SC students offered $966 million in scholarships

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Education Department says the class of 2011 was offered a record $966 million in college scholarships.

That tops the amount offered to last year’s public high school seniors by $49 million.

Education Department officials said Wednesday that the total brings the amount offered over the past five years to more than $4 billion.

The total includes scholarships not accepted by students. It represents all scholarships offered to students as they considered which two- or four-year college to attend.

The agency estimates 90 percent of the scholarships are academic and 10 percent are athletic. Lottery-backed scholarships account for about 20 percent of the total.

The state gathers the information from local school districts, as well as charter schools and the governor’s schools in Hartsville and Greenville.