Hello, I would like to throw bunch of questions and see if I could get answer from these. I will start my research on this topic, but I just wanted to throw out these questions first as an initial research. I would very appreciate it if you can answer any of the questions. I am deciding if I should get federal loans to start off my practice later on, or I should start from zero debt with military scholarship. Please be objective on your answers for me. I have zero knowledge about the scholarship, so please bear with me if I am throwing out an obvious question. These are the questions that I have thrown out to recruiters, but seems like they are only providing the good sides of each question, and did not give me clear answers for these.
Before we answer any questions here are some questions for you:
1) If you decide to take this scholarship you need to realize that you may deploy to a war zone. If you do not want to deploy then don't continue with the scholarship application. Deployements can range between 4.5 - 9 months.
2) You are joining the Army. This means that you are both an Officer and a Dentist. You will be required to perform military duty (military schools, physical training, and other military requirements) as well as a dentist. If you are joining with the hope of only being a dentist you will be dissapointed.
1. What would be basic timeline of how whole military service work after graduation? (assuming I will be getting military scholarship for 4 years)
You will owe at a minimum 4 yrs following graduation from dental school. If you choose to do any other post graduate education you will owe more time.
2. After I find my recruiter, would there be certain criteria for me to pass (ex: academically, physically, etc.)
You will be required to have a physical by a military doctor. You will be required to fill out an application, provide letters of recommendation, undergrad GPA, the final requirement for the application will be to have a letter of acceptance from a dental school.
3. If I become a U.S. military dentist who’s serving in the base, would I be in part of military training every morning? How would the whole physical training works for me as an army dentist?
If the unit you belong to does physical training in the mornings you will to. Some do and some don't. You will be required to pass a physical fitness test at least twice a year (some units will do a pretest a month prior for a total of 4 each year). The current fitness test involves pushups, situps, and a 2 mile run. Additionally you will have to maintain a certain weight. Information on the fitness test and the runs can be found if you google "Army APFT" and "Army weight standards"
4. I would like to know what my working hour would be as a military dentist. (per day/ per week)
Somewhere around 7:30 am - 4 pm. M-F. You will also be on call for emergencies. The frequency will vary based upon how many other dentists are at the same location with you.
5. As far as I know, I will be sent-out to certain places – deployment is it? (either within U.S. or foreign countries). Do I get to choose the place? If so, is the place given to military dentists based on their performance/grade or do you guys pick the place randomly (my interest would be to be sent out to Korea, how many spots are available each year? And what are the chances?)
A deployment means you are sent to a location typically where there is a conflict (Iraq, Afghanistan, Horn of Africa). Assignments are what we call the locations at the bases where you work day to day. Although you can volunteer for deployments, if you don't volunteer you can still deploy. Your Commander is in charge of this. There is nothing you can do to minimize your chance of deployment - you have the same chance as everyone else.
Assignments will be presented to you as a choice your senior year. You will be offered several different choices and will rank those choices. Each year the available assignments change based upon who is leaving and how many spots there are total. Therefore there may not be openings at certain bases in a particular year. GPA and performance do not play into assignments (unless you are applying for a specialty program).
6. If I am to stay in the army for 4 years, would I be staying in the same place for 4 years, or do I have to expect to move after certain period?
If you don't do any type of post graduate training then you will stay in the same place for the whole 4 yrs. If you do any type of training you will go to that place, do the training, then move when it is done.
7. Is life expense included in the military scholarship negotiable or fixed at the beginning of school year? And if applicable, may I ask the range of how much money you offer for life expense in the scholarship while I am enrolled in school?
"Life Expense"? Not familiar with this term. All HPSP scholarship recipients are given the same amount for their monthly living stipend. The military will pay for 100% of all required school expenses in addition to the stipend.
8. If I get married during my academic period, do you offer more life expenses for my spouse after marriage? Also, do you guys support my marriage in some ways? (for example, providing place for marriage, marriage fund, or etc.)
No. No.
9. Starting my service in the military, would it be possible for me to commute, or is it mandatory to stick around the base for 4 years?
You can live anywhere you want. The military does not require that you live on or off the base.
10. If I am to involve myself in residence program for specialty, would it count as part of my military time (4 years of service I would assume) or no?
You will owe additional time for any post graduate training that you do.
11. Can you give me summary of what benefits I will be getting as a military dentist, and can you specify those benefits in detail if possible?
You will get a salary and a place to work. You will have very little if any debt from dental school.
12. How many days of vacation are allowed each year, and does that include holidays or separate?
You get 30 days of vacation each year plus federal holidays. If you take 1 week of vacation (Monday-Monday) you use up 7 days of vacation time, not just the 5 days from Monday - Friday).
13. Last question, I will be turning my N-400 to get my neutralization in process. While I apply for my citizenship, would it be possible for me to also apply for military scholarship?
No. You must be a US citizen to apply for the scholarship.
If you are unable to apply for the scholarship because you are not yet a citizen, then you have 2 other choices: 1) Join the Army Reserves after dental school and you can qualify for their loan repayment ($250k for a 6 yr commitment). You only have to have a green card 2) If you get your citizenship before you graduate dental school you can join the active duty and you can do loan repayment ($160k for a 4 yr commitment). Not other options exist if you are not a citizen.
Additional Question: I won’t have the money to pay for my tuition. So, it’s going to be either getting federal loan for my tuition + pay for debt as I work in other dentist’s office + open my practice later on (vs.) get military scholarship start zero for dental tuition + serving in the military pay for my undergraduate loan + after 4 years serving open my practice with financial loan. What do you think would be the fastest way for me to become stable in this field? I want to ultimately open my practice later in my career, and I will ask another forum to guide me through the process of opening a practice.
