Full Tuition and Stipend Scholarship......

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Pharmalated

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Is anyone participating or have any additional information about the air force schoalrship for health professions (pharmacy)? I know that they pay full tuition and give a $1300/mo stipend in return of 1 year of service for each year of acceptance of the award in the medical corps. But does anyone know whether or not there are any additional academic requirements to be considered for this, or will it be a good idea to consider? Any input will be appreciated. 🙂
 
It'd be a good idea to contact them directly. I did once thru their website chat, and they gave me all the info, but I honestly forgot. If you find that out, could you please post the details? Thank you!
 
I'll definitely post the details. I wonder if its too late for them to do a live chat with me now?
 
Pharmalated said:
Is anyone participating or have any additional information about the air force schoalrship for health professions (pharmacy)? I know that they pay full tuition and give a $1300/mo stipend in return of 1 year of service for each year of acceptance of the award in the medical corps.
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Where did you find that, I ask because I was looking at the same thing...I haven't asked a recruiter that specific question, but I know that it is not true for Army because I did ask them that question. (Or the recruiter and I misunderstood each other. I specifically asked whether pharmacy was eligible for the HPSP and he said no, that you could only take the 30K signing bonus or the 38k/yr over 3 yrs loan repayment) It sounds that Army is limited to "medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, psychiatric nursing, optometry or psychology" only. (googled AMEDD.)

The reason I ask is that I haven't really been able to get answers to this question from an AF health recruiter. Maybe you know something more than I do, but this
sounds very similar to HPSP. (Health Professions Scholarship Program.)

I will ask the AF recruiter through email this question specifically.

I hope I helped, but I don't think I did!!:laugh:
 
No its not true for the army, only the air force for pharmacy students. I just had a live chat with a recruiter. They said that it covers full tuition, books, fees, etc. for the last 2 years of pharmacy school and a $1600/mo stipend. The applicant must have a 3.2gpa and meet the physical, age, and citizenship requirements.
 
Pharmalated said:
No its not true for the army, only the air force for pharmacy students. I just had a live chat with a recruiter. They said that it covers full tuition, books, fees, etc. for the last 2 years of pharmacy school and a $1600/mo stipend. The applicant must have a 3.2gpa and meet the physical, age, and citizenship requirements.
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Thanks for the info. I went ahead and emailed a recruiter myself, so I'll post whatever I hear too. 👍
 
Pharmalated said:
No its not true for the army, only the air force for pharmacy students. I just had a live chat with a recruiter. They said that it covers full tuition, books, fees, etc. for the last 2 years of pharmacy school and a $1600/mo stipend. The applicant must have a 3.2gpa and meet the physical, age, and citizenship requirements.
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So would you have to work for them only 2 years or is it more?
 
It's not just for the last two years. They will pay full tuition for 4 years plus a generous stipend. You have to be committed to them for as many years of school they help you. You also do not get any choice in where you are stationed. Good possibility you might end up in the Middle East on an air craft carrier...the good places are probably taken by people with seniority. On the bright side maybe one of the pilots will take you for a spin on a f-14 Tomcat....that would be dope! Anyways, you also have to take into consideration that your first duty is being an officer, your second duty is a pharmacist. It sounds like a great deal though, but my wife and family don't think that I should do it. Here's a link for yall:

http://www.airforce.com/careers/subcatg.php?catg_id=3&sub_catg_id=4
 
Wow, it's a really generous sponsorship! but the inflexibility after graduation really sucks! Overall, it sounds so much better than those retail chain stipends!
 
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Beav@Hilo e-mailed me to answer your questions regarding AF Pharmacy careers. Pharmalated hit it pretty much on the nose. In fact, the monthly stipend generally increases each year around June to adjust for inflation. This summer it's scheduled to increase to over $1900mo.

HPSP (Health Professions Scholarship Program) is a Department of Defense program that applies to all branches of the military. Each service is provided a certain amount of scholarships (based on their overall size) to distribute to the Health Care program of their choice. Based on 1 year increments, they can be combined to make 2, 3 or 4 year packages. The Air Force generally provides this each year as 1 year & 2 year scholarships.

The myth is that there is a year for year commitment. The minimum service commitment is 3 years regardless of the scholarship you take. This misconception comes from some services that commonly offer 3 year scholarships followed by 3 years of active duty.

