Current HSCP Recipients

[Zeppelin3]

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So thankfully I've been accepted to dental school for the class of 2017 and now I'm trying to figure out if I should be pursuing the HPSP or the HSCP. So here are a couple questions for current HSCP recipients:

How much is your schools tuition/fees?
Are you finding the E6/E7 salary and BAH/BAS enough to pay for school and your living situation?
Are you having to take out a large amount of loans?
When did you actually start active duty?
For people with no prior service are you planning on using (or actively using) the Post 9/11 GI Bill to pay for tuition/fees?
Do you think you would have been better off on the HPSP?
Do you have to purchase uniforms while you're in dental school?

Thanks

 

[dentclc]

Hi, I'm a 2016 HSCP recipient with no prior service. My school is about 65k per year for tuition/fees. I'm still taking out some loans, but after calculating it all out, after the 8 years - four in school and four paying back - the programs are roughly the same (for me). That has a lot to do with my school being in NYC (high BAH), having dependents, getting paid as an O3E when HSCPers start working, and the post 9/11 GI Bill being used during school. You start active duty - and start getting paid - just before school starts. I probably would have been better off with HPSP, but for my unique circumstance it's almost a wash. I applied very late, so HSCP was it for me. You have to calculate out for you what the financials look like. Generally, if you're going to an inexpensive state school, HSCP can be a better deal, but make sure you go through the numbers. Per the spec you are not allowed to wear a uniform during school and do not have to comply with grooming standards.

 

[EpicDentist]

Is it too late to sign up for this scholarship program as a 4th year college student who just got accepted to dental school for Fall 2013?

 

[ChapelHillT]

So thankfully I've been accepted to dental school for the class of 2017 and now I'm trying to figure out if I should be pursuing the HPSP or the HSCP. So here are a couple questions for current HSCP recipients:

How much is your schools tuition/fees?
Are you finding the E6/E7 salary and BAH/BAS enough to pay for school and your living situation?
Are you having to take out a large amount of loans?
When did you actually start active duty?
For people with no prior service are you planning on using (or actively using) the Post 9/11 GI Bill to pay for tuition/fees?
Do you think you would have been better off on the HPSP?
Do you have to purchase uniforms while you're in dental school?

Thanks

First off congrats on your recent acceptance! At UNC the tuition/fees/cost of living for instaters averages out to a touch over 50k a year for the 4 years. In my calculations I will come out very near the break even point after 4 years, not including the GI Bill. You can either take the loans and pay them back, or some schools (I think) allow you to establish a payment plan for tuition/fee's, so you would be able to take minimal loans and pay for yoru school yourself monthly. I'm very new to this game, so I haven't explored that option quite yet.

I have no prior service and do intend on attempting to use the GI BIll the last 3 years of school. However, in the recently revised handbook they give you when you swear in, there is an ambiguous sentence regarding the GI Bill for HSCP that reads something like "this benefit will be explained to you during ODS." I'm not sure if they are trying to close this loophole for HSCPers who try to use this during dental school or not (just speculation on my part--I found it odd that they would include that in the HSCP manual), but I fully intend on pursuing it myself. As you can read on SDN, there are many others that have been successful in using the GI Bill in addition to HSCP pay, so hopefully that is still an option.

You are active duty the day you sign the paperwork, and have the full benefits/pay that this entails from that day forward. No, you actually are not allowed to purchase/wear uniforms until ODS.

Like the above poster, I applied late and the HPSP option was essentially off the table. After a LOT of research, I concluded the HSCP is actually a better deal for me though. As someone said in a previous thread, I think the break even point is 25-30k for tuition/fees. Anything over this and financially it's probably best to pursue HPSP, anything less than this and the HSCP is probably the better route. However, in either case--unless you're going to a VERY expensive school--if you plan on staying in, HSCP is the no-brainer since you gain 4 years toward retirement.

Best of luck, feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

[ChapelHillT]

Is it too late to sign up for this scholarship program as a 4th year college student who just got accepted to dental school for Fall 2013?

Not at all. I think the early birds usually have the application done shortly before the Dec 1 notification date. But I was VERY late in applying and didn't get my stuff in until May/June of the summer before I began school. I squeaked in and was granted the HSCP in Oct, after the new fiscal year began and a few spots opened up.

 

[Zeppelin3]

Hi, I'm a 2016 HSCP recipient with no prior service. My school is about 65k per year for tuition/fees. I'm still taking out some loans, but after calculating it all out, after the 8 years - four in school and four paying back - the programs are roughly the same (for me). That has a lot to do with my school being in NYC (high BAH), having dependents, getting paid as an O3E when HSCPers start working, and the post 9/11 GI Bill being used during school. You start active duty - and start getting paid - just before school starts. I probably would have been better off with HPSP, but for my unique circumstance it's almost a wash. I applied very late, so HSCP was it for me. You have to calculate out for you what the financials look like. Generally, if you're going to an inexpensive state school, HSCP can be a better deal, but make sure you go through the numbers. Per the spec you are not allowed to wear a uniform during school and do not have to comply with grooming standards.

Awesome, thanks for the info! I've been running the financials for my school and it seems that with just the salary I would just be breaking even however if I were to use the GI Bill I'd actually be able to save some money for the future. Either way I think the biggest advantage is starting out as an O3E with the 4 years of service. Again thanks for the info and I'll most likely PM you in the future when you're closer to applying to use the GI Bill.

 

[Zeppelin3]

ChapelHillT,

Thanks! I actually interviewed at UNC in September and absolutely loved it. I'm still waiting to hear back from them, however as an OOS applicant it seems my odds are slim to none at this point.

Anyway on to your post. I actually had no idea about paying as installments. I just looked it up on my school's website and it seems they offer the same thing which could be a big help during that first year without the GI Bill. Thanks for the heads up about that!

That statement about the GI Bill in your HSCP manual is interesting. In my situation I think without using the GI Bill the HPSP would be slightly more beneficial in the short run but as I'm intending on staying in I think the pay increase from the extra 4 years of service would be much more beneficial in the long run. So either way it looks like I'll be applying for the HSCP!

Like I said to dentclc, I'll most likely send you a PM in the future when it gets closer for you to use the GI Bill.

Thanks again!