Has anyone on this forum had any actual experience with going into military Optometry through the HPSP ? I am interested in Navy Optometry.
Has anyone on this forum had any actual experience with going into military Optometry through the HPSP ? I am interested in Navy Optometry.
Has anyone on this forum had any actual experience with going into military Optometry through the HPSP ? I am interested in Navy Optometry.
That could easily be correct. My comments are based on when I went through it. The rules changed regularly then.Thanks. Maybe the program's been recently altered (or I'm being misinformed, or I'm misinterpreting). It seems, currently (February, 2010), the U.S. Army will cover, through its H.P.S.P., only the last three years of optometric education, meaning a student would have to fund his or her first year by other means.
That could easily be correct. My comments are based on when I went through it. The rules changed regularly then.
If the Navy only needs to fill 3 slots, they'll be more selective and may only offer a 2 for 3 years service. If they need to fill 15 spots, they'll get more generous.
If you're interested, I'd follow it closely and stay in touch with a medical recruiter. The recruiting station at the mall will know very little about the details of HPSP.
This is correct Navy HPSP's for Optometry are even harder to get now, recruiters have had alot of requests last several years, I've recently heard about 3 scholarships per fiscal yr. are being offered, so its pretty much 3 for 3yrs service.... I don't know if their doing 2 for 3yrs service yet, the Air Force has been doing that for awhile.
I always hear you shouldn't do it just for the money, that makes sense.
But when you do the math, this sounds like nice way to go... eliminating the high cost of education would give you good post position in crowded field ...you would also have an immediate path to experience. Anyone have any input about how well that experience transitions to civilian practice.
I'd guess most people who consider the H.P.S.P. do so mainly for the money; what I wonder is whether it's very beneficial in that regard. Three years of your education (~$90,000) are covered, and you get monthly stipends (total: ~$60,000). You'll need a loan for your first year in school (~$30,000). Upon graduation, you'll work for the military for three years, earning ~$60,000/year, which is a little more than half what you might make starting at a posh optical store. Altogether, after seven years, you find ~$150,000 in your pocket.
If you forgo H.P.S.P., and work at, say, a Walmart upon being graduated, making ~$100,000/year, you'll have ~$300,000, minus ~$150,000 in loans; you still wind up with ~$150,000 in your pocket. With Walmart, you can quit or try to find other work alongside; in the case of the military, you're legally bound for three years.
These numbers are rough, to say the least, but I don't think it's unfair to say, at the end of it, H.P.S.P., financially, just might not be worth it.
Differing opinions are eagerly invited.
I'd guess most people who consider the H.P.S.P. do so mainly for the money; what I wonder is whether it's very beneficial in that regard. Three years of your education (~$90,000) are covered, and you get monthly stipends (total: ~$60,000). You'll need a loan for your first year in school (~$30,000). Upon graduation, you'll work for the military for three years, earning ~$60,000/year, which is a little more than half what you might make starting at a posh optical store. Altogether, after seven years, you find ~$150,000 in your pocket.
If you forgo H.P.S.P., and work at, say, a Walmart upon being graduated, making ~$100,000/year, you'll have ~$300,000, minus ~$150,000 in loans; you still wind up with ~$150,000 in your pocket. With Walmart, you can quit or try to find other work alongside; in the case of the military, you're legally bound for three years.
These numbers are rough, to say the least, but I don't think it's unfair to say, at the end of it, H.P.S.P., financially, just might not be worth it.
Differing opinions are eagerly invited.