In addition to HPSP, there are two other incentives to join. The ADHPLRP and the FQ Pharmacist bonus. Both of these programs require a four year active duty commitment.

ADHPLRP (Active Duty Health Professions Loan Repayment Program) provides up to $30,000 to help pay existing college loans. Much like the HPSP, there are a limited number available each year. However, applicants may apply for this when they first join, but it is usually still available while on active duty AND individuals who receive the $30k are eligible to apply a second time for a combined $60k.

Finally, the FQ Pharmacist bonus provides $30,000 (taxable) bonus for fully licensed Pharmacist who commit to a four year stint as an Air Force Pharmacist.

Regardless if you take the scholarship, the bonus or the loan repayment, you will enter at the pay grade of O-3 at the rank of Captain. As far as where you'll be assigned, you have a say in that matter also. For grads, you are required to list between 3-8 choices of assignment in your application package so we can find a matching base for you as part of the selection process. For students who take the scholarship, you'll have a chance to do the same while your in Commissioned Officer Training.

I hope this helped clear up most of your questions. For more info, please feel free to contact me either by e-mail or phone at: [email protected] or (206) 441-5897

Regards,
TSgt E
 
MrNiceThai said:
Not that the offer isn't already pretty sweet, but during your four years working in the Air Force how much are they paying you? does anyone know this answer definitively?

thanks.
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Changes every year based on your rank and years of service. Google Air Force Pay Chart.
 
Do you have to go through boot camp and get beat up?
 
sammy15 said:
Do you have to go through boot camp and get beat up?
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Officers don't usually go through "boot camp," at least not like the ones in Full Metal Jacket or Stripes. They go through an Officer's Trainign Course, commonly referred to as "Knife and Fork School," in which they learn basic military courtesies, rank structure, and yes, a certain amount of humility.

But..... the occasional account of someone getting "beat up" is much more sensationalized than the actual truth. With rare exceptions (like the current one which was recently actively prosecuted), nobody gets "beat up" in boot camp.
 
I don't think it is worth it. They pay you on the officer pay scale when you get out so you make whatever a 2nd lieutenant makes which is in the 40,000-50,000 pay range depending on where they station you. You get annual pay raises according to the SCALE for the 4 years...so you are getting paid less than half what you could be making in the private sector pharmacy!!!


Losing out on 50,000-70,000 dollars a year four years while you serve as an air force pharmacist. Giving up a potential 200,000-280,000 just for them to pay for pharm school...show me where I sign up for the loans!!

Even if they do give you a generous monthly stipend, it would have to be a lot to balance out the pay difference, especially considering the fact that the pharm school I interviewed with and plan to attend is a state one and cheap as dirt (4200 a semester).
 
Your a captain in the military once you finish school not a lieutenant. You also have to go to Officer Training School, which is sort of like a boot camp, but without the strenuous training. You still have to do physical fitness and be able to pass the physical fitness test to graduate, but all in all its not as hard as regular basic training, trust me I've been through basic training and it sucks big time!

Oh and the Navy gives 40,000 a year plus a stipend. If you want to contact them the guys email address is [email protected]. They posted some flyers here at Xavier so I don't have any information on it just what the flyer states.

HTH
 
I thought you come out of pharm school a 2nd lieutenant. I believe thats what it said on the website that you come out being an o-1. IF you never had any previous officer training, I think the officer training school only gets you to 2nd lieu then you can move up after you graduate and start working in the the air force to 1st lieu then captain. In any case...from an economical standpoint the air force scholarship doesn't seem worth it.

tootoo30 said:
Your a captain in the military once you finish school not a lieutenant. You also have to go to Officer Training School, which is sort of like a boot camp, but without the strenuous training. You still have to do physical fitness and be able to pass the physical fitness test to graduate, but all in all its not as hard as regular basic training, trust me I've been through basic training and it sucks big time!

Oh and the Navy gives 40,000 a year plus a stipend. If you want to contact them the guys email address is [email protected]. They posted some flyers here at Xavier so I don't have any information on it just what the flyer states.

HTH
Click to expand...
 
