Del Mar College’s (DMC) Freedom to Dream Tuition Waiver Program is changing lives. A first for DMC, this innovative program is designed to expedite qualifying in-district students’ completion of an associate’s degree within a three-year period by attending full time after signing a commitment contract.
The college has now launched the online inquiry and application process for its revised version, Freedom to Dream 2.0, for the 2026-2027 academic year. The web page includes updates that address selected students’ college readiness to ensure their success in reaching their goals. The deadline to apply is April 30.
Compared to the first iteration of Freedom to Dream that Mangum is completing, DMC’s revised Freedom to Dream 2.0 Tuition Waiver Program focuses on “college readiness” as a requirement along with other updates associated with this change:
• Applicants must demonstrate their preparedness for college-level courses by earning college
readiness benchmark scores on the Texas Success Imitative Assessment (TSIA) 2.0 test.
See steps to take the TSIA test and readiness score requirements.
• Freedom to Dream 2.0 will not cover tuition for developmental courses needed to bring
participants up to college level work in English, mathematics and reading.
Qualifying individuals must live within the college’s taxing district, which includes the Corpus Christi, Calallen, Flour Bluff, Tuloso-Midway and West Oso Independent School Districts and parts of London and Robstown ISDs.
Other criteria include:
• High school graduates must be part of the Class of 2026, including General Education
Development (GED) recipients, and Dual Credit students, who are eligible regardless of the
number of credits they’ve earned.
• Adult learners must have 12 or fewer semester credit hours completed and have attempted no
more than 18 semester hours at the time the fall 2026 semester begins, which is Aug. 24.
To learn more about qualifying criteria for Freedom to Dream 2.0 and to fill out an online request for information form, visit www.delmar.edu/freedom.
Before the April 30 application deadline, interested “in-district” residents can also attend a Freedom to Dream 2.0 information session scheduled at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday for the remaining dates and campuses:
• March 18: Main Central Building, Oso Creek Campus, 7002 Yorktown Blvd. (78414)
• April 15: Coleman Center, Windward Campus, 4101 Old Brownsville Road (78405)
Questions? Contact Del Mar College’s Student Enrollment Center at 361-698-1290 or enroll@delmar.edu.