Applying for Scholarships

Applying for Scholarships is a self-guided class containing:

• Links to scholarship websites
• Scholarship research chapters from "Show Me the Money: Scholarships, Financial Aid, and Making the Right College Choice"

Since institutional scholarships provide the largest amount of funding for college, far out weighing funding from the state and federal government (i.e., Pell Grant, state scholarships); or from private scholarships (e.g., Gates Scholarship, Ron Brown Scholars, Jack Kent Cooke Scholars, Burger King Scholars, Coca Cola Scholars, etc.), there is a module devoted to institutional scholarships. While large private scholarship programs are covered, students are guided in researching local scholarships and identifying scholarships to which their background and body of work are strong matches. Forms and tables are provided to assist students in being well organized and an overview of scholarship essays is provided to ensure that students seek the best support for reviewing and proofreading scholarship essays and applications.  Students may email questions or request a one-on-one session to further discussion their college and scholarship application strategies.

What to Do After Applying to College

There are many important steps to be taken after applying to college—while your application being processed or after being offered admission. This class provides step-by-step guidance.

The Meeting Street Scholarship

Overview The Meeting Street Scholarship Fund provides an opportunity for Florence County School District 3 students to receive up to $10,000 of college assistance. If you meet the eligibility criteria, and attend one of the eligible South Carolina 4-year colleges or universities, you may be awarded up to $10,000 through the Meeting Street Scholarship program. The video presented below shares how the scholarship program was inspired and the first scholarship recipients from the Charleston County School District. While the scholarship is limited to 18 South Carolina colleges and universities, each of the units in the class will provide guidance in researching and matching to the college or university best aligned with your educational and career aspirations. The units will also allow you to compare the net price of attending each college after applying the Meeting Street Scholarship. Eligibility

• Reside in Florence County
• Graduate from a Florence School District 3 public high school
• Qualify for the South Carolina LIFE or Palmetto Fellows Scholarship
  • Two of the following three requirements must be met:
    • Earn at least a 3.0 GPA in high school
    • Score at least 1100 on SAT or 24 on ACT
    • Rank in the top 30% of your graduating class
• Attend one of the eligible SC colleges and universities
• Qualify for the federal Pell Grant after completing the FAFSA

Eligible Colleges and Universities

• Anderson University
• Bob Jones University
• Claflin University
• Clemson University
• College of Charleston
• Columbia College
• Columbia International University
• Converse University
• Erskine College
• Furman University
• Newberry College
• North Greenville University
• Presbyterian College
• Southern Wesleyan University
• The Citadel
• University of South Carolina – Columbia
• Wofford College
• Winthrop University

2024 College Planning Boot Camp

Our summer college planning boot camps introduce students to our college planning process which has allowed students participating in our College Planning Cohort Program to be awarded full college scholarships at over 25 times the national average. Through a culturally relevant interdisciplinary curriculum, boot camp students are not only introduced to the 3 pillars of scholarship, leadership, and service within a college and career context, but are introduced to the stories of students offered admission to selective colleges and awarded highly competitive scholarships as a result of their intentional college planning efforts. Through our expansive curriculum, students are introduced to such topics as personality type; temperament; mindset; grit; and multiple intelligences as the foundation for examining their interests and engaging in career exploration. Students are guided through researching colleges and scholarships consistent with their college/career aspirations and financial need. Students engage in large group presentations, small group discussions, and self-guided study as they create the framework of near-term and long-term strategies from their current grade through the end of their junior year of high school in preparation for submitting college and scholarship applications. In addition to receiving access to our online curriculum, students receive grade-level appropriate resources. Students who attend our summer boot camp and who choose to return for our full-year program will be in an accelerated discussion group. Students participating in our college planning cohort program have been offered admission to the country's most selective colleges, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and The University of Chicago; the country's most selective liberal arts colleges, including Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore, and Vassar; and the country's most selective HBCUs, including Spelman, Morehouse, Howard, and North Carolina A&T State University. Students have been awarded the country's most prestigious scholarships, including the Gates Scholarship, Ron Brown Scholarship, Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship, Rhodes Scholarship, and National Science Foundation Fellowship.  

HBCU Academy

This class has been developed to support the California Community Colleges Transfer Guarantee Pathway to Historically Black Colleges & Universities by providing step-by-step guidance in researching the participating schools, identifying scholarships, and preparing high quality college and scholarship applications, with an overarching goal of avoiding student loan debt. The objective of the California Community Colleges Transfer Guarantee to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) program is the development of transfer pathways that will facilitate a smooth transition for students from any California Community College to a partner HBCU. These pathways will simplify the transfer process and reduce students’ need to take unnecessary courses, thereby shortening the time to degree completion and saving student costs.    The agreement provides the following benefits:

• Any California community college student with a GPA of 2.0 or higher (NOTE:certain partner HBCUs will require a higher GPA) is guaranteed admission to all partner HBCU institutions using either of the following options while at the California Community College, the student must:

1. Complete an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) using the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) or 
2. Complete the California State University General Education Breadth pattern or
3. Complete a minimum of 30 UC or CSU units. 

• Application fee waiver code available for applying to four participating partner schools through the Common Black College Application.
• Pre-admission advisement.
• Priority consideration for campus housing (when deadlines are met).
• Priority consideration for scholarships for students with a 3.2 GPA or higher based on the institution’s available funding. 
• A one-time $5,000 stipend (per Assembly Bill No. 1400) provided to qualified students who transfer from a California Community College to one of the partner schools. The one-time award would be valid for only one academic year.

For the latest program updates and partner schools, visit the California Community Colleges website: https://www.californiacommunitycollegehbcutransfer.com/. High school students, or students who are interested in applying to HBCUs that are not part of the CCC Transfer Agreement will also benefit from the information contained in this book, as well as the units contained in the HBCU Bound online curriculum. Appendix III provides a listing of all accredited HBCUs as of the publishing of this book. The class is supported by the text, "HBCU Bound: A Step-by-Step Guide for California Community College Students."  Regularly priced at $29.95, but complimentary with the class.

Essay Writing Class

First and foremost, our program is about, "Packaging." With so many colleges becoming test optional in 2021 as a result of COVID-19 disruptions to SAT/ACT testing dates, college applications to selective schools are likely to double or triple to 40,000 - 80,000 applications. Only students with the best packaging will be competitive applicants in such a large pool of applications. Becoming a well packaged student requires extensive college and scholarship research and then matching your 'Self Presentation' or your package (i.e., résumé, essays, recommendations, leadership, service, coursework, and grades) in such a way as to make you an exceptional candidate amongst thousands of exceptional candidates. The Essay Writing Sessions are an extension of our High School Senior Classroom, through which we provide comprehensive guidance through such areas as researching colleges and scholarships; matching student aspirations and family's financial need to a well-matched group of colleges; completing the FAFSA/CSS Profile; choosing the best admission cycles; developing an academic résumé as a college/scholarship application supplement; identifying the best teacher recommenders; identifying specialized scholarships and academic programs; and creating high quality college and scholarship applications. The Essay Writing Sessions are designed to result in one fully written and edited essay. The session may be repeated as many times as students need to write supplemental or scholarship essays.