ELI Scholarships

Scholarship requirements for current ELI students

In order to be eligible a scholarship, the student must meet the following requirements:

1. Meet visa requirements

The student must have a visa type that allows them to receive scholarships from the University of Delaware ELI, such as:

• F-1
• J-1
• Permanent Resident (“green card” holder)
• Citizen

Individuals with an F-1 visa must show that their I-20 form will expire at the end of the current session.

Individuals with tourist visa status (B-1, B-2, or ESTA/Visa Waiver Program) are not eligible to receive a scholarship.

If you have a different type of visa than the ones that are listed above and you want to know if you are eligible for a scholarship, please contact ud-eli@udel.edu.
 

2. Meet financial requirements

The ELI provides scholarships to students who need financial assistance in order to continue their English studies and to achieve their academic, linguistic, and/or professional goals; however, it is important to know that the ELI offers only partial tuition scholarships. A typical ELI scholarship will have a value of approximately 30%-40% of tuition (though this percentage is not guaranteed).

Students must show that they can afford at least 60% of tuition, as well as all living expenses, books, health center, and health insurance fees for their program of study.

Students who cannot prove that they are able to afford these expenses will not be considered for a scholarship.

All students are required to submit a detailed bank statement with their scholarship application (i.e., a bank statement showing 2 months activity with the balance in U.S. dollars). The application will not be considered without this information.

Finally, students who prepaid for the next session are not eligible for a scholarship for that session.

Ideal scholarship applicants

The ideal scholarship applicant will have:

• Excellent grades in their ELI courses.
• A strong teacher recommendation.
• Strong attendance in classes and tutoring, and good participation in ELI student activities–we like to see our students engaged in campus activities!
• The ability to afford nearly all fees for one session of study at ELI (see requirement #2 above).
• A part-time job (or some other way to show that the applicant has been taking initiative to meet their financial obligations).

Applying for a Scholarship

Scholarship applications become available to current ELI students in Week 4 of each session. Students will receive an email invitation from the ELI based on their I-20 status.

To be eligible, a student must meet the requirements set out on this page (above).

To apply for a scholarship after receiving an email invitation, students must follow these steps:

1. Complete the scholarship application.
2. List the names and email addresses of two instructors to provide recommendations for your scholarship application.
3. Complete the essay portion of the application. Choose one essay that best explains the reason for your request.
4. Upload the required documents for your application to be considered.
   I-20 r DS2019
   Visa
   Detailed bank statement for the past 2 months (in English)

After all documents have been submitted, they will be given to the ELI Scholarship Committee. Incomplete application packets will not be considered.

The ELI Scholarship Committee meets once per session to decide which students will be awarded a scholarship for the following session.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the scholarship process, please contact Robbie Bushong by email at rbushong@udel.edu.