COLUMBIA S.C.
South Carolina’s poorest students can attend the University of South Carolina tuition-free starting next fall by applying for the school’s Gamecock Guarantee scholarship program.
The university will offer fully paid tuition and technology fees for up to four years to about 200 poor students next year. By 2011, the grants will go to about 800 students yearly, the school announced this week.
Money should not prevent the state’s neediest students from going to college, said Scott Verzyl, USC’s undergraduate director of admissions.
“We realize there are many low-income students who are bright and capable but who are not considering a four-year college experience because they feel the tuition costs are unaffordable for them,” he said.
The program should increase the school’s racial and economic diversity, Verzyl said.
Fewer black students have enrolled in USC in recent years as admissions requirements and costs have risen.
