Guidelines for Scholarship – Loan Funds

Of the

Eastern Shore Dental Society

2011

This document is intended to serve as a framework for the rules to grant scholarship-loan funds to applicants in dental studies. The goal of this project is to enhance interest and assist in financial relief to future dental office staff on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

The funds are in the form of a “scholarship-loan” to be referred henceforth in this document as a “loan”. The amount of the loan will be determined by the scholarship committee.

The “loan” will be forgiven and become a gifted scholarship when the candidate has successfully completed one year of full time employment for each academic year of financial assistance while employed in the office of a member of the Eastern Shore Dental Society.

Eligibility:

  1. The applicant will be required to work on the Eastern Shore for an ESDS member after completion of his/her education. Applicants presently residing on the Eastern Shore will be given greater preference over those residing outside this area.
  2. The applicant must be accepted to an institute of dental education in a degree or certification program. Greater preference will be given to those individuals studying for a degree and employment in a career deemed by the scholarship committee of the ESDS to have a shortage of qualified personnel, (i.e. – RDH’s, EFDA’s, etc.) These shortages will be evaluated on a yearly basis.

Criteria:

  1. The applicant will be required to excel academically. He/she will maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Copies of high school and college transcripts are required.
  2. The applicant will be required to write a 200 word essay. This will describe their personal character, leadership skills and reasons for their interest in the dental profession. This document must be handwritten, neat and concise.
  3. Three letters of recommendation are required. They must be written by a dentist, one of the applicants’ teachers and a community leader who is knowledgeable of the applicant.
  4. All candidates will be interviewed in person by the ESDS Scholarship Committee prior to a final decision on the scholarship-loan. The scholarship committee will make the final decision on the candidate selection and the amount of each scholarship-loan by simple majority vote. The current members of the scholarship committee are: Dr. Bernard Dormer, Dr. Irving Shen, Dr. Jeffrey Taylor, Dr. Debra Welsh and Dr. Celeste Ziara.
  5. All prerequisite courses that are necessary to enter the training program must be completed prior to the release of scholarship-loan funds.
  6. The scholarship-loan funds will be distributed by the Treasurer of the ESDS, under direction of the scholarship committee, directly to the business office of the training institution upon presentation of the tuition bill to the ESDS.
  7. Applicants may re-apply for additional funds after their first full academic year.
  8. In order for the scholarship-loan to be forgiven, the applicant must work on a full time basis in an office of a member of the ESDS. For each academic year of funding by the ESDS, the applicant will work one year in an ESDS member office. Full time is defined as 32 hours per week for at least 48 weeks of the year (1536 hours/year).
  9. If for any reason, a candidate does not fulfill the terms as outlined above (item 10), the scholarship-loan will be considered to be a loan. It must be repaid to the ESDS within 90 days of the end of the candidate’s studies or the termination of employment. If unable to pay in full within such period, the applicant may request a payment plan, with a length not to exceed 36 months. Any changes or extensions due to unforeseen circumstances may be made to this protocol solely at the discretion of the ESDS scholarship committee. In the event of non-payment of any amount due, the ESDS will refer the collection of the unpaid loan to a receivable collection company. The applicant will be responsible for all accrued interest, finance charges, handling costs and attorney’s fees. The interest on any unpaid balance under this scholarship-loan shall be at the Annual Percentage Rate of 10%.
  10. Sign below and mail this 3 page application/guidelines with all other required documents for evaluation by the scholarship committee to:

Eastern Shore Dental Society

c/o Jeanne Bromwell, Executive Secretary

101 Shawnee Circle

Cambridge, MD 21613

This signed document will thereby acknowledge that the applicant understands and agrees with the terms of the scholarship-loan. Application deadline is July 1st.

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Applicant SignatureDate

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Parent/Guardian Signature (if applicant is under age 18)Date

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