Hpsp Faq

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Hey fellows, how long does it usually take to get reimbursement for Step 1 after you've submitted and been approved, and how do you receive the reimbursement(check, direct deposit)? Thanks.
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Baron Samedi said:
Hey fellows, how long does it usually take to get reimbursement for Step 1 after you've submitted and been approved, and how do you receive the reimbursement(check, direct deposit)? Thanks.
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Maybe its not the same for all branches but for the AF we submit it on the same form we would claim text books and other supplies. Direct deposit came 3-4 weeks later.
 
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I was recently accepted into the HPSP program and will be swearing in shortly.

I just want to ask if anyone knows if the army has HPSP students do drug tests while in school. I ask not because I do drugs and want to get away with it, I just want to know if I should be prepared to be called at 4am in the morning and asked to come in to give a urine sample on the day of an exam.
 
So I've been waitlisted at a school and I hear back from another one this next week. I was looking through the FAQs and I still had questions. I was planning on applying army

1) Say I match into a residency in IM or some specialty, will I be able to do the residency all the way through or can I be pulled out midway.

2) If you get into a military residency, do they keep you at the same hospital all of the years? I read about how military moves you around alot, i wasnt sure if that was during your pay back time or during residency.

3) I will be going to a DO school so do I have to take USMLE for military residencies.

4) The whole GMO tour thing is got me very confused. Is that something you do after your intern year before residency or is that just what everyone does during their payback years. Can someone explain that better.

The most important thing to me is making sure my medical education is not even in the slightest bit altered. I want to be able to do med school, go straight into residency. I know the military wont pull you out as a student. Just the residency I have questions about. I have no problems with the moving (I dont plan on getting married/kids for 8 years), or the other things that come with the military.
 
OhioG said:
So I've been waitlisted at a school and I hear back from another one this next week. I was looking through the FAQs and I still had questions. I was planning on applying army

1) Say I match into a residency in IM or some specialty, will I be able to do the residency all the way through or can I be pulled out midway.
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You might have a good chance at straight-through training, but that is not assured.

OhioG said:
2) If you get into a military residency, do they keep you at the same hospital all of the years? I read about how military moves you around alot, i wasnt sure if that was during your pay back time or during residency.
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Some residents in some residencies spend time at civilian institutions or other military hospitals. That kind of thing is very program-specific.

OhioG said:
3) I will be going to a DO school so do I have to take USMLE for military residencies.
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The USMLE is the more commonly-taken test and will be a broader index by which you could be compared with competing applicants.

OhioG said:
4) The whole GMO tour thing is got me very confused. Is that something you do after your intern year before residency or is that just what everyone does during their payback years. Can someone explain that better.
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Historically, "GMO" assignments were given to post-intern physicians who were forced to wait on available PGY2 slots. In recent years, with more Marine field units abroad, they have had to require some physicians who have completed residencies to take those positions, a situation that is unpopular and which threatens skill atrophy.

OhioG said:
The most important thing to me is making sure my medical education is not even in the slightest bit altered. I want to be able to do med school, go straight into residency. I know the military wont pull you out as a student. Just the residency I have questions about. I have no problems with the moving (I dont plan on getting married/kids for 8 years), or the other things that come with the military.
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[Bolds mine]

If that is a deal-breaker, you should not join HPSP. Look at FAP or some other reserve program for civilian residents, instead.
 
OhioG said:
So I've been waitlisted at a school and I hear back from another one this next week. I was looking through the FAQs and I still had questions. I was planning on applying army

1) Say I match into a residency in IM or some specialty, will I be able to do the residency all the way through or can I be pulled out midway.

2) If you get into a military residency, do they keep you at the same hospital all of the years? I read about how military moves you around alot, i wasnt sure if that was during your pay back time or during residency.

3) I will be going to a DO school so do I have to take USMLE for military residencies.

4) The whole GMO tour thing is got me very confused. Is that something you do after your intern year before residency or is that just what everyone does during their payback years. Can someone explain that better.

