I'm contemplating applying for either the army/air force or the national health services corp programs to help me pay for my last 3 years of med school - however I'm pretty skeptical abouth them....any advice?
Free med school??
- Thread starter bodega
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I have applied for the Army and Navy HPSP. There are of course good and bad things about each of them, on which you will have to decide for yourself. You sacrifice freedom, time, and potential earnings to have little or no debt at the end of school. More than 90% of medical school grads from the HPSP have to go onto a military internship in addition to serving 45 days a year in a military hospital (schedule permitting). There have been numerous discussions in these fora on this topic. Do a search for "military", "National Health Service", etc. to read some of them.
There is one solid piece of advice that I can give and that is if you are interested to start the application process now, it takes a while and boards start to meet in mid-Sept/Oct. If you get the scholarship you can always turn it down if you decide so.
Geo
oh yeah, about your topic title - there ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
[This message has been edited by GeoLeoX (edited 08-11-2000).]
There is one solid piece of advice that I can give and that is if you are interested to start the application process now, it takes a while and boards start to meet in mid-Sept/Oct. If you get the scholarship you can always turn it down if you decide so.
Geo
oh yeah, about your topic title - there ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
[This message has been edited by GeoLeoX (edited 08-11-2000).]
B
baylor21
Geo,
You're almost right except there is one free lunch and its a big one...
If you are a california resident and you get accepted to any of the state medical schools, tuition is free.
UCLA is a top ranked medical school (somewhere in the top 10). So I'd say thats one hell of a free lunch if you get accepted.
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"There is nothing more powerful on this Earth as a man who has nothing to lose. It does not take ten such men to change the world--one will do." Elijah Mohammed
You're almost right except there is one free lunch and its a big one...
If you are a california resident and you get accepted to any of the state medical schools, tuition is free.
UCLA is a top ranked medical school (somewhere in the top 10). So I'd say thats one hell of a free lunch if you get accepted.
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"There is nothing more powerful on this Earth as a man who has nothing to lose. It does not take ten such men to change the world--one will do." Elijah Mohammed
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Is that still true?
Geo
Geo
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Would that it were so! As a lifelong California resident, my tuition & fees for next year at UCI is ~$11,000. Cheap, to be sure, compared to private schools, but not free. Up until about five years ago, UC med schools had no "tuition" for med students; at that time, they added to med, law & business school students a $5000 "professional schools' fee". Now it's about $5170 per year in professional fees, and you get that rate "locked in" from the time you start. I think there are other state schools (the Carolinas? Texas?) that may even be better deals for in-state residents.
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baylor21
In response to Fiat,
well i guess Cal must've changed their policies pretty recently. The 98-99 med school admissions guide says no tuition for Cal residents.
Oh well, i guess it couldn't last forever. As far as Texas goes, their tuition for state residents is low compared to some other states, but Cal is still probably a much better deal.
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"There is nothing more powerful on this Earth as a man who has nothing to lose. It does not take ten such men to change the world--one will do." Elijah Mohammed
well i guess Cal must've changed their policies pretty recently. The 98-99 med school admissions guide says no tuition for Cal residents.
Oh well, i guess it couldn't last forever. As far as Texas goes, their tuition for state residents is low compared to some other states, but Cal is still probably a much better deal.
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"There is nothing more powerful on this Earth as a man who has nothing to lose. It does not take ten such men to change the world--one will do." Elijah Mohammed
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Check out this web site www.armymedicine.army.mil/medcom/meded/aechpsp.html
If you have any questions about the program or would like to apply contact me at [email protected]
Dont be skeptical just get the facts. There are plenty of docs out there who used the HPSP. Some had good experiences some had bad ones. Try to find both and make a decision based on your needs and situation. I can put you in touch with some but you can bet all their stories are good
[This message has been edited by DocHunter9 (edited 08-15-2000).]
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Oh yeah, one more thing, I don't think that you have much of a chance at getting one of the Air Force HPSP 3-yr scholarships. Each of the branches of the service does it a different way but the Air Force puts the alternates for the 4 year scholarship at the front of the line for the 3 year. A recruiter told me last month that they have plenty of alternates from last year and they didn't expect to be giving out any 3 year scholarships to new applicants.
Geo
Geo
K
kimberlicox
For the Baylor student...no change actually in California's policy stating "no tuition", they have just always called it something else (ie, professional fees). As a lifelong Cal student myself, I've never paid tuition fees, but I've paid lots of registration fees, enrollment fees, academic fees, walking on campus grass fees...
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I'm having to pay an extra $200 a quarter for "bucolic bunny rabbits hopping outside porches in student housing" fees! But it is offset slightly by the "grungy carpet of unspecified yet gloomy color" discount.
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kimberlicox
..."pay an extra $200 a quarter for "bucolic bunny rabbits hopping outside porches in student housing" fees! But it is offset slightly by the "grungy carpet of unspecified yet gloomy color" discount."
Do they offer a "homeless hippie who reeks of Patchouli and Boone's Farm" discount at Berkeley now?
And lets not forget the "tule fog so thick you can't see the front tire of your bike" discount at Davis;
"embarassing yellow slug logo on EVERYTHING with school name" fee at SC;
"yes, I know you wrote the text Dr. Katsung/McPhee/Salehi et al but I STILL think you're wrong about parking spots on campus" fee at UCSF...
Do they offer a "homeless hippie who reeks of Patchouli and Boone's Farm" discount at Berkeley now?
And lets not forget the "tule fog so thick you can't see the front tire of your bike" discount at Davis;
"embarassing yellow slug logo on EVERYTHING with school name" fee at SC;
"yes, I know you wrote the text Dr. Katsung/McPhee/Salehi et al but I STILL think you're wrong about parking spots on campus" fee at UCSF...
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Hey Man! Don't slam the Slug! We love our Slugs!
Fiatslug
Fiatslug
K
kimberlicox
Err...sorry fiatSLUG. Me thinks you are a little too enamoured of the slimy yellow thing.
So to compromise, I'll change it to:
"fear watching skinheads beat up homeless people" fee
or "fear that rickety boardwalk roller coaster will break down and I'll have to go to the ER, and be seen by a classmate of mine on a visiting elective" discount
or "surf shop tax" - designed to help shore up the 9,999 that don't make any money but want to charge $100 for a suit you can get elsewhere for half the price
So to compromise, I'll change it to:
"fear watching skinheads beat up homeless people" fee
or "fear that rickety boardwalk roller coaster will break down and I'll have to go to the ER, and be seen by a classmate of mine on a visiting elective" discount
or "surf shop tax" - designed to help shore up the 9,999 that don't make any money but want to charge $100 for a suit you can get elsewhere for half the price
