Invest in Your Future
Our goal is to help you evaluate your costs and find out what type of financial aid support we can provide for you. This could be in the form of grants, scholarships, loans, or student employment.
The first step to investing in your future is to complete the 2024-25 FAFSA .
If you are still deciding where to attend college, you can still invest in your future
while you are making your decision. Did you know that you can invest in a 529 Savings
Plan? South Carolina’s 529 college savings plan, the Future Scholar , can help give you a smart and easy way to pay for college. Take control of your
future and take the next step towards your education.
USC Commitment Initiative
The University of South Carolina has announced that talented students across the state
can attend a USC campus and have their tuition and fees covered if they meet certain
eligibility requirements. The USC Commitment initiative, which will begin with the Fall 2024 freshman class, follows an admission
plan unveiled this past August offering guaranteed admission to South Carolina high
school students who are ranked in the top 10 percent of their class for USC Columbia.
The plan will cover up to four years’ worth of tuition and academic fees. Details
about this initiative are still developing. To read the press release about the USC
Commitment initiative, please visit USC News and Events .
Course Program of Study (CPoS)
Course Program of Study or CPoS is a process that helps students progress toward their
degree. Federal regulations require that federal financial aid can only be paid for
courses that are applicable to a student’s degree; this is determined by your enrollment
status as a full-time or part-time student. If you enroll in courses that are not
required for your degree, your financial aid may be prorated or canceled as required
by federal regulations. To learn more about this process, please visit the Course Program of Study Information page .
Important News and Information
As a result of the FAFSA Simplification Act of 2021, the 2024-25 FAFSA has been changed
significantly to improve and expand access to federal student aid. Due to the number
of changes, the FAFSA application was not available until late December 2023. The
Department of Education will begin releasing 2024-25 FAFSA information to schools
in mid-March 2024, over the course of several weeks. The Office of Student Financial
Aid and Scholarships hopes to receive all of these FAFSAs by early April and begin
any needed review and outreach.
The Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships will begin notifying students
of their financial aid eligibility by April 26, 2024 after the US Department of Education
releases all pending 2024-25 FAFSAs to us. Students will be notified of any financial
aid through their university email.
We recognize the challenges presented by this timeline and will do all that we can
to make financial aid awards available by April 26, 2024.