Understanding the South Carolina LIFE Scholarship: Requirements and Opportunities
The LIFE Scholarship is an academic scholarship funded by the State of South Carolina, designed to provide financial assistance to eligible South Carolina residents pursuing higher education. Administered and regulated by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education (CHE), the LIFE Scholarship has specific requirements that students must meet to both initially qualify and maintain eligibility. This article provides a comprehensive overview of these requirements, eligibility criteria, and additional opportunities associated with the LIFE Scholarship.
Initial Eligibility for Entering Freshmen
For first-time entering freshmen, eligibility is primarily determined based on their final high school transcript. Key requirements include:
- GPA Requirement: The student must earn a cumulative 3.0 grade point average (GPA) based on the SC Uniform Grading Policy (UGP) upon high school graduation.
- Residency: South Carolina residents must have been South Carolina residents while in high school.
- Credit Hours: First-time entering freshmen will not be penalized for any credit hours earned during the summer session immediately prior to the student’s initial college enrollment. The credit hours earned will not count against the terms of eligibility. The credit hours may be used toward the annual credit hour requirement.
Eligibility for Students After the First Year of College
South Carolina residents who were South Carolina residents while in high school and did not have a high school 3.0 GPA, or who completed a GED, can gain LIFE eligibility by meeting other requirements after their first year of college.
Second-year students who meet eligibility requirements will be selected based on academic records. The requirements include:
- A minimum 3.0 LIFE cumulative GPA
- Completion of at least 30-degree credit hours by the end of their first year of college (15-degree credit hours if enrollment began in January)
- Enrollment in a minimum of 12 non-developmental credit hours
- The number of remaining semesters of availability
General Eligibility Requirements
In addition to the specific criteria for freshmen and continuing students, there are several general eligibility requirements that all LIFE Scholarship applicants must meet:
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- Residency: The student must be a citizen or a legal permanent resident.
- Enrollment Status: The student must be in an eligible program of study and enroll full-time in at least 12 semester credit hours of college-level, non-transitional studies/non-developmental-level courses to receive the LIFE scholarship. Students may enroll in both college-level AND transitional-level as long as there is enrollment in at least 12 credits of program-level courses.
- Remedial Coursework: You cannot use a LIFE Scholarship until you are enrolled in at least 12 non-remedial credit hours during a semester. Zero and 100 level are considered remedial courses. If you need remediation, you should discuss all possibilities with your academic advisor. But, the financial aid office does not recommend taking 12 non-remedial credit hours at the same time that you are enrolled in remedial classes.
- Other Scholarships: You cannot receive LIFE and Lottery Tuition Assistance.
- Terms of Eligibility: Have terms of eligibility remaining. Semesters of eligibility begin with initial college enrollment.
Maintaining Eligibility
To maintain LIFE Scholarship eligibility, students must meet specific renewal requirements each year. These include:
- Credit Hour Requirements: Earn at least 30 non-remedial credit hours (or 15 non-remedial credit hours if eligibility began during a spring semester). Note: You need to take 12 non-remedial credit hours per semester to receive LIFE, but to renew LIFE the following year you must earn at least 30 non-remedial credit hours (or 15 non-remedial credit hours if eligibility began during a spring semester).
- Coursework Average: Earn an average of at least 30 non-remedial coursework during the fall and spring terms, including AP, IB, Dual Enrollment, CLEP or exempted credit hours.
- Summer Enrollment: Participating students who are determined to be a LIFE Scholarship recipient and have met the continued eligibility requirements at the end of the spring term are eligible for a fall award regardless of their academic performance over the summer.
Summer Enrollment Opportunities
The LIFE Scholarship also provides opportunities for students to accelerate their graduation timeline through summer enrollment.
- Summer Term Eligibility: If a student has met the requirements for renewal at the end of the Spring term the student would be allowed to receive LIFE Scholarship for the Summer term if they are enrolled in 12 LIFE-eligible credit hours.
- Accelerated Graduation: Beginning summer 2015 students who are in two-year programs of study may be eligible to receive one of their remaining two terms of eligibility during the summer to accelerate to graduation.
- Summer Credit Hours: A student must demonstrate having attempted and/or enrolled in a total of at least twelve credit hours over the course of the entire summer term to be awarded.
- First Term of Enrollment: A summer term cannot be a scholarship recipient’s first term of enrollment.
- Impact of Summer Disbursement: A summer semester scholarship disbursement yields a potential for those eligible students who demonstrate they are on an accelerated track to graduation to earn a degree at a faster pace than on a traditional academic calendar.
Additional Scholarship Opportunities
Besides the LIFE Scholarship, South Carolina students have access to other scholarship opportunities.
The South Carolina State Fair annually awards 50 scholarships to South Carolina high school students planning to pursue their studies at any public or private college, university, or technical college in the state.
Scholarship applications are accepted annually, generally beginning on February 1 through March 15.
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Circle K stores along with EMC Tickets are continuing their commitment to education and community support with a $42,314 donation to the S.C. State Fair’s scholarship fund. This generous contribution allows the fair to award 4 additional $10,000 scholarships in 2026, bringing the total to 54 $10,000 scholarships.
The South Carolina State Fair, a self-supporting 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was organized in 1869 and is dedicated to preserving and promoting South Carolina’s agricultural roots while supporting statewide education.
Transfer Students
Incoming Transfers: Must submit the "Instate Transfer Form" to the S.C. Commission on Higher Education available on their webpage.
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