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2010-2011 Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences Application Thread
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I don't know if you will find many that can speak to that point as it is likely a rare occurrence. So what would be asking for is an exception to policy. This likely involves completing some DD form that requires the approval of an O6 or higher. Also, this would involve a REFRAD (resignation from active duty) packet or resign your commission completely which would have to go through HRC (Human Resources). I have seen this 90 days or more, and this is all processing of paper work out of your control and this is handled by mostly government civilian employees (that is a whole other issue for another time).
So is there an exception to policy within the Navy to expidite outprocessing in the rare instance where an individual is commissioned and then gets accepted into a different medical school from the waitlist, maybe...probably not, but maybe. Objectively do you believe that your situation should and would take precedence over others that are resigning from active duty after likely longer time on active duty for their own reasons (still important to them)?
The thing you have to understand is that in the military you are a small fish in a big pond (and as an O1, a really really tiny not visible to the naked eye small fish). Policies in the military are meant to apply broadly to allow leaders to make the decisions based on their interpretation of the regulations and assessment of specific situations. Don't get me wrong, the military takes care of its people. And though it sometimes seems the military has a policy and position for anything and everything, for this and similar hypothetical situations, it probably doesn't, and it probably shouldn't.
If you really want an answer call the school and ask or contact Navy HRC (I don't know if its HRC in the Navy, but it is in the Army).
I got a call....but, ironically, it was not a good one. The Admissions office called to verify my adress so that they could send me a hold letter. I interviewed 10/28. Curious as to how I should take this. Since this is my first post I'll give you all some details.
I thought my interview went well and my stats are pretty solid. Great gpa and about an average mcat score for this school. I have great research and clinical experience. No military history what so ever though, not even in the family. The only thing I wish I had done better was explain my research to my first interviewer. I do ID research on anthrax and my first interviewer(also my first med school interviewer ever) was a big cheese researcher who used to be up at Detrick. Needless to say I was a little intimidated, although he was very nice and the rest of the interview seemed great.
My answer for why military medicine was a good fit for can be summed up as this, it is the best fit for the type of career I want. I really enjoy ID and research. The military is top notch when it comes to ID training and experience. I don't know if that was entirely what they wanted to hear but it is the truth. Sure I love my country and would gladly put myself in harms way to protect my home and fellow service men, but the real reason I really prefer the military is mostly career related.
Anyway, I'm pretty disappointed. Espcially since the news came this way. I'm still waiting to hear back post interview from a few other schools so I haven't lost hope. I really liked this school and the students I interviewed with. I noticed that another person had a similar status sent to them and a few others kind of disappeared from the forum. Have there been any post interview rejections? Any thoughts as to whether or not this is a somewhat nice but, actually, really slow and painful rejection?
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MusicnMed, sorry to hear about your application. I also interviewed on 10/28 and am patiently waiting for some response. USU was an impressive place, with the post-interview catapulting them into my top three. Its always funny when another medical school shows off its "state-of-the-art" simulation center; I shake my head, if they only knew about USU. Anyways, good luck to everyone. Perhaps they are delaying the acceptances for a Christmas week surprise!
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I may be one of the few who disappeared from the forum that you speak of but I still haunt the site daily so I felt like I should answer you. I interviewed on 9/23 everything went presumably well, strong shadowing experience with USUHS alum and employed as an EMT/Open Water Rescue. Numbers were admittedly weak...3.4 with a 30 MCAT. Born and raised in a Marine Corps family with a legacy of Marine officers in family, multiple generations. Received a letter in the mail around Nov 3 notifying me that the adcom was postponing a final decision and that a final decision will be made on/before Jan 15 and so I have been in limbo since. I am taking this as writing on the wall and have applied to a post-bac masters program to re-up for next year.
Congrats to those who've made the cut and Good Luck to those still waiting...
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Sorry to hear that, hope you hear better come January 15th or hear from another school. Good Luck
On the previous question about withdrawing: If you don't take any money or training from them, I see absolutely no reason for them to hold you accountable for time owed. Even if you do wait till August, I don't see them doing anything to mess with you. Just my $.02
On withdrawing, I was under the impression that after summer training, some students may decide that military is not for them and withdraw. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this one reason why some students are offered seats up until the day before school starts?
MusicnMed, sorry to hear about your hold.
MusicnMed, sorry to hear about your hold.
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I just got a letter for waitlist, saying that I'd been aprroved for a spot; but it says
"It is not possible to predict when you might be given a place in the 2011 First-year Class"
When.
Does that mean I'm definitely in?
