Army Dental Questions

[brawwp]

I'm a junior now in undergrad college. I have a few questions about going into the army:

Will the tuition assistance continue? I keep hearing about military tuition cuts.

When should I apply to the army/tuition assistance program?

What should I expect? I have always wanted to join the army, even before deciding to become a dentist. Will I get the whole military experience I have always wanted, or will I be in one location in an office all the time practicing dentistry (not that being in an office doing what I am going to school for is bad. I would love to do that, but I also want the military experience)? I view this as the one last major experience of my life before settling down as a civilian dentist. I am excited to become a dentist, but I want to experience the military beforehand. The tuition assistance is just an added bonus to me.

I appreciate any help and your time.

Thank you.

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[krmower]

I'm a junior now in undergrad college. I have a few questions about going into the army:

Will the tuition assistance continue? I keep hearing about military tuition cuts.

When should I apply to the army/tuition assistance program?

What should I expect? I have always wanted to join the army, even before deciding to become a dentist. Will I get the whole military experience I have always wanted, or will I be in one location in an office all the time practicing dentistry (not that being in an office doing what I am going to school for is bad. I would love to do that, but I also want the military experience)? I view this as the one last major experience of my life before settling down as a civilian dentist. I am excited to become a dentist, but I want to experience the military beforehand. The tuition assistance is just an added bonus to me.

I appreciate any help and your time.

Thank you.

Tuition assistance is something offered to Soldiers on active duty to help them attend school while on active duty. It is a separate program from what you are interested in to pay for dental school. You are interested in the Health Professions Scholarship Program or HPSP. The HPSP program is not going away. You can read through these threads and google search to find out more about what it covers and how it works.

The experience you get in the military is up to you. If you want the full experience, then you should plan on coming into the Army and as soon as you can trying to get into a special forces dental slot or a slot in one of the combat units. This will give you more of the Army experience and less of the dental experience (jumping out of planes, doing field exercises, etc...). Understand that going this route will result in not specializing as soon as your peers (specializing increases your pay), but it will definately help build your resume and give you the life experiences you are seeking. when you are ready to specialize you should get in without much issue in my opinion.

 

[brawwp]

Awesome, I really appreciate the response. That's exactly what I want to do. Do I even need to worry about applying for HPSP yet? Do I apply after I graduate undergraduate school? Will I apply to dental schools around the same time, or does the army assign you to a dental school? I know these are annoying questions, but I really would like to know about it since it's coming up quick for me. I appreciate your time.

Thanks.

 

[krmower]

Awesome, I really appreciate the response. That's exactly what I want to do. Do I even need to worry about applying for HPSP yet? Do I apply after I graduate undergraduate school? Will I apply to dental schools around the same time, or does the army assign you to a dental school? I know these are annoying questions, but I really would like to know about it since it's coming up quick for me. I appreciate your time.

Thanks.

Part of your completed application packet is an acceptance letter to dental school of your choosing. You begin the process to apply for the scholarship when you are interviewing for schools in the fall of your senior year.