PGrepper said:
I thought you come out of pharm school a 2nd lieutenant. I believe thats what it said on the website that you come out being an o-1. IF you never had any previous officer training, I think the officer training school only gets you to 2nd lieu then you can move up after you graduate and start working in the the air force to 1st lieu then captain. In any case...from an economical standpoint the air force scholarship doesn't seem worth it.
Click to expand...

No your a lieutenant with just a regular bachelor degree, but if you have a doctorate you are commissioned as a captain.
 
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I was looking at the pay chart, and ~$40k a year doesn't seem to be worth it. I know they help you pay for school and we serve our country and everything, but I believe they need to be REAL and offer competitive salaries. I don't want 100k like retail, but definitively something a lil more than just $40k
 
I think all of it depends on your situation. For instance, the guy/girl who's going to a really cheap state school would probably be best passing this up. I, on the other hand, will be attending a private school that costs almost $30,000 per year. If you add the 30k per year to the 2k/mo --> 24k/yr stipend; then figure in the amount of interest on school loans (which will have to include cost of living), this might work out to be a decent deal. Without doing the brain numbing math, I will guesstimate this out to be around $100,000/yr. Right where it should be.
 
These are my 2cents. The point of being in the military is to be a Solider. Regardless of how much you make or your rank.

Being an active duty officer, you will make comparable money to civi life. Let me explain. Not only will you get your base pay, which is taxed, there are other benefits you have to consider.

BAH-(housing allowance) Non-taxable money=$1,300 month (depends on location of where you are stationed and rank.
BAS-(food stipend)again non-taxable=$192month
Tricare Prime or standard (health care)- Depending on which plan you choose, health care is completely free of charge, free rx, exams, surgery, some people even get gastric bypass approved.
Dental(optional) $13.00mo
Seperation pay-when you have to go for your officer training course, Iraq, JRTC, etc..your family will recieve $250 mo non-taxable money.
Deployment pay-(non-taxable)it is about 50% of your base salary added every month.
SGLI(lfe insurance policy)-$400,000


This is just some of the benefits of being an active duty soldier, specific to officers. They will also recieve a base salary raise of 3.4% next Jan. There is a thread similar to this in the Pharmacy forum.
 
tellsarah said:
These are my 2cents. The point of being in the military is to be a Solider. Regardless of how much you make or your rank.

Being an active duty officer, you will make comparable money to civi life. Let me explain. Not only will you get your base pay, which is taxed, there are other benefits you have to consider.

BAH-(housing allowance) Non-taxable money=$1,300 month (depends on location of where you are stationed and rank.
BAS-(food stipend)again non-taxable=$192month
Tricare Prime or standard (health care)- Depending on which plan you choose, health care is completely free of charge, free rx, exams, surgery, some people even get gastric bypass approved.
Dental(optional) $13.00mo
Seperation pay-when you have to go for your officer training course, Iraq, JRTC, etc..your family will recieve $250 mo non-taxable money.
Deployment pay-(non-taxable)it is about 50% of your base salary added every month.
SGLI(lfe insurance policy)-$400,000


This is just some of the benefits of being an active duty soldier, specific to officers. They will also recieve a base salary raise of 3.4% next Jan. There is a thread similar to this in the Pharmacy forum.
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Completely agree. If you're in it mainly for the money, go retail. Hey, the two schools I'm looking at are pretty expensive (30k/yr+ around 50k undergrad loans by the time I'm done.)

Realize that you will be taxed on civilian salary, I believe around 15 to 20 thousand/year, depending on how much you make. You will have to pay a mortgage. You will have to pay medical care (and we, as budding pharmacists, should know how much that costs😱) and life insurance.

Sure, the base pay is a lot less. But a lot of the little things are overlooked, such as the allowances. Also, one of the main reasons I'm looking at it is that you are a soldier first, meaning that you will have jobs not related to pharmacy to do sometimes. Keeping things fresh is a good thing. I believe that just because we went to school forever doesn't mean we should be exempt from doing things that we may not like.

In the end, I value my happiness over the difference in $, not to say that you wouldn't be happy in whatever field of pharmacy you decide to pursue. (this is directed at Pgrepper.) Our career will provide us with comfortable living, no matter where we go.👍
 
What other tasks that we might not like are you referring to? If I might ask. Just curious. I'm seriously considering this option. But I still have some time left to think about it and would like to have all the facts.
 
