The Delaware Higher Education Office (DHEO) administers seven state sponsored financial aid programs and works to assist colleges/universities with enrollment verification for student scholarship awardees. To better manage this process the DHEO has instituted the Delaware Higher Education Financial Aid Portal to be utilized by both students and colleges/universities.

Students who wish to apply for scholarships must register and create a Student Account.  Once created, students will have the option to view and apply for scholarships on a yearly basis, submit supporting documentation when needed for their applications and track their application status.  If awarded, students will also be able to track college verifications and scholarship payments.

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Creating a Student Account

In order to apply for scholarships from the DHEO,  you first need to create a Student Account. Once you create your Student Account you will be able to apply for available scholarships through the online portal.

Helpful tip: The email address entered in the registration form will become your User ID.  All notifications will be sent to this email address.  Please make sure you use an active email address that you will check regularly.  DO NOT USE your high school email address.

Frequently Asked Questions

Your Username is the email address you provided when you registered as a student with the Delaware Higher Education Financial Aid Portal.

To look up your Username, visit the Student Account Log-in page, select the “Forgot Username” link, provide the requested information and click the submit button.  If you have an account matching those details, your Username will appear.

If you no longer have access to the email you registered with or cannot complete the forget Username process, please contact DHEO@doe.k12.de.us. Be prepared to provide your name and last 4 digits of your SSN.

To reset your password, visit the Student Account Log-in page, select the “Forgot Password” link, provide the requested information and click the submit button.  An password reset email will be sent to your registered email address.

Helpful tip: Logging on for the first time with your “reset password” can be tricky

    • If you copy and paste the reset password, you may be picking up an extra character when copying and the system will reject the password. Try typing the password directly in the field instead.
    • Clear your browser cache and delete saved passwords.

If your high school is not found in the list, please select “Other” so you can continue with your application.  Schools are listed in alphabetical order.

The DHEO uses the Delaware Higher Education Financial Aid Portal to administer all applications and awards.  Visit DHEO State Scholarships to carefully review scholarship information, eligibility requirements, award information, and deadlines.  Not all scholarships have the same required steps, but they will each contain some or all of the following:

  • Complete and submit an online application
    • Include your anticipated enrollment information for the upcoming academic year.
    • If prompted, add your student activities.  Be sure to add all of the clubs or organizations that you are, or were part of, as well as your interests and any awards or honors that you received.  This is your opportunity to highlight all of the activities that you have been involved in, either in or out of school.
  • Provide academic information to the Delaware Higher Education Office (DHEO)
    • For students attending Delaware district or charter high schools: The Delaware Higher Education Office will access your 9th through 11th grade unweighted cumulative GPA and SAT scores through eSchool.
    • For home-schooled students or students attending private high schools in Delaware: Please send a copy of your SAT scores and your 9th through 11th grade high school transcript showing your unweighted cumulative GPA via email to the dheo@doe.k12.de.us prior to the scholarship deadline.
  • Complete your FAFSA.
    • This must be filed prior to the scholarship deadline

Incomplete applications cannot be processed, so ensure you provide all of the required information.

Email DHEO@doe.k12.de.us and request your college to be added to the list.

Because scholarship awards are based, in part, on enrollment eligiblity, you may only enter one college in the enrollment section of your student account.  To change your enrollment, you will need to complete a Change Enrollment Form and email it to our DHEO team to complete your request.

If you change your enrollment prior to or after the scholarship is reviewed and awarded, it may impact your eligiblity for that specific scholarship.  Please review eligibilty citeria for each scholarship you to apply for to understand all enrollment requirements.

When a scholarship requires a student to submit academic information to the Delaware Higher Education Office (DHEO), a student should:

  1. Complete the online application.
  2. For students attending Delaware district or charter high schools: The Delaware Higher Education Office will access your 9th through 11th grade unweighted cumulative GPA and SAT scores through eSchool.
  3. For home-schooled students or students attending private high schools in Delaware: Please send a copy of your SAT scores and your 9th through 11th grade high school transcript showing your unweighted cumulative GPA via email to the dheo@doe.k12.de.us prior to the scholarship deadline.

A student can view their application status at any point during the application period.  When an academic record is accepted, the record will be uploaded in the academic record section of their profile under the application year.

Note: Not all scholarships require academic records to be submitted.  Visit DHEO State Scholarships to carefully review scholarship application requirements, award information, and deadlines.

Incomplete applications cannot be processed, so ensure you provide all of the required information.

For all DHEO scholarships, payments are not processed until the school/college/university verifies a student’s enrollment. The Higher Education office contacts the school/college/university directly to request this information. Colleges typically complete this process after the drop/add period for the current term.  Once this information is received, payments can be processed. It takes 4 – 6 weeks once verification is received for the payment to reach the school.

Students can log into their DHEO Student Account to see the status of all payments.  View eligbility verification status in the Scholarship Information (Enrollment Verification) tab and view payment details in the Payments and Returns section (including check # and check date of when payment was sent).

Visit the DHEO Scholarships page under the section titled Awarding and Appeals Process

If the scholarship applications are still open, students can log into their DHEO student profile and change their anticipated college and/or major in the “Enrollment information” tab.

If the scholarship applications are closed, student must email a change enrollment form to DHEO@doe.k12.de.us and a staff member will update your information. Please note – any changes to enrollment may affect your scholarship eligibility. DHEO staff will rereview this information prior to making the change.

Yes, students can appeal any scholarship decision. All appeals will be reviewed by the Delaware Higher Education Office (DHEO). Appeal determinations will be provided in written format no later than September 30, each year.

Appeal criteria:

  • If a student provides proof of a verified updated Expected Family Contribution (EFC), DHEO will review new EFC to determine if student meets the financial need threshold.
  • If a student provides proof of a change in major of study, DHEO will review and determine if the new major is an eligible one.
  • If a student provides proof of a college enrollment change, DHEO will review and determine if the new college changes the student’s eligibility for a scholarship.
  • If a student provides proof that their major at an out of state college is not offered at University of Delaware or Delaware State University, (Core courses must be at least 50% different than any similar major offered at University of Delaware or Delaware State University) the Appeals Committee will review and determine if the major is eligible for a scholarship.

Appeal process

Students not awarded a scholarship because of any of the criteria reason listed above may appeal the decision(s) in writing within two weeks of receiving the awarding decision by following these steps:

  • Email the DHEO using the phrase “APPEAL” in the subject line.
  • Attach a completed appeal form.
  • Attach all supporting documentation in the request for appeal, including course comparison information – if relevant.

Appeal review and decision timeline

  • Appeals must be submitted within two weeks of receiving the awarding decision, appeals will not be accepted after that timeframe.
  • Decisions will be provided via email no later than September 30, each year.
  • All appeal decisions are final.

Information for College Users

Scholarships managed by the Delaware Higher Education Office (DHEO) are required by law to have colleges verify eligibility and enrollment prior to sending payment. The Delaware Higher Education Financial Aid Portal allows colleges/universities to assign college users to their institution in order to view student rosters, complete the verification process, and track payments. Please email DHEO for additional information on how to access the college user portal .