Research · Scholarships · October 2026
Scholarships in Delaware: the 2 state programs and what each asks for
As of October 2026: Delaware has 2 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. The table says what each one pays, who qualifies, and when it closes, in the state's own words.
The table holds every state-funded award we could confirm for a Delaware high school graduate going to college. It does not hold federal aid, or a scholarship that comes from one college rather than from the state.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
The findings, in plain English
Delaware runs 1 award that turn on grades or scores. Inspire Scholarship is one of them. 2 of the 2 programs we could read name a GPA, and 0 name a test score. A need-based award asks about family income instead, through the FAFSA.
The state's own pages are the only place these rules live. Every row links to the page the state publishes for that program. The rules and the dollar figures move from year to year, so the page is the thing to read, not a summary of it.
What this table does not tell you. Every figure on the table was read off the state's own page for that program. Nothing is estimated and nothing is carried over from an earlier year.
Every state scholarship in Delaware
Read the row, then open the state's own page before you count on a figure.
| Program | Merit or need | What it pays | GPA it asks for | Test score it asks for | Who qualifies | Deadline | Renewable | Official page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student Excellence Equals Degree (SEED)+ Program | State award | Tuition. The free tuition can be applied to five years of courses (a full associate degree plus one additional year toward a bachelor's degree). Fees and books are not covered | 2.5 GPA for associate-degree-seeking students (those below 2.5 may still qualify for an associate degree through a pathway program); no GPA minimum for workforce-training certificates | — | Delaware residency; graduate from a Delaware high school or GED program; enroll at Delaware Technical Community College (or the University of Delaware's Associate in Arts Program); must apply for and accept all other eligible financial aid (Pell, state, and institutional) before SEED applies; applicants with a GED, non-violent felonies, or undocumented status are considered; file a FAFSA each year | Deadline Date: June 30, 2026 (shown for the 2025-26 application cycle on this page; application opens October 1) | must file the FAFSA each year; eligible for up to 10 semesters (5 years) of courses | Source |
| Inspire Scholarship | Merit | 4-year, full tuition scholarship, renewable every semester for eight consecutive fall and spring semesters (not applicable to summer sessions) | cumulative overall GPA of at least 2.75 (80%) on a 4.0 scale, as shown on the official high school transcript | — | graduate from a Delaware high school; must be regularly admitted and enroll full-time at Delaware State University in the fall semester right after high school graduation; complete at least 10 hours of community service every semester; no felony convictions or pending charges; FAFSA required (DSU school code 001428); funded by Delaware General Assembly appropriation, administered by Delaware State University | Deadline Date: May 14, 2027 | renewed every semester for eight consecutive fall and spring semesters if the student stays full-time (12+ credit hours), keeps a 2.75 GPA, demonstrates good conduct, completes 10 community-service hours per semester, and files the FAFSA each year | Source |
Every row is a state-funded or state-administered award for a Delaware high school graduate going to an undergraduate program, as of October 2026. A scholarship from a single college, a private foundation award, a federal program and a graduate-only award are all left out. A blank cell means the state's own page does not state it. Dollar figures and GPA floors change every year.
How to read a state scholarship
State awards come in two shapes. A merit award asks about grades, a course list, or a test score, and it does not care what a family earns. A need-based award asks about income and assets through the FAFSA, and it does not care about grades. Some awards ask about both, and the table calls those merit and need.
The deadline column is the one families miss. For most need-based state aid the deadline is really the FAFSA deadline, and it falls months before a college asks for a decision. A merit award more often has no application at all: the state or the high school nominates the student from records it already holds.
What a family should do with this
Open the official page in the last column for the one or two programs your student plausibly qualifies for, and write down two dates: the state aid deadline and the FAFSA deadline. Those are the two that close. In Delaware the earliest date on this table is the one to put on the calendar first.
Then look past the state. A state award is usually the smaller half of an offer. The college's own merit grid and its net price for your family income move more money than any state program on this page, and both are published.
Questions parents ask
What scholarships does Delaware offer?
Delaware has 2 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. The table says what each one pays, who qualifies, and when it closes, in the state's own words.
Does Delaware have a merit scholarship?
Delaware runs 1 award that turn on grades or scores, and Inspire Scholarship is one of them.
How do I find the rules for a Delaware scholarship?
Every row links to the page the state publishes for that program. The rules and the dollar figures move from year to year, so the page is the thing to read, not a summary of it.
Method & sources: Programs come from the Delaware Higher Education Office (DHEO), Delaware Department of Education and the agency's own program pages, read in October 2026. The population is a student who graduates from a Delaware high school and enrolls as an undergraduate. A scholarship offered by one college, a private foundation award, a federal program and a graduate-only award are all out of scope. A value the agency's own page does not state is left blank rather than filled from elsewhere, and a page that could not be read drops every figure.
- Delaware Higher Education Office (DHEO), Delaware Department of Education
- Student Excellence Equals Degree (SEED)+ Program
- Inspire Scholarship
This brief as data: /research/scholarships-in-delaware.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
Related: Merit scholarships by college · State scholarships in every state · High schools in Delaware · Scholarship deadlines