To Prospective Students,

The South Carolina Engineering and Physics Scholars Institute will be held on November 20 22, 2014 at
Francis Marion University. Over the last 11 years, the Scholars Institute has hosted 348 High School
students from across the Carolinas. We wanted to offer some additional information about our program
and explain to you the scholarship offers. We would greatly appreciate your help in getting the word
out in your respective schools to your science, math, engineering, chemistry, physics, etc. teachers for
nominations.

OVERVIEW AND EXPERIMENTS:

Our program is in its 12
th
year and typically hosts about 30 High School Juniors and Seniors from across
South Carolina. Participants should be those with an interest in a STEM field for a college major. The
event kicks off on Thursday, November 20
th
with an overview of the program, demonstrations by
faculty, and a tour of the facilities in the Department. There will be a reception for attendees and
parents as well. The first night ends with our experiment lottery where the students will select the 6
experiments they will perform. Your students do not need to have taken a physics course before they
participate in the Scholars Institute. All of the experiments have been designed for the participant to
walk in with no prior knowledge or experience.

The experiments are led by undergraduate students (in either physics, health physics, engineering,
math, chemistry, and/or biology majors) under the direction of a faculty mentor. This gives your student
a chance to interact with a college student who has interests in science similar to their own. Meals and
accommodations are covered for all participants. The only cost to your student is transportation to and
from the University. A final banquet is held on Saturday, November 22
nd
for all participants and their
guests.

SCHOLARSHIP OFFERS:

The student participants in the Scholars Institute are all offered a starting FMU scholarship of $1,000.
We also offer two $5,000 SCEPSI scholarships, and most of the participants will be eligible for additional
scholarship monies from FMU. These scholarships are for four years, so your student has the potential
of being awarded an FMU scholarship package of $4,000 to $20,000 for his/her undergraduate career.
With additional monies, your student may be eligible for (McNair Scholar, Hope, LIFE, Palmetto Fellows,
etc.) this can give your student a financial aid package that gives them extra money each semester. We
point this out as in todays economy, being able to complete an undergraduate degree debt-free is a big
plus!

APPLICATION PROCESS AND DEADLINE:

The application deadline is quickly approaching October 17, 2014. Your student will need to complete
the Scholars Institute application, a Parent/Guardian Release Form, and the FMU Undergraduate
Application (so we can officially make a scholarship offer). A transcript (either official or unofficial) is also
required as verification of student status. Students, who complete the FMU Undergraduate application
form, do not have to pay the admissions application fee if they mail it in to the Department of Physics
and Astronomy. The application materials can be accessed online at:

http://swampfox.fmarion.edu/scepsi

Materials can also be sent via fax (843-661-4616) to Ms. Sherry Owens or by email
(sowens@fmarion.edu). We urge you to try the link above first and contact Dr. Jeannette
Myers, jmyers@fmarion.edu, if your computer is blocked from accessing our website. We will allow
students who complete the online application additional time to get their materials in to our office.

Please let us know if you have any additional questions about the 12
th
Annual South Carolina
Engineering and Physics Scholars Institute.