Palmetto Fellows Scholarship rewards South Carolina’s most academically talented high school seniors with scholarships to encourage them to attend college in the State. Competition is intense, but the awards are generous with qualifying students receiving thousands of dollars for up to eight terms of full-time study toward their degree.

Eligibility requirements are (1) students must score at least 1200 on the SAT or 27 on the ACT, (2) earn a cumulative 3.50 GPR, (3) and rank in the top six percent of the class at the end of the senior year based on the UGS. For high schools that have fewer than forty students in the class, the top two students shall be considered regardless of whether they rank in the top 6%.

As part of the eligibility requirements, students need to earn, at the very least, a cumulative 3.50 Grade Point Ratio (GPR) on the Uniform Grading Scale (UGS) by the end of their senior year.

This is where competition comes in. Most students will take college prep courses while some take more rigorous courses, such as honors, dual enrollment, and/or advanced placement, to increase their overall GPR. International Baccalaureate courses are not available to home school students.

College Prep/Tech Prep

College Preparatory courses are intended for the student who anticipates enrolling into an institution of higher education with goals of obtaining a four year degree. Tech Preparatory courses are for students seeking additional training, usually a two year degree in a technical college. If your student plans to seek a two year degree through a technical college and then transfer to a college/university to complete their four year degree, you should check with the institutions before hand for information concerning their transferring policies.

Colleges, universities, and the states two year technical colleges have different requirements. Therefore, the parents and students should thoroughly check their admission policies well ahead of time.

As you research transferring policies, you may be referred to the Commission on Higher Education. CHE’s contact information is listed in the directory located at the Member Center, or in the back of the Home School Hand Book, or you may visit their Web site for a list of statewide courses that will transfer. You may visit South Carolina’s Tech Systems Web site to learn more about their transferring policies as well.

http://www.che.sc.gov/AcademicAffairs/TRANSFER/Transfer.HTM

http://www.sctechsystem.com/default.htm

Honors

Honors courses are intended for students who have the competence to think in complex ways and to apply their knowledge and skills. They are able to think analytically, fully understanding a situation by breaking it apart, into smaller pieces, analyzing step by step before drawing a conclusion. Students are able to demonstrate rational decision making and inductive reasoning skills when solving complex problems.

According to the South Carolina Department of Education’s approved Uniform Grading Policy, school districts may designate honors courses and give assigned weighting under the following conditions:

An honors course must have a published syllabus that verifies rigor that is sufficiently beyond the college prep or tech prep requirements.

Textbooks and/or other course materials must be differentiated and more rigorous than those used in college prep or tech prep courses.

Honors courses may be offered in English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Additional honors courses may be designated in other content areas for courses where students are earning their third of fourth Carnegie unit in the content area, provided the standards listed above are met.

·        Transcripts will reflect honors designation for any honors course taken.

Important Note: It is important parents understand these conditions; should their high school student return to the public school system. Any courses you have awarded as honors courses may not be accepted, as an honors course, by the receiving school unless you are able to meet the conditions outlined above.

Dual Enrollment

Dual enrollment courses are offered through participating institutions of higher education and may be awarded the same weight as honors courses.

Dual enrollment courses are more advanced than the regular high school curriculum. Students who participate are able to earn both high school credit toward graduation from the high school and academic credit toward their degree in an institution of higher education.

Visit the Commission on Higher Educations Web site for further details concerning their dual enrollment policy.

http://www.che.sc.gov/AcademicAffairs/DualEnrollment.pdf

The South Carolina Department of Education provides a copy of the South Carolina’s Uniform Grading Policy from their Web site.

http://ed.sc.gov/agency/offices/cso/ugp/

Advanced Placement

Advanced placement courses are available to homeschool students. The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program enables students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. Over thirty courses in 19 subject areas are offered. Based on their performance on rigorous AP Exams, students can earn credit, advanced placement, or both, for college.

Because the College Board is committed to providing home schooled students and students whose schools do not offer AP access to the AP courses, it does not require students to take an AP course prior to taking an Exam.

Some AP courses are available to home schools through various curriculum publishers. Parents must use caution when choosing these courses. For a course to qualify as an AP course, it must follow the content and curricular goals outlined in the College Boards AP Course Description booklets, as required by the College Board. A course that fails to follow the AP Course Description in a particular subject is not, and should not be designated as an AP Course.

The College Board provides information concerning Advanced Placement policies from their Web site.

http://www.apcentral.collegeboard.com

International Baccalaureate

International Baccalaureate courses are not available to home school students.

http://www.ibo.org/ibo/index.cfm

Palmetto Fellows Scholarship

The following requirements are intended to establish a fair and accurate process for member students participating in Palmetto Fellows Scholarship program. When coordinating with the office of PIE, parents are responsible for ensuring all honors and advance placement courses listed on the transcript meet the following requirements.

Honors: All courses listed on the transcript as honors will need to have a published syllabus that verifies rigor that is sufficiently beyond the college prep or tech prep. A copy of the syllabus must be sent to the office with the copy of the student’s transcript for verification purposes.

Advanced Placement: All courses listed on the transcript as advanced placement must meet one of the two following requirements for verification purposes:

1. A final grade for each AP course provided by an AP teacher or AP Coordinator recognized by the College Board.

2. A published syllabus for each AP course that verifies rigor that satisfies the standards and requirements set in place by the College Board. Each syllabus must be accompanied with;

   1. an official AP Exam grade for each course,

   2. or a signed statement, one for each course, from the parent/teacher stating the student completed the AP course outlined in the syllabus.

All required documentation will be maintained in the members file. Further information concerning the Palmetto Fellow Scholarship can be obtained through the Member Center.

Visit the following related links:

• Selecting Curricula

• Taking Ownership

• Setting Goals

• Rigorous Courses

• Common Educational Philosophies

• Common Teaching Approaches: All home schooling
  materials fall into two main categories: traditional
  textbook curricula and non-textbook curricula.

  1. Textbook Approach

  2. Non Textbook Approaches

     1. The Classical Approach

     2. The Principle Approach

     3. The Living Books and Life Experiences Approach

     4. The Unit Study Approach

     5. The Unschooling Approach

     6. The Mixed Approach

• Curriculum Costs

• Curriculum Resources

• Frequently Asked Questions