Questions... Just started school on 4yr Army HPSP

[twh019]

So three days of Orientation have passed and today was my first day of dental school.
I was just noticed today from financial aid that my HPSP scholarship has been made available and it looks like pretty much all my tuiton/most fees are covered.

On the other hand, my bonus and stipend I am trying to figure out. I am confused between what my MODS FAQ section says and what I just heard from a guy on the military pay phoneline.

So basically, I haven't received any stipend or any of the sign-on bonus yet. I know that stipend only goes out on first and fifteenth of the month, but the guy on the military pay phoneline told me I would receive stipend on the last day of this month. Is this right?
Also he told me that I wouldn't begin to receive any of the sign-on bonus until August 15th... which will be just shy of a month since I've started school.

On the other hand the FAQ on MODS that asks about sign on bonus says
A: Your stipend and signing bonus will start on the latest date between your oath of office, signing your service agreement (contract) and the class start date in the first semester of scholarship participation. Usually the latest date is the class start date. The bonus is dispersed in three payments of 9k, 9k, and 2k within 30 days of the first stipend check being dispersed.

This doesn't make any sense to me. Isn't the stipend and sign-on bonus supposed to be there to help me with things like the laptop/organization fees that HPSP doesn't cover? It doesn't make sense that I have to wait to get the money when the intent of it will be gone by the time I get it.

And FYI, I'm not complaining about this... I'm just confused as to what the deal is here.

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[ALTOSS]

So three days of Orientation have passed and today was my first day of dental school.
I was just noticed today from financial aid that my HPSP scholarship has been made available and it looks like pretty much all my tuiton/most fees are covered.

On the other hand, my bonus and stipend I am trying to figure out. I am confused between what my MODS FAQ section says and what I just heard from a guy on the military pay phoneline.

So basically, I haven't received any stipend or any of the sign-on bonus yet. I know that stipend only goes out on first and fifteenth of the month, but the guy on the military pay phoneline told me I would receive stipend on the last day of this month. Is this right?
Also he told me that I wouldn't begin to receive any of the sign-on bonus until August 15th... which will be just shy of a month since I've started school.

On the other hand the FAQ on MODS that asks about sign on bonus says
A: Your stipend and signing bonus will start on the latest date between your oath of office, signing your service agreement (contract) and the class start date in the first semester of scholarship participation. Usually the latest date is the class start date. The bonus is dispersed in three payments of 9k, 9k, and 2k within 30 days of the first stipend check being dispersed.

This doesn't make any sense to me. Isn't the stipend and sign-on bonus supposed to be there to help me with things like the laptop/organization fees that HPSP doesn't cover? It doesn't make sense that I have to wait to get the money when the intent of it will be gone by the time I get it.

And FYI, I'm not complaining about this... I'm just confused as to what the deal is here.

You'll get your $$$ you are entitled to, so don't worry. You'll get it sooner or later. As far as the stipend goes, I realized the date it starts is what YOU tell the army it would start. It would end in the similar fashion as well. Usually they would not include the orientation as part of stipend pay out, although you are required to be there (again, of course, unless you tell them).

By the way, think of the sign up bonus as a mail-in rebate. You'll get it when it is about the time you'd forget about it.

 

[USArmyHPSP]

We get this question in one form or another quite a bit. Allow me to put it as simply as possible.

You start to ACCRUE stipend on the first day of class (generally). Think of it in terms of flipping burgers at a part time job. Would you expect Mickey D's to pay you a two week salary on the first day of the job? Of course not. It works the same with stipend. Your classes started on the 18th. Than means that no later than the first of Aug you will receive a pro-rated stipend payment (from the 18th to the 31st). Your next payment will be no later than 15 Aug, it will cover from the 1st through the 15th.

Bonus: As stated over and over and over. You receive the bonus within 30 days of the first stipend payment. I comes in three parts 9K, 9K, and 2K less taxes. Those checks can be cut within three days, (one on Monday, one on Tuie, and one on Wed within the same week) or over a period of 14-30 days.

As to your last question about it making sense. Given the above it makes perfect sense. There is no intent of helping to defray costs with the bonus. The bonus is that. A Bonus. The rules of when it is disbursed are very clear. What you spend it on is up to you. Be it educational costs, rent, or Christmas presents. Stipend is to help defray the cost of educational expenses that you have incurred, and usually already paid for when it's this early in the first semester of school.

 

[twh019]

Thanks guys, it makes more sense now.