The recipient will be selected on the basis of financial need, scholastic ability, and admission to the University of Houston, College of Optometry. All that is required is an approved admission which can be granted conditionally upon completing the remainder of your pre-optometry courses. While grades are a consideration and a C average is required for admission to the College of Optometry, financial need and overall ability of the applicant weigh heavily. If any state listed above does not have a qualified applicant by August 15, the Faculty Scholarships Committee will consider applicants from other states for the scholarship. The Foundation for Education and Research in Vision Offers 4 scholarships of $200 each. Unrestricted Scholarships These are offered by the University and optometry students may apply. William J. Kuhlman Memorial Scholarship $200 to a College of Optometry student. Scholarship awarded from income from bequest by Dr. William J. Kuhlman. Loan Funds Education Funds Plan Provides funds to meet any or all costs of an education. Repayment is by convenient monthly installments. National Defense Student Loan Program Full-time students or prospective full-time students are eligible to apply. Students may borrow up to $5,000 at the rate of $1,000 per year, based on financial need, ability to do college work and character. Repayment of loans must begin one year after ter mination or graduation. Loans bear simple interest on the unpaid balance at the rate of 3% per year. Total loans and interest thereon must be repaid within 10 years after termination or grad uation. University Loan Funds Any student who has established a satisfactory academic record for at least one year at the university and who has a good financial record is eligible for a loan. Loans are made for a term of one to three months depending upon the amount borrowed. A few long-term loans are made to students of upper class standing, subject to repayment during the summer or after graduation. Dames Loan Fund Fund established by University of Houston Dames Club to provide needy and deserving students with the opportunity to borrow up to $50 to meet emergencies. These loans are to be repaid monthly (installments) with no interest. ACKNOWLEDGMENT Special acknowledgment is made to the authors of the textbook on VISION OF THE AGING PATIENT published by The Chilton Company - Book Division, Philadelphia and edited by Monroe J. Hirsch, O. D., Ph.D. and Ralph E. Wick, O. D. All references quoted in the text and much of the material used in the preparation of this report was taken directly from this source. FOREWORD Not many years ago, a pair of spectacles was symbolic of old age, and old age was a vague period of life that most individuals sought to escape. In doing so, they often refused to admit their vision was becoming defective, that what they read easily before, now became a blurred challenge, that, where in most cases, they now had more time for leisure activities, they could no longer fully enjoy them. But pride said, "Don't submit to old age .... don't give in to father time .... don't show everyone you're getting old .... by wearing glasses." Today, we realize that reduced visual efficiency is nothing to be ashamed of. It occurs in both old and young alike. In the aging person, it is a natural physiological change that takes place. When properly corrected, vision offers the senior citizen the facilities to indulge in all his regular activities with interest, vigor, and visual efficiency. A greatly increased life span (from 20 or 30 years of age during the Roman Empire, to 40 years of age by 1850, to 50 years of age at the turn of the century, to almost 70 years of age today, and even more tomorrow) has created many problems for the human being. Much the same, it has created new areas of research for the ophthalmic professions. Increased longevity has changed our pattern of life, and our modern environment makes more and more demands on vision that optometry must cope with and conquer. From a clinical viewpoint in optometry, a demarkation had to be made to indicate where youth ends and aging begins. Through studies, the age of 40 was found to be the place in life where presbyopia (a clinical classification for "old age" vision deficiencies) begins. The actual age depends on the individual, but by the age of 50 to 55, the process has taken place in nearly all persons, and some type of visual correction is necessary. – ii – Since presbyopia appears around the age of 40 .... (long before most companies even consider retiring their employees at least 30 years prior to the end of today's life expectancy), it becomes apparent that vision is no longer a problem of the aged, but rather the aging. Optometry gives special attention to the vision problems of our senior generation. Recognizing the physiological and psychological changes that accompany normal aging, optometry is concerned with visual acuity, refraction, accommodation, and the visual neuromuscular system. Optical aids and clinical techniques used offer every American a more productive, comfortable, self-sufficient life, even in the late years, through good vision care. Old age can well be the golden years of human life. The optometric profession can help to make it that, by the proper care of the most vital of senses vision! |