A common understanding is that countries that do not give scholarships to their best and brightest will inevitably lose them to countries that do. In this region (Asia), we’ve seen that happening between Singapore and the various countries it awards scholarships to, e.g. Malaysia, China and India. In fact, this "principle" seems to apply equally well to states within a large multi-state country like the United States (US).

According to a recent news release, South Carolina’s lottery-funded college scholarship program has managed to stop the steady brain-drain South Carolina (SC) has been experiencing - at least, far better than any other state policy has ever done. Among the SC scholarships that have helped include the LIFE, HOPE and Palmetto Fellow scholarships.

Well, what does this mean for students? Benefit, benefit, benefit. As I always say, the more scholarships the merrier. Besides, state scholarships will give you a good reason to stay at home, close to your parents and extended family.