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HCS Scholars Academy High

Conway · SC · Horry 01 · Public

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📚AP rigor: 76th percentile nationally 📖20 AP courses

📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • 📚 20 AP courses offered — Elite
  • ✅ Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
  • ✅ Gifted & talented program
  • 🔢 5 calculus classes · 3 physics · 2 chemistry
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: 76th percentile nationally
  • 📝 SAT/ACT participation: 53th percentile by test-taker volume

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

💡

How HCS Scholars Academy High compares for families

Stronger-than-average college-prep profile.

  • StatewideAP rigor in the top 24% nationally with 20 AP courses.
  • LocallySC sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.
  • vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: HCS Early College High, Palmetto Academy of Learning Motorsports (PALM), Carolina Forest High and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

For Parents

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🎓 Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth

76th percentile nationally

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
20
Subject breadth not reported
Advanced math classes
9
5 calculus · 4 advanced
Lab science classes
5
3 physics · 2 chemistry
Other rigor signals
✅ Dual-enrollment program
✅ Gifted/talented program

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

53th percentile by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
77
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
36.8
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12
Compared against
18,426
US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

🏛️ Federal Title I context

Lower-need school

Not Title I eligible (FRPL < 25%)

-1.4%
FRPL rate — % of students who qualify for the federal Free or Reduced-Price Lunch program. This is the underlying federal income-eligibility signal Title I designations are computed from (ESEA Sec. 1113).
0% (no FRPL) 35% TA · 40% Schoolwide 100% (universal FRPL)

<25% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. Well below the Title I threshold; expect a higher-income student body on average.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
209:1
Below the ASCA 250:1 recommendation — strong capacity for college planning, course selection, and student supports.
Counselor FTE
1.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
14
Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of +31.5%/year, projecting from 2024's 209 students:

2025
275
2027
475
2029
820

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue upside

At $15,297 per student in district revenue, the 611 students projected to be gained by 2029 represent ≈ $9,346,467/year in additional funding.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

Nearby high schools — the local competition

The closest high schools families here also consider, and where their enrollment is heading.

SchoolTypeMilesHS enrollmentTrend
HCS Early College High
Conway
Public 0.2 360 +13.9%
Palmetto Academy of Learning Motorsports (PALM)
Conway
Public · charter 1.5 195 +0.0%
Carolina Forest High
Myrtle Beach
Public 2.5 3,176 +6.8%
St Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic High School
Myrtle Beach
Private 5.3 75
Conway High
Conway
Public 5.5 1,724 +2.6%
Christian Academy Of Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach
Private 5.6 527 +60.2%
Conway Christian School
Conway
Private 6.1 289 +23.5%
Socastee High
Myrtle Beach
Public 7.7 1,720 -0.3%

For Parents

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