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Claflin scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$29,182per year · 2025-2026 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Claflin may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
2 school sources to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

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The award collection

Published scholarships

These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.

Where does your student land?

  1. Claflin Presidential Scholars ProgramFull cost of tuition, room, board, textbooks and a monthly stipendNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Claflin Presidential Scholars Program

    Full cost of tuition, room, board, textbooks and a monthly stipend

    Published coverage or packageNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    SAT
    1200
    ACT
    27
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Claflin Presidential Scholars Program

    Who qualifies

    Must score at least 1200 SAT (or 27 ACT); plan to pursue graduate/professional study; indicate desire for the Honors College and this scholarship on the application and submit supporting materials. An interview may be requested. Selected on academic achievement, leadership, extracurriculars, community service and character.

    How to keep it

    Described as a 'four-year scholarship.' No college renewal GPA is published on the page; ask the financial aid office.

    Worth knowing

    NOT automatic — competitive ('a limited number of freshmen may receive Presidential Scholarships each year'). The 1200 SAT / 27 ACT is the minimum to be considered, not a guarantee. The award covers a full ride PLUS textbooks and a monthly stipend, making it the richest Claflin award. Amount is a coverage description, not a published dollar figure.

  2. Claflin Honors College Scholarships (Alice Carson Tisdale Honors College)$2,000 to the full cost of tuition, room and boardNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Claflin Honors College Scholarships (Alice Carson Tisdale Honors College)

    $2,000 to the full cost of tuition, room and board

    Published coverage or packageNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    SAT
    1100
    ACT
    24
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Claflin Honors College Scholarships (Alice Carson Tisdale Honors College)

    Who qualifies

    Must score at least 1100 SAT (or 24 ACT); indicate desire for the Honors College and one of these scholarships on the application. An interview may be requested. Selected on academic achievement, leadership, extracurriculars, community service and character.

    How to keep it

    Described as 'four-year scholarships.' No college renewal GPA is published on the page; ask the financial aid office.

    Worth knowing

    NOT automatic — 'competitive scholarships ... awarded annually to select incoming freshmen.' The 1100 SAT / 24 ACT is the threshold to be considered, not a guaranteed award. Value is a wide range; only the $2,000 floor and a 'full cost of tuition, room and board' ceiling are published, with no published GPA/score grid mapping a score to a specific dollar amount.

  3. Palmetto Fellows Scholarship (South Carolina state award)Up to $6,700 freshman year; up to $7,500 sophomore-senior yearsNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Palmetto Fellows Scholarship (South Carolina state award)

    Up to $6,700 freshman year; up to $7,500 sophomore-senior years

    Variable or qualified amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Palmetto Fellows Scholarship (South Carolina state award)

    Who qualifies

    STATE AWARD for SC residents, administered by the SC Commission on Higher Education (CHE), not by Claflin. Eligibility criteria (high school GPA/class rank/SAT or ACT) are set by the state and are not detailed on Claflin's page. Early-award applications due to CHE by a date established in December each academic year.

    How to keep it

    Renewable for a maximum of eight full-time terms. College renewal GPA not stated on Claflin's page — set by the SC Commission on Higher Education.

    Worth knowing

    Not a Claflin institutional award — it is a South Carolina state scholarship a resident brings to Claflin. Claflin lists it among aid sources. Amounts are state-set.

  4. LIFE Scholarship (South Carolina state award)Up to $5,000 per academic year (including a $300 book allowance)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    LIFE Scholarship (South Carolina state award)

    Up to $5,000 per academic year (including a $300 book allowance)

    Variable or qualified amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.0
    SAT
    1100
    ACT
    24
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for LIFE Scholarship (South Carolina state award)

    Who qualifies

    STATE AWARD for SC residents. Must meet TWO of three criteria: at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA on the S.C. Uniform Grading Policy at HS graduation; rank in the top 30% of the graduating class; and/or score at least 1100 SAT or 24 ACT through June of senior year.

    How to keep it

    Awarded for up to eight consecutive terms. College renewal GPA not stated on Claflin's page — set by the SC Commission on Higher Education.

    Worth knowing

    Not a Claflin institutional award — South Carolina state scholarship. The 3.0 GPA / top-30% / 1100 SAT-24 ACT criteria are entrance criteria set by the state (meet two of three), not Claflin merit cutoffs.

  5. S.C. HOPE Scholarship (South Carolina state award)Up to $2,800 per year (including a $300 book allowance)Not automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    S.C. HOPE Scholarship (South Carolina state award)

    Up to $2,800 per year (including a $300 book allowance)

    Variable or qualified amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.0
    Open award details for S.C. HOPE Scholarship (South Carolina state award)

    Who qualifies

    STATE AWARD for SC residents. First-time freshmen only; must earn a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA on the S.C. Uniform Grading Policy at high school graduation.

    Renewal terms

    First-year-only award: 'up to two consecutive terms' for first-time freshmen who do not qualify for LIFE or Palmetto Fellows.

    Worth knowing

    Not a Claflin institutional award — South Carolina state scholarship for first-time freshmen who miss LIFE/Palmetto Fellows. One year only.