The most important thing to me is making sure my medical education is not even in the slightest bit altered. I want to be able to do med school, go straight into residency. I know the military wont pull you out as a student. Just the residency I have questions about. I have no problems with the moving (I dont plan on getting married/kids for 8 years), or the other things that come with the military.
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since your IM you can either train right through to residency then do your active duty as an attending. My personal preference is get rid of the AD BEORE residency as a medical officer. So basically you can do it before or after. If you do it before your residency you're paying back your years as a flight surgeon, battalion or undersea surgeon depending on what you want to do. So that will basically be a 3-4 year gap depending on length of scholarship after med school till residency since your in the military and this also helps when applying to residencies in the future since your military background. Before you start your AD tho you do an intern year which does not count as AD time.
 
After medical school if you choose to do your AD during this time. When you do the internship and serve the 3-4 years of AD depending on the scholarship length. After AD (4 years) if you choose to go into a specialty that requires a internship do you have to repeat the one you did years ago? For example such as anesthesiology
 
Depends. In anesthesia, ophtho and similar programs that start at PGY2, usually not. For some ER programs or categorical programs, you might.
 
SO, I submitted my Air Force 4-year HPSP med school package back in January 2012 and it was in for the February boards. I found out in the middle ofMarch that I was rejected and I was totally bummed out.

I contacted the ONLY Navy recruiting station in my area that deals with HPSP in the middle of March and told him that I wanted to apply for Navy, and that I had already done MEPS, etc. He said oh yeah, that's no problem, I could use the MEPs I'd already done, and assured me because I sent in all the paperwork to him within 1 week of contacting him, we could have a Navy HPSP/HSCP package in for the April boards.

Well, lo and behold he started dragging his butt and wouldn't return my calls or emails. He first scheduled my 1/of 2 Navy physician interviews last week ( I completed it immediately) and I still don't have a second scheduled yet. I asked him if he got the interview report and he again wouldn't return my emails so I called him today.

He was like, "oh yeah, I still have to schedule your second interview. And we're gonna have to re-do MEPs because your package will be ready after 90 days from when you originally did MEPs. Your package will make the May boards." He was completely non-chalant about it! :eek:

Then, I asked him, "Isn't it a little late to be applying for HPSP/HSCP in May?" :(

He, the complete professional that he is, said, "Naaaah!" :mad:

I swear. Just FML right now. Anyway...

How does the 3-year Navy application process work? I would like to ask others here, considering I have ZERO trust in this recruiter.

Would I stand a better chance of applying for the 3-year HPSP/HSCP in May 2012 versus going ahead with the 4-year HPSP/HSCP?:xf:

Or am I just screwed either way?

Thanks in advance for your replies!!!!
 
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I know for Army May isn't too late (my app should be reviewed at the April boards, and I was assured that there were scholarships left), so you may still be ok with Navy. I got an email from Navy re HPSP in late March, so I assume they still have 4-year scholarships left. I don't know much about 3-year scholarships, but good luck on getting the 4-year!
 
If someone is bored and wants to help me figure something out that I realistically could figure out/make a good guess at, I would appreciate it.

I have copied the link of a podiatry school's tuition and fees below. As you can see, I should expect each year to cost me about 50k total. How much of this is covered by HPSP? The breakdown is in the link. I think it's just tuition (~30k), health insurance (1.7k), books (1.8k), and equipment (.9k). This comes to 34.4k. So, I'd have to front about 16k myself. Am I correct in my maths? (I know you get about 2k per month living).

http://www.dmu.edu/financial-aid/tuition-and-budget-information/doctor-of-podiatric-medicine/
 
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So after scouring through this forum and overall website, I have a few questions of my own for the HPSP program concerning my situation.

I have recently finished my undergrad degree as of December 2012 with a final GPA of approximately 3.76 and it WAS NOT a premed program (art degree). Of course only with finishing my undergrad do I realize I do not want to pursue that field as a career and I am interested in the medical field, thus I am considering the HPSP Program. As such, My undergrad degree was not strong in the science or math courses and I have only done the minimal requirements for that degree (aka no organic chem course, regular chem courses or physics, and no calculus). If I was wanting to follow the path of the HPSP program, would the following be my best course of action?

