My daughter is qualified to receive the Palmetto Fellows scholarship. What South Carolina universities offer enough money to make it a free ride (tuition, room & board)?
It wasn’t too hard too google. I’m very jealous because my son would qualify if we lived in SC. For what U’s will give more do the financial aid calculators on each school’s site. Good luck!
https://www.che.sc.gov/CHE_Docs/StudentServices/PalmettoFellows/files/ParticipatingInstitutions.pdf
None that I’m aware of other than community college. PF gives you 6800 Freshman year, 7500 soph thru senior. If you pursue a STEMs major, it gives an additional 2500 per year soph thru senior year. Many instate schools including privates give additional funds to PFs, but unless the GPA is stellar with extremely high test scores and rank , a " full ride" is very difficult to achieve. Winthrop in Rock Hill is probably your best bet for higher money.
I think full tuition/fees is a better goal, as the “free rides” a PF would get would not serve him/her well intellectually. Sometimes, “free” isn’t the best value.
Palmetto Fellows is a small fund that many students in SC qualify for. At most with enhancement for STEMs majors sophomore through senior year, the scholarship is worth $ 10,000. It must be used in SC schools only, and I know of only one or two instate schools that would provide additional merit incentive to bring it close to a “free ride” With need based aid, it may be doable , but merit alone it is barely 1/2 to 1/3 of what is needed to attend a 4 year school in SC.
I’m aware of Winthrop’s offer. Students automatically qualify as a Winthrop scholar which gives them enough to go with the Palmetto Fellows to cover everything. Students will likely be accepted into the honors college and get better housing as well. My daughter likes it there and given the fact she can’t settle on a major, this might be the best option right now. I’m anticipating at least one change in major.
I’m still searching for comprable offers at other state schools. Looking for others that offer a lot of additional money automatically to PF students. She’s not interested in the community college route.
Thanks everyone! 
I’ve researched a lot of instate schools
and I am unaware of any other 4 year school that provides additional merit that provides merit close to providing enough for a full ride. The impression that I got from speaking to an admission’s counselor was that while most students who qualify for PF qualify for Winthrop Scholars it is not automatic . She also stated to be most eligible , it’s important to apply early.
Clemson offers 2500.00 additional money for students with a SAT of 1250 or ACT of 28 and are ranked in the top 10% of the class , if you increase your scores to 1440 or 32 the money increases to 5000.00. That barely covers 1/3 the cost of attendance. You may want to look at Francis Marion, Coastal Carolina or Charleston Southern University. College of Charleston offers at least 4000.00 additional , but again that covers between 1/2 and 1/3 cost of attendance.
The way that I found out about scholarships in state was to go on the college websites and look up scholarships or during college visits. That’s the only true way to get reliable info.
It would be sad though if a student with PF had to attend Francis Marion or Charleston Southern.
Can your family set aside your credit refund (about $4,000), the food you save by her being in college and eating there (at least $1,500 right?), the lower costs associated with no car (no gas, no maintenance, no insurance) since she’d be on campus - wouldn’t that help in paying for room&board if she gets full tuition somewhere?
College of Charleston on the other hand is a very good option, and their honors college is quite strong.
Are you lower income?
USC Beaufort also has lower tuition and may offer additional merit for higher test scores and GPA .
My other suggestion is to visit some of these schools and see if any of these schools appeal to her fit wise . It’s a long 4-6 years if you don’t feel comfortable living there. I know that your daughter isn’t interested “in going the community college route” but if funds are an issue, many of the colleges in the state offer good scholarships for transfer students ( Furman University being one of them) You may want to look at Wofford as well. They are private , but have been known to offer good merit. Is your daughter a junior or senior this year. If she’s a senior , be mindful that deadlines for merit are fast approaching with most being Novemember or December. Feel free to PM for more info if you want.
Wow! Thank you for all the information. I really appreciate it! I don’t want my daughter to go to a school that isn’t a good fit either. I’m hoping to find something that she will like that she can get some decent scholarships from. She is a senior this year. She’s applied to Clemson, Winthrop, Anderson U, and USC. She’s not interested in College of Charleston (I’m really surprised she’s not, what’s not to love?). She will probably apply to Mercer in Georgia as well, but I doubt she will get enough $ to make up for having to let go of the Palmetto Fellows to go out of state. We may look at Gardner-Webb in NC, but again giving up PF is probably a deal breaker. I really wish SC had more options. We would be considered lower income, I believe. My husband is on disability and I’m a teacher. Thanks again for all of your information. You are so knowledgable! I’m impressed!
I’m surprised you think SC doesn’t have options. Students from all over the country and world are trying desperately to go to our schools. It’s unfortunate she’s not interested in CofC, they have an awesome honors college . University of Alabama would give her quite a bit of merit money with her palmetto fellow status.
If you’re lower income (that’s… under 65K/year for elite colleges!), she should apply to some of the top LACs where she’d get a much better education than at Winthrop or Anderson,for an affordable cost: Mount Holyoke, Wellesley, Bryn Mawr, Scripps, Barnard… are women’s colleges with excellent financial aid and academics (the last 4 are near/in big cities: Boston, Philadelphia, LA, NYC - this may appeal to your daughter). Run the NPCs on these, as well as on colleges such as Colby (FA is guaranteed without loans as of this year), Skidmore (Saratoga Springs is a great town), Macalester (may seem too liberal compared to SC though, but right in the middle of a terrific neighborhood).
UAlabama would be a strong safety to consider and if she applies soon she can also apply fo one of the two research programs for undergrads (CBHP and Fellows).
The goal is for her to have choices that are a good value: strong academics and academically-oriented peers that will challenge her, for an affordable cost, right?
You can pull the “parent card”, and have her apply to one or two colleges that the NPCs show are affordable.
As someone who grew up in the northeast , I’d certainly recommend a visit to any of the schools mentioned before making any admissions decisions.
Being lower income, you’re likely to have better FA opportunities at some of the in-state privates. I second the suggestion of Wofford and Furnan. You may also want to look at merit opportunities at PC (Presbyterian College). If she’s interested in women’s college, look at Converse.