MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – This week a press release by Horry County Schools announced the achievements by the graduating class of 2016, including the $63.5 million in scholarships collectively earned among the district’s ten high schools.
Officials say that 78 percent of the 2,421 graduates plan to go to a two or a four year college or university. Five percent plan on joining the armed forces and the remaining nine percent plan to immediately enter the workforce.
Ten percent of the graduates also earned an honors diploma, certifying that they attained a GPA of 4.0 or higher, high SAT or ACT test scores, took three or more Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or dual credit courses, completed community service hours, were involved in extra curricular activities, and took a certain amount of foreign language courses.
Students in the 2016 graduating class also took 2,776 dual-credit classes, which count for both high school and college credit. By using current tuition rates posted by the University of South Carolina, the dual-credit courses Horry County students took have a value of $4 million, saving individual students thousands of tuition dollars and lessening the time it takes to complete a college degree.A press release by Horry County Schools summarized the following scholarship statistics for each district high school:
- Aynor High School: $3,800,000; of the school’s 205 graduates, 77 percent indicated they will attend post-secondary education
- Carolina Forest High School: $8,064,400; of the school’s 411 graduates, 80 percent indicated they will attend post-secondary education
- Conway High School: $2,821,962; of the school’s 282 graduates, 65 percent indicated they will attend post-secondary education
- HCS Early College High School: $2,772,264; of the school’s 90 graduates, 94 percent indicated they will attend post-secondary education
- Green Sea Floyds High School: $847,300; of the school’s 57 graduates, 76 percent indicated they will attend post-secondary education
- Loris High School: $3,001,639; of the school’s 160 graduates, 67 percent indicated they will attend post-secondary education
- Myrtle Beach High School: $6,439,991; of the school’s 288 graduates, 76 percent indicated they will attend post-secondary education
- North Myrtle Beach High School: $8,213,690; of the school’s 297 graduates, 83 percent indicated they will attend post-secondary education
- St. James High School: $10,159,917; of the school’s 317 graduates, 83 percent indicated they will attend post-secondary education
- Socastee High School: $17,382,190; of the school’s 314 graduates, 83 percent indicated they will attend post-secondary education