Dental HPSP class of 2024

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Saw all of the acceptances on here but I haven’t heard anything from my recruiter. Texted him yesterday to see if he’s heard anything back and he left me on Read. I guess that’s probably not a good sign

Members don't see this ad.
 
Army OML'd here too. Anyone know how many get placed on OML and how many typically get off? Congrats to all who made it.

I called my recruiter and talked with him. He said there's an After Action Report that the board will release later, and that he will be able to tell me my OML rank and areas to improve on if I end up not getting off the OML and decide to apply for the 3 year. He made it sound like the top people on the OML would hear back before June, but didn't give me an exact deadline because it depends on how fast people send their recruiters declination letters, and how fast their recruiters process that. He said it is often in the recruiter's best interest to sit on declination letters for awhile. He couldn't give a number of how many people get off OML, but I'm estimating it will be between 5-10 based on people who turn it down for another branch, people who can't get the waivers they need, and the possibility that someone decides they just dont want to join the military. Based on this forum it looks like there are at least 3 spots opening up from people who got Air Force offers already.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I called my recruiter and talked with him. He said there's an After Action Report that the board will release later, and that he will be able to tell me my OML rank and areas to improve on if I end up not getting off the OML and decide to apply for the 3 year. He made it sound like the top people on the OML would hear back before June, but didn't give me an exact deadline because it depends on how fast people send their recruiters declination letters, and how fast their recruiters process that. He said it is often in the recruiter's best interest to sit on declination letters for awhile. He couldn't give a number of how many people get off OML, but I'm estimating it will be between 5-10 based on people who turn it down for another branch, people who can't get the waivers they need, and the possibility that someone decides they just dont want to join the military. Based on this forum it looks like there are at least 3 spots opening up from people who got Air Force offers already.

Ahh ok. Yea... My recruiter didn't give me that much information and said that he had never had anyone get placed on OML before, so yea haha. Thanks for info and good luck.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I was placed on the OML, and my recruiter said that they would never be told my place on the list. They also mentioned that this year the board placed a very high emphasis on selecting those with prior service, and that there’s no set timeline on when they would start calling people off of OML. Has anyone here gotten in 4-year Army this year without a military background? Just curious!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I was placed on the OML, and my recruiter said that they would never be told my place on the list. They also mentioned that this year the board placed a very high emphasis on selecting those with prior service, and that there’s no set timeline on when they would start calling people off of OML. Has anyone here gotten in 4-year Army this year without a military background? Just curious!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I had 8 years as a corpsman. and I am OML. Then again my DAT and GPA aren't stellar.
 
Last edited:
I was placed on the OML, and my recruiter said that they would never be told my place on the list. They also mentioned that this year the board placed a very high emphasis on selecting those with prior service, and that there’s no set timeline on when they would start calling people off of OML. Has anyone here gotten in 4-year Army this year without a military background? Just curious!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well that's disappointing. I might have misunderstood what my recruiter told me because I was under the impression he would know my OML rank after the AAR came in. I guess it's just more waiting then.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I was placed on the OML, and my recruiter said that they would never be told my place on the list. They also mentioned that this year the board placed a very high emphasis on selecting those with prior service, and that there’s no set timeline on when they would start calling people off of OML. Has anyone here gotten in 4-year Army this year without a military background? Just curious!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I doubt there was 80 applicants with prior service in the military. Only a very small fraction of applicants will have had prior service.
 
Holistic review seems to be a hallmark of the Army. It seems many applied to multiple branches. unless you tell them, I was told it may not look good for those applying to multiple branches. Although it is human nature to maximize one’s options, they may want applicants to show commitment to one branch. Of course this maynot be the case for everyone, it could possibly be another vetting technique to see who truly buys into Their particular branch. Who knows really though.
 
