Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Application Guide 2026–2027: Requirements & Deadline (USA)

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Overview

The Palmetto Fellows Scholarship is widely regarded as South Carolina’s most prestigious state-funded merit scholarship. Established in 1988 and administered by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, it’s designed specifically to recognize the most academically talented high school seniors in the state and encourage them to attend college in South Carolina rather than out of state.

The award amount is set annually by the SC General Assembly. Currently, freshmen receive $6,700, while sophomores, juniors, and seniors receive $7,500 per year, for a maximum of eight terms (four years) of funding. Students who pursue a major in science, mathematics, or a health-related field, and who complete 14 qualifying credit hours in math or science by the end of freshman year, can also unlock an additional $2,500 annual enhancement starting sophomore year — though this enhancement isn’t available to students attending two-year institutions.

Differentiating fact: a lot of currently-ranking college financial aid pages still list the Palmetto Fellows application deadlines as April 15 (Early Award) and June 30 (Late Award). According to the SC Commission on Higher Education’s own current-cycle materials, those dates have moved: the Early Application now closes May 1, and the Late Application closes July 15. Relying on outdated deadline information from older college pages could cause an applicant to miss the actual current window entirely.

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Nationality & Residency Requirements

To meet the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship US citizen requirement, applicants must be a US citizen or permanent resident (green card holder) at the time of high school graduation, and a legal resident of South Carolina. Beyond citizenship and residency, applicants must:

• Be enrolled in an approved South Carolina public or private high school, an eligible home school program, or a preparatory school located out of state while being a dependent of South Carolina residents.
• Enroll in, or gain acceptance to, an eligible institution in South Carolina as a full-time, degree-seeking student.
• Certify they have never been convicted of a felony, or a second or subsequent alcohol- or drug-related misdemeanor.

Academic & GPA Eligibility Requirements

The Palmetto Fellows Scholarship GPA requirement runs through two separate qualifying paths, and applicants only need to satisfy one:

• Rank-based path: Score at least 1200 on the SAT (or 25 on the ACT) by the applicable national test administration, earn a minimum 3.50 cumulative GPA on the SC Uniform Grading Policy (SC UGP) by the end of junior year, and rank in the top 6% of your class at the end of either sophomore or junior year.
• No-rank alternate path: Score at least 1400 on the SAT (or 31 on the ACT) and earn a minimum 4.00 cumulative GPA on the SC UGP by the end of junior year — this path doesn’t require class rank at all, which matters for students at schools that don’t officially rank.

For the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship eligibility for undergraduate students continuing into later years, the renewal requirements are distinct from the initial qualifying criteria:

• Maintain a minimum 3.0 institutional (college) GPA each academic year.
• Earn a minimum of 30 credit hours per academic year — importantly, these hours cannot include credit earned from AP, IB, CLEP, or dual enrollment, which is a stricter standard than some other South Carolina scholarships apply.
• Funding is capped at a maximum of eight terms.

Application Materials Needed

Before either Palmetto Fellows deadline, applicants and their high schools need to prepare:

1. Electronic application submitted through the school counselor or authorized school representative to the SC Commission on Higher Education — students do not submit this application directly themselves in most cases.
2. Official SAT and/or ACT score reports, sent using CHE’s designated score codes so scores are received directly by the Commission.
3. A class rank report from the high school or home school association, required for all schools regardless of which qualifying path a student ultimately uses.
4. Transcript reflecting cumulative GPA calculated under the SC Uniform Grading Policy.
5. Signed certification regarding felony and repeat alcohol/drug-related misdemeanor convictions.

Step-by-Step How to Apply

1. Confirm your citizenship/permanent-resident status and South Carolina residency early in your junior year.
2. Track your progress toward one of the two qualifying paths — either the rank-based SAT 1200/ACT 25 + 3.5 GPA + top 6% rank combination, or the no-rank SAT 1400/ACT 31 + 4.0 GPA combination.
3. Take the SAT or ACT before the relevant testing cutoff for whichever award window (Early or Late) you’re pursuing — Early Award testing cutoffs fall earlier in the year than Late Award cutoffs.
4. Work with your high school counselor, since the application is submitted electronically by the school on the student’s behalf, not directly by the applicant in most cases.
5. Submit by May 1 for the Early Award window if you’ve already met all qualifications by that point — the Early Application is only for students who have already met the criteria, not pending ones.
6. If you don’t qualify in time for the Early Award, use the Late Award window, with a final submission deadline of July 15 — note that Early and Late are two completely separate applications, and an unfinished Early Application cannot be converted into a Late Application.
7. Watch for notification emails from CHE as applications are processed on a rolling basis throughout the cycle.
8. Once enrolled, monitor your institutional GPA and non-AP/IB/CLEP/dual-enrollment credit hours closely each year to protect your renewal eligibility.

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Frequently Asked Questions

For more local grants, merit awards, and regional funding across all 50 states, check out our master USA State Scholarships Directory.

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