The L. Arthur O'Neill Education Fund Requirements
- The financial need of the applicant as determined from information in the application and interview and worthiness as determined from recommendations and school records are the major criteria on which decisions about loans are based. All applicants should have a C average and are required to maintain a C average in college studies in order to remain eligible for assistance.
- Applications must be filed by May 1st preceding the school year in which a loan is to be used. Loans are usually granted for a school year and are issued by semesters. This does not preclude making loans for summer sessions or single semesters.
- An applicant must be interviewed by two or more members of the Board of Trustees each time his application is considered for action.
- Each loan recipient must have enrollment for each semester confirmed by the college attended. Forms for doing this are provided. A report of academic standing must be submitted at the end of each grading period as soon as grades are available.
- A new application is necessary for each year.
- Repayment of loans must begin six months after graduation, withdrawal from school, or ceases to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Fund that the recipient continues to be a full-time student. Each loan recipient must notify the Board of Trustees promptly when either event takes place. Prompt notification of change of address, marital status, or college attended must also be given. It is expected that loan recipients will always respond as requested to communications from the Board of Trustees.
- Failure of a loan recipient to meet the terms of repayment will mean that the guarantors of the note(s) are expected to assume responsibility of repayment without delay.
- The Board of Trustees treats every application individually, making at all times a conscientious effort to have the Fund serve the young people of Sumter County in the best possible way.
- All applicants are expected to familiarize themselves with the information presented here and to follow through on the procedures described. Applications which are received by May 1st of any given year will take precedence over any which come late. No assurance can be given that late applications or those which are made because of an emergency situation will be considered.
- The rate of interest charged on loans is modest. No interest is charged until six months after the student has graduated or withdrawn from school. Repayment is made over a period of five years or less, a minimum payment of $25.00 a month being required.
- Any young man or woman residing in the City of County of Sumter may make application for a loan, subject to the stated rules, if the college or university to be attended is in South Carolina. Application forms are available in all of the high schools and colleges in the county, in the office of the Judge of Probate, and by writing to the mailing address of the Fund.