"It is not possible to predict when you might be given a place in the 2011 First-year Class"
When.
Does that mean I'm definitely in?
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When did you interview? What service did you select? Thanks and Congrats!
I'm thinking that you're not definitely "in" but have been placed on the waitlist. The statement above means that you can be given a spot anytime, could be March 15 or the day before school starts.
Thanks for the reply.
for those asking about accepting their commission then leaving, here is what i (as a current MS1 at USUHS) was told during one of my human context (dont ask me about it, youll enjoy it soon enough) sessions. This is in no way conclusive and may very well be wrong, but this is from a long time faculty member at the university.
basically you can leave anytime in the first year with no penalty, however as soon as you start second year if you leave usuhs you will have to either serve on active duty for as long as you were at usuhs, or pay the gov back. The army makes almost all people stay on as medical admin officers until they can leave, the navy is about 70% stay 30% pay back depends on the needs of the USN, and USAF makes everyone just go but pay them back. Well, what is tuition at usuhs you might ask, how much do i have to pay them back, this former O6 said he believed it was around $105,000/yr, and given that that would include training, tuition, and salary, its not far off. They put a lot of time and effort into us here, so they sure as hell want their money back from you.
again, i might be wrong, this is just what i was told and nobody in the room said it was wrong
basically you can leave anytime in the first year with no penalty, however as soon as you start second year if you leave usuhs you will have to either serve on active duty for as long as you were at usuhs, or pay the gov back. The army makes almost all people stay on as medical admin officers until they can leave, the navy is about 70% stay 30% pay back depends on the needs of the USN, and USAF makes everyone just go but pay them back. Well, what is tuition at usuhs you might ask, how much do i have to pay them back, this former O6 said he believed it was around $105,000/yr, and given that that would include training, tuition, and salary, its not far off. They put a lot of time and effort into us here, so they sure as hell want their money back from you.
again, i might be wrong, this is just what i was told and nobody in the room said it was wrong
Maybe I'm just hoping for the best, but there hasn't been any confirmation of calls going out today (for 10/28'ers) right?
Good luck to everyone else also anxiously waiting!
Hi everybody. I interviewed last Thursday and I really enjoyed it. It was nice to meet all of the rest of you who were there that day.
I would like to send thank-you letters to the interviewers, and I had a few questions:
What is the correct greeting in a letter for an officer? e.g. "Dear COL Smith", "Dear Colonel Smith", "Dear Col. Smith", "Dear COL John Smith", etc
Also, I have a question about how it will get to them. Should I just write the letters care of USUHS, or should I call the school to find out what the addresses of my two interviewers are? I believe that this topic was addressed briefly in the morning, but I cannot remember all the details of what she had said.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
I would like to send thank-you letters to the interviewers, and I had a few questions:
What is the correct greeting in a letter for an officer? e.g. "Dear COL Smith", "Dear Colonel Smith", "Dear Col. Smith", "Dear COL John Smith", etc
Also, I have a question about how it will get to them. Should I just write the letters care of USUHS, or should I call the school to find out what the addresses of my two interviewers are? I believe that this topic was addressed briefly in the morning, but I cannot remember all the details of what she had said.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
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OH SNAP they started 11/4!? Congrats dude, your interviewers must have turned in your paperwork with haste!
Address it "Sir" or "Ma'am" (no "Dear") and end it with "Very Respectfully, [Your Name]. Sending it to admissions with the officer's name should get there I would think 🙂
I was looking at the different residency programs that the Navy has
and noticed that there weren't any plastic surgery programs. Does the Navy train plastic surgeons?
and noticed that there weren't any plastic surgery programs. Does the Navy train plastic surgeons?
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Does anybody know how USUHS looks at grades earned after acceptance? I was accepted on Nov 15 and just went through final exams, but I'm afraid that my grades this semester might turn out to be sub-par. Would usuhs rescind my application for that?
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Thanks for your input wahoo98k (and silverhorse and others)! It's interesting that so many people are curious about this question (i.e. "When is it the point of no return?"). I'm also asking myself what I would do if I was in this situation now that I've interviewed at another school.
Personally, I'm also interested finding out if I complete OLBC (but don't matriculate with USUHS), does the completion of the OLBC course count towards HPSP or possibly future service with the Reserves/National Guard?
If there is one thing I have learned in this process is that I definetely will go military med at some point (Go Army, Hooah!), but what I don't know personally yet is when I will serve. (Need to see what choices I have first.) The big question, come May 15th, is will I serve starting before (USUHS), during (HPSP) or after (Reserves/NG) medical school?
