Annual Value: $10,000 ($7,000 for finalists) Four-Year Value: $40,000 ($28,000 for finalists) If you have a strong academic record and are a leader in your high school and community, we encourage you to apply for the Carolina Scholars competition. Fifty Carolina Scholars Finalists are chosen. Of these finalists, 25 students will be selected for the Carolina Scholars Award. Typical candidates have excellent grades on a strong high-school curriculum and present average SAT scores over 1300 on critical reading and math sections combined (or ACT composite score of 29). Finalists receive awards of $28,000 ($7,000 per year), and Carolina Scholars receive awards of $40,000 ($10,000 per year). These awards are renewable for up to three years as long as you maintain at least a “B” average. To apply for this scholarship, both an application for general University admissions and a University Honors College and Scholarship Application must be received by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. The postmark deadline for the applications is December 1.

The Michael Daniel Smith and Alexander Tyler Smith Scholarship is funded by an endowment created by Mr. Robert L. Thomas and awarded to the University of South Carolina in honor of the boys’ memory. The Michael Daniel Smith and Alexander Tyler Smith Scholarship is awarded annually to one undergraduate or graduate student who shows outstanding promise as a helping professional for children and families. The award totals $3,000 and must be applied directly to the selected student’s tuition. The recipient of the Michael Daniel Smith and Alexander Tyler Smith Scholarship is chosen by a Selection Committee comprised of no less than three members from the Institute for Families in Society. Preference must be given to students with demonstrated financial need. The recipient will be expected to be involved with a selected service project for a minimum of 50 hours per semester, which equates to approximately 3-4 hours per week. The experience is meant to be one of growing and learning for the award recipient. The specific involvement of the award recipient will be developed by the recipient and a mentor from the selected project. The service site selected for the 2006/2007 academic year is The Nurturing Center, a private nonprofit agency located in Columbia, SC. The Nurturing Center opened for full-scale operations on November 14, 1989, supported by a generous endowment made by Evan and Cindy Nord. It has a close relationship with the USC Institute for Families in Society, whose director sits on The Nurturing Center’s Board of Directors. The Center’s mission is to nurture trusting, caring relationships between adults and children to help prevent, treat and break the cycle of child abuse and neglect for children and families throughout the Midlands area of SC. It’s primary goal is to empower families to prevent, treat and break the cycle of abuse and neglect while restoring hope in their lives. The Nurturing Center’s program services include: home-based services; individual family service plans; center- based services for children and parents; case management and interagency collaboration; follow-up services; and a teen parenting program.