A. Research medical school pre req requirements on undergrad classes need and complete those (Approximately a years worth I believe) and take my MCAT

B. Contact a recruiter to discuss my situation and my interest in HPSP

C. Apply to Med School

Thanks in advance for any help with this situation, I've been a bit lost seeing as the majority of posters on this subject have a Pre-Med undergrad and I do not
 
So after scouring through this forum and overall website, I have a few questions of my own for the HPSP program concerning my situation.

I have recently finished my undergrad degree as of December 2012 with a final GPA of approximately 3.76 and it WAS NOT a premed program (art degree). Of course only with finishing my undergrad do I realize I do not want to pursue that field as a career and I am interested in the medical field, thus I am considering the HPSP Program. As such, My undergrad degree was not strong in the science or math courses and I have only done the minimal requirements for that degree (aka no organic chem course, regular chem courses or physics, and no calculus). If I was wanting to follow the path of the HPSP program, would the following be my best course of action?

A. Research medical school pre req requirements on undergrad classes need and complete those (Approximately a years worth I believe) and take my MCAT

B. Contact a recruiter to discuss my situation and my interest in HPSP

C. Apply to Med School

Thanks in advance for any help with this situation, I've been a bit lost seeing as the majority of posters on this subject have a Pre-Med undergrad and I do not
 
nm140520 said:
So after scouring through this forum and overall website, I have a few questions of my own for the HPSP program concerning my situation.

I have recently finished my undergrad degree as of December 2012 with a final GPA of approximately 3.76 and it WAS NOT a premed program (art degree). Of course only with finishing my undergrad do I realize I do not want to pursue that field as a career and I am interested in the medical field, thus I am considering the HPSP Program. As such, My undergrad degree was not strong in the science or math courses and I have only done the minimal requirements for that degree (aka no organic chem course, regular chem courses or physics, and no calculus). If I was wanting to follow the path of the HPSP program, would the following be my best course of action?

A. Research medical school pre req requirements on undergrad classes need and complete those (Approximately a years worth I believe) and take my MCAT

B. Contact a recruiter to discuss my situation and my interest in HPSP

C. Apply to Med School

Thanks in advance for any help with this situation, I've been a bit lost seeing as the majority of posters on this subject have a Pre-Med undergrad and I do not
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Try not posting the same thing in mutiple threads. This isn't really an HPSP FAQ type question. I replied to your other thread.
 
I was reading several of your observations about military medicine and many people posting are not yet physicians. As a practicing Air Force doc (who has interacted with all branches of my colleagues in and out of country), I can't encourage you enough to NOT join. If you are in, try and get out (AF has no commitment until year 3!). Why? Someone once tried to talk me out of it, and I nobly signed up thinking I would be serving my country...the finances were merely an added bonus. I deeply regret my decision. You will be limited in your choice of specialty (the figures they quote you are very biased), delay your progression as a doctor, and make you increasingly less competent the longer you stay in. You become more of an administrator and less of a doctor from your first day. It breaks my heart to say this, but the military medical system is badly broken. Much of the care is "cowboy medicine" from PA's, NP's, or non residency trained physicians who deliver substandard care to those who deserve it most. You don't want to be party to them, and you will not change the system. You will likely be a paperwork monkey or a burned-out PCM with zero support and incompetent staff. If you want to be an excellent doctor in a setting of excellence, you will be greatly disappointed. If you know yourself at this point, realize you don't like medicine, and you don't think you're very good at clinical skills, then you will find a home here. Rather, get into the civilian world, pay with loans, choose the specialty that you are most interested in, live beneath your means and pay your loans quickly, then see whomever you wish and be an excellent physician. Go out of your way to treat service members well and be an excellent doctor to them and you will truly be serving your country (and much more so than your mediocre colleagues in uniform).
 
nm140520 said:
So after scouring through this forum and overall website, I have a few questions of my own for the HPSP program concerning my situation.

I have recently finished my undergrad degree as of December 2012 with a final GPA of approximately 3.76 and it WAS NOT a premed program (art degree). Of course only with finishing my undergrad do I realize I do not want to pursue that field as a career and I am interested in the medical field, thus I am considering the HPSP Program. As such, My undergrad degree was not strong in the science or math courses and I have only done the minimal requirements for that degree (aka no organic chem course, regular chem courses or physics, and no calculus). If I was wanting to follow the path of the HPSP program, would the following be my best course of action?

