yes, you could have a full ride with a little bit of money out the side. This is, in my opinion, not bad. With outside scholarships you can definitely make this a full ride + some extra luxuries! Both Mcnair and HS are both great. I haven’t seen much difference between the two besides marginal money difference.
@GopherDog Yes, I heard that Carolina scholars comes out at the same time.
If you are invited to McNair weekend you get at least the Horseshoe. Since both give you in-state tuition that drops tuition cost to 11,158 (per website) from OOS of 29,440. When you add housing, etc of around 10,500 you get an in-state cost of attendance of approx. $22,000 (rounding). So if you get McNair and Leiber, which is automatic for NMF and is stackable you at around 21K. So basically a full ride since you might not spend as much on meals or supplies. Any left over money is refunded to you to spend as you please. I’m sure the amounts are higher this year, but to give you an idea from admissions page.
Housing: traditional, suite
$6,378 (resident / nonresident)
Meals: 10-21 meal plan
$3,032 (resident / nonresident)
Books and Supplies
$1,008 (average)
McNair Scholars Award*
Annual value: $15,000 + tuition reduction
Four-year value with tuition reduction: more than $130,800
Horseshoe Scholars Award*
Annual value: $11,000
Four-year value with tuition reduction: more than $114,800
Couple of things to note. You cannot receive more scholarship than COA amount or they will just trim back on different scholarships. Also, you must report outside scholarships to financial aid which will replace some of what USC gives IF it puts you over COA. (The 22k is estimate, there is probably a hard number for COA somewhere). D was in-state but have Palmetto Fellows, Leiber and Hamilton and they cut different scholarships back to get down to COA number. But she did get an overage refund every semester.
Well looks like I won’t be attending USC without that Carolina weekend invite regardless of whether I do end up getting into the Honors College or not.
