Any USAF AD out there?

[BOHICA-FIGMO]

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Just wondering if there are any other USAF active duty members out there who have applied this year?

 

[Globus P]

Just wondering if there are any other USAF active duty members out there who have applied this year?

Out of curiosity, what does BOHICA stand for. I know FIGMO and have used it in the past 😀
Todd

 

[Heeed!]

Out of curiosity, what does BOHICA stand for. I know FIGMO and have used it in the past 😀
Todd

BEND OVER, HERE IT COMES AGAIN!

 

[qqq]

Just wondering if there are any other USAF active duty members out there who have applied this year?

i applied usuhs/hpsp but was disqualified for medical. the hpsp board is april 5, i heard there are plent of slots open for active duty folks. i wish i knew i was gonna be disqualified before i went through the whole getting into med school process.

 

[BOHICA-FIGMO]

i applied usuhs/hpsp but was disqualified for medical. the hpsp board is april 5, i heard there are plent of slots open for active duty folks. i wish i knew i was gonna be disqualified before i went through the whole getting into med school process.

😱 That really sucks. Lot of time and $$ wasted. Have you considered Army or Navy?

 

[qqq]

😱 That really sucks. Lot of time and $$ wasted. Have you considered Army or Navy?

well, i dont really know how that would work. i don't think the air force is going to let me out of my commitment so that i can get an MD paid by the army. the only way i could think it would work is if i first crosstrained into the army, and then applied to the army hpsp the following year.

yea it sucks. but i signed on the dotted line. the part that gets me is that i'm going to have to retake the mcat. oh well, i got 3 years to study.

 

[BOHICA-FIGMO]

well, i dont really know how that would work. i don't think the air force is going to let me out of my commitment so that i can get an MD paid by the army. the only way i could think it would work is if i first crosstrained into the army, and then applied to the army hpsp the following year.

yea it sucks. but i signed on the dotted line. the part that gets me is that i'm going to have to retake the mcat. oh well, i got 3 years to study.

Unless you are in a severely undermanned AFSC, you might be able to get a waiver on your ADSC. We have to loose some tens of thousands of people to get under our end strength number. The Army, on the other hand, is taking anyone who can walk and chew gum at the same time. Not sure if you are officer or enlisted, but you might consider the "Blue to Green" program, which is trying to get USAF and USN to transfer to the Army. Just a thought. FWIW.

 

[MoosePilot]

Just wondering if there are any other USAF active duty members out there who have applied this year?

I did, but ultimately got denied due to a high demand AFSC. Next year looks more promising (coincidental with my committment being up, imagine that...).

 

[Heeed!]

i applied usuhs/hpsp but was disqualified for medical. the hpsp board is april 5, i heard there are plent of slots open for active duty folks. i wish i knew i was gonna be disqualified before i went through the whole getting into med school process.

I was released from my flying commitment of 1 year to attend school. They were happy to tack that onto my med school commitment.

 

[qqq]

i looked into the waiver program. they are giving out more waivers because of the force shaping II initiative, but it doesn't apply to academy grads, and also, even if i did get it waived, the military would recoup my schooling. on the afpc website they have this document that shows academy grads how to compute their recoupment expenses, and i calculated mine and it came out to just about 90K. can't afford that. i've thought about the blue to green program. i think i will continue to consider it. i've also thought about the palace chase to guard/reserve (and attending school concurrently), but i'm afraid that once i got into the program i'd be activated and then i'd screw over my education anyway.

i'm also going to ask the schools that i got accepted to if they will consider deferring my admissions until 2008 (separation date) considering my unique situation.

 

[qqq]

I did, but ultimately got denied due to a high demand AFSC. Next year looks more promising (coincidental with my committment being up, imagine that...).

MoosePilot - did you defer your admissions to the schools you got accepted to? or are you going to apply all over again? are you going to stay in the military? are you going to retake the mcat?

 

[MoosePilot]

MoosePilot - did you defer your admissions to the schools you got accepted to? or are you going to apply all over again? are you going to stay in the military? are you going to retake the mcat?

Long story, but the bottom line is I only applied to USUHS for personal reasons and without a letter of approval my app went nowhere. So not receiving the letter was the end of my app season.

Next year, I'd try to defer and/or use terminal leave to be able to make the school year if I got denied again.

I shouldn't have to take the MCAT again under any forseeable circumstance.

I want to stay in the military. Retirement benefits are extremely attractive to me and while I'm a bit burned out on the military, I still love my country and am grateful to be able to serve it.

