Student enrollment for the Fall 2025 semester at Del Mar College has grown, a welcome increase after years of COVID-affected enrollment numbers. Enrollment currently is at 12,035. Around this time in the Fall 2024 semester, enrollment was at 9,672, a 24 percent increase. 

One reason behind this growth is the introduction of the new tuition waiver program, Freedom to Dream. Out of the enrollment numbers, 1,738 are Freedom to Dream students, with dual credit enrollment accounting for 3,100, and roughly 1,200 for continuing education students.

The tuition waiver is not only aimed toward recent high school graduates, but adults who have a GED, or any student who has completed no more than 12 hours of college credit.

“That’s who the target audience we wanted, the target to go full-time, 12 hours,” explained Vice President for Student Affairs Patricia Benavides-Dominguez.

Freedom To Dream allows tuition only to students enrolled full-time, which is 12 hours.

“If you’re enrolled in 12 hours, the likelihood of you progressing through your studies increases immensely,” Benavides-Dominguez said of the program.

Students also must maintain a 2.0 GPA status, commit to seeing their academic advisor at least twice a semester, and live within the Del Mar College taxing district. 

Texas community colleges are funded on performance-based funding, meaning community colleges do not get their allocations from the state unless a student graduates, earns a certificate, or transfers to a four-year institution. House Bill 8, which was passed in 2023 and went into effect in 2024, has 18 performance-based metrics for all community colleges.

With the new waiver introduced and covering those incoming students’ tuition for up to three years, students are expected to be able to either graduate with their associate degree, get a Level I or Level II certification, or even transfer to a four-year university. Del Mar will receive funding based on this performance rate. 

“I heard about this waiver from a college representative that came to my school,” Del Mar student Gabriel Valdez said. Valdez mentioned that he was planning on attending college, but when he heard about the waiver it gave him more encouragement to apply.

“The Freedom to Dream [waiver] has impacted my family in a positive way and takes off the stress of paying for college out of pocket,” Valdez said. He plans on applying for the Surgical Technology program and becoming a traveling surgical tech in the future.

Currently this tuition waiver only covers the 12 hours for students and no other expenses. While this may be challenging for students, Del Mar does offer many free services for students, including free support for classes, the Valdar’s Market food pantry, the Student Success Center, and tutoring labs like the Math Learning Center and Stone Writing Center.

The Freedom to Dream application was only available for incoming Fall 2025 and applications are now closed. Benavides-Dominguez said it is too early to tell if the tuition waiver will be available to apply for in the future but is hopeful that it will continue to be offered.