LoKoTe said:
What other tasks that we might not like are you referring to? If I might ask. Just curious. I'm seriously considering this option. But I still have some time left to think about it and would like to have all the facts.
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Don't know myself. However, you might want to look at this thread or PM Caverject.
 
LoKoTe said:
What other tasks that we might not like are you referring to? If I might ask. Just curious. I'm seriously considering this option. But I still have some time left to think about it and would like to have all the facts.
Click to expand...


For instance, you might be assigned duties of a safety officer and maybe required to write Op orders(operation orders) for training missions soldiers in your unit are going on. You will be assigned duties like checking out the motor pool at specific times during the night along with checking the barracks. When deployed, you may be given a completely different job then what you are use to. You could be a medical officer assigned to assist in the transport of officials.
The unit will put you where they need you, but most of the time you will be working as a pharmacist.
Don't be scared off by this, just remember flexiblity is essential and good luck with planning anything, it just doesn't work.
 
Just imagine, being sent to Iraq for 4 years right after you graduate pharm school.. how sweet is that?!
 
ViagraPlease said:
Just imagine, being sent to Iraq for 4 years right after you graduate pharm school.. how sweet is that?!
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Exactly ... I'm not in a hurry, and trust me, if I studied my *** off until this point and will study my *** off again in pharmacy school for 3-4 more years, I don't wanna go anywhere else but Florida ... and that's final. But I can clearly see that being a pharmacist is not gonna be my 1st job so we'll see.
 
TellSarah brought up several good points regarding pay and salary.
A good thing to note is the 40K everyone is refering to is the only income that is taxed. Everything else she listed is above your base salary and not taxed. Therefore your actually take home pay is over 50% higher than an equivelant civilian salary.

In reality an annual starting salary averages about 65k, but the amount you take home after taxes is more on par with an 80K civilian salary. Although this is not the 6 digits most people think, you need to look past the dollar signs and look at practicing pure medicine. People don't join the military to become rich. They do it to for many other reasons from serving their country, helping people, and not working retail.

In addition to what she listed there is also additional Pharmacist pay as well. Off the top of my head I think it's an extra 3k a year.

As for the 30K bonus for fully qualified Pharmacist, I was mistaken, it is more like 38k (Similar to what someone here quoted the Navy as having.

Finally, additional duties. Do not exist in the AF. If hired as a Pharmacist, you work as a pharmacist.
 
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AFelmo said:
TellSarah brought up several good points regarding pay and salary.
A good thing to note is the 40K everyone is refering to is the only income that is taxed. Everything else she listed is above your base salary and not taxed. Therefore your actually take home pay is over 50% higher than an equivelant civilian salary.

In reality an annual starting salary averages about 65k, but the amount you take home after taxes is more on par with an 80K civilian salary. Although this is not the 6 digits most people think, you need to look past the dollar signs and look at practicing pure medicine. People don't join the military to become rich. They do it to for many other reasons from serving their country, helping people, and not working retail.

In addition to what she listed there is also additional Pharmacist pay as well. Off the top of my head I think it's an extra 3k a year.

As for the 30K bonus for fully qualified Pharmacist, I was mistaken, it is more like 38k (Similar to what someone here quoted the Navy as having.

Finally, additional duties. Do not exist in the AF. If hired as a Pharmacist, you work as a pharmacist.
Click to expand...

signed.....US Air Force Recruiter
 
ViagraPlease said:
Just imagine, being sent to Iraq for 4 years right after you graduate pharm school.. how sweet is that?!
Click to expand...

The air force has two tours either a 4 month or a 6 month. Do your research before trying to scare people out of serving their country.
 
I contacted a health professional recruiter and he told me that they only pay full tuition with a stipend of 1200 for one or two years only.
 
glowinglimabean said:
I contacted a health professional recruiter and he told me that they only pay full tuition with a stipend of 1200 for one or two years only.
Click to expand...

That sounds true. Look up

Pharmalated said:
No its not true for the army, only the air force for pharmacy students. I just had a live chat with a recruiter. They said that it covers full tuition, books, fees, etc. for the last 2 years of pharmacy school and a $1600/mo stipend. The applicant must have a 3.2gpa and meet the physical, age, and citizenship requirements.
Click to expand...
 
