The Foundation for Seacoast Health awards scholarships ranging from $1000 to $5000 each year. Candidates must be pursuing a health-related field of study in a degree program in an accredited institution of learning. Scholarship awards only may be used for tuition, books, health insurance, educational fees, and course related medical equipment.

Awards are based on academic achievement, community service, and dedication to health related field of study.  Financial need will be considered if optional additional financial information on Page 3 of the application is completed.

At a minimum, two scholarship awards are made each year:

Edwina Foye Award for Outstanding Graduate Student

The Edwina Foye scholarship was established in 1985 by colleagues, friends, and family to honor the memory of Edwina Foye, RN, a nurse who dedicated twenty-five years of service to Portsmouth Hospital (1952-1978). This scholarship is awarded at the Foundation's Annual Meeting in April to a graduate student who is a resident in one of the nine towns in the Foundation area. The individual selected for this award must be pursuing a career in health and demonstrate outstanding academic achievement and personal accomplishments.

Steven Cutter Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Student

The Steven Scott Cutter scholarship was established by the Board of Trustees in 1999 in memory of Steven, son of Nancy L. Cutter, Foundation for Seacoast Health Administration Executive. Steven was a 1989 graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas High School and a 1994 graduate of the University of Connecticut College of Pharmacy. The Steven Scott Cutter Scholarship will be awarded at the Foundation's Annual Meeting in April to an outstanding undergraduate student who is a resident in one of the nine towns in the Foundation area and who is pursuing a health-related field of study.

Eligibility

To be eligible for award consideration, applicants continuously must have been and continue to be a resident of one (or more) of the following communities (Portsmouth, North Hampton, Greenland, Rye, Newington, New Castle, New Hampshire; or, Kittery, Eliot, or York, Maine for a minimum of two (2) years (January 2009-Present) prior to the 2011-2012 Scholarship Program.

Applicants must be pursuing a health-related field of study as an undergraduate or graduate student in an accredited institution of learning. Greatest consideration will be given to academic achievement as exemplified by class rank, GPA, and test scores; also considered are course difficulty, work shortage areas of need in Seacoast, job experience, community service, evidence of dedication to chosen field of study, and financial need.

Selection Process

The Scholarship Committee consists of community volunteers from a variety of health related fields. To insure objective analysis of each request, the applications are scored using a blind selection process. This means that all references to a candidates' identity have been deleted prior to Committee review. Each application is assigned a total score by individual Committee members based upon eight areas of review. The Committee then deliberates the collective results and selects one undergraduate and one graduate candidate for scholarship consideration.

Application Review Criteria

• Academic Excellence (National Test Scores, Grade Point Average, and Course Difficulty)
• Financial Need (Optional)
• Statements of Support (Statements support appropriateness of candidates choice of health-related field of studies, personal attributes, and evidence of leadership, motivation, and maturity)
• Employment Experience in Health-related field
• Community Involvement (voluntary involvement in community relative to health field of study of choice of career)
• Personal Essay (Relation of essay topic to health studies or career choice)
• Personal Goals (Evidence of commitment to field of health and potential for return to serve foundation communities)
• Choice of Career in Workforce Shortage Areas (Special consideration will be give to candidates who are pursuing a career as a primary care practitioner, nurse, dentist, dental hygienist, and pharmacist)

Distribution of Awards

Scholarship recipients and non-recipients shall be notified in early April. Awards will be paid in two equal installments per academic year with the first being issued on or after the third Tuesday in August and the second on or before December 30. Checks shall be issued jointly to the student and the school and must be endorsed by both parties. Checks shall not be issued until all components of the terms of agreement, signed by each scholarship recipient, have been met.

Obligations of Award Recipients

Prior to any funds being discharged, scholarship recipients are required to submit verification of enrollment in an accredited institution as a part-time (8 or more credits) or full time student and confirmation of acceptance into a health-related field of study. At the end of the academic year, recipients must provide the Foundation for Seacoast Health with an official transcript and a financial accounting of how the scholarship monies were used.

Financial Aid

A scholarship recipient who applies for financial aid may encounter reductions of, or amendments to, his/her institutional aid because of this scholarship award. To receive financial aid, state and federal regulations require that a candidate for receipt of financial aid must report all outside awards to the financial aid office of the institution he/she attends or plans to attend. If a student provides inaccurate application information or incomplete information about outside awards and personal resources, he/she risks jeopardizing his/her entire financial aid package as well as his/her Foundation for Seacoast Health Award.

Additional Information

If the Foundation determines that any part of an award has been used for improper purposes, it may take all reasonable and appropriate steps either to recover the funds, or restore the diverted funds to the purposes being financed by the Foundation. Candidates who do not complete all components of the terms of agreement could jeopardize their future scholarship eligibility.

All awards are made without regard to race, creed, color, sex, age, veteran, or marital status, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or national origin. All information such as initial applications, references, student records and reports which are secured by the Foundation to evaluate the qualification of applicants or the documents required annually from Scholarship recipients become the property of the Foundation for Seacoast Health.

How to Apply 

To apply for a scholarship, an applicant must complete and postmark his or her application to the Foundation for Seacoast Health no later than March 1st.

All candidates must submit scores from appropriate tests (see list below) prior to the scholarship application deadline even if test scores are not required by schools for admittance. Scores from tests administered prior to 2005 are inadmissible for traditional students.  Non-traditional students (individuals returning to school after an extended absence of 5 years or more) should contact the Foundation for Seacoast Health office for further clarification.

Required Test Scores

Graduate Students

• Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or Graduate Medical Aptitude Test (GMAT) 
• Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) 
• Dental Admission Test (DAT) 
• National League of Nursing Admissions Test (NLN) 

(Millers Analogy is not acceptable in lieu of the above)

Undergraduate Students

• Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) 
• National League of Nursing Admissions Test (NLN)
• American College Test (ACT)

Application Forms

Applicants are required to use the following Foundation for Seacoast Health application materials:

• 2011 Scholarship Application
• 2011 Student Assessment Form - Three required (Note: Graduating high school seniors may submit 3 of the Teacher Evaluation Forms used in The Common Application)
• Application Checklist
  See checklist for required attachments to application

Go to the Scholarship Forms page to download application materials.

Letters of Support emphasizing candidate's health-related goals may be attached to but may not be substituted for the three required Student Assessment Forms. Any candidate who has previously received a Foundation for Seacoast Health award must submit new references each year and at least two from current professors/teachers (if applicant is enrolled in school.) References submitted from past years will not be acceptable and will cause an application to be deemed incomplete.

When taking the GRE, to have an official copy of your test scores sent directly to the Foundation for Seacoast Health, use our Educational Testing Service code number 3145 on your GRE application.

The Foundation for Seacoast Health reserves the right to request additional information and not to process applications found to be incomplete as of the application deadline, March 1st.