AACD Student Essay Criteria
- An internal committee made up of the Director of Marketing & Membership, Director of Credentialing, Director of Professional Education, Director of Strategic Partners, Director of the AACDCF and the Chief Operating Officer, gather and review the applicant submissions.
- Prior to review, the reviewers evaluate the essay criteria that they will independently use to rate each of the dental student essays on the social and/or scientific benefits of cosmetic dentistry.
- Essay Review Criteria
- Importance of ideas in the essay about social or scientific benefits of cosmetic dentistry.
- Clarity and organization of the essay as an explanation about the importance of cosmetic dentistry.
- Indications of emphasis on cosmetic dentistry from applicants educational and career plans.
- Support for the applicant in the two letters of recommendation, as an indication of likely career promise.
- Indications from the applicant’s academic history about career directions related to cosmetic dentistry.
- The reviewers then rate each applicant based off of the above criteria. Each reviewer uses a scale from 1 (low) to 4 (high), and adds brief comments to clarify the basis for the rating, to indicate the quality of the essay and related information on each criterion, as a prediction of career promise. The criteria are listed in descending order of importance, so the most weight should be given to criteria 1 and 2, some to criterion 3, and a little to criteria 4 and 5.
- After preliminary tabulation of ratings, the reviewers discuss their results to clarify the basis of their current ratings and decision.
- Based on reviewers ratings and discussion, scholarships are awarded to the top applicants.
- At the end of the review process, discussion takes place on the process to decide if there should be a revision to the criteria and procedures for future submissions.
Created by Alan Knox 6/12/12