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Who is eligible?  

To be eligible for the LIFE Scholarship, a student must 

  • Earn a total of 30 credit hours during the fall, spring, and summer of their freshman year (dual enrollment hours taken during the senior year of high school count towards this total) 
  • Maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average 

For annual renewal, a student must earn 30 credit hours per year, maintaining a 3.0 GPA. Once a student has completed requirements for an Associate’s degree, they must be accepted into a Bachelor’s program for the next fall semester to retain LIFE. 

Complete LIFE Scholarship Information 

LIFE Scholarship FAQ 

The maximum time limit for a student to receive financial aid is 150% of the published program length. The published program lengths for Associate Degree programs at the USC Palmetto College Campuses are 60 credit hours and Bachelor Degree programs are 120 credit hours. For a student to be placed on unsatisfactory progress due to the maximum time frame, they would either meet or exceed 90 attempted hours for Associate Degree or 180 hours for Bachelor’s Degree. All grades count as attempted hours. Please note that effective July 1, 2011, the Federal Government stipulates that any student who cannot complete their remaining courses in the 150% time frame will be ineligible at that the time the calculation is made.

  • Students seeking an Associate’s Degree, their academic record will be assessed once the student has attempted 75 credit hours to ensure that they can complete the degree within the maximum time frame limit. This assessment will occur during the fall and spring semesters. At any point during the academic year, if the sum of the two items listed below exceeds 90 credits, the student will be deemed ineligible to receive federal, state, and private educational loan funds.
    • The number of credits you have attempted (includes all credits: earned, failed, transfer hours accepted, Incompletes, and Withdrawals)
    • The number of credits in which you are currently enrolled
    • The number of remaining credits needed to complete your degree
  • Students seeking a Bachelor’s Degree, their academic record will be assessed once the student has attempted 165 credit hours to ensure that they can complete the degree within the maximum time frame limit. This assessment will occur during the fall and spring semesters. At any point during the academic year, if the sum of the two items listed below exceeds 180 credits, the student will be deemed ineligible to receive federal, state, and private educational loan funds.
    • The number of credits you have attempted (includes all credits: earned, failed, transfer hours accepted, Incompletes, and Withdrawals)
    • The number of credits in which you are currently enrolled
    • The number of remaining credits needed to complete your degree
  • If the student exceeds the maximum time frame or it is determined that the student cannot complete the degree within your maximum time frame, the student’s financial aid will be cancelled immediately, and student will need to complete the SAP appeal process.
  • For more information on maximum timeframe requirements please visit: https://sc.edu/about/system_and_campuses/palmetto_college/internal/financial_aid/finaid_process/sap/index.php
Fall Sports: 
  • Volleyball
  • Men's Soccer 
  • Women's Soccer
Spring Sports 
  • Baseball
  • Softball
  • Men's Tennis 
  • Women's Tennis 
  • Men's Golf 
  • Women's Golf
  • If there are concerns about a student-athlete, please contact their coach first. The coaches know these students the best. They communicate with their student-athletes daily and see them at least 6 days a week. The coaches care for our student-athletes and want what is best for them as people, students, and athletes. We will do everything we can to support the faculty and staff in their efforts to serve the students.
  • Many student-athletes aspire to attend and compete at USC Sumter for two years. Some come to USC Sumter with dual enrollment credits. If a student expresses that they would like to remain at USC Sumter, although it may be better academically for them to transfer, please support their decision. It takes a lot of time, relationship building, and connection to recruit student-athletes. We want to provide them the information but also support them if they express a desire to stay. I understand there may be circumstances when a student-athlete will have so many credits that their financial aid is affected but if the student-athlete understands the full picture of financial aid and academics, please support their decision.
  •  Our student-athletes are active with Athletics from August 1st to the end of May, and therefore on campus.
  • Study hall is required for all student-athletes and is regulated by their coaches.
  • Men’s and women’s golf and men’s and women’s tennis will both compete in a short season over the fall that may require them to miss class. All other sports should not be missing classes in their off seasons.
  • Men’s and Women’s Golf travel on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. There are no reschedules or options to change dates due to the golf course schedules.
