College Credit/Scholarships

Can my student earn college credit during high school if they are homeschooled?

Yes! College level courses taken at your local college will not only satisfy high school requirements, but will give your student college credit thus benefitting your student’s GPA. Students may also receive college credit through distance learning, advanced placement equivalency exams, and through CLEP (College-Level Examination Program) tests. However, for CLEP tests, each institution sets its own standard for what constitutes a passing grade.

Do homeschool students qualify for South Carolina college scholarships?

Yes! Homeschoolers are eligible for the same state scholarships for which public or private school students qualify. You can find details on the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, LIFE Scholarship, HOPE Scholarship and others at the South Carolina Commission of Higher Education.

Class Ranking Policy

Ranking is mandatory for all PHA high school students in grades 9-12  except for those with extreme learning disabilities who are not able to complete high school level course work, and who are registered as special education.

The student’s GPA is calculated from submitted grades using the SC Uniform Grading Policy Scale. Computations will not be rounded to a higher number.  Once a GPA has been computed for all students in a given class, all grade point ratios are rank ordered numerically from highest to lowest and each student’s class rank is determined by the position of his/her GPA relative to all other students in a given grade.  The class size, along with the calculated GPA, is used for each grade level in order to produce the ranking for each student.

The Class Rank is one of the criteria used by the colleges and CHE to determine state scholarship eligibility, and must be completed by or before June 15 of the current academic year as set forth by the CHE.  PHA will adhere to the CHE requirement of the June 15 date no matter what day of the week it falls.