Length of Eligibility

The DSF Scholarship is renewable for up to a total of four consecutive years.

Your DSF Scholarship eligibility period begins when you first apply and meet the initial eligibility requirements to become a DSF Finalist and part of a DSF Cohort. For example: New Applicants who become Finalists in 2022 will be members of the 2022 Cohort. The 2022 Cohort’s first school year of eligibility is the 2022-23 school year and these students may continue to renew the DSF Scholarship through the 2025-26 school year.

Within your four-year period of DSF Scholarship eligibility, there are limits on how long you can renew the DSF Scholarship at certain types of colleges.

College/University: Students enrolled in a 4-year public or private college or university are eligible for scholarship consideration during all four years of the eligibility period.
Community College: Students enrolled in a community college or junior college are eligible for scholarship consideration during the first two years of the eligibility period.
Technical College: Students enrolled in a technical college are eligible for scholarship consideration during the first year of the eligibility period.

College Type	Cohort Year 1	Cohort Year 2	Cohort Year 3	Cohort Year 4
4-Year College/ University	$	$	$	$
Community College	$	$	No Award	No Award
Technical College	$	No Award	No Award	No Award
Not Enrolled/ Did Not Renew	No Award	No Award	No Award	No Award

COVID-19 Extensions of Eligibility

Given COVID’s impact on students and families over the past two years, DSF extended scholarship eligibility for an additional year for students who either:

Received a DSF award in 20-21; or
Met all 20-21 DSF requirements, but didn’t receive an award due to insufficient enrollment.

Eligible students have been notified by DSF. If you received the extension, use the chart below to understand your 2022-23 eligibility.

You need to renew your scholarship and meet your DSF requirements as usual – no need to submit anything additional. Visit Renew Your DSF Scholarship for details about re-applying for DSF.

If you have questions about whether you received the extension, talk to your DSF Campus Contact or reach out to the DSF Scholarship team using this contact form or at 303.640.6564.

Reminder that students who have completed a bachelor’s degree are no longer eligible for DSF, so if you will be completing your bachelor’s this spring or summer, you will not be eligible for the extension, but we’re super excited about your accomplishment!

Length of DSF Eligibility with COVID Extension:

College Type	Cohort Year 1	Cohort Year 2	Cohort Year 3	Cohort Year 4	Cohort Year 5
4-Year College/ University	$	$	$	$	$
Community College	$	$	$	No Award	No Award
Technical College	$	$	No Award	No Award	No Award
Not Enrolled/ Did Not Renew	No Award	No Award	No Award	No Award	No Award

Stopping Out/Taking Time Off From College

If you choose NOT to enroll (i.e., stop out) for one or more academic terms after becoming a DSF Finalist, the time taken off from college will be deducted from your remaining years of scholarship eligibility.

You may re-apply for the DSF Scholarship at any time during within your remaining years of eligibility as long as you receive an initial DSF Scholarship award payment by December 31 of year immediately following your graduation from high school. However, you must meet all DSF application deadlines and scholarship requirements to receive a payment each term.

Initial Payment Deadline

You must qualify to receive your initial DSF scholarship award payment by December 31 of the year after your high school graduation to be eligible to re-apply for DSF in future years. For example, if you graduate from high school in 2022, you must receive your first DSF scholarship award payment by December 31, 2023, to be eligible to apply for the scholarship for future years.

Due to COVID-19, 2020 and 2021 high school graduates have an additional year to receive their initial DSF scholarship award:

2020 high school graduates must apply for DSF and qualify for their first scholarship payment by December 31, 2022;
2021 high school graduates must apply for DSF and qualify for their first scholarship payment by December 31, 2023.

Program Extension Request

DSF Scholars are eligible to renew the DSF Scholarship for up to four consecutive years. If you are enrolled in an undergraduate degree program which requires more credits for completion than the traditional degree (certificate, associate’s/AAS, or bachelor’s), you may qualify for an additional academic year of scholarship eligibility.

If you must complete prerequisites before starting your degree program, those prerequisite credits may be included in the total number of credits required to complete your degree.

To determine if your program qualifies for an extension and to request an additional year of eligibility based on your program, please go to the Forms tab of the DSF Student Portal to complete the Program Extension Form and upload your college transcript (official or unofficial) and your degree plan.

Sample Program Extension Form