A. Research medical school pre req requirements on undergrad classes need and complete those (Approximately a years worth I believe) and take my MCAT

B. Contact a recruiter to discuss my situation and my interest in HPSP

C. Apply to Med School

Thanks in advance for any help with this situation, I've been a bit lost seeing as the majority of posters on this subject have a Pre-Med undergrad and I do not
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1. Your pre-med reqirements will take you about two years to complete, at a minimum.
Expect your courses to be unusually rigorous. My undergraduate school prized having a very high admission rate for its medical school applicants. To get that, they weeded out all but the strongest and most determined, using the chemistry courses.

2. Don't speak with recruiters until after you have taken your MCAT and have completed your science/math prerequisites and already have applied to medical school. Until you have the grades and scores in hand, you will have very little to offer them in terms of putting together an application package for you. Of course, no decision will be possible until you have an acceptance letter in hand. Don't expect a "tentative" acceptance beforehand. If you are applying to USUHS, forget the recruiter.
 
AirForceMD said:
I was reading several of your observations about military medicine and many people posting are not yet physicians. As a practicing Air Force doc (who has interacted with all branches of my colleagues in and out of country), I can't encourage you enough to NOT join. If you are in, try and get out (AF has no commitment until year 3!). Why? Someone once tried to talk me out of it, and I nobly signed up thinking I would be serving my country...the finances were merely an added bonus. I deeply regret my decision. You will be limited in your choice of specialty (the figures they quote you are very biased), delay your progression as a doctor, and make you increasingly less competent the longer you stay in. You become more of an administrator and less of a doctor from your first day. It breaks my heart to say this, but the military medical system is badly broken. Much of the care is "cowboy medicine" from PA's, NP's, or non residency trained physicians who deliver substandard care to those who deserve it most. You don't want to be party to them, and you will not change the system. You will likely be a paperwork monkey or a burned-out PCM with zero support and incompetent staff. If you want to be an excellent doctor in a setting of excellence, you will be greatly disappointed. If you know yourself at this point, realize you don't like medicine, and you don't think you're very good at clinical skills, then you will find a home here. Rather, get into the civilian world, pay with loans, choose the specialty that you are most interested in, live beneath your means and pay your loans quickly, then see whomever you wish and be an excellent physician. Go out of your way to treat service members well and be an excellent doctor to them and you will truly be serving your country (and much more so than your mediocre colleagues in uniform).
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I'm not saying you are wrong, but this is only your experience which might be a bit jaded and coming across in your message. I have been on active duty for over 14 years and in the reserves for over 3 years and am now at USUHS. In all of my time on active duty and in the reserves I have never been treated by a PA or NP, nor ever even seen one at a base clinic or hospital. Granted I didn't hang out at clinics and hospitals all that much though, but based on what you claim I surely should have almost never seen a doctor.

Clearly the truth lies somewhere in between.
 
Cooperd0g said:
I'm not saying you are wrong, but this is only your experience which might be a bit jaded and coming across in your message. I have been on active duty for over 14 years and in the reserves for over 3 years and am now at USUHS. In all of my time on active duty and in the reserves I have never been treated by a PA or NP, nor ever even seen one at a base clinic or hospital. Granted I didn't hang out at clinics and hospitals all that much though, but based on what you claim I surely should have almost never seen a doctor.

Clearly the truth lies somewhere in between.
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I have been treated by a PA (by choice, he was exceptional), but it was for something rather minor.
 
Everyone gets scared of the cost of a medical education and enticed by the military offer.

You need to carefully consider what they are proposing though. First, money can't buy freedom. They OWN you. They choose your specialty, and when and where you do it. (for the Air Force) they almost pulled folks out of residency this year because of the shortage of flight surgeons. They will limit what you choose, and the military programs do not offer training that is commensurate with their civilian counterparts.