What are the chances of the Air Force, or any branch, honoring a request to be assigned to a base within your state? (I live in NC...so there is Pope AF Base, Seymour Johnson AF base, and Fort Bragg)

AFelmo said that pharmacists don't have extra duties. So, just out of curiosity, if a major war breaks out (or you're sent to Iraq), are you guaranteed to still be a pharmacist and serve in the hospital? What are the chances of a pharmacist being sent overseas anyway?
 
inquirer89 said:
What are the chances of the Air Force, or any branch, honoring a request to be assigned to a base within your state? (I live in NC...so there is Pope AF Base, Seymour Johnson AF base, and Fort Bragg)

AFelmo said that pharmacists don't have extra duties. So, just out of curiosity, if a major war breaks out (or you're sent to Iraq), are you guaranteed to still be a pharmacist and serve in the hospital? What are the chances of a pharmacist being sent overseas anyway?
Click to expand...

The only "guarantees" that you'll get will be that you'll get a specified paycheck.

That being said..... pharmacists are specialized health care providers. They would be more likely to be assigned to field hospitals or hospital ships, than to a grunt unit. In other words, it would be waaaaay back behind the lines, although in this war, there really is no such thing as a front line And, while a pharmacist would be expected to render care in emergency situations and/or to be part of a triage team, it's unlikely that they'd be assigned regular duties of anything other than a pharmacist.

By 'no extra duties' as AF pharmacists, he means that AF pharmacists generally aren't assigned to be on something like the barracks inspection team, or won't have to work an extra shift twice a month as the command duty officer. Navy pharmacists do have to stand CDO watches, especially if they're assigned to smaller hospitals. I don't know about the Army.

Pharmacists do get assigned overseas. At the navy hospital in Yokosuka, Japan, we had two military pharmacists assigned, and yes, they both stood Command Duty Officer (adminstrative) watches. As far as I know, no navy ships have billets for pharmacists, other than the hospital ships, which are actually prety hard to get stationed on (it's desireable duty). Pharmacists can and do go to sea for up to 6 months at a time, as a temporary duty assignment, if they are assigned to a surgical team.

I am not sure why anyone would join the military as a pharmacist and then expect to be stationed only close to home. Moving around, especially overseas, is the attraction of being in the military..... it certainly isn't the pay. ;-) Seriously- if you want to stay close to home, don't join the military.
 
Thanks for the info Eelo.

I would like to serve my country, but the reason why I would choose to stay at home is due to personal reasons, and also because I'm in a pretty serious relationship. If we're still together when I graduate pharm school then I'd hate to complicate things by being assigned far away (yeah, I know that in some cases she can come too, but it'll be far more easier if I could stay closer to home) 🙂
 
Fost said:
The air force has two tours either a 4 month or a 6 month. Do your research before trying to scare people out of serving their country.
Click to expand...

That's true. My brother in law just got out and he only had to go to Iraq for 6 months- never left the base. Even if you are deployed, I think your risk in the Air Force is minimal unless you are a pilot.
 
pharmacyanalyst said:
That's true. My brother in law just got out and he only had to go to Iraq for 6 months- never left the base. Even if you are deployed, I think your risk in the Air Force is minimal unless you are a pilot.
Click to expand...

And think about it, they're going to place the pilots in areas with as low as risk as they can manage because they aren't going to risk those airplanes. Not all pilots are fighter pilots, either, so not all of them have as much risk. That is by no means meant to say they are not at risk. Every flyer in the Air Force is aware of the risks. And there are more than just pilots on those planes...

Sorry, a little off topic.
 
AFelmo said:
Finally, additional duties. Do not exist in the AF. If hired as a Pharmacist, you work as a pharmacist.
Click to expand...

I recently went to the AF website and found a video clip of an AF Pharmacist promoting the job. Something he said really stuck out to be. It was along the lines of: "In the Air Force, you are an officer first, and a pharmacist second."

Could someone who knows expound upon this quote. Honestly, most of us here have never been involved in the military. Most of us are pursuing pharmacy as a SOLE career. Personally, I'm glad that there are a lot of people who ARE dedicating THEIR lives to fighting for our country. Let's face it though, the stereotypical pharmacist has no interest in getting their hands dirty fighting for their country or anything else.

I digress. Just curious about the whole "officer first" thing being in obvious conflict with the above quote.😕
 
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