  • Each sport has an off-season where they are permitted to practice/train, condition, weight lift, and compete in scrimmages/friendlies.
  • Most practice times will be in the afternoon. Student-athletes are encouraged to be done with classes by 2:15pm.
  • Science Labs
    • Fall sport student-athletes should take science labs in the spring (off-season).
    • Spring sport student-athletes should take science labs in the fall (off-season).
    • We understand there may be circumstances when this is not possible.
  • U101 - We are encouraging each student-athlete, regardless of admit status, to enroll in this course their first semester.
  • Night classes are not recommended. Student-athletes should only take them if needed.
  • Most student-athletes will register for AT LEAST 12 credit hours each semester. There are rare cases when student-athletes will register for less than 12 credit hours in their off season.
  • DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, PERMIT A STUDENT-ATHLETE TO DROP BELOW 12 HOURS WITHOUT, FIRST, CONFIRMING WITH THEIR COACH. If an in-season student-athlete drops below 12 credit hours, they are ineligible to compete as soon as their hours drop below 12. An off-season student-athlete runs the risk of not having the necessary credit hours to compete.
  • Student-athletes should be in all face-to-face classes unless otherwise not possible.
  • From non-English speaking countries should take ESL ENG 101 and ESL ENG 102.
  • Have a lot to process when moving to another country and adapting to a different academic system. If you have concerns about any of them, please contact their coach directly.
  • Need to be registered for at least 9 hours in person.
  • Student-athletes should consult their coaches if they have questions about NJCAA (sports) eligibility.
  • Winter courses
    • Some student-athletes choose to take courses over the winter break to help with LIFE Scholarship requirements, eligibility, or to get ahead so they may take a smaller course load while they are in season.
    • USC courses
      • Although they are technically considered spring courses for USC, do not count toward full time enrollment for student-athletes in the spring. The credits count toward eligibility credit hours and GPA; however, they do not count as a spring course per the NJCAA bylaws.
    •  Other HEI courses
      • The GPA and credit hours earned count toward NJCAA eligibility.
  • Credit hours and GPA earned at other higher education institutions count toward NJCAA eligibility. Transfer student-athletes should not use their UofSC transcripts as a means of determining their eligibility. All other credits earned at HEI must be taken into consideration and calculated. The LIFE Scholarship tab on Self Service Carolina provides a good indication as to their GPA and credit hours for athletic eligibility.
  • Please see attached NJCAA Eligibility Bylaws
  • How to file your taxes as F-1 or J-1 International Student
  • Immigration Status
  • Obtain a Cell Phone
    • While you are a student at USC, you will most likely need to have a cell phone. Text messaging is one of the most common forms of communication on-campus. Additionally, cell phones are good for emergency situations when you may need to call for help.
    • If you already have a cell phone that has sim card capabilities, we recommend that you set up an account through Campus Sims. The SIM cards for Campus Sims are available in the Student Success and Enrollment Office. You can pick one up when you are first arriving on-campus.
    • Another option would be to go to a cell phone provider to have them set up an account for you here in the United States. International Student Services has good relationships with the following providers:
    • If you already have a cell phone, the providers mentioned above can set up an account on your phone so that you can use your phone in the U.S. Additionally, if you wish to purchase a new phone, these providers also have many options available.

  • Computer Availability
    • If you were not able to bring your laptop from home, you may be able to purchase you laptop from stores such as:
    • USC Sumter also has computer labs on campus. The computer lab is provided by the university for course-related work of USC students, faculty, and staff. The Library is responsible for opening and closing the lab as well as keeping the printer operational.
    • For more information, rules and regulations associated with the USC Sumter Computer Labs, click here.
  • Lift your Citizenship Verification Hold
  • H-1B Work Visa

PayMyTuition

Preferred payment method for international students:

University of South Carolina has partnered with PayMyTuition for international tuition payments. With PayMyTuition, you can pay your tuition payments from any bank, in any country in any currency at better than bank exchange rates. PayMyTuition is fast, simple and cost effective.

Students: Please log into your Self-Service Carolina account, click Account Information and PayMyTuition to make your payment.

Parents/Families/Authorized Users:  Please click here to make a payment via PayMyTuition.

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