I was one of them, but decided to stick with AF.
I doubt there was 80 applicants with prior service in the military. Only a very small fraction of applicants will have had prior service.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I was placed on the OML, and my recruiter said that they would never be told my place on the list. They also mentioned that this year the board placed a very high emphasis on selecting those with prior service, and that there’s no set timeline on when they would start calling people off of OML. Has anyone here gotten in 4-year Army this year without a military background? Just curious!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I was selected for 4 year Army with no prior service - however , I emphasized very strongly in my SOM how I wish to serve and spoke about the army values and how I believe I embody those or wish to. Also - spoke about how I shadowed at the VA medical center and spoke with a former HPSP recipient and how they encouraged me to apply. Additionally, I had an oral surgeon at the VA medical center write me a LOR. So, no prior service, but I had some small connections and know many people of service that helped me with the process of applying - alsooo, something that I think helped me was that I’ve worked in a dental office for 5 years now . So even though I don’t have military experience , I have experience working in the dental field . My recruiter said he believes that helped me out . But as everyone has been saying - it’s a very holistic review. Service, leadership, volunteer, work experience, etc. are all important
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
I was placed on the OML, and my recruiter said that they would never be told my place on the list. They also mentioned that this year the board placed a very high emphasis on selecting those with prior service, and that there’s no set timeline on when they would start calling people off of OML. Has anyone here gotten in 4-year Army this year without a military background? Just curious!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
4-year Army here. I don't have any military background, nor have any of my family members served. But I had VERY high stats, 5 great letters of rec, and I contacted all my writers to make sure they addressed all the Army values in the letter (each letter did not address all the values, but I wrote an email to each letter writer telling them to focus on specific Army values that I believed they observed in me, and can write honestly. So with all five letters put together, they covered all the values), and talked about how I would make a good Army Physician specifically. I was also in numerous clubs with several leadership positions, study abroad, and hundreds of volunteer hours at the VA, and several awards/scholarships. I also addressed in my personal statement my reasons for wanting to joining the Army. Like I said though, there is much more to the application than just stats
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I was selected for 4 year Army with no prior service - however , I emphasized very strongly in my SOM how I wish to serve and spoke about the army values and how I believe I embody those or wish to. Also - spoke about how I shadowed at the VA medical center and spoke with a former HPSP recipient and how they encouraged me to apply. Additionally, I had an oral surgeon at the VA medical center write me a LOR. So, no prior service, but I had some small connections and know many people of service that helped me with the process of applying - alsooo, something that I think helped me was that I’ve worked in a dental office for 5 years now . So even though I don’t have military experience , I have experience working in the dental field . My recruiter said he believes that helped me out . But as everyone has been saying - it’s a very holistic review. Service, leadership, volunteer, work experience, etc. are all important
4-year Army here. I don't have any military background, nor have any of my family members served. But I had VERY high stats, 5 great letters of rec, and I contacted all my writers to make sure they addressed all the Army values in the letter (each letter did not address all the values, but I wrote an email to each letter writer telling them to focus on specific Army values that I believed they observed in me, and can write honestly. So with all five letters put together, they covered all the values), and talked about how I would make a good Army Physician specifically. I was also in numerous clubs with several leadership positions, study abroad, and hundreds of volunteer hours at the VA, and several awards/scholarships. I also addressed in my personal statement my reasons for wanting to joining the Army. Like I said though, there is much more to the application than just stats