 

[BOHICA-FIGMO]

Long story, but the bottom line is I only applied to USUHS for personal reasons and without a letter of approval my app went nowhere. So not receiving the letter was the end of my app season.

Next year, I'd try to defer and/or use terminal leave to be able to make the school year if I got denied again.

I shouldn't have to take the MCAT again under any forseeable circumstance.

I want to stay in the military. Retirement benefits are extremely attractive to me and while I'm a bit burned out on the military, I still love my country and am grateful to be able to serve it.

Yeah, that LOA is absoultely critical for either USUHS of HPSP, but particularly through USUHS. They will not even make a decision on your app until the LOA is cleared through separations at AFPC. Anyone applying next year, get the LOA done early!! Must be signed through your Wing CC 😱 Good luck MoosePilot!

 

[BOHICA-FIGMO]

i'm also going to ask the schools that i got accepted to if they will consider deferring my admissions until 2008 (separation date) considering my unique situation.

Don't know if schools will defer for three years, but most schools will defer for at least one year, and some may defer for two. Best to call them directly, explain your situation, and pray. Also ask the HPSP folks (POC: Mr. Kush at HQ APFPC/DPAME) if you could tack on your remaining USAFA ADSC to the ADSC you would incur from HPSP (see Heeed!'s message about 5 posts before this one). I have no idea what the answer will be, but it is worth a shot. Good luck!

 

[qqq]

Don't know if schools will defer for three years, but most schools will defer for at least one year, and some may defer for two. Best to call them directly, explain your situation, and pray. Also ask the HPSP folks (POC: Mr. Kush at HQ APFPC/DPAME) if you could tack on your remaining USAFA ADSC to the ADSC you would incur from HPSP (see Heeed!'s message about 5 posts before this one). I have no idea what the answer will be, but it is worth a shot. Good luck!

thanks. i was disqualified from usuhs and hpsp for medical reasons, that's why they won't let me tack on the adsc. i am going to contact the schools directly to see about the 3 year deferment.

 

[qqq]

also, i think it's odd how AD AF have to go through 2 approvals. The initial approval is the LOA that goes through your Wing CC and then the AFPC folks. But then, this is not really the approval that matters, because you have to get the second approval from the board, and this doesn't occur until almost a year later. So if you're like me, you get the initial approval (LOA), but then you have to spend a lot of money and take the MCAT to get into a school before you get the real approval, which ends up being turned down. I spoke with a Navy guy at the USUHS interview and he said that the final approval for the NAVY occurs before the interview season. Thus, once they get a medical school acceptance, they know they're in. At one of my interviews I explained to the interviewer that I got into medical school, and I guess i gave off the impression that I wasn't that excited. He got mad and said, "why aren't you excited?!" Then I had to explain that I was, but that I couldn't really be excited until I got the second approval from the Air Force. I think he felt sorry for me and so they accepted me at that school, but it does little good now.

 

[BOHICA-FIGMO]

also, i think it's odd how AD AF have to go through 2 approvals. The initial approval is the LOA that goes through your Wing CC and then the AFPC folks. But then, this is not really the approval that matters, because you have to get the second approval from the board, and this doesn't occur until almost a year later.

Again, sucks 👎 . The reason your LOA took so long is because it has to get approved at SECAF level if you have an existing ADSC If you don't have an ADSC (like myself), the LOA gets approved by AFPC separations within a week or so.

Moral of the story: "service before self" is great and all, but you have to look out for yourself. The USAF will not hesitate to screw you like the prom queen if it suits their needs. Don't get me wrong, the USAF will definitely help you out tremendously at times, but there is always a price to be paid. Just watch yourself, and NEVER take the word of anyone at AFPC at face value. Good luck, qqq, I hope this all works out for you!

 

[MoosePilot]

also, i think it's odd how AD AF have to go through 2 approvals. The initial approval is the LOA that goes through your Wing CC and then the AFPC folks. But then, this is not really the approval that matters, because you have to get the second approval from the board, and this doesn't occur until almost a year later. So if you're like me, you get the initial approval (LOA), but then you have to spend a lot of money and take the MCAT to get into a school before you get the real approval, which ends up being turned down. I spoke with a Navy guy at the USUHS interview and he said that the final approval for the NAVY occurs before the interview season. Thus, once they get a medical school acceptance, they know they're in. At one of my interviews I explained to the interviewer that I got into medical school, and I guess i gave off the impression that I wasn't that excited. He got mad and said, "why aren't you excited?!" Then I had to explain that I was, but that I couldn't really be excited until I got the second approval from the Air Force. I think he felt sorry for me and so they accepted me at that school, but it does little good now.

