MDSSP/HPSP/Loan Repayment. Paying for my MD

[deleted980156]

So I have three brothers in the military (Marine, Army, Army National Guard) and one best friend in ROTC. None of whom have been helpful in understanding the medical portion of the military. So alas I am here to ask about the MDSSP and HPSP, or any other suggestions you all might have for paying for medical school via military.
From what I read, the major reason I am turned off to the HPSP is the idea that I might not get the specialty I want and I would have to match with a military hospital. So you all know, I'm a division 1 athlete with a high interest in orthopedic surgery as a result (also very interested in working with the brain - psych minor - or with children). None of which seem to align with the needs for HPSP and I will likely be placed as a general practitioner instead. I also have my sights set on a few residency programs because I interned at a few places I would love to attend in the future, obviously these are all civilian based.
For the MDSSP I am pretty confused about the commitment. Let's say I decided to take it for all 4 years of medical school. I would have to try to go to BOLC in MS1 summer, then I would be drilling for 1 weekend/month and 2 weeks in the summer/year? That drilling and training does not count towards the 8 years I would owe the ARNG or Reserves either. So I would still be drilling even in residency (How does that work scheduling wise? I'm pretty used to having a packed schedule with various commitments due to being an athlete with class and a job, but obv residency is a different beast) and then once I am board certified I would become deployable and an actual reservist for 8 years following? Anyone know what the deployment is like (How long, what does it entail, etc)? They can just call me any time during those 8 years and I still have to come one weekend per month/2 weeks per summer beyond that?
I saw a few options for just waiting to do loan repayment which is a service commitment for each year they pay you or is that also a 1:2 commitment like the mdssp? Also is this option only for specific specialties? Who knows what the future holds, I can always fall in love with another specialty but where could I find a list of these qualifying specialties? I keep seeing old ones.
I apologize for the lengthy post but after seeing and talking with a lot of my military friends and family they unanimously said that recruiters don't always do the best job at detailing what you're actually signing up for and I needed a place to organize what I've researched via internet thus far

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[deleted480308]

Read the forum. This is answered multiple times

 

[TheEarDoc]

So I have three brothers in the military (Marine, Army, Army National Guard) and one best friend in ROTC. None of whom have been helpful in understanding the medical portion of the military. So alas I am here to ask about the MDSSP and HPSP, or any other suggestions you all might have for paying for medical school via military.
From what I read, the major reason I am turned off to the HPSP is the idea that I might not get the specialty I want and I would have to match with a military hospital. So you all know, I'm a division 1 athlete with a high interest in orthopedic surgery as a result (also very interested in working with the brain - psych minor - or with children). None of which seem to align with the needs for HPSP and I will likely be placed as a general practitioner instead. I also have my sights set on a few residency programs because I interned at a few places I would love to attend in the future, obviously these are all civilian based.
For the MDSSP I am pretty confused about the commitment. Let's say I decided to take it for all 4 years of medical school. I would have to try to go to BOLC in MS1 summer, then I would be drilling for 1 weekend/month and 2 weeks in the summer/year? That drilling and training does not count towards the 8 years I would owe the ARNG or Reserves either. So I would still be drilling even in residency (How does that work scheduling wise? I'm pretty used to having a packed schedule with various commitments due to being an athlete with class and a job, but obv residency is a different beast) and then once I am board certified I would become deployable and an actual reservist for 8 years following? Anyone know what the deployment is like (How long, what does it entail, etc)? They can just call me any time during those 8 years and I still have to come one weekend per month/2 weeks per summer beyond that?
I saw a few options for just waiting to do loan repayment which is a service commitment for each year they pay you or is that also a 1:2 commitment like the mdssp? Also is this option only for specific specialties? Who knows what the future holds, I can always fall in love with another specialty but where could I find a list of these qualifying specialties? I keep seeing old ones.
I apologize for the lengthy post but after seeing and talking with a lot of my military friends and family they unanimously said that recruiters don't always do the best job at detailing what you're actually signing up for and I needed a place to organize what I've researched via internet thus far

Just reading your current goals for medicine I would say the military does not suit your goals to be quite honest. As the other person said, read the threads as the pros and cons of each scholarship offering have been discussed several times.

 

[deleted980156]

Read the forum. This is answered multiple times

Some of them are quite old, would I still be answered if I ask more specific questions? Most this post I got from this forum but from like 2016/2017.

 

[deleted980156]

Just reading your current goals for medicine I would say the military does not suit your goals to be quite honest. As the other person said, read the threads as the pros and cons of each scholarship offering have been discussed several times.

Yeah I have some pretty specific interests because of my internships. But I know some programs aren't that specific as to what kind of medicine I need to practice.

 

[militaryPHYS]

You need to take a step back and think on WHY you are really considering the military. Yes, you have three brothers in the military, but everything else seems to be primarily about a means to pay for school rather than a fully vested life decision. (i.e. civilian doctor who wears a uniform for a short time). MilMed is not just another option next to Sallie Mae when considering options to pay for a civilian medical school.

Not saying you can't be happy or it won't work, but your initial post has many of us who have been in a while with our eyebrows lifted.

Just like medicine needs to be a fully vested life decision, so does Military Medicine. If you start the process and are already waiting for it to end then your time will be miserable and you won't get anything out of it.

...high interest in orthopedic surgery as a result (also very interested in working with the brain - psych minor - or with children). None of which seem to align with the needs for HPSP and I will likely be placed as a general practitioner instead.

This line was a tip-off for me. Ortho and Psych have been high demand and will always be high demand in MilMed so long as active duty physicians are around. Therefore you are showing us your lack of time spent reading the MilMed forum with statements like this. Take an hour or two and read through some content. Consider which options truly interest you (HPSP/USUHS/HSCP vs. MDSSP/etc vs. loan repayment) and come back to talk about specifics.