Yup, that's the right thing to do - I asked Ms. Hamlett that and she said send thank you notes to the admissions office with the name of your interviewer.
(For others: If you can't remember your interviewer's rank or full name, remember it's on the "find your interviewer schedule" you recieved during the interview!!)
If you're really curious for an answer, have some time to kill, and want to start getting prepared for military life...there is a 121 page Army document, "Preparing and Managing Correspondence" (AR/25-50) that discusses the conventions. 😉😉😉
http://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/pdf/r25_50.pdf
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Yes the Navy trains plastic surgeons, I've met a couple of them. I haven't looked that much into surgery specialties since I'm not interested in surgery at all. However, probably what you need to look for is a list of fellowships. Some surgical specialties have their own residencies, while for others you have to do a general surgical residency and then apply for a fellowship in the desired specialty - with the latter you'll probably end up doing at least one tour of general surgery before fellowship.
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Do you know if those are total residents in those programs per year or new positions per year?
Ms. Taylor will provide you with the format and instructions for the letters. But to answer your question, neither is the approving authority. There is a 'recommendation' letter to be signed by your commander and then the packet (a memo from you and one from your CDR) are sent for approval to your Branch. If you would like, you can pm me and I can email you the instructions if you wish. Ms. Taylor takes some time to respond.
I am not positive on this, but isn't plastic surgery a residency program of its own that begins with 3yrs of general surgery?
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Even if the military doesn't have certain residency programs, that doesn't necessarily mean they don't need a few of those specialists working for them, right? I think if they want you to specialize in that area badly enough they will send you off to a civilian residency program. I'm not sure about plastics specifically Edit: per this site http://www.militarygme.org/4.html it appears the military has 2 (and 3?) year plastics fellowship slots (the section heading says some fellowships may require sponsorship for a civilian program) that first require 4 year gen. surgery residencies (terminology varies from site to site and I think this one does not count the internship year as part of the residency, since I think surgery is a normally a 5-year thing).
Random question that just popped into my head 🙄: how short would I need to cut my hair and sideburns if I attended this school? Is there some sort of specific length in inches that is allowed?
Random question that just popped into my head 🙄: how short would I need to cut my hair and sideburns if I attended this school? Is there some sort of specific length in inches that is allowed?
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Depends on your Branch a little, the Army is generally more restrictive than Navy or Air Force, but also consider that in the Medical Branch, grooming standards will generally be more relaxed than what you might see in a line unit.
But you are looking for AR 670-1, which covers general appearance as well. Paragraph 2a is as such:
(2) Male haircuts will conform to the following standards.
(a) The hair on top of the head must be neatly groomed. The length and bulk of the hair may not be excessive or present a ragged, unkempt, or extreme appearance. The hair must present a tapered appearance. A tapered appearance is one where the outline of the soldier's hair conforms to the shape of the head, curving inward to the natural termination point at the base of the neck. When the hair is combed, it will not fall over the ears or eyebrows, or touch the collar, except for the closely cut hair at the back of the neck. The block-cut fullness in the back is permitted to a moderate degree, as long as the tapered look is maintained. In all cases, the bulk or length of hair may not interfere with the normal wear of headgear (see para 1–8a(1)(a), above) or protective masks or equipment. Males are not authorized to wear braids, cornrows, or dreadlocks (unkempt, twisted, matted, individual parts of hair) while in uniform or in civilian clothes on duty. Hair that is clipped closely or shaved to the scalp is authorized.
--Generally what is called a fade (low, med or high) is the norm with the hair not touching the ears and generally clean kept, maybe a #2 attachment on the sides and length on the top is long enough to be somewhat styled...
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Thanks!
It seems to allow for longer hair than I had expected. I guess the stereotype I was picturing was that really short flat-top haircut. All the students I stayed with during my interview had buzz cuts, and my student interviewer told me my brand-new 1.5inch haircut was messy o.0
It seems to allow for longer hair than I had expected. I guess the stereotype I was picturing was that really short flat-top haircut. All the students I stayed with during my interview had buzz cuts, and my student interviewer told me my brand-new 1.5inch haircut was messy o.0
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You might want to call admissions once you get your grades. If I remember correctly, the admissions office discussed this on my interview day and mentioned that it is extremely beneficial to be upright about this issue. Good luck!
I was under the impression that those numbers were the new positions per year, but I could be wrong.
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Does the waitlist notification come in the mail or by email? Also, when did you interview?
Thanks!
Thank you Coug and StemiAlert for the helpful responses.
