Hello, I would like to throw bunch of questions and see if I could get answer from these. I will start my research on this topic, but I just wanted to throw out these questions first as an initial research. I would very appreciate it if you can answer any of the questions. I am deciding if I should get federal loans to start off my practice later on, or I should start from zero debt with military scholarship. Please be objective on your answers for me. I have zero knowledge about the scholarship, so please bear with me if I am throwing out an obvious question. These are the questions that I have thrown out to recruiters, but seems like they are only providing the good sides of each question, and did not give me clear answers for these.
1. What would be basic timeline of how whole military service work after graduation? (assuming I will be getting military scholarship for 4 years)
Start pushing your recruiter to get things rolling the summer the year before dental school if you can (as in... if you'll start dental school in 2015, start rolling in summer of 2014). Earlier if you want. I did MEPS really early.
2. After I find my recruiter, would there be certain criteria for me to pass (ex: academically, physically, etc.)
Yep. Got to have outstanding stats and pass a general physical and review of your medical history. Your recruiter will help direct you with all of this.
3. If I become a U.S. military dentist who’s serving in the base, would I be in part of military training every morning? How would the whole physical training works for me as an army dentist?
You'll have time to workout but I don't know for certain. I know the COT requirements are pretty easy to meet so I can't imagine it would be too hard to maintain your physical health.
4. I would like to know what my working hour would be as a military dentist. (per day/ per week)
5 days per week, ~8 hrs/day, 30 days off each year
5. As far as I know, I will be sent-out to certain places – deployment is it? (either within U.S. or foreign countries). Do I get to choose the place? If so, is the place given to military dentists based on their performance/grade or do you guys pick the place randomly (my interest would be to be sent out to Korea, how many spots are available each year? And what are the chances?)
My understanding is that deployment is rare and is often filled with volunteers.
6. If I am to stay in the army for 4 years, would I be staying in the same place for 4 years, or do I have to expect to move after certain period?
Most likely the same
7. Is life expense included in the military scholarship negotiable or fixed at the beginning of school year? And if applicable, may I ask the range of how much money you offer for life expense in the scholarship while I am enrolled in school?
The HPSP gives you a fixed stipend and does NOT change based on where you go to school or live (or if you're married and how many kids you have). If you're in Oklahoma City or New York you get the same. It's about $2200/month (pre-tax).
8. If I get married during my academic period, do you offer more life expenses for my spouse after marriage? Also, do you guys support my marriage in some ways? (for example, providing place for marriage, marriage fund, or etc.)
Not during school. After school you'd get a bump in some of your pays by adding a dependent. Of course with a stipend and some good planning you could always save up and pay cash for your wedding like I did. But you're just a regular guy in school getting some money and free school.
9. Starting my service in the military, would it be possible for me to commute, or is it mandatory to stick around the base for 4 years?
You can live on or off base
10. If I am to involve myself in residence program for specialty, would it count as part of my military time (4 years of service I would assume) or no?
I believe your time in training does not count towards paying back your HPSP requirement but then after specializing you pay back your requirement for HPSP and having specialized at the same time. That might be confusing and I'm not the best source on this.
11. Can you give me summary of what benefits I will be getting as a military dentist, and can you specify those benefits in detail if possible?
My blog (usafdds.blogspot.com) goes into this in detail in the "Got a Question?" section. Long story short you can expect to be paid about $80,000-90,000 on average. On top of that you can get life insurance and obviously TriCare.
12. How many days of vacation are allowed each year, and does that include holidays or separate?
30
13. Last question, I will be turning my N-400 to get my neutralization in process. While I apply for my citizenship, would it be possible for me to also apply for military scholarship?
No clue. Get with a recruiter ASAP would be my suggestion.
Additional Question: I won’t have the money to pay for my tuition. So, it’s going to be either getting federal loan for my tuition + pay for debt as I work in other dentist’s office + open my practice later on (vs.) get military scholarship start zero for dental tuition + serving in the military pay for my undergraduate loan + after 4 years serving open my practice with financial loan. What do you think would be the fastest way for me to become stable in this field? This 100% depends on your personal definition of "stable" I want to ultimately open my practice later in my career, and I will ask another forum to guide me through the process of opening a practice.
I would say if you don't want to be in the military, don't do it. It's 4 years of your life and you can definitely survive as a dentist by taking out loans at an inexpensive school and honing your business skills and contacts during school. As a civilian you'd get earlier exposure to business and that gives you some advantage. However, being strapped with tons of debt can really mess some people up, especially those that think they'll go out and buy whatever they want to when school ends. If you go the "traditional" route, just live like a student for another 4 years and kill your loan, learn the craft, figure out what you want, and make it happen. All that said, I joined the AF because I wanted to be in the AF and ultimately you'll have to make that decision as well. The HPSP has a financial component but it is a military decision above all (in my opinion).