When you practice, you will be in a setting that does not reward patient care. Every patient seen removes a resource (rather than generating money), and as a result your staff is incompetent and generally provides poor customer service. Throughout the system (this applies to the finance dept and all other military institutions as well). You will be with a cadre of physicians that are inadequately trained and inexperienced, and as a result, stay in because they are afraid to leave. Your boss will likely be a nurse with an axe to grind, and you control nothing of your own clinic.

Rather, be an excellent civilian physician, with a specialty of your choice, apply yourself in a competent training program and give your patients superlative care with great customer service. Go out of your way to honor those in uniform and you will serve your country better than if you joined.

As a side bonus, you'll make more money too (even after loans). Really.
 
MaxillofacialMN said:
Everything Ive heard on this boards suggests you're wrong....
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Where? I've been on here for years and have never heard of the military choosing your specialty in any branch. Yes, they can deny you training in a specialty and they can feces you into a pgy-1 and a GMO but I've never heard of anyone being forced into a specialty.
 
teacherman84 said:
Where? I've been on here for years and have never heard of the military choosing your specialty in any branch. Yes, they can deny you training in a specialty and they can feces you into a pgy-1 and a GMO but I've never heard of anyone being forced into a specialty.
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Okay, we'll that's what I meant. They can't just say, "youre in this specialty now!" but they can deny you what you really want, and screw up your professional progression.
 
MaxillofacialMN said:
Everything Ive heard on this boards suggests you're wrong....
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Do not limit yourself to this board. Talk to actual military physician (me) who actually went thru medical school, selection, residency and utilizational tour.

From my experience military cannot force specialty that you do not want. I also have seen average applicants match into competitive specialty after doing some GMO tours.
 
haujun said:
Do not limit yourself to this board. Talk to actual military physician (me) who actually went thru medical school, selection, residency and utilizational tour.

From my experience military cannot force specialty that you do not want. I also have seen average applicants match into competitive specialty after doing some GMO tours.
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I mean, podiatry HPSP got cut for next year, so I'm SoL anyways. I had my entire kit done too!
 
MaxillofacialMN said:
Okay, we'll that's what I meant. They can't just say, "youre in this specialty now!" but they can deny you what you really want, and screw up your professional progression.
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Last time I checked the civilian match program denies people what the really want all the time too. If you want a certain residency in the military or the civilian world you need to earn it, not just want it.
 
Is there a difference in Army and Air Force hpsp? Which would you choose and why?
 
Also, is the monthly stipend taxable??? I know that the 20k sign on bonus is. :/
 
Unaka21 said:
Is there a difference in Army and Air Force hpsp? Which would you choose and why?
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Difference between the scholarships, no. Differences between the branches, yes. That is discussed at length on numerous threads. Do a search and read a bit. Everyone has their opinion and their own reasons for choosing each branch, though sometimes misguided.

Personally, I'm 4th generation AF, my wife is one of 3 generations of AF wives...its what is familiar. On top of that all of my premed mentors were AF docs.

Unaka21 said:
Also, is the monthly stipend taxable??? I know that the 20k sign on bonus is. :/
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Yes, it is.
 
I know its common in the AF to do an intern year followed by several years as a flight surgeon before residency, but is it possible to do your four years as a flight surgeon and then do a civilian residency? I wasn't sure if they force you into a residency after a two year tour or if its up to you on staying a flight surgeon for the four years. I know there are some downsides to putting off residency but exploring all the options.
 
marinehrnt said:
I know its common in the AF to do an intern year followed by several years as a flight surgeon before residency, but is it possible to do your four years as a flight surgeon and then do a civilian residency? I wasn't sure if they force you into a residency after a two year tour or if its up to you on staying a flight surgeon for the four years. I know there are some downsides to putting off residency but exploring all the options.
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You can do 4 years of flight surgery and get out.
 
haujun said:
Do not limit yourself to this board. Talk to actual military physician (me) who actually went thru medical school, selection, residency and utilizational tour.

From my experience military cannot force specialty that you do not want. I also have seen average applicants match into competitive specialty after doing some GMO tours.
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People, we all are attracted to the "free" money. Let's cut the patriotism crap because if we had to pay for medical school before applying for military residency then none of us would do this.

