Can't decide on whether to accept HPSP or not

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

olddocwashburn

Membership Revoked
Removed
Joined
Mar 10, 2019
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
I was selected for the AF HPSP last week and my recruiter wants me to accept in the next few days. I'm going to Midwestern CCOM so its going to be insanely expensive if I don't accept the scholarship. I feel like the only factor influencing my decision is fear of the $400k cost though. Otherwise I would prefer to avoid the military but I just don't know how I could ever manage all that debt. I'm really struggling with this life altering decision right now. Any advice is welcome.

Members don't see this ad.
 
"Otherwise I would prefer to avoid the military" = near certainty that you will be unhappy. Whether that is worth $400k or not is not a question I can answer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
If you don’t want to go in the military don’t. You can make 400 k in two years at the bottom end of any salary range. You can pay back your loans without joining the military, like most people do.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Members don't see this ad :)
If you don't want to join the military, don't join the military.
 
Don’t join man. We’re talking about a minimum 4, most like 7+ year commitment to something that will consume your life. If you’re not passionate about serving, definitely do not. It’s not really like a regular 9-5 you can just gut out.

There are alternative service based scholarships as well as contracts post residency that can help with the debt. That, and look at less expensive programs if possible. You can also hope that PSLF sticks around, which it may with Congress being so gridlocked.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
It is not really scholarship. It is a contract between you and the military. I would strongly recommend against joining the military right now. I can accept deployment, lower pay, poor support etc...But I cannot accept the uncertainty of graduate medical education in the military right now. You are taking a huge risk because majority of medical education happens after medical school. Money can be paid back but wasted time cannot. I was asked to talk to medical students about HPSP. I could not. I am looking forward to my military retirement!
 
Don't join. Take the loans and spend a few years paying them off.

I thought long and hard about HPSP and ended up not joining. I didn't like the idea of committing to a military residency, since they span the scale of pretty-good to not-so-good. I took out full loans.

I came out with about $280K in loans. I moonlighted a lot in residency and fellowship. I have a side hustle as an attending (I'm a psychiatrist) for the past three years. I am also in the Reserve Corps, which has paid $32K/year to my loans over the last few years. I live a comfortable-but-not-extravagant life in a very expensive city and put most of my extra cash towards my loans. I am targeted to have them paid off in spring of 2020 (4 years after finishing fellowship). Had I not joined the Reserve, I would have them paid off by 2025 (9 years after finishing fellowship) with the same lifestyle, or a couple of years earlier if I wanted to live more like a resident. If I hadn't gone Reserve, I would have still paid off my loans 4-5 years after finishing fellowship by selectively taking jobs in areas that give loan reimbursements.

There are many awesome reasons for taking HPSP and committing to active duty military while in medical school. NONE of them are sufficient if you don't actually want to join the military. You can and will pay off your loans without taking HPSP. In fact, if you follow basic financial advice and make some sacrifices (all easier sacrifices than the ones you will be asked to make serving active duty military), you could pay off your $400K in student loans in a time period that would take only a couple of years longer than your active duty obligation would ben.

If you don't want to join the military, it's never worth it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
If you aren't willing to be deployed and live the military lifestyle, then do not join. You can always make money as a civilian and pay your loans off. As others have said tons of programs out there for loan repayment that do not have the strings attached that military service does. You will not be happy. Your fellow soldiers will not be happy with you. Save yourself and any future co-workers the heartache. Also you would be taking up a slot that some gung ho person who wants to serve could be occupying.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I'm just rephrasing the above. Don't join. If being a military officer isn't a primary motivation for you, you're very likely to be miserable. There's always a slim chance that you surprisingly love it, but that's a lottery ticket. Plus, this is a very uncertain time to join. In previous years, at least you generally knew what was in store if you did join (with a margin of error, of course). Now? who knows. Too much in flux to predict what might happen with GME and with your career in the service.

$400k with interest is a lot of money. Anyone who says otherwise has lost a little touch with what is reality for most people. That being said, the majority of people completing medical school do not take a military scholarship, and they get by. It's a big sacrifice, to be sure. But so is the military, and I would argue that the military is a bigger sacrifice. Paying for it yourself is going to involve a longer period living in the poor house. It's going to involve looking for jobs that offer repayment plans. Its going to involve possibly working in an area you don't necessarily love for a few years. But all with the guarantee that you're practicing medicine in your field without risk of deployment, skill rot, or operational billets. Plus, military bureaucracy is a whole thing unto itself that would make the Byzantines scratch their heads. Not saying there's a perfect work environment, but the military is pretty ridiculous.

Also, if you end up going in to a high paying field, $400k plus interest starts becoming much more edible.
 
Top