Fee Assistance Program

The ADEA DHCAS Fee Assistance Program (FAP) was created to reduce the cost of applying to dental hygiene programs for students who demonstrate extreme financial need. FAP is an independent program offered by ADEA and is not affiliated with any government, college or university, scholarship, grant or fellowship program. Fee waivers are limited in number and provided to qualified applicants on a first-come, first-served basis. Fee waiver requests can be made as soon as an application is created; however, requests must be made and submitted before application submission. It is recommended that applicants contact customer service prior to submitting fee waiver request to determine if waivers are still available. Previous fee waiver recipients may still apply for another waiver in next cycle.

The amount of fee assistance covers the initial application fee of $50 and allows applicants to apply to one (1) ADEA DHCAS program. Applicants receiving fee assistance are responsible for the incremental fee for each additional program applied to ($35 per program). 

ADEA DHCAS eligibility for fee assistance is based on income, or parental income if the applicant is claimed as a dependent, as reported on the most recent Federal Income Tax Return. 

It is important to read all FAP policies and instructions carefully before completing a FAP application. Failing to follow instructions may result in a delay in processing requests, missed deadlines, and disqualification for fee assistance. Applicants applying to FAP should not submit the ADEA DHCAS application while the FAP application is under review. 

Fee Assistance Program Instructions

To be eligible, an applicant’s income must be less than 300% (3x) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’s) poverty level guidelines (see “ADEA Financial Assistance Program” chart below), based on number of people in the household. Applicants must complete the following steps to be considered for ADEA DHCAS FAP:

1. Create an ADEA DHCAS application.
   
2. Click on your name in the top right corner to access the “Fee Assistance Program” link from the dropdown menu. 
   
3. Fill out the fields in online form with the applicant or parent’s Household Annual Income for the most recent tax year and the current number of members in the applicant’s household.
   
4. Attach a scanned copy of the most recent Federal Income Tax Return for the applicant or parent (Forms 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ) to the online form. Remember, if the applicant is still claimed as dependent by a parent or guardian, ADEA DHCAS requires the parent’s or guardian’s Federal Income Tax Return, not the applicant’s.

Await Notification

Applicants should not e-submit their ADEA DHCAS applications until they are notified whether or not they have been granted fee assistance. FAP processing takes up to ten business days. Fee assistance will be denied for applications submitted before a decision has been reached. All fee assistance decisions are final. 

FAP Approval

Applicants awarded fee assistance will have 30 calendar days from the date fee assistance is granted to submit their application. If the application is not submitted within that timeframe, the fee assistance application will be voided, the funds will be allocated to another qualifying applicant, and the applicant cannot reapply for fee assistance.

Low-Income Levels

Use the ADEA poverty guidelines chart below to determine if an applicant and his or her family are eligible for the ADEA DHCAS FAP. The second column shows the U.S. Poverty Level Guidelines, which determine a family’s federal poverty level. The third column lists the ADEA DHCAS Poverty Guidelines, which are used to determine eligibility for the ADEA DHCAS Fee Assistance Program (the numbers in this column are three times greater than the numbers in the second column).