April Board

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NOLAdentist2016

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The April board results are out now. I just heard from my recruiter and unfortunately I was put on the OML. He said that there really wasn't any scholarship money by the time this board came around (even though as late as last Friday he was calling me telling me I'd definitely get one). Did anyone else have any luck?

I was kind of assuming this would happen, but I was hoping for the best and optimistic that I might actually get a scholarship offer. I was really excited to get into the Army and start being a part of it, not to mention, save 100K in first years tuition.

So, if any of you want to decline your offer to go Navy, AF, Public health, etc, I'd really appreciate it! lol.

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Also, if anyone has any experience with the OML, I'd love some more info. My recruiter says he really doesn't know how it works. In the past couple of years, has it been very likely to get off the list in the summer before school starts? And if not, does everyone on the OML just end up getting the 3-year?
 
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Hi there,

I also heard from my recruiter that I was put on the OML. Army just doesn't have money this year and is laying off soldiers like it's going out of style:
http://progress-index.com/news/military/pentagon-signals-army-layoffs-1.1308167
Guys - it has nothing to do with not having the money. It has everything to do with the scholarships are extremely popular and those that were prepared got their applications in early and were selected for the earlier boards.

The link you share does not apply to the Army Dental Corps.

The scholarships are given out first come first serve. There were 105 scholarships available this year for the Army. This number did not change as the months went by. It is not affected by current economic conditions since this money was ear marked for scholarships several years out.

The number of scholarships has everything to do with how many available slots are in each service. When you forecast fewer people retiring and many more coming in - you can't just keep the 'flood gates' open. Each service has a specific number of dentists they are allowed. All the services have had spectacular recruiting years the past 3-4 yrs, and you will continue to see a decrease in the number of scholarships - not due to money - but due to what the planners forecast as a decreased need as they forecast manpower needs.

Once the scholarships are given out for this year, you can hope to be offered one of the 3 year scholarships next October when they are release. These will be even more competitive since there are even fewer of them and the wait list from the 4 yr scholarships will probably increase each year.

Whether you like the system or not - that's how it is. Hopefully you will help other future dental students learn the lessons you have come to understand about this process to assist them in having the knowledge they need to know to participate in the HPSP program when they apply.
 
What percentage of OMLs eventually received the 4-year scholarship in the last 3 years?

My understanding is that odds of getting 4-year thru OML process are slim-to-none.
 
What percentage of OMLs eventually received the 4-year scholarship in the last 3 years?

My understanding is that odds of getting 4-year thru OML process are slim-to-none.
No way to tell. Scholarships are more popular, therefore # of applicants OML'd will increase. This year there were less 3 yr scholarships offered because of decreased need (looking 4 yrs out). I would anticipate that the same thing will occur this next year, with possibly even fewer scholarships as demand for more dentists decreases. However since I am not in manpower planning, I have not seen what they are forcasting so I would only be guessing.

Short answer - your chance of getting a 4 yr prior to school is based on how many people turn it down - I would like to thing that websites like this help people to be more educated about what will be required prior to applying - thus fewer that turn it down. The chance of getting the 3 yr scholarship - less than this year - couldn't give you an exact number since there will be more people added to the wait list and they haven't released the numbers for how many scholarships next year.
 
24,000 laid off is 24,000 less potential dental patients

Best of luck to people on OML.

The HPSP means hundreds of thousands of dollars, and nearly a 8-9 year future commitment.

Is there anything with greater commitment terms? Maybe a marriage...maybe
 
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