I did Army and am now out. Look, sometimes, this works out very well for people. There are some people out there that get their first choice of residency, get to train at the MTF they wanted, get fellowship, dodge deployments or do cushy tours, never have to do time as GMO, flight surgeon, etc, and get choice assigments. It happens, it can happen, and those docs are relatively happy.

However, this is NOT the norm!!!

Most of us suffer different routes. At the end of the day, you have an obligation to serve, so you go with it, but its a hard pill to swallow while you are watching your medical career toilet.

If you have an honest to God sense of patriotism and are moved to serve this country, I would highly consider joining up AFTER you have completed all of your civilian residency/fellowship etc.
 
So which HPSP branch is best? A little bit of hopefully my future background is going to the Marines, then college, and lastly off to med school. I'm in the top 1% of my high school right now too.
 
Enjoy high school. Enjoy and do well in college. Worry about HPSP, if there is still an HPSP when the time comes when you have an acceptance letter from a medical school in your hand. You cannot possibly collect any meaningful advice about the specific programs that would be relevant to you so many years ahead and you are wasting your time to try.

As for joining the Marines out of high school as part of some life plan that takes you to medical school and to medicine, you really should explore more meaningfully your desire to go to college versus your desire to enlist. Doing both is difficult and really should not be a first option. It isn't that you can't go to medical school or do well in college after enlistment, you certainly can, but it does raise questions about motivation to go into medicine. There is no shame in ambivalence about a medical career, but it is a long and competitive road before you can even competently begin to work, and an enlistment makes your way both longer and takes you away from, not closer to, your eventual goal, which should be to be a completely board-eligible physician in a medical field of your choice. (The same could also apply to the HPSP.)

If you really are in the top 1% of your high school class and you have taken rigorous classes, you should be looking to go directly to college and forget about enlisting. I think you would be wasting valuable time as an enlisted Marine and you would certainly be a puzzle to the people employing you, assuming you test well. I had a friend who was very smart in my high school graduating class who would have done well in college but who went into the Marines instead. He tested well and they put him to work far from any combat activity in "Area 51" kinds of activities in, as things would have it, Area 51. He was an active duty Marine, lived off base in LV and was assigned to an irregular unit, worked in the desert doing stuff you can't talk about later (and he doesn't.) But none of that took him anywhere related as a later career. When he left after his initial enlistment, he took a career in law enforcement.
 
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Ok so I'm a junior in high school and I've been thinking about going into the military since my freshman year. But, I don't know if it's the right decision for me. See, I want to be an anesthesiologist, so I want to do AFROTC in college. The problem is I don't know how long I want to be in the military for. I've already done plenty of research and I know you give back 4 years with ROTC, but I don't understand what happens after when you graduate. Like do I apply for the HPSP/ USUHS in my senior year and complete med school and finally do my residency or does the military force me into working somewhere right after undergrad? ( I know I may not be explaining this correctly) Basically, can someone tell me what happens after doing ROTC when you're becoming a doctor. Also, how many years will I have to serve after college and med school? This is a deal breaker in my decision for what I do in college... Hopefully somebody has some answers or ANY comments or advice to share. Thx :)
 
airforcecadet25 said:
Ok so I'm a junior in high school and I've been thinking about going into the military since my freshman year. But, I don't know if it's the right decision for me. See, I want to be an anesthesiologist, so I want to do AFROTC in college. The problem is I don't know how long I want to be in the military for. I've already done plenty of research and I know you give back 4 years with ROTC, but I don't understand what happens after when you graduate. Like do I apply for the HPSP/ USUHS in my senior year and complete med school and finally do my residency or does the military force me into working somewhere right after undergrad? ( I know I may not be explaining this correctly) Basically, can someone tell me what happens after doing ROTC when you're becoming a doctor. Also, how many years will I have to serve after college and med school? This is a deal breaker in my decision for what I do in college... Hopefully somebody has some answers or ANY comments or advice to share. Thx :)
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First of all, try not to post the same thing in two threads.

