armed forces scholarships

[cabo]

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Is any one in one of the HPSP ? or considering it? I was thinking about the NAVY, but I don't know if it is worth it. any advive will help.

 

[zdaddy08]

Is any one in one of the HPSP ? or considering it? I was thinking about the NAVY, but I don't know if it is worth it. any advive will help.

I've heard they will promise you the world and deliver sh**.... From what i've talked to people, don't go in with any preconcieved notions about where you will be stationed, for how long, etc..... They OWN you for 4 yrs....take this for what it's worth..... 🙄

 

[onetoothleft]

many people go into it because it seems financially beneficial. Nevertheless, I have spoken to many medical professionals who went into the armed forces and now regret it (financially speaking) because they see their friends make much more money in the private/civilian circuit. The Armed forces will pay you some minimal amount of money for the four year committment. Although school was paid for, the money that you miss out on when you graduate can be more than you saved by having the Armed Forces pay your way. This of course depends on whether you do a residency, what area of the country you choose to practice and what school you go to. If I were you I would ask myself if you would enjoy what you would be getting yourself into. Personally I think it could be exciting, you would meet lots of people, and you would have the military credit. But on the other hand, I think it may be dangerous, there is a high level of discipline that I may not really enjoy, etc.

 

[koobpheej]

don't do it for the money... it all pretty much evens out in the end... if you want to do it, do it for the adventure, to serve your country, etc. Oh, and the committment is for 8 years (4 years active duty and 4 inactive, active, or reserves) make sure you understand what this entails from the recruiter before you make your decesion.

 

[buzzapu]

Is any one in one of the HPSP ? or considering it? I was thinking about the NAVY, but I don't know if it is worth it. any advive will help.

I am a Navy HPSP 3rd year dental student. I do not regret my choice to commit and look forward to serving for 3 years (I got a 3 year scholarship). For me, there is no comparison to having that load of debt lifted off my shoulders. While my classmates worry about accruing student loans, etc. I can relax and focus on my patients and my social life and not worry about money right now. I love to travel so I look forward to the opportunity to be employed by the Navy as a dentist or specialist as I work on increasing my speed and scope of dental knowledge and expertise. How else can you see the world and still have an income practicing dentistry? At this point, I am not considering a career in the Navy, fyi. Making the decision to join any branch of the military is a big deal (obviously) but for me, the positive aspects outweighed the negative aspects.

 

[Dentalhopeful]

hey buzzapu...are you sure it is only three years you have to serve them...because from what I know, it is 5 yrs no matter how many years they paid for your schooling. Also, are you prepared to be on a ship 6 months out of the year for 5 yrs. Now, the rooms aren't like the one's you find at home, they are tiny 4 ft X 6.5 ft beds. And you share them based on your schedule on the ship. It's not like you'll be waking up every morning with a cup of joe and scrambled eggs looking out a window into the horizon (there are no windows). What I am basically saying is...re-check that contract and go over any tid bits that you might have looked over when you signed the damn thing.

 

[RachMSU]

hey buzzapu...are you sure it is only three years you have to serve them...because from what I know, it is 5 yrs no matter how many years they paid for your schooling. Also, are you prepared to be on a ship 6 months out of the year for 5 yrs. Now, the rooms aren't like the one's you find at home, they are tiny 4 ft X 6.5 ft beds. And you share them based on your schedule on the ship. It's not like you'll be waking up every morning with a cup of joe and scrambled eggs looking out a window into the horizon (there are no windows). What I am basically saying is...re-check that contract and go over any tid bits that you might have looked over when you signed the damn thing.

How is it 5 years? I thought it was one year for every year they pay with a minimum of 3 years, so that would make 4.

 

[spc213]

You have to want to serve first, then the "paid for" school is the bonus. Don't just do it for the money.

There is another forum in the "Graduate Medical" section titled "Military Medicine," where you can check out the discussion and probably answer most of your questions. Be sure to check the sticky threads at the top.

