So my husband got ahold of his HPSP recruiter. Apparently there has already been a board and the second board is in January. There could be a third board after that, but no guarantees. So my husband proceeds to ask him what the timeline is for either accepting/declining the scholarship if he receives one, and the recruiter told him that he would NOT put his package forward unless my husband is 100% sure that he will accept the scholarship if awarded. The recruiter said that he (the recruiter) would get in trouble if he puts him in and he declines it later. So the fact that my husband still wants USUHS as his first choice means that the recruiter won't put his package forward. Does this even sound right? Anyone else hear something similar? I'm tempted to call a different recruiter on Monday and check this out. I'm frustrated bc through the last few months of back and forth working on this package, this is the first time the recruiter has said anything like this. Plus in previous conversations, he said the first board was January and now he says there's already been a board. Oiy.
This doesn't sound right at all. I applied for the Army HPSP, and I'll briefly go over my experience. However, the HPSP thing is probably different depending on branch. Also keep in mind that I started and finished my HPSP application extremely early - I first contacted my recruiter in June and completed the whole process in September. I don't start school until next August.
I completed my Army HPSP package (finished MEPS, turned in all paperwork, submitted all transcripts/letters to my recruiter) in September, and my recruiter submitted my completed file to the very first Army Board in October. Soon after, my file was approved, and I basically got accepted for the scholarship. However, to finalize everything, I'll have to send in a copy of an acceptance letter, sign the HPSP contract, and swear in. Shortly after the October board approved me for the HPSP scholarship, I received my acceptance to USUHS. As soon as I received my unconditional acceptance to USUHS, I contacted my HPSP recruiter and told him that I will attend USUHS and subsequently withdraw/turn down my HPSP. Because I no longer needed the HPSP scholarship, I never completed my application process (as in never turned in an acceptance letter, never signed any HPSP contract, etc.). My recruiter congratulated me on my USUHS acceptance, and he told me that he'll hold out a place for me in the HPSP program in case I change my mind in the future.
Obviously, recruiters WANT you to accept the HPSP scholarship, and it does require a good amount of work and effort for the recruiter to put together all the pieces of your application and then submit it to the board. Because your recruiter has to spend so much effort guiding you through the scholarship process, it is understandable that he/she wants you to commit to HPSP from the get-go. Having said that, I HIGHLY DOUBT that the recruiter will "get into trouble" if you reject your HPSP scholarship down the road. It is possible that the recruiter simply doesn't want to help out your husband if he (the recruiter) knows that your husband will reject the scholarship down the road. It might be helpful to seek out another recruiter.
