I chose USUHS over some of the considerable private medical schools.
My experience has been like this:
New curriculum: Yes, we're guinea pigs. Things will be significantly better for the upcoming class for that fact. They are also trying their best to really fix the course as we go along, and we're actually surprising them by doing really well in our curriculum. Also with the new curriculum, the OSA and student government have been contacting us for more feedback and how they can make the curriculum better. The integrated curriculum is slowly but surely making sense, although they're indeed pummeling us with medicine. Everyone has his/her opinion on what's great and what's needless in our curriculum, but generally I feel like the curriculum is starting to make sense as a whole.
Attending lectures: Many MS-1's still do attend lectures. Many also don't, so the attendance has been half and half. The parking situation is getting better with most of MS-1's now with access to carpool or individual parking passes.
Car access: This was the most commonly discussed factor of "quality of life" concern. The school is actively trying their best at giving us parking passes and getting us to school. OSA is definitely trying their best to accommodate every student, and my personal experience with OSA and their ability to take each and every case into concern has been great so far.
Class morale and academic barrier: I actually have not seen decline in class morale and academic barrier in our class. Students do still hang out and we still have lives. Yes, the academics can be a bit overwhelming at times, but also I think the school did a good job picking motivated people (after all, it is a med school lol) so everyone is out there helping out those who are struggling. I think we really do have a great class dynamics (at least for the MS-1's) with helping each other in terms of notes and getting through lectures.
Notice that the changes happening at school are still part of an ongoing process- things will get better or worse depending what kind of turn the school will take, but everyone I'm sure is doing their best to take care of us the students. What I have been amazed by is that the professors really do go out of their ways to help us to succeed and be physically and mentally well. I don't know many medical schools that really take care of their students. Plus, the medical care quality is definitely a top-notch here, aside from the fact that it takes a week or two for a clinic appointment other than for an urgent matter (but that is a given fact in many other schools I believe).
In terms of budget cuts, the school told us that we are in the "safe zone" as the government realized that military doctors with leadership experience are really needed.
Anyways, that's my own view. Feel free to ask any one of us in terms of our experiences and we'll be happy to help.
Friendly advice from a USUHS student:
I chose USUHS over a good state school and now regret my choice. Last year went well despite the usual DoD inefficiencies. However, this year most students are forced to carpool and our schedules are all over the place. Attending lectures is inconvenient at best, and our education is suffering as a direct result. Current MS-1's are also having to serve as guinea pigs for the new curriculum.
Most cons are EASILY balanced by pros at USUHS. However, declining quality of life, sinking class morale, and the rise of academic barriers has, in my assessment, shifted the balance in favor of the HPSP route. We rarely hear from the Office of Student Affairs, and when we do they're either taking something away or announcing new barriers to an otherwise quality education at USUHS. Hopefully this will change, but things only seem to get worse. Everyone's assessment is different; consider this account of life for medical students at USUHS in yours.
Congratulations to all who are accepted, and heads-up to all who accept.
However you get there, military medicine is where it's at.