One word of caution, it's mostly MD/DO's there and they heavily lean towards saying it's not worth it. My observation is that HPSP is a much better deal for dentists because we do not have the many and varied residency requirements that MD's have. For us, four years of school equates to four years of active duty + four years reserve time. AGD's and other specialties incur more active time obligation but do count against your total eight year commitment.

Just make sure you go in with your eyes open, this forum has some good resources to help you do that.

 

[WestCoast]

If you ever want to specialize, you won't be able to do so until you pay back your yrs first. unless they make an exception and let you go into residency, in which case you owe them x amount of yrs of specialty + x amt of yrs for dental school. By the way they won't be paying for your specialty either, unless you do the military route, which you can apply for after you finish your term.

 

[spc213]

If you ever want to specialize, you won't be able to do so until you pay back your yrs first. unless they make an exception and let you go into residency, in which case you owe them x amount of yrs of specialty + x amt of yrs for dental school. By the way they won't be paying for your specialty either, unless you do the military route, which you can apply for after you finish your term.

WestCoast, I am not sure where you are getting your information, but it completely contradicts the information I have learned. I spoke to the Army dental career management officer (not a recruiter, she handles all dental assignments worldwide) two weeks ago and asked her about specialization.

At least for the Army:
1) You do not have to be complete with your initial 4-year active duty payback before specializing. In a given year the Army HPSP produces about 90-100 dentists per year. Opportunities for residencies and specialization are available for at least half that number every year. That number includes both 1-year and 2-year AGD rotations (which also incur additional time commitments).

2) I have personally met a graduating senior dental student who is going directly to an Army 4-year OMFS rotation after graduation. I know another DDS that completed a 1-year AGD and then proceeded to a 4-year OMFS.

3) I know personally another Army DDS attending Ortho at Louisville, paid for completely by the Army.

Food for thought.

 

[WestCoast]

Well if that is what she told you, thats just the way it is. I have a few classmates graduating with me this year (few in navy and one in army) and have told me what I posted previously. Feel free to believe whatever you want.

WestCoast, I am not sure where you are getting your information, but it completely contradicts the information I have learned. I spoke to the Army dental career management officer (not a recruiter, she handles all dental assignments worldwide) two weeks ago and asked her about specialization.

At least for the Army:
1) You do not have to be complete with your initial 4-year active duty payback before specializing. In a given year the Army HPSP produces about 90-100 dentists per year. Opportunities for residencies and specialization are available for at least half that number every year. That number includes both 1-year and 2-year AGD rotations (which also incur additional time commitments).

2) I have personally met a graduating senior dental student who is going directly to an Army 4-year OMFS rotation after graduation. I know another DDS that completed a 1-year AGD and then proceeded to a 4-year OMFS.

3) I know personally another Army DDS attending Ortho at Louisville, paid for completely by the Army.

Food for thought.

 

[The Godfather]

I considered it for myself if I hadn't gotten in my state school. The thing that soured me on it was the fact that after you did your three to four years of active duty, you were "on call" another four years. Imagine finally starting a practice, and then having to leave it?

 

[ItsGavinC]

Excellent points have been made. Remember (people tend to forget) that it's 4 years active PLUS 4 years reserve. In our day and age the term "reserve" has taken on a whole new meaning (just ask those reservists who are serving).

Given the state of our current affairs, I wouldn't touch any of these scholarships with a 10-foot pole, but that's just me. I've had the absolutely miserable pleasure of being a kid in a family where my physician father was in the military. We moved, he moved (we couldn't go with), we moved, he moved, ... you get the picture.

If you're doing it for money, as was mentioned, then it simply isn't worth it in my book. Sure you'll have loans to pay back, but you'll START out of school making 50k more than your military counterparts who are fresh out.

As was mentioned, check out the SDN Military Medical forum. Good luck with your decisions.

 

[ItsGavinC]

The thing that soured me on it was the fact that after you did your three to four years of active duty, you were "on call" another four years. Imagine finally starting a practice, and then having to leave it?

True. Somehow people forget this tidbit of info. I suppose it might have been easier to forget in the past, but not in the current state of the world we live in. If you're needed then you'll be called up.

 

[eric275]

True. Somehow people forget this tidbit of info. I suppose it might have been easier to forget in the past, but not in the current state of the world we live in. If you're needed then you'll be called up.

