High School Ranking

GLOW Accountability Association does not rank high school students.

What is Ranking?

High school class rank is a comparison of a student’s Grade Point Average (GPA) against all other students in the class. The top GPA has the rank of 1, the second highest has a rank of 2, and so on.

In South Carolina, high school students are ranked by a GPA calculated using the SC Uniform Grading Policy (SC UGP). Ranking reports must be submitted to the SC Commission of Higher Education (SC CHE) by June 30th of each academic year. Associations that rank must rank all high school students.

Why Join an Association that Ranks?

High achieving students who are likely to have a high GPA (3.5+) and a high SAT/ACT score (1200+/25+) have a chance to receive the highest SC scholarship – Palmetto Fellows Scholarship. If the student ranks in the top 6% of the homeschool association’s class for 10, 11, 12 grade, they have a better chance of receiving the Palmetto Fellows scholarship if they do very well on the SAT or ACT test.

SC scholarships are offered to students who live in South Carolina and who go to an eligible SC institution for college.

Ranking does not matter for students in grades K5 – 8th grade.

Why Join a Homeschool Association that Does Not Rank?

Associations that do not rank can offer more flexibility in the high school experience. There are no deadlines for turning in grades. Most offer high school transcripts as an optional service rather than a requirement.

Homeschool associations that rank are required to rank all high school students. They need to submit a ranking report to SC CHE by June 30th. This means that all high school students must submit their transcript grades to the association around May 31 each year. If you do not, they will have to assign a low GPA and rank to your student. The ranking associations charge a premium for high school students because ranking is a lot of work. Many of them want students to fulfill all of the SC public school requirements for graduation so that students are ranked more fairly.

South Carolina State Scholarships

South Carolina offers 3 state scholarships and 2 state grants that are funded by the state lottery. High school rank is a substantial factor for one of the scholarships – the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship.

The SC Hope scholarship and the tuition assistance grant programs do not consider class rank.

The Life scholarship requires only 2 of 3 criteria – GPA, SAT/ACT, Rank. So students without a class rank still have a good chance of receiving this scholarship.

The Palmetto Fellows Scholarship has the highest qualification criteria for GPA, SAT/ACT, and Rank. If you do not have a class rank, or if your rank is not in the top 6% of your class, the GPA and SAT/ACT requirements are much higher to qualify.

More Info on SC State Scholarships and Grants

You can learn more about the South Carolina state scholarships, scholarship enhancements, and tuition assistance grants here:

Scholarships & Grants for SC Residents

Students who are SC residents at the time of high school graduation and college enrollment are eligible for SC scholarships and tuition assistance at eligible SC institutions. If your student is attending an out-of-state school, they are not eligible.