I perused the super-long correspondence document, and I think I found a sufficient answer as to how to conduct the greeting.
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Now, as for wait list spots: at the briefings, we were told that almost everybody gets a spot off the wait list for all branches, not just the army. I believe that they said that only some Navy wait-listers did not get offered spots. Also, for those who have already interviewed, wait lists are sorted by interview date in addition to the other metrics they use to evaluate candidates, so even if you're Navy or AF and you are at this moment on a wait list, it's almost a sure thing. 👍 Of course, please correct me if I'm wrong.
I perused the super-long correspondence document, and I think I found a sufficient answer as to how to conduct the greeting.
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Now, as for wait list spots: at the briefings, we were told that almost everybody gets a spot off the wait list for all branches, not just the army. I believe that they said that only some Navy wait-listers did not get offered spots. Also, for those who have already interviewed, wait lists are sorted by interview date in addition to the other metrics they use to evaluate candidates, so even if you're Navy or AF and you are at this moment on a wait list, it's almost a sure thing. 👍 Of course, please correct me if I'm wrong.
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I have a question for everyone. At our interview day they told us not to email admissions anymore but a different address with updates like fall grades and such. I wrote that down but unfortunately I just moved all my stuff from the interview is packed. What email address are we supposed to use?
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Hey DocBell, it's funny you should mention it...I needed to jog my memory too since I was still on 0400 California time when Mrs. Hamlette walked in to brief us. I'll PM you the email I have.
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Thanks. I feel you there. It wasn't a time change for me but my plane was delayed out of chicago and I got into Dulles really late and then got lost on my way to the hotel (I did see the Pentagon though lol). I was sooo tired before I got some coffee into me that morning.
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I havent heard of a separate thread for acceptees but there is a Facebook group. I can't get the link for you because my work blocks social networking. The name of the group is "USUHS Class of 2015" so you should be able to just search for that.
Cam
Heres the link...
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_117118561682851&ap=1
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Interview invite! Hooray! I thought I was done for because my school forgot to post my letters and they didn't go in until about a month ago, even though the rest of my app was in back in July... haha.
31S/3.35/No prior service
31S/3.35/No prior service
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So heres a question that I don't think will get answered if I email the admissions office (They might be on christmas break) but I would like to think about over the holidays. I am currently waitlisted and as my #1 branch I put Public Health Service. It wasn't until my interview day on 9/30 that I found out there were only 4 spots (2 for Indian Health Service and 2 for National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease) for PHS. Call me crazy but my dermatologist was a USUHS alumni and worked in the Indian Health Service, one of my professors that wrote a reference for me was a public health service officer and I currently work at NIH.
I thought my chances were decent of getting into the IHS of PHS since I interviewed the first month and it went well but I guess the four spots filled up fast. My second choice was the Army, then AF, then Navy. So heres my question. I realize that what waitlist you are on matters so should I request to change my waitlist to Army or do they automatically consider you for your #2 choice? I would really like to be in IHS but carefully thinking about the interview day presentations I am just desperate and want to get into medical school. I would be happy serving my country in any branch.
It would really help if the four people accepted to PHS just flat out said they got accepted and have fully intend to matriculate to USUHS so I can switch to ARMY. Sorry for the long post.
I thought my chances were decent of getting into the IHS of PHS since I interviewed the first month and it went well but I guess the four spots filled up fast. My second choice was the Army, then AF, then Navy. So heres my question. I realize that what waitlist you are on matters so should I request to change my waitlist to Army or do they automatically consider you for your #2 choice? I would really like to be in IHS but carefully thinking about the interview day presentations I am just desperate and want to get into medical school. I would be happy serving my country in any branch.
It would really help if the four people accepted to PHS just flat out said they got accepted and have fully intend to matriculate to USUHS so I can switch to ARMY. Sorry for the long post.
Quiznos Oven, they won't even look at your second choice. If you would be just as happy in Army than there might not even be a waitlist for Army yet and you may be able to call in and get an acceptance next time the office is open. On the other hand, don't switch to the Army just because you want an acceptance as (though I don't have any 1st hand experience with either) it is probably drastically different than PHS.
For those with the unconditional acceptance, is it contingent on getting all the grades in listed on your AMCAS (including this last semester and next if applicable)? I know about the security and physical junk, but was wondering if they needed final grades for issuing the unconditional letter. Thanks!
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Nope, those are not needed for the unconditional acceptance...just hang in there waiting by the mail box 🙂
Haha, will do
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Anyone else here besides me trying to get a medical waiver? Id like to know how things are going on your end
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