Gamecock Guarantee Program Facts and Figures
This report summarizes important participant information, academic performance information, and aid information for students in the Gamecock Guarantee Program. Gamecock Guarantee participants are regularly admitted South Carolina residents who are considered first-generation college students and whose families’ adjusted gross incomes at the time they join the program is less than 150% of the poverty level.
Participant Information |
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| Cohort | Number of Participents by Cohort | |
| 2014 | 118 | |
| 2015 | 118 | |
| 2016 | 105 | |
| 2017 | 189 | |
| 2018 | 162 | |
| 2019 | 162 | |
| 2020 | 155 | |
| 2021 | 165 | |
| 2022 | 169 | |
| 2023 | 169 | |
| 2024 | 149 | |
| 2025 | 129 | |
Since the program's inception in 2008, the Gamecock Guarantee has served a total of 2,548 students.
Participant Academic Performance |
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| Retention Rate - Gamecock Guarantee | Graduation Rates | |||||
| Cohort | Two-Year Retention Rate | Three-Year Retention Rate | Four-Year Retention Rate | Four-Year Graduation Rate | Five-Year Graduation Rate | Six-Year Graduation Rate |
| 2014 | 89% | 85% | 80% | 64% | 75% | 80% |
| 2015 | 89% | 81% | 73% | 49% | 65% | 68% |
| 2016 | 94% | 89% | 79% | 56% | 73% | 76% |
| 2017 | 88% | 76% | 70% | 63% | 71% | 73% |
| 2018 | 92% | 81% | 76% | 64% | 73% | 74% |
| 2019 | 91% | 82% | 73% | 64% | 70% | 73% |
| 2020 | 88% | 79% | 73% | 57% | 67% | |
| 2021 | 91% | 84% | 82% | 72% | ||
| 2022 | 88% | 86% | 72% | |||
| 2023 | 99% | 83% | ||||
| 2024 | 99% | |||||
| 2025 | ||||||
Participant Aid Information |
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| Cohort | Freshman Year Gift Aid as a Percent of Total Award | Self-Help Aid as a Percent of Total Award | Frishman to Sophomore LIFE Scholarship Retention Rates | Average Student Loan Debt at Graudation (Students Graduating in Four Years) | Average Student Loan Debt at Graudation (Students Graduating in Five to Six Years) |
| 2014 | 98% | 2% | 77% | $35,026 | $36,138 |
| 2015 | 97% | 3% | 72% | $32,579 | $30,042 |
| 2016 | 95% | 5% | 77% | $23,764 | $24,371 |
| 2017 | 93% | 7% | 71% | $25,085 | $25,33 |
| 2018 | 94% | 6% | 76% | $29,607 | $28,081 |
| 2019 | 93% | 7% | 76% | $27,486 | $26,392 |
| 2020 | 95% | 5% | 72% | $27,923 | |
| 2021 | 96% | 4% | 87% | $16,895 | |
| 2022 | 94% | 6% | 69% | ||
| 2023 | 96% | 4% | 83% | ||
| 2024 | 96% | 4% | 94% | ||
| 2025 | 95% | 5% | |||
Additional Information
The Gamecock Guarantee is a need-based financial- and academic-support initiative to help make attendance at the university more affordable—and a South Carolina degree attainable—for academically qualified first-time freshmen who will be the first in their families to earn a college degree and are residents of South Carolina.
At minimum, the Gamecock Guarantee provides each participant an award of $5,000 per year for four continuous years of enrollment. If this award combined with the total of other grants and scholarships in the student's financial aid package does not meet the cost of undergraduate tuition, technology fee, and average program fees, the Gamecock Guarantee will increase its support to cover the difference. In other words, Gamecock Guarantee participants who retain eligibility and graduate in four years will not pay any of the tuition, technology fees, or average program fees from their own pockets. The purpose of the annual $5,000 program award is to help offset the participants’ educational costs while attending the University of South Carolina. Many Gamecock Guarantee participants will find that their other awards cover or nearly cover their tuition, technology fee and average program fees. If so, they can use the remaining $5,000 program award to pay for other college-related expenses such as course fees, equipment or lab fees, books and supplies, room, food or other miscellaneous expenses. Participants should diligently pursue and maintain their eligibility for other scholarships and grants. By doing so, the Gamecock Guarantee award can help to reduce or eliminate participants' needs for incurring educational debt.
To be eligible a student must:
- Be a resident of South Carolina
- Apply for University admission on or before the December 1st priority application deadline
- Be admitted to the University of South Carolina's Columbia campus
- Have a family taxable income for the tax year required for that year’s FAFSA that is not greater than % of the Department of Health and Human Services poverty guidelines
- Be a first-generation college student (neither parent has completed a four-year college degree)
- Be eligible to receive a federal Pell Grant
- Enroll as a first-time, full-time freshman for fall semester after being admitted to a program
- Be pursuing a bachelor's degree
- Completed that year’s FAFSA as early as possible, but definitely by April 1
No special application is required to be considered for the Gamecock Guarantee Program. The University will identify and notify eligible students. Please note that due to funding limitations, not ALL eligible students will be invited into the program so it is important to complete the FAFSA as soon as it opens for that year.