LAKE CITY – The Meeting Street Scholarship Fund, aimed at helping high-achieving students pay for college, is expecting to offer scholarships to a minimum of 73 students in the Pee Dee region and 177 throughout the state.

Rising college freshman from Charleston County and Pee Dee regions who meet the criteria can still apply to receive the scholarship for the 2022 – 2023 school year.

In its inaugural year, the Meeting Street Scholarship Fund awarded scholarships to 94 academically-successful Charleston County students, with $3 million in total scholarships awarded.

Now in its second year, thanks to the generous support of the Darla Moore Foundation, students in the Pee Dee region are also eligible for the scholarship.

With this partnership, Meeting Street Scholarship Fund hopes to double the number of scholarship recipients for the 2022 – 2023 school year. With the goal of bridging the financial gap between college tuition and what families can afford, there is no limit on the number of students who receive a Meeting Street Scholarship.

Every qualified recipient will receive up to $10,000 annually for their higher education. This includes rising college freshmen and students who became eligible for the scholarship while in college.

“This is an exceptional group of students, and we hope this scholarship will help them pursue their dreams and reduce the financial burden typically associated with higher education,” said Darla Moore. “It’s our goal to improve the lives of Pee Dee residents, and higher education plays a critical role in that aspiration.”

Each student in the Pee Dee region who qualifies for the Meeting Street Scholarship must Graduate from an eligible public high school or public charter high school in one of the following counties: Marlboro, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Lee, Marion, or Williamsburg. Students qualify for the federal Pell Grant based upon FAFSA completion. They must attend an eligible South Carolina college or university with a six year graduation rate of 50% or higher. Students must earn an SC LIFE or Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, meeting two of the following three requirements of earning at least a 3.0 GPA in high school; scoring at least 1100 on the SAT or 24 on the ACT; or ranking in the top 30% of their graduating class.

Applications will open for the 2023-2024 school year later this fall.

To learn more about the Meeting Street Scholarship Fund, visit www.meetingstreetscholarshipfund.org.