To be eligible for consideration, all individuals must: ◊ have dentistry as their career choice ◊ be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident (preference will be given to residents of the State of Texas) ◊ have completed 60 semester hours of college by the end of the Spring Semester, 2011 ◊ have completed 8 hours of general chemistry, 8 hours of biology, and 8 hours of organic chemistry by the end of the Spring Semester, 2011 ◊ provide all transcripts from colleges/universities attended ◊ have a grade point average of 2.75 or higher ◊ submit an application, including a one-page essay stating how SPEP-Collegiate will benefit the applicant’s pursuit of dentistry as a career ◊ submit one letter of recommendation from the applicant’s Pre- Health Advisor (or Advisory Committee) or two letters of recommendation from science faculty ◊ complete a phone interview with Program staff ◊ sign a contract, agreeing to participate in all required Program activities ◊ have first and second injections of the Hepatitis B vaccination series completed before attending the Program ◊ have a history of overcoming adverse circumstances (examples: low socioeconomic status; 1st generation in college; English is a second language; resident of financially poor school district; attended low-performing high school; middle or high school home responsibility; single parent family; non-traditional student, including older age; employment while attending college; overcame or is experiencing extreme hardship; resident of a county designated as underserved by health professionals; resident of lowest 10% per capita income county; etc.) ◊ demonstrate a strong potential of working with underserved populations or in communities with limited access to dental health care