Harry Hampton Fund Scholarship Application Guide 2026–2027: Requirements & Deadline (USA)

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Overview

The Harry Hampton Fund Scholarship was established in 1992 by the Board of Directors of the Hampton Wildlife Fund, a private South Carolina nonprofit that partners with the SC Department of Natural Resources to promote wildlife education and natural-resources conservation. The scholarship awards $5,000 annually, renewable for up to four consecutive years, to a South Carolina high school senior heading into a natural-resources-focused degree program at an in-state institution.

Differentiating fact: most scholarship directories present this as a single standalone award, but the Hampton Wildlife Fund actually runs a near-identical twin scholarship — the Thomas Webster Hardwick Jr. Scholarship — using the exact same $5,000/year, four-year structure, eligibility criteria, application form, and January 31 deadline. Applicants submit one combined application and are considered for both awards simultaneously, which effectively gives qualified natural-resources applicants two separate shots at very similar funding rather than the single opportunity most listings describe.

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Nationality & Residency Requirements

The Harry Hampton Fund Scholarship doesn’t publish a citizenship-based eligibility rule the way some national scholarships do. Instead, the residency requirement is what actually gates eligibility: the applicant must be a full-time resident of South Carolina and a senior in a public or private high school in South Carolina. There’s no stated visa-status or green-card language, so the deciding factor is state residency rather than immigration status specifically — applicants with questions about how their situation is classified should contact the Fund directly.

Academic & GPA Eligibility Requirements

There’s no separately published Harry Hampton Fund Scholarship GPA requirement for the initial application beyond the general academic materials reviewed (transcript, class rank, and college board scores). Where the GPA rule clearly applies is renewal: recipients must maintain a 2.5 GPR (grade point ratio) or above each academic year to receive funding for the following year. If a recipient’s GPR falls below 2.5 in any given year, they lose all further funding and the Fund selects a new recipient in their place — the award does not pause and resume.

Key eligibility and major restrictions:

• The recipient’s major must be in a natural resources discipline, such as wildlife biology, fisheries biology, forestry, marine science, or environmental science.
• General biology, pre-medical biology, and veterinary science are explicitly NOT eligible majors for this scholarship — a distinction easy to miss if you assume any biology-adjacent major qualifies.
• The recipient must attend an institution of higher learning within South Carolina.
• Payment continues to the same recipient for up to four consecutive years, tied specifically to continued enrollment in a qualifying natural-resources major.

Application Materials Needed

Unlike many modern scholarship programs, the Harry Hampton Fund Scholarship application process is largely paper-based and mailed, not submitted through an online portal. Applicants need to prepare:

1. Both pages of the completed application form, available from the Hampton Wildlife Fund website or by request via email or phone.
2. A personal essay/autobiography, covering career ambitions and interest in natural resources.
3. Transcript of high school grades.
4. College Board (SAT/ACT) test scores.
5. Rank in your high school graduating class.
6. A recent photograph of yourself.

Step-by-Step How to Apply

1. Confirm your eligibility — full-time South Carolina residency, senior standing at an SC public or private high school, and firm plans to major in a qualifying natural-resources discipline in-state.
2. Download the current Criteria and Eligibility PDF and application form from the Hampton Wildlife Fund’s scholarships page, since forms are updated for each academic year.
3. Draft your essay/autobiography, focusing on your career ambitions in the natural-resources field and why you’re a strong investment for the Fund.
4. Gather your transcript, class rank documentation, and College Board score reports from your high school.
5. Take a recent photograph to include with your mailed application.
6. Mail both completed pages of the application, along with all supporting materials, to: Hampton Fund Scholarships, Post Office 2641, Columbia, SC 29202.
7. Ensure your application is postmarked no later than January 31 of the application year — this is a postmark deadline, not a received-by deadline, which gives a small buffer for mailing time.
8. Watch for notification from the Board of Directors, who make the final approval and notify winners after review.

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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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