def spec_char_rating(pw):
    """
    Takes in the password and returns a special-character (S-C) score.

    Parameters:
        pw (str): the password string
    Returns:
        spec_rating (float): score produced by increments of 0.5 for every unique S-C in the password. [Max val- 1.5]
    """
    symbols = [
        '~', '!', '@', '#', '$', '%', '&', '*',
        '(', ')', '_', '-', '{', '[', '}',
        ']', '|', ':', ';', '<', '>', '.', '?', '/'
    ]
    characters = list(pw)
    spec_rating = 0
    for i in symbols:
        if i in characters:
            spec_rating += 0.5

    return 1.5 if spec_rating > 1.5 else spec_rating