- Joined
- May 8, 2011
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Hi everyone. I am considering my options for both paying for medical school and possibly service to my country. As such, I have done some forum reading and other research on branch specific websites on HPSP and FAP in the navy or air force. I am a female late 20s person with recent acceptance to DO school and while I have no problems with deployments right now but might not want longer deployments (short is ok) or constant relocating in my future I also am thinking I may want an EM specialty but as with many things in life that decision may change and I would prefer civilian residency...I am coming in with 60K in grad plus loans already and tuition is 46K/yr + living expenses/COA quoted as 70Kish/yr and the school is a new school that is currently ineligible for federal loans and title iv funds until graduating first class. i will be using primarily scholarships and/or loans for school and will not expect any assistance from my parents (in fact I've paid my own way through college/grad school and the last few yrs I've been helping them out financially). I am not primarily motivated by money rather I am seriously considering my desire to serve and weighing it against other unknown factors that have bearing on my future career and life and am indeed looking at private loans to cover the cost of medical school. In my research I came across the Army National Guard/Reserve - MDSSP and STRAP programs, I wanted to get some clarification and updated information. I apologize if my questions are redundant or silly/easier to find than I think.
1. am i correct in thinking that there is no air force equivalent for MDSSP and STRAP? if so, would i come out of medical school and apply to the air force reserves/national guard for residency to qualify for the stipend program and what is the time commitment for this - ARNG is 8 yrs if you do MDSSP + STAP consecutively right...so air force reserve stipends...is a bit confusing..please compare army guard/reserve MDSSP and STRAP to taking stipend in air force reserve during residency if possible
2. keeping the above information in mind what would you feel is the better option - waiting for FAP or doing a reserve type deal? I also have not eliminated HPSP (awaiting new mcat test scores to determine competitiveness/doing more research to inform my decision and whether the positives of hpsp outweigh the negatives)
taking some time to evaluate what i want and considering all my options before making decisions. thanks in advance
1. am i correct in thinking that there is no air force equivalent for MDSSP and STRAP? if so, would i come out of medical school and apply to the air force reserves/national guard for residency to qualify for the stipend program and what is the time commitment for this - ARNG is 8 yrs if you do MDSSP + STAP consecutively right...so air force reserve stipends...is a bit confusing..please compare army guard/reserve MDSSP and STRAP to taking stipend in air force reserve during residency if possible
2. keeping the above information in mind what would you feel is the better option - waiting for FAP or doing a reserve type deal? I also have not eliminated HPSP (awaiting new mcat test scores to determine competitiveness/doing more research to inform my decision and whether the positives of hpsp outweigh the negatives)
taking some time to evaluate what i want and considering all my options before making decisions. thanks in advance