A real world example of this was shared with me by a local dentist. I was asking his thoughts on the whole HPSP program and he told me about a local dentist that had taken this route. He was on his last year of IRR (inactive ready reserve) and had just purchased a practice. The guy was married and had one small child. When the gulf war broke out in 91' he was re-called into active service. Luckily for him several local dentists, including the dentist that was telling me the story, all pitched in and kept his practice going until he returned a year later. Otherwise he would have lost his practice and all of the financial problems associated with the loss.

Personally I feel that if a person is going to take this route to pay for school with the current status of world events and our military that you should not plan on becoming a private practice owner until your IRR time is up. Unless of coarse you can set up some sort of safety net to keep your practice going while your gone. It's hard enough to plan the next four years of our lives let alone trying to look 8-12 years down the road and determine the impact world events will have on your life being on IRR. Who knows, maybe all of this world termoil will be over by then but personally I feel it's an awful big gamble especially having a wife and kids in tow in my situation.

There are definately advantages both ways. I encourage those of you on the fence about this decision to do as much research about your decision, which would hopefully include talking to past students who can tell you the facts about the program. Being prior military I would caution you of putting to much weight into anything a recruiter tells you. While they may not flat out lie to you, they do sometimes tend to "leave out" information that may influence your decision to accept or decline the scholarship.

 

[eric275]

many people go into it because it seems financially beneficial. Nevertheless, I have spoken to many medical professionals who went into the armed forces and now regret it (financially speaking) because they see their friends make much more money in the private/civilian circuit. The Armed forces will pay you some minimal amount of money for the four year committment. Although school was paid for, the money that you miss out on when you graduate can be more than you saved by having the Armed Forces pay your way.

I feel that with the rising cost of dental school that the appeal of HPSP scholarships is hard to deny financially. As an 0-3 dentist in the military you will be making around $70k a year for your four years on active duty. Add that to the cost of your school of $240k and the stipend of ~$1200 a month and it comes out to ~$577,600 worth of compensation, definately nothing to snease at. Also not included in that is the health care benefits, 30 days vacation a year, housing, malpractice insurance, continuing education, etc. that the government also pays for over and above your salary. So $70k x 4 = $280,000 in active duty salary + $57,600 in monthly stipend recieved while in school = $337,000 over and above the cost of school.

Now saying that you walked out of dental school with $240k in school loans. Lets assume that you make 70, 100, 120, 150k for each of the first four years out of dental school as an associate for a total of ~$440k. That averages out to 110k a year. Also don't forget your student loan payments, malpractice insurance, continuing education, mortgage, etc. Now not taking into account interest, the amount left in your pocket if you paid off your school loans within the first four years of school is $440,000 - $240,000 = $200k.

Granted there are those who will buy a practice within those first four years after graduation which would increase the amount made by the non-HPSP graduate. My point is that before writting off the HPSP scholarships by saying that you'll be losing money, pencil out the numbers because the financial benefit can be substantial depending on what your plans are right out of school.

 

[grant555]

It's hard enough to plan the next four years of our lives let alone trying to look 8-12 years down the road and determine the impact world events will have on your life being on IRR. Who knows, maybe all of this world termoil will be over by then but personally I feel it's an awful big gamble especially having a wife and kids in tow in my situation.

I agree with this a hundred percent, which was I decided not to go with the military scholarship. I have a 3yr old son, and I don't want to be away from him for months at a time. I'd rather spend that time practicing where I want and going to baseball games with him. Besides, as a former reservist I feel that I have put my time in and served my country. Also, two of my cousins have been to Iraq and one who is due to get out in August, may have to go back because of the "Stop Loss" program. Millions of Americans don't serve, and thousands who are already in the military are not rejoining for a myriad of reasons. If you want to get another opinion on military life and other pertinent issues, try www.military.com if the Student Doctor Military Forums aren't enough. Either way, I am just not comfortable gambling trying to plan some 10 yrs down the road. I don't even think Sylvia Brown is comfortable doing that. Take care and GOD Bless.