1. Scholarships Available to High School Seniors 2018-2019

2. Prior to Applying, check out the DCF Scholarship Compendium
Located on our website at

3. What you need to know before you apply:
Be prepared to ask two people (one in school, one outside of school) for a Letter of Recommendation. You will need their name and .
Be prepared to get an unofficial copy of your transcript through your most current high school semester. Please do not complete the application until you have grades to show.
Applications Open Online – December 1, 2018
Website to apply –
From the website page above, clicking on the Apply button will take you to the DCF AcademicWorks Online Scholarship General Application
Deadline to finish application and letters of recommendations – March 15, 2019

4. What am I applying for?
The Delaware Community Foundation has 45+ scholarships online that you may be eligible for with just one application.
After you finish the General Application, the scholarships that you are eligible for that might require more information will be made available to you through an “Apply To” button. Usually all that is needed is a few more questions answered and perhaps another short essay.
When starting your General Application, you do not have to finish in one sitting. You are allowed to save your work and return to it later. Please make sure you record your User Name and Password, though, so you don’t have to start over.

5. How will I know if I have won a scholarship?
Once all the scholarship applications are released to the scholarship committees reading them, they have until the end of April to score and decide on the winners.
Blackbaud Award Management and the DCF will then notify the students whether they have been awarded a scholarship or not by mid-May. Students awarded a scholarship will have until the end of June to accept it and then until the end of August to show Proof of Enrollment (a college tuition bill usually suffices) before the check is sent to their University.

6. Commonly asked questions when applying online for scholarships:
Is punctuation important when writing an essay? Yes. Treat it as if you were writing for a teacher in your own school and watch your capitalization, grammar and punctuation. Proofread it and please have someone else proofread it as well.
What areas of my application are the committees scoring higher than others? They are scoring your application based on your grades, essay, letters of recommendations and how involved you are in extracurricular and community service activities. Often the essay seems to sway decisions.
If I win a scholarship but put down a different college on my application then the one I am actually going to attend, will I lose the scholarship? No. It is not uncommon for a student to write their preferred college on their application and then decide on going to a different one. We will send your scholarship to whatever college you will be attending.
If I am awarded a SEED scholarship for DelTech, with the intention of transferring to UD after 1-2 years, will I lose the scholarship since SEED scholarships cover all costs? No. You will still win the DCF scholarship and can use it at DelTech for books. DelTech will still accept the scholarship money, and it can used to offset any books or fees that SEED money does not cover. Any money left in your account when you finish will then be sent on to UD.
Are scholarships based on financial need or academic merit? Both. Some scholarships require a FAFSA score because they are for financial need, others do not. If you do not upload a FAFSA score, though, you will only be scored for scholarships based on academic merit.

7. Kelly Sheridan at ksheridan@delcf.org Good luck!
If you start an application, and need any assistance finishing it, please
Kelly Sheridan at
Good luck!