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.
To date, over 1,815 in-district residents have applied for Freedom to Dream 2.0.
And, for anyone living within the Del Mar College taxing district but hesitant about beginning a journey in higher education, ask 31-year-old Pamela Mangum about how her life is changing as a participant in the program.
The 2013 Tuloso-Midway High School graduate “signed the dotted line” last year and is among more than 1,700 in-district students enrolled at DMC through the Freedom to Dream initiative. The program is supporting her journey to complete her associate’s degree in computer programming, a dream that might have gone unfulfilled without that assistance.
Like many individuals’ experiences, Mangum started college right after high school but then dropped out when mounting family obligations and challenges took precedence. In her case, the birth of her daughter with a medical condition requiring round-the-clock care, her husband’s full-time job and apprenticeship to become an electrician as well as living and medical expenses leading to a paycheck-to-paycheck existence put her college education on hold.
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