Navy HPSP and becoming a doctor?

[Navyboi1]

Hey all,
I am currently in the Navy as a Corpsman and currently I am in lab tech c school. I already have a bachelors but I need some pre reqs for med school. I have about 4 years left on my contract so I know this is a little early in the game to be talking about HPSP unless I get a conditional release to attend medical school. I am planning on taking the pre reqs when I get to my next duty station after I get approved for TA. Also I plan on taking the MCAT too.
My question is... what would your advice be for someone who wants to become a doctor in the Military while currently enlisted and how would you go about it?
How soon should someone apply for the scholarship before med school?
Should I finish my time in the Navy and try to go in another branch? If you guys could give me advice I would really appreciate it.
Thanks

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[68PGunner]

My question is... what would your advice be for someone who wants to become a doctor in the Military while currently enlisted and how would you go about it?

Start knocking out your prereqs the first moment you have a chance even if you have to pay out of pocket for the first 12 months.

How soon should someone apply for the scholarship before med school?

You apply for the scholarship when you get the acceptance letter. However, I suggest for you to get the conditional release paperwork ready when you start your med school application.

Should I finish my time in the Navy and try to go in another branch? If you guys could give me advice I would really appreciate it.
Thanks

Finish your prereqs asap and then get into med school. This question is pointless right now when you haven't gotten to that stage yet.

 

[Red Lobster Actual]

My question is... what would your advice be for someone who wants to become a doctor in the Military while currently enlisted and how would you go about it?

HM, I think the prevailing opinions from the veterans and mil physicians is that you should actually finish up your service as an enlisted, go to a good and low tuition university to finish up your pre-reqs. You say you have a bachelors already? I still think the advice holds. The pre-requisite classes needed for medical school are no joke and you must achieve A's in those classes. Additionally, from what I have heard it is rather difficult to study for the MCAT while active duty and you would want to do as well as possible on that as well.

How soon should someone apply for the scholarship before med school?

In general, you would want to start putting in the paperwork for HPSP as soon as you put in your primary application (AMCAS) for medical school.

Also, have you heard of USUHS? They have a program Enlisted to Medical Degree if you are sure you want to stay active duty. Check it out here:
https://www.usuhs.edu/emdp2

Since you already have a bachelors you are eligible for this program.

 

[68PGunner]

BTW, you can't get TA for your premed prereqs since you already have a degree. I was only able to get TA for my last orgo class by me telling them that my hpsp paperwork is ready with a med school acceptance letter. They were only able to waive me from the reqs for 5-6 months.

 

[68PGunner]

Additionally, from what I have heard it is rather difficult to study for the MCAT while active duty and you would want to do as well as possible on that as well.

This is actually true depending on your unit mobilization level. I was at an infantry unit and we went to the field every 4-6 weeks. Studying the MCAT under those conditions was useless. I actually under-performed on my MCAT.

Also, have you heard of USUHS? They have a program Enlisted to Medical Degree if you are sure you want to stay active duty. Check it out here:
https://www.usuhs.edu/emdp2

Since you already have a bachelors you are eligible for this program.

He's not competitive for EMDP right now considering that all the selected people are NCOs with at least 6 years in the service.

 

[Red Lobster Actual]

He's not competitive for EMDP right now considering that all the selected people are NCOs with at least 6 years in the service.

That...makes a ton of sense. Yea, just looked up the 2016 cohort for Navy, all first or second class petty officers.

 

[Navyboi1]

BTW, you can't get TA for your premed prereqs since you already have a degree. I was only able to get TA for my last orgo class by me telling them that my hpsp paperwork is ready with a med school acceptance letter. They were only able to waive me from the reqs for 5-6 months.

So what would be the best course of action with TA? I also have the GI bill but would rather not use that and save it for my kids. Should I go in with a pre med degree with TA?

 

[Navyboi1]

So my plan of action should be to finish my service while trying to finish the pre reqs asap any way possible. Should I apply for med school towards the end of my contract maybe 6 months to a year? I know its pretty common to not get selected the first round...

 

[68PGunner]

So what would be the best course of action with TA? I also have the GI bill but would rather not use that and save it for my kids. Should I go in with a pre med degree with TA?

There is a way to circumvent the TA restriction. But, I would suggest for you to pay out of pocket and knock out your prereqs as much as possible asap.

If you have a BA, you can't use TA unless you're taking classes to get a higher degree. However, that restriction doesn't matter if you're taking classes for a military program. In your case, it would be HPSP. However, it would be much easier to sell your HPSP case if you have an acceptance letter already. I was able to get $1,200 to pay for my last two prereqs before matriculation.

Don't use the GI bill to pay for your classes. It is a ripoff since you're only getting like the supposedly 30-40% of the max benefits as in no BAH.

 

[68PGunner]

So my plan of action should be to finish my service while trying to finish the pre reqs asap any way possible. Should I apply for med school towards the end of my contract maybe 6 months to a year? I know its pretty common to not get selected the first round...

HPSP is not competitive if you have a medical school acceptance letter. EMDP is competitive.

If you are going to finish your service, you should apply to medical school 8-12 months out. You want to go straight to medical school after 2-3 months of your ETS date.

 

[notdeadyet]

I would verify the idea that TA only applies to degree granting endeavors. My understanding is that "certificate" programs qualify, and a lot of post-bac programs use that model. They are eligible for federal financial aid.

OP- If you have the type of duty that permits you to do it and do it WELL, you might consider taking the one year General Chemistry sequence (with lab). This way, if you defer the rest of your pre-reqs until after you are out, you can potentially complete them in one year (Gen Chem is a pre few to Organic Chemistry).

 

[Navyboi1]

Thank you all very much for the information!

 

[backrow]

HPSP is not competitive if you have a medical school acceptance .

Not accurate for the Navy. Med school acceptance does not equate auto acceptance for HPSP. There are plenty of new, for profit, DO schools who are willing to take really substandard applicants to get that sweet, sweet money. For the Navy you'll want to shoot for at least a 3.5 GPA, >500 on the new MCAT (>30 on old) and a well rounded application. Prior service certainly helps but won't overcome a bad academic record. (Not saying that is the case here).


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[68PGunner]

I would verify the idea that TA only applies to degree granting endeavors. My understanding is that "certificate" programs qualify, and a lot of post-bac programs use that model. They are eligible for federal financial aid.

OP- If you have the type of duty that permits you to do it and do it WELL, you might consider taking the one year General Chemistry sequence (with lab). This way, if you defer the rest of your pre-reqs until after you are out, you can potentially complete them in one year (Gen Chem is a pre few to Organic Chemistry).

You can also get around that restriction by taking prereqs for military programs such as the nursing program or IPA. I used the same understanding to bs my way towards them granting me TA for my prereqs before matriculation by mentioning HPSP for medical school.