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  • “it told me what to ask and what the renewal GPA looked like, which I was not going to find on my own”Melissa

The fine print

Renewal rulePalmetto Fellows Scholarship (South Carolina state award): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

Renewable for a maximum of eight full-time terms. College renewal GPA not stated on Claflin's page — set by the SC Commission on Higher Education. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

What makes Claflin different

Claflin's headline merit is test-score-driven and routes through its Honors College: hit 1100 SAT / 24 ACT for an Honors scholarship worth $2,000 up to full tuition-room-board, or 1200 SAT / 27 ACT to compete for a Presidential Scholarship covering full tuition, room, board, textbooks and a monthly stipend.

Merit tiers5See who qualifies
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

Selection beyond grades and scores

Start with the selection process.

These awards are not recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read each award's selection rules, application steps and dates. Meeting a minimum is not an award offer.

  1. Read the selection rules

    Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.

  2. Check the application dates

    Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.

  3. Know what happens next year

    Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.

The fine print / Three questions to carry forward

Before you count on it.

Does it apply to us? Confirm the entering year, residency and every eligibility condition.

Can we keep it? Check renewal GPA, credits and how long the award lasts.

Can we combine it? Ask how outside scholarships and other school awards change the offer.

Take Claflin's decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See what could change an award

What families often miss

  1. The test scores are the MINIMUM to be CONSIDERED. The Presidential Scholars Program is competitive ('a limited number of freshmen each year'), selected on leadership, service, essays/materials, and possibly an interview — hitting the score does not guarantee an award.

  2. Honors College scholarships range from $2,000 all the way to full tuition-room-board. Claflin does not publish a GPA/score grid mapping a given score to a specific dollar amount, so the $2,000 floor is the only guaranteed-published figure for those who qualify.

  3. Both the Presidential and Honors scholarships require the applicant to 'indicate on the application form a desire to be considered for admission into the Honors College and this scholarship.' Skip that box and you can be screened out of Claflin's two biggest merit awards.

  4. LIFE, HOPE and Palmetto Fellows are SC state awards administered by the Commission on Higher Education and limited to SC residents. Out-of-state students cannot get them, and their dollar amounts and GPA rules are set by the state, not Claflin.

  5. Claflin's 2025-26 brochure shows on-campus (boarding) cost of roughly $29,182/year (tuition $17,300 + room, board and fees), versus about $19,073 for non-boarding/commuter students. Tuition alone (~$17,300) understates the on-campus bill by over $11,000.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

South Carolina HBCU applicants with strong test scores (1100+ SAT / 24+ ACT) who flag the Honors College on their application; SC residents who can also layer state LIFE/HOPE/Palmetto Fellows awards on top of institutional aid.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $29,182 for 2025-2026. Source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Claflin, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Claflin, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$16,354
$30,001–$48,000$21,118
$48,001–$75,000$22,279
$75,001–$110,000$23,502
$110,001+$25,071
All income levels (average)$17,800

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$18,282
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$17,800

That works out to roughly a 47% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $33,530 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
52%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
75%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$29,000 (~$307/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$40,304
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
79%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
75%
See other scholarships and cost examples

Other Claflin scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

AmountVaries (need-based, SC residents at independent colleges)EligibilitySouth Carolina residents; need-based; requires FAFSA.

Need-based state grant, not merit. Deadline: complete and submit the FAFSA by August 1st of each academic year.

Source

AmountVariesEligibilityPer the CUIAA application; considers academic background and SAT.

External alumni-association award; the deadline shown on the page ('Friday, July 22, 2022') is stale and needs re-confirmation.

Source

AmountVariesEligibilityExternal programs (Rhodes, Truman, Fulbright, Goldwater, Boren, Udall, Marshall, ESB Luard Morse) listed as opportunities, not Claflin awards.

These are national/external scholarships Claflin points students toward; not institutional merit aid.

Source

Claflin merit aid FAQ

  • Is any Claflin merit scholarship automatic based on my test score?

    No. The 1100 SAT/24 ACT (Honors) and 1200 SAT/27 ACT (Presidential) are minimum thresholds to be CONSIDERED for competitive, committee-selected awards — they are not automatic. South Carolina's LIFE, HOPE and Palmetto Fellows awards have their own state-set criteria.

  • How big are Claflin's scholarships?

    The Honors College scholarships range from $2,000 up to the full cost of tuition, room and board. The Presidential Scholars Program covers the full cost of tuition, room, board, textbooks AND a monthly stipend for four years. Specific per-student amounts are not published.

  • What's the deadline?

    Claflin's page does not publish a deadline for the Presidential or Honors College scholarships — apply early and ask admissions. State awards have separate timelines (Palmetto Fellows early awards due to the SC Commission on Higher Education by a date set in December; S.C. Tuition Grant requires the FAFSA by August 1).

  • What GPA do I need to keep my scholarship?

    Claflin's scholarships page does not state a college GPA you must maintain to renew the Presidential or Honors awards (it only calls them 'four-year scholarships'). Confirm the renewal GPA directly with the Office of Financial Aid before enrolling.

See sources and other schools

How Claflin compares

  • 665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Claflin is one of them. The cohort minority (84 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Claflin’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring Claflin merit aid

The next chapter

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