If you do ROTC then you owe four years upon graduation from college. If you choose to apply to medical school you will apply like anyone else who applies straight from undergrad to medical school, probably by getting your application in before your senior year starts if you want to be timely about it.

Realize that because you owe the military time you are expected to serve in the military. Each service has different jobs for officers and you will need to apply for them as you approach graduation from your college or university. So you will need to get accepted to medical school AND apply to your service to allow you to go to medical school. Only if you get both of those will you be allowed to attend medical school. Realize that if you do not get accepted to a medical school then you must still start paying back your 4 year commitment. You won't be able to "take a year off" before reapplying to medical school.

To pay for medical school you could take out loans like anyone else, apply for the HPSP (or HSCP too for Navy), or attend USUHS if you get in. If you take loans then you will essentially be deferring your four years of active duty until completion of med school. If you take HSPS then you added four more years to your commitment and now your minimum military time is 8 (4 for ROTC and 4 for HPSP) plus internship and residency. If you go to USUHS then your commitment is now 11 (4 for ROTC and 7 for USUHS) plus internship and residency.

So if you KNOW you want to go to med school, but are unsure of wanting to be in the military then DO NOT do ROTC.
 
So I apologize for not searching through this thread, but I have two important questions after speaking with a recruiter, at least before I continue further with the HPSP route:
1) What are the chances of getting a waiver granted for having one MCAT category x1 point below their standard (told I needed 8s in each category, I have a 7 in physical sciences)? Recruiter said very low even with a waiver from them...
2) I have an expunged incident on my record, I have had several background checks since the incident about 7 years ago with nothing showing up. Is this something that will be discovered or is the background check the same?
Thanks for your help, I really want to go through Army and I am excited at getting to do this with the bonus of getting help with medical school. Thanks guys.
 
jfoz said:
So I apologize for not searching through this thread, but I have two important questions after speaking with a recruiter, at least before I continue further with the HPSP route:
1) What are the chances of getting a waiver granted for having one MCAT category x1 point below their standard (told I needed 8s in each category, I have a 7 in physical sciences)? Recruiter said very low even with a waiver from them...
2) I have an expunged incident on my record, I have had several background checks since the incident about 7 years ago with nothing showing up. Is this something that will be discovered or is the background check the same?
Thanks for your help, I really want to go through Army and I am excited at getting to do this with the bonus of getting help with medical school. Thanks guys.
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1.) Hes currently recruiting so he probably has a good idea of what is and isnt getting waved. There is an army recruiter posting on here now, im sure you could PM them for a second opinion. All you can do it try

2.) Dont lie on your application...be truthful about your past. They dig deeper than your avg background check and if it comes out later you could be in trouble.
 
Hello all, I'm new to SDN, but I had a pretty specific question about the HPSP scholarship in dental school. So here's the deal. I have a girlfriend from Russia and we are thinking about getting married. I want to know, if I receive the HPSP scholarship while in dental school, would I still be free to travel to Russia with her during certain breaks? What are the commitments while you are in dental school? Could they restrict me from traveling to Russia to visit her family with her? Also, after school, when you are serving your 4 years in the army of active duty, when you take vacations are you allowed to leave the country? In general I just want to know if getting this scholarship would at all affect my ability to go visit Russia with her from time to time.

Thanks!
 
brabbit21 said:
Hello all, I'm new to SDN, but I had a pretty specific question about the HPSP scholarship in dental school. So here's the deal. I have a girlfriend from Russia and we are thinking about getting married. I want to know, if I receive the HPSP scholarship while in dental school, would I still be free to travel to Russia with her during certain breaks? What are the commitments while you are in dental school? Could they restrict me from traveling to Russia to visit her family with her? Also, after school, when you are serving your 4 years in the army of active duty, when you take vacations are you allowed to leave the country? In general I just want to know if getting this scholarship would at all affect my ability to go visit Russia with her from time to time.

Thanks!
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Since you will commission as a 2nd lieutenant upon acceptance of the scholarship and receiving a monthly stipend on top of free medical school tuition and a 20,000 bonus you may have to contact your chain of command to check with the DOD (department of defense) regarding which countries you are allowed to travel to when you are free and how long. I don't think the list is available, but you would have to contact your higher ups and they have to agree first of all. Countries in the ME, and some in Africa are obviously restricted, not sure about Russia - it may be alright.