Whoa. Tell me more about this "second approval" by the board. I never got that impression from Mrs. Restivo, nor from Mr. Kush. The memo they gave me for a template says "approved" once it goes through separations.

 

[qqq]

Whoa. Tell me more about this "second approval" by the board. I never got that impression from Mrs. Restivo, nor from Mr. Kush. The memo they gave me for a template says "approved" once it goes through separations.

okay let me clarify. anyway, this is from my experience. Background: 3 year remaining active duty service commitment (currently in the middle of a 5 year total academy grad ADSC). This applies only to AF.

FIRST APPROVAL (approval to apply): This is your approval to APPLY to medical school. You initiate this process the summer right after the April MCAT. So if you are going to matriculate Fall 06, you initiate the LOA (Letter of Approval to APPLY to medical school) in the summer of 05. This is before you have done a single medical school interview. You email Mr. Kush/Ms. Geiger at AFPC/DPAME. You get their email and phone number off of the AFPC website. They, in turn, send you an email with the LOA attached. It is already written. You simply replace the blanks with your name. You forward the letter up the chain to the Wing CC equivalent. You email it back to AFPC where it is routed through your assignment officer and some other folks. About 2 weeks later you get a letter in the mail that says "Name, SSN, has approval from the Department of the Air Force to apply for sponsorship to USUHS or through the HPSP. If selected, you must accept an appt as an AF Reserve Medical Service Corps officer, pay grade O-1." Congratulations, you have approval to apply to medical school. This LOA does not say that if you are admitted to medical school they will let you go. It only says that you have approval to apply. It also says that if you are selected for a HPSP scholarship you go back to wearing butter bars.

SECOND APPROVAL (approval to go): Now, you gone to interviews and spent lord knows how much money. You have won that hard fought acceptance. But don't celebrate yet. You don't have approval to go to medical school. You must first compete in the Active Duty board at AFPC. The 05 board is 5 Apr 05. Now, some years, as I understand it (like 2005), there are just not that many people interested. So if you compete for the board (i.e. you have a medical school acceptance at a US/Carribean MD/DO school), you are likely going to be approved for the HPSP scholarship. Other years, there are more people competing for a slot. Normally they have about 25 slots. If there are, say, 30 people competing (only active duty folks count, not rotc, academy, etc.), 5 people will not be going to medical school even though they went through the entire process of getting accepted to medical school. Tough luck for them, they need to find a way to defer admissions, switch services, or get into the guard/reserves.

I was told by a Navy USUHS applicant that it doesn't work like this in the Navy. He said that there is no distinction between approval to apply and approval to matriculate. Once they (navy) have the approval to apply, they also have the comfort of knowing that once they get accepted to med school, they no longer have to go through yet another competitive loop hole.

So, my case was unique. As you know you only submit DODMERB to USUHS. However, once I failed my DODMERB, was refused my waiver through USUHS, and then was refused my appeal on my initial waiver (yes, I appealed USUHS' initial medical waiver rejection), USUHS notified the HPSP people. The processes are separate, but really not. If I was told upfront (during the approval to apply stage) that I couldn't go, i could have saved myself a lot of time and money.

I suspect that the AF has to have two approvals because they never no how many people will apply, and they are financially constrained to send no more than about 25 active duty folks (academy, rotc, etc don't count). If they gave out final approval before the interview stage, they could have a bunch of people with acceptances (more than 25) knocking at the door saying they were given the go ahead for med school. But they woouldn't be able to send all these people. So, by necessity, they string you along so that you will have to compete with your peers. That way they know they will only be sending about 25 folks. The rest of the people, despite being accepted to med school, are SOL.

 

[qqq]

woohoo!!! 😀 🙂 I got my Boston U acceptance today. Yet another school I won't be able to go to this year!!! (yea, yea, i know, i need to stop with the pity party, cut my losses, get a part time lab job and start studying for the April 07 MCAT).

 

[MoosePilot]

okay let me clarify. anyway, this is from my experience. Background: 3 year remaining active duty service commitment (currently in the middle of a 5 year total academy grad ADSC). This applies only to AF.