I really thought I had all of that with the exception of leadership positions and an acceptance letter at the time the board met. I never led a club or anything of that nature, but I had strong stats, volunteering, LOR's, etc. One of the men who wrote me a rec letter was a former Navy dentist who I shadowed for 100 hours. I also had multiple academic awards and a work ethic based award from when I played football. I'm sure the leadership roles count a lot but other than that my application should have been very well rounded.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I really thought I had all of that with the exception of leadership positions and an acceptance letter at the time the board met. I never led a club or anything of that nature, but I had strong stats, volunteering, LOR's, etc. One of the men who wrote me a rec letter was a former Navy dentist who I shadowed for 100 hours. I also had multiple academic awards and a work ethic based award from when I played football. I'm sure the leadership roles count a lot but other than that my application should have been very well rounded.
Hey, just because you weren't selected doesn't mean you're any less than those who were. That being said, the military truly does value leadership, especially for people who are coming in as officers. Having leadership on an application is always great, and when applying for an officer position in the US military, it's probably even more valued. The scholarship is VERY competitive, meaning that most people who were selected are just about as good as you are with great stats, letters, extracurriculars, etc. It's kind of like medical/dental school, when everyone is so well-rounded and has a great application (though not to the same extent as professional school), so the selection people have to look very hard to distinguish and raise one applicant over another. So just because someone did not get into a medical school, or doesn't get into a dental school, doesn't NECESSARILY mean they have a lesser profile. It just means that there were "too many" good applicants, and unfortunately not everyone gets in. Likewise, there were way more applicants for HPSP than there were scholarships available. Inevitably, someone has to be rejected. But if you're very driven to serve, apply for three year for whichever branch offers it. If you still don't get it, and you STILL truly want to serve, then apply after you graduate and enter as a full-fledged healthcare provider.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Members don't see this ad :)
Congrats to everyone who received the Army hpsp!! But Y'ALL. This wait for the Navy hpsp is torture.. Are they waiting until after the second board decides results or not?? Does anyone know?? I really hope we don't have to wait till April :( My recruiter doesn't seem to know anything
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5 users
Congrats to everyone who received the Army hpsp!! But Y'ALL. This wait for the Navy hpsp is torture.. Are they waiting until after the second board decides results or not?? Does anyone know?? I really hope we don't have to wait till April :( My recruiter doesn't seem to know anything
My recruiter told me that they are waiting until the second board gets their results posted. She said it will be March or April until we here back for the Navy :/
 
  • Sad
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Just got word that I got the Army 4 year (pending the results of medical document approval from MEPS, which was just for a high ankle sprain). Super stoked!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Just spoke to my Air Force recruiter. He let me know that everyone who was selected for the AF HPSP accepted their offer, so there won’t be any acceptances off of the waitlist this year. Just wanted to pass this along so other waitlisted candidates aren’t anxiously awaiting that call.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Just got word that I got the Army 4 year (pending the results of medical document approval from MEPS, which was just for a high ankle sprain). Super stoked!

Congratulations! Can I ask what your GPA and DAT are?
 
Congratulations! Can I ask what your GPA and DAT are?
GPA around 3.5, DAT 21. I also played college hockey in undergrad and did a master's, which may have also had an impact on my competitiveness.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I really thought I had all of that with the exception of leadership positions and an acceptance letter at the time the board met. I never led a club or anything of that nature, but I had strong stats, volunteering, LOR's, etc. One of the men who wrote me a rec letter was a former Navy dentist who I shadowed for 100 hours. I also had multiple academic awards and a work ethic based award from when I played football. I'm sure the leadership roles count a lot but other than that my application should have been very well rounded.
Its a competitive scholarship with lots of competitive applicants - so it’s hard to say how they choose the 75. But I have a feeling leadership had a strong role in selection - I had like 6 or 7 leadership roles applying . One of them being president of pre dental society and another was being a resident assistant for my college . It’s not everything but since you’re applying to be an Officer I think leadership has a strong role in the selection process
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
how does it work with getting stationed places? do we get to pick?
 
how does it work with getting stationed places? do we get to pick?
That is a LONG way away from now lol. But my understanding is after graduation (or residency), you can list your preferences, and they MAY (or may not) take your preferences into account. Remember everything is based on the needs of the military, so you may get your last pick, or even something completely seemingly random. Or, you might get exactly what you want. From what I hear from others, just keep your expectations low, and you won't be disappointed
 
how does it work with getting stationed places? do we get to pick?
That is a LONG way away from now lol. But my understanding is after graduation (or residency), you can list your preferences, and they MAY (or may not) take your preferences into account. Remember everything is based on the needs of the military, so you may get your last pick, or even something completely seemingly random. Or, you might get exactly what you want. From what I hear from others, just keep your expectations low, and you won't be disappointed

I filled out my top 3 choices for duty stations as part of my application. I thought that was something we all had to do. Both dentists I shadowed served in the Navy and got their top choice, which was Japan. But there are other people who get sent someplace that wasn't on their list at all.
 
Generally speaking, no. Especially now that the military is slated to cut a significant number of specialists. And aside from OMFS, don’t count on specializing right out of school.

Big Hoss
well i was planning on working as a dentist for a few years and then go back and specialize. but now you are saying its harder in military because of cutbacks
 
well i was planning on working as a dentist for a few years and then go back and specialize. but now you are saying its harder in military because of cutbacks
I also heard that since civilian dentist can fill those seats, military dentist will be more likely to get stationed outside of the US.
 
