From the Director's Chair

It is no secret that the economy is affecting students and colleges alike.  Just when students need more scholarship assistance, colleges and universities have less of it to give.  We are all feeling the squeeze of a tight economy--students and parents are worried about how to pay for college, and colleges and universities are worried about how students and parents are going to pay for college, too.

What to do?  Well, my advice is first and foremost to apply for financial aid by completing a FAFSA, regardless of your financial circumstances.  Even if you don't think you'll qualify for free or "gift aid", you might be surprised, and if your circumstances change throughout the year, you have started the process to seek aid later. 

Also, you have to do your homework to find outside scholarships.  Sometimes if may feel like finding a needle in a haystack, but there are still organizations out there that are able to award scholarships.   So apply!   These organizations may award smaller awards than last year, but every little bit helps, doesn't it?  Don't make the mistake of counting yourself out by not applying.  There are good websites, like FastWeb.com  and CollegeBoard.com that help you find financial resources. States have non-profit student finacial aid organizations that can help.  Do a web search on google or yahoo.  Browse through your local newspaper.  Check with civic organization.  But be persistent.

For example, are you a South Carolina resident?  Will you be attending college in the fall pursuing a bachelor's degree?  Do you have at least a 2.5 GPA?  Are you responsible and civic-minded, and need help paying for college?  You might qualify for a scholarship from the Strom Thurmond Foundation.  Here is the website where you can find an application to complete:

http://sites.google.com/site/stromthurmondfoundation/

There are many, many organizations out there, you just have to look for them.

Posted by Scott at 02:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week is a furious week for the admissions office as we are making our final admissions decisions so they will all be in the mail by this Friday March 13.  Nearly 8,000 admissions decisions are being mailed this week, which should be arriving over the next several days.  But, some won't be mailed until Friday afternoon (it takes a long time to print that many letters) so don't be surprised if it takes until early next week to receive your admission decision.   The following decisions are being sent:

1)  Admitted - If you are a high school senior applying for Fall 2009, this is, obviously, what you hope to receive. 

2)  Not Admitted for Fall but there are options- Admission for fall is extremely competitive this year, and we cannot take everyone.  Many students will be offered admission in the spring term, which starts January 2010.  Another option is to attend another USC System campus, or particiate in our Statewide Bridge Program.

3) Your application has been canceled -  Typically an application is canceled when it is incomplete, because we have not received test scores or high school transcripts, or because it was submitted past the application priority date and we are out of space.  Canceled applications can be considered for Spring admission.

So if you haven't heard yet, please be patient, you should hear from us very soon.  

Oh, and next week we will start sending out invitations to be in our Capstone Scholars program! 

Posted by Scott at 03:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)