FIRST APPROVAL (approval to apply): This is your approval to APPLY to medical school. You initiate this process the summer right after the April MCAT. So if you are going to matriculate Fall 06, you initiate the LOA (Letter of Approval to APPLY to medical school) in the summer of 05. This is before you have done a single medical school interview. You email Mr. Kush/Ms. Geiger at AFPC/DPAME. You get their email and phone number off of the AFPC website. They, in turn, send you an email with the LOA attached. It is already written. You simply replace the blanks with your name. You forward the letter up the chain to the Wing CC equivalent. You email it back to AFPC where it is routed through your assignment officer and some other folks. About 2 weeks later you get a letter in the mail that says "Name, SSN, has approval from the Department of the Air Force to apply for sponsorship to USUHS or through the HPSP. If selected, you must accept an appt as an AF Reserve Medical Service Corps officer, pay grade O-1." Congratulations, you have approval to apply to medical school. This LOA does not say that if you are admitted to medical school they will let you go. It only says that you have approval to apply. It also says that if you are selected for a HPSP scholarship you go back to wearing butter bars.

SECOND APPROVAL (approval to go): Now, you gone to interviews and spent lord knows how much money. You have won that hard fought acceptance. But don't celebrate yet. You don't have approval to go to medical school. You must first compete in the Active Duty board at AFPC. The 05 board is 5 Apr 05. Now, some years, as I understand it (like 2005), there are just not that many people interested. So if you compete for the board (i.e. you have a medical school acceptance at a US/Carribean MD/DO school), you are likely going to be approved for the HPSP scholarship. Other years, there are more people competing for a slot. Normally they have about 25 slots. If there are, say, 30 people competing (only active duty folks count, not rotc, academy, etc.), 5 people will not be going to medical school even though they went through the entire process of getting accepted to medical school. Tough luck for them, they need to find a way to defer admissions, switch services, or get into the guard/reserves.

I was told by a Navy USUHS applicant that it doesn't work like this in the Navy. He said that there is no distinction between approval to apply and approval to matriculate. Once they (navy) have the approval to apply, they also have the comfort of knowing that once they get accepted to med school, they no longer have to go through yet another competitive loop hole.

So, my case was unique. As you know you only submit DODMERB to USUHS. However, once I failed my DODMERB, was refused my waiver through USUHS, and then was refused my appeal on my initial waiver (yes, I appealed USUHS' initial medical waiver rejection), USUHS notified the HPSP people. The processes are separate, but really not. If I was told upfront (during the approval to apply stage) that I couldn't go, i could have saved myself a lot of time and money.

I suspect that the AF has to have two approvals because they never no how many people will apply, and they are financially constrained to send no more than about 25 active duty folks (academy, rotc, etc don't count). If they gave out final approval before the interview stage, they could have a bunch of people with acceptances (more than 25) knocking at the door saying they were given the go ahead for med school. But they woouldn't be able to send all these people. So, by necessity, they string you along so that you will have to compete with your peers. That way they know they will only be sending about 25 folks. The rest of the people, despite being accepted to med school, are SOL.

Ah, Ok. The board is just to get the HPSP scholarship. If I get on at USUHS, then I get to skip that part, as I understand it.

I'm surprised they'd turn down people with acceptances, but if they do, I'll pull chocks. I'm basically at the end of my ADSC, although there might be enough to make this year undoable if I don't get USUHS and don't get HPSP (depending if they let me take terminal leave, etc.)

 

[qqq]

correct, the competitive board is only for HPSP.

 

[BOHICA-FIGMO]

Ah, Ok. The board is just to get the HPSP scholarship. If I get on at USUHS, then I get to skip that part, as I understand it.

I'm surprised they'd turn down people with acceptances, but if they do, I'll pull chocks. I'm basically at the end of my ADSC, although there might be enough to make this year undoable if I don't get USUHS and don't get HPSP (depending if they let me take terminal leave, etc.)

I second that. If the 5 April HPSP board and USUHS both turn me down, I'm punching out, paying for the first year of med school on my own, and then pimping myself to the Navy and Army to pay for the last three years.
BOHICA!

 

[BOHICA-FIGMO]

For what it is worth, I found out today that there are 14 USAF active duty HPSP applicants this year. I didn't ask how many slots there were, but if qqq is correct that they have 25 slots/yr, looks like the odds are in our favor!

 

[qqq]

For what it is worth, I found out today that there are 14 USAF active duty HPSP applicants this year. I didn't ask how many slots there were, but if qqq is correct that they have 25 slots/yr, looks like the odds are in our favor!

Ms. Resitivo, before she left, said they average around 20 - 25.