HPSP Questions

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Hi all, question about military hpsp terms of service -

Does the time spent in military general practice or specialty residencies count towards the service requirement you owe? Most interested in navy hpsp.

Also, is it too late to apply for fall 2012 scholarship?

Thanks

Time spent as military dentist counts toward service requirement. Time spent attending specialty program in military or a civilian program for which military pays does not count toward service requirement. Basically, if the military is paying for your education, you will owe. So if you decide to specialize, then you'll owe about 7 years to the military, unless of course you attend a civilian program and pay for it yourself, in which case you'll only owe 4 years.

It's too late for scoring a scholarship for fall 2012. It's a long process involving physical, interview and such. Not sure if any recruiter will want to stress and work their tail off in their already busy schedule to try to submit an app at this point.

Originally Posted by Silencio

Time spent as military dentist counts toward service requirement. Time spent attending specialty program in military or a civilian program for which military pays does not count toward service requirement. Basically, if the military is paying for your education, you will owe. So if you decide to specialize, then you'll owe about 7 years to the military, unless of course you attend a civilian program and pay for it yourself, in which case you'll only owe 4 years.

thanks.

Originally Posted by Silencio

Time spent as military dentist counts toward service requirement. Time spent attending specialty program in military or a civilian program for which military pays does not count toward service requirement. Basically, if the military is paying for your education, you will owe. So if you decide to specialize, then you'll owe about 7 years to the military, unless of course you attend a civilian program and pay for it yourself, in which case you'll only owe 4 years.

It's too late for scoring a scholarship for fall 2012. It's a long process involving physical, interview and such. Not sure if any recruiter will want to stress and work their tail off in their already busy schedule to try to submit an app at this point.

Not true, you can definitely still get one.

Originally Posted by TXistheReason

Not true, you can definitely still get one.

Correct. While I'm involved in Medical Corps, the Dental Corps boards meet throughout the year.

They have a chunk of scholarships to award per year, so when you apply, while it gets more competitive as the year progresses, they review you and either give a professional recommendation or not. If you're not PROREC'd, you should re-apply as soon as possible the next fiscal year (ie 01OCT12).

july is the deadline. my recruiter (army) is still on my case. i haven't even scheduled a physical, as i'm on the waitlist at 1 school, and I really don't think my chances are favorable.

but the bottom line is, it isn't too late.

Originally Posted by preDENT1210

july is the deadline. my recruiter (army) is still on my case. i haven't even scheduled a physical, as i'm on the waitlist at 1 school, and I really don't think my chances are favorable.

but the bottom line is, it isn't too late.

I would go ahead and do the physical to make sure you don't miss out on a spot. I am also waitlisted at one school, but I did the MEPS physical so I won't have to worry about scheduling one after I am accepted. Also, if you are a female and haven't done so in the past year, you will have to get a physical and labwork from your own MD as well, that is pretty much the only thing they don't do to you at MEPS. It took about a month to get an appt. with my doc, so don't wait on that.

Originally Posted by dentite1127

I would go ahead and do the physical to make sure you don't miss out on a spot. I am also waitlisted at one school, but I did the MEPS physical so I won't have to worry about scheduling one after I am accepted. Also, if you are a female and haven't done so in the past year, you will have to get a physical and labwork from your own MD as well, that is pretty much the only thing they don't do to you at MEPS. It took about a month to get an appt. with my doc, so don't wait on that.

well i'm a guy so i don't have to worry about the latter.

i put on a bit of weight since i first contacted my recruiter, so even if i do schedule a physical i'm afraid i won't make the weight cut due to being like 5-6 pounds over

Hi all, Navy Recruiter here. It is some what late in the game for 4 year Dental HPSP scholarships. We are winding down, but there are some slots available. I recommend applying for HPSP and also a second program we offer, the Health Services Collegiate Program (HSCP), which is an active duty program. You ENLIST as an E6 in the Navy and your "job" is to be a dental student. You are paid as an active duty service member in paygrade E6. It is approximately 45,000 per year. You still have to obtain the loans to pay for school, but you can take your pay and repay the loans or a large portion each term if you are frugal and don't go crazy spending. A portion of the 45K is called Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and a portion is called Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) also called food allowance. BAH is based on location. BAS is fixed rate for all enlisted. There are several benefits to HSCP including the time in counts towards retirement if you decide you like the Navy and do 20 years, you would only have 16 to go. Also, it is a year for year payback, so once you finish dental school and the 4 year payback, you are only 12 years away from a life time retirement check WITHOUT paying into a 401K or IRA. Also, as an HSCP student you ARE NOT going to be deployed. YOU ARE A FULL TIME STUDENT while in HSCP. You are subject to the random drug test all military members take and you will have to pass a physical fitness assessment 2x per year. The list goes on and on. Please contact your local recruiter for more info on this program. There are normally 20-40 slots per graduation year avialable NATION wide. We do not have regional quotas. Good Luck to you all!

Was not sure where to post:

I had ulcerative colitis and had a colectomy...which should be "currative". The Navy took me as an HPSP student after 2 years of watching me and waivers. I was in perfect health when they finally put me through. Over the past year it looks like the initial diagnosis was wrong and I have had issues with Crohn's now. My back is also an issue and I have suspicions that I might have ankylosing spondylitis. I submitted all of this new information and medical records but I do not know how this will pan out.

I want to finish my commitment but I don't know if I am physically up to it anymore, and what will the Navy do with me now? Any insight would be helpful, I guess I am just waiting for my records to be reviewed at the moment.