• Legal residents of Delaware.
• U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens.
• Full-time students enrolled at a Delaware college in an undergraduate program leading to teacher certification.
• High school seniors must rank in upper half of class and have a combined score of 1570 on the SAT.
• Undergraduates must have at least a 2.75 cumulative GPA.
• Awards may be provided for programs of study not available in Delaware or prorated for part-time students.
• Preference is given to applicants planning to teach in a critical need area as defined by the Delaware Department of Education.

• Art
• Bilingual Teachers
• Business Education
• English
• ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages)
• Foreign Language
• Mathematics (middle school and high school)
• Music
• Reading
• Science (middle school and high school)
• Special Education
• Technology Education

• Loan not to exceed cost of tuition, mandatory fees, and other direct educational expenses.
• Renewable for up to three additional years with a cumulative GPA of 2.75
• Loan forgiveness provision at a rate of one year of teaching in a Delaware public school for one year of loan. 

Deadlines:

• The priority deadline to receive all application materials is 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, 2013.
• Applicants who apply after the priority deadline will be considered to the extent that funding is available.

To apply:

• You can apply online beginning December 3, 2012, by completing the Common Merit Application on the Delaware Higher Education Office's secure Student Account Access site at https://dheo.doe.k12.de.us/dhec_student/login.aspx. First-time users must establish an account and provide a valid email and mailing address before proceeding to the application.
• Incomplete applications cannot be processed. You must provide all of the required information:

1. Completed application, including activities.
2. Essay of no less than 1,000 and no more than 1,200 words, excluding headings and footnotes. Word count will be verified.
3. If you are a high school senior, or have less than 12 college credits, your High School Academic Record Report and Transcript Request and your high school transcript must be submitted directly from your high school to the Delaware Higher Education Office. Students are responsible for ensuring that their school provides these forms by the deadline.
4. If you have 12 or more college credits, your College Grade Release Form must be submitted directly from your college to the Delaware Higher Education Office. Students are responsible for ensuring that their school provides this form by the deadline.