2025 NHSC

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andjossau

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To discuss scholarship applicant info.
Submission deadline is past but wanting to hear when people get credit checks or any communication.

I heard in previous years a credit check would happen in June as an early sign your application moves to next round.
 
Former 4-year scholarship and LRP recipient here. Let me know if you have any questions about the application, experience while in school, service years, or continuing with the LRP after completion of initial commitment.
 
Former 4-year scholarship and LRP recipient here. Let me know if you have any questions about the application, experience while in school, service years, or continuing with the LRP after completion of initial commitment.
Howdy! I was wondering what the selection process looks like after submitting the application. I know they have to run a credit check at some point and the deadline to hear back is September 30th, but are there any markers/milestones between then and now? Waiting is not my strong suit...
 
Howdy! I was wondering what the selection process looks like after submitting the application. I know they have to run a credit check at some point and the deadline to hear back is September 30th, but are there any markers/milestones between then and now? Waiting is not my strong suit...
The selection process is basically a black box until September 30th. They don’t give any status updates until you receive a finalist email closer to the deadline. But yes, there are some clues that you can use to help gauge your progress.
The first clue is the credit check. There has been some consistency, but some variation as to when/what month, what it looks like on your credit history, which credit bureau is checked, and whether or not it is something that happens to everyone. There is language in the applicant manual that seems to indicate that it is a required step, but I know some scholars who claim they never saw the credit check. However, the simplest answer is likely: if you get a credit check from HRSA, your application is moving forward.
The next one, that may or may not have been unique to my year, was that after the credit check, but before my finalist email, I received a phone call from them gauging my interest where they literally asked “if you are awarded the scholarship, would you accept it?” I haven’t heard much of that in the forums over the years (or maybe people just don’t answer their phones as often anymore), so this is likely not something to rely on.
The last one is the finalist email. There are rumors of some people who receive this and end up not getting the scholarship, but those chances are extremely slim since the finalist paperwork includes a signed contract and giving banking information for them to start making deposits of the other reasonable costs (ORC) payments. So, unless you don’t do the paperwork correctly, don’t do it in time, or there is an error, if you’ve received the finalist notification, congrats! The timeline for submitting the paperwork is ridiculously short like 2 days or something, so be ready for that.
Some people speculate that “routine site maintenance” is an indication of some notifications coming out, which I saw was true my year… kind of. There are just so many site maintenance notifications that it is impossible to determine if one will be an update of some kind or if it is really just site maintenance. So there may be a correlation, but correlation doesn’t mean it is a true causation.
That’s all I can think of. Waiting is hard, but just focus on school once you start and it’ll be a nice surprise one day to wake up and find out that your entire schooling is paid for.
Good luck! And let me know if you have any more questions.
 
Former 4-year scholarship and LRP recipient here. Let me know if you have any questions about the application, experience while in school, service years, or continuing with the LRP after completion of initial commitment.
What kind of living stipend do they give per month on top of paying tuition? Also, since they don't award till the end of September, (my d1 starts in July) how does that work if the school already takes my government loans for tuition payment for the first semester? Also, are you happy you did this route? I applied for the four year contract, are there lots of options/areas available and is the pay decent?
 
What kind of living stipend do they give per month on top of paying tuition? Also, since they don't award till the end of September, (my d1 starts in July) how does that work if the school already takes my government loans for tuition payment for the first semester? Also, are you happy you did this route? I applied for the four year contract, are there lots of options/areas available and is the pay decent?
The program guide says that the stipend is $1631/mo. It was less when I had the scholarship and honestly, it is pretty tight to live off of. I think it increases every year, but not by much. You’d definitely need a good living situation/set up (roommates? Live at home?) to not have to take out additional loans, but it is doable.
They way loans work is that once you receive the scholarship and the NHSC sends the money to your school, your school refunds/returns the loans. If your school knows what it is doing, it is a pretty straightforward process. It can be really frustrating when the communication isn’t there. Especially on the NHSC’s part.
I am happy that I chose this route, but I’d likely be practicing right where I am anyway. Pay and job availability not only varies enormously by year, but also by state/location, federal financial situation, and organization that even if I could give you a good answer, it would be outdated soon. The entire landscape of FQHCs could have even changed by the time you graduate. I will say that I have never had a difficult time finding a job (I transferred a few times while in service) and I am living pretty comfortably.
 
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