I filled out my top 3 choices for duty stations as part of my application. I thought that was something we all had to do. Both dentists I shadowed served in the Navy and got their top choice, which was Japan. But there are other people who get sent someplace that wasn't on their list at all.
I'm Army, so maybe Navy is different. I think for Army we don't fill out our preferences until later
 
My recruiter just called me and told me I've been selected for Navy 4 year!!! My heart is racing right now...
 
  • Like
Reactions: 8 users
Has anyone else heard back about the Navy?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Got the call from my Navy recruiter this morning that I was accepted for the 4-year scholarship. Super excited about it!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 7 users
Has anyone else heard back about the Navy?
I don’t think all recruiters may know about acceptances yet, so I wouldn’t worry if you haven’t heard anything. My recruiter told me that there hasn’t been an “official” list published, but he knew of some way to see the results ahead of time, saw my name, and confirmed with a higher-up that I was accepted. Other recruiters may be waiting until official results are published, but my recruiter said he wasn’t sure exactly when that would be.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
I don’t think all recruiters may know about acceptances yet, so I wouldn’t worry if you haven’t heard anything. My recruiter told me that there hasn’t been an “official” list published, but he knew of some way to see the results ahead of time, saw my name, and confirmed with a higher-up that I was accepted. Other recruiters may be waiting until official results are published, but my recruiter said he wasn’t sure exactly when that would be.
Congrats on the acceptance and thanks for the info! I texted my recruiter and he said he hasn’t gotten an official email but he may know a way to check, so he’s gonna let me know what he finds out later today. This waiting game sucks haha.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Just got notified I received the Navy 4-year!! pumped.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5 users
Just notified I was selected!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
Why did my recruiter choose today to have his phone turned off...
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Congratulations to everyone who got accepted by the Navy today! Did any of you also get accepted by the Army and plan to turn them down? Also, those of you who recieved the Air Force and Army offers, have you formally declined the Army offer yet?
 
I was accepted by the Army. Haven't heard back from my Navy recruiter yet but if I do get the scholarship from Navy, I will be turning it down so hopefully it takes someone off the waiting list soon!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I GOT THE SCHOLARSHIP I AM OVER THE FRIGGIN MOON!!!!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
My recruiter said that I was professionally recommended for HPSP but he also said that it’s not specified if it’s a 3-year or 4-year scholarship. Does anyone have insight on this?
 
I got placed on alternate list for Navy. Anyone know the odds that I come off of it?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Haven’t heard back from my recruiter yet. She said my application will be considered this February board meeting. Is that a bad sign???
 
Received the 4 year navy scholarship! Anyone know what the next steps are? When will we receive the final select letter? From what I read in the forums from the last couple of years it can usually take a few months.
 
Received the 4 year navy scholarship! Anyone know what the next steps are? When will we receive the final select letter? From what I read in the forums from the last couple of years it can usually take a few months.
It can take months, or it can take a couple of weeks. It depends on whenever the names get sent up on a "scroll" for approval by Congress. By law, all incoming officers must be approved by the government. Then, I think the Surgeon General of the respective branch has to stamp off on you as well. But no worries, it is simply a formality, and to make sure your social matches your name, etc etc. I wouldn't hold my breath....just pat yourself on the back for getting a scholarship, and maybe contact your recruiter every few weeks if you don't hear anything from them. Once you are "scroll-approved" you can commission, swear in, and sign the paperwork all in one day!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I have been following this forum for a while; ya’ll have been a great resource.

First off, congrats to all those who have already been selected for your preferred branches. I’m pretty dang pumped for ya’ll!

For us poor suckers still stuck waiting to hear a definite “yes” or “no”, I was wondering if anyone had any info on how the Navy’s alternate list worked? It doesn’t sound quite the same as the Army’s OML as my recruiter made it seem like I had a huge advantage by being put on the alternate list from the first round of selection as opposed to this 2nd, upcoming round of selections?
Is this just me being hopeful or is there some merit to my hope?

Any light shed on this topic would be greatly appreciated!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Does anyone currently on the Navy HPSP have an idea what the stipend is after taxes?
 
Top