While AD the same thing I mentioned applies. Also, you may only be gone for a certain length of time maybe up to 2 weeks at most - and maybe 30 months stateside. You earn 2.5 days leave each month - 30 days a year.
Best bet is to bring her here to the States, get married.
You will be government property during your time as AD - they don't want your azz getting lost, injured, escaping, or killed overseas. You will be a liability and an asset due to how much money they spent on you.
 
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I have a question. I have a 3.19 cGPA. Haven't taken MCAT yet, but about to. Am I automatically DQed from HPSP in Army? Or can I make up for the GPA with an awesome MCAT and acceptance to school?

Is the 3.19 roundable? Or do they keep it at 3.19?
 
DCtoMD2018 said:
I have a question. I have a 3.19 cGPA. Haven't taken MCAT yet, but about to. Am I automatically DQed from HPSP in Army? Or can I make up for the GPA with an awesome MCAT and acceptance to school?

Is the 3.19 roundable? Or do they keep it at 3.19?
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The minimum APPLICATION criteria for Army HPSP is a 3.2 (not roundable) and a 24 MCAT with no less than 8 in each category meaning your can't have a 7 in verbal reasoning and a 9 in each of the sciences totaling 25. There is a waiver process that your recruiter will be aware of for the GPA.

The scholarship is once again becoming more competitive. For the recruiting year 2012, the average GPA for those accepted was 3.64 and MCAT was 30.28.
 
Here is an excerpt from the memo that General Thomas has signed for the 2013 Recruitng year:

National Comparison Data provided by the AAMC:
Applicant Data
MCAT Mean Standard Deviation
Verbal Reasoning 9.0 2.1
Physical Sciences 9.4 2.3
Biological Sciences 9.9 2.1
Total MCAT 28.2 5.5

Matriculant Data
MCAT Mean Standard Deviation
Verbal Reasoning 9.8 1.7
Physical Sciences 10.4 1.9
Biological Sciences 10.8 1.6
Total MCAT 31.1 4.1

Comparison Data for USUHS provided by USUHS:
Applicant Data
MCAT Mean
Verbal Reasoning 9.0
Physical Sciences 9.2
Biological Sciences 9.7
Total MCAT 27.9

Matriculant Data
MCAT Mean
Verbal Reasoning 9.9
Physical Sciences 10.3
Biological Sciences 10.6
Total MCAT 30.8

Comparison Data for HPSP provided by USAREC:
Applicant Data

Total Mean MCAT 28.97

Matriculant Data
Total Mean MCAT 29.1

Of Note: The current projection for 2012 HPSP Matriculants is 30.28

If anyone wants to read the signed memo in it's entirety you are welcome to PM me and I'll forward it.
 
So I think this is a new question (can't find any info about it in this thready at least)...

My recruiter called me back in December to let me know I have been awarded the Navy HPSP scholarship (hooray)! He also told me that I can't sign my commission papers until June (for budget reasons), and that I can't attend ODS until next summer. This would mean having to do ODS between 1st and 2nd year of med. school.

Every doc, HPSP student and school I have talked to has told me to do ODS before school if at all possible. And really, I want to get it out of the way now while I have free time, so I can enjoy my time off next year.

Any one have any advice/suggestions?
 
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FermiParadox42 said:
So I think this is a new question (can't find any info about it in this thready at least)...

My recruiter called me back in December to let me know I have been awarded the Navy HPSP scholarship (hooray)! He also told me that I can't sign my commission papers until June (for budget reasons), and that I can't attend ODS until next summer. This would mean having to do ODS between 1st and 2nd year of med. school.

Every doc, HPSP student and school I have talked to has told me to do ODS before school if at all possible. And really, I want to get it out of the way now while I have free time, so I can enjoy my time off next year.

Any one have any advice/suggestions?
Click to expand...

Contact the Navy HPSP office at [email protected]. Once you are comissioned, they are in charge and can make those decisions. If it is a money issue, they may not be able to help, but ask.
 
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