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This thread is for all former/ current navy types attempting the MD. Please give advise about HPSP experiences, interview tips, USUHS experience and your history. I'll go first:
US Naval Academy 99'
H-60B Pilot
Currently instructing at USNA
B.S. History
M.S. Psychology
post bac work completed at USNA and Anne Arundel Community College.
In the process of filling out supplementals now and waiting on the first interview email (I just got my MCAT scores back from an August test).
I'm attaching a great email I got from a friend a few years ago. I lays out the Navy to MD path pretty well. However, realize that an unqualified letter of resignation also serves as approval to apply. A contingent letter of resignation means that you will continue to serve on active duty if you are not accepted. good luck:
>First of all, you got to look at your MSR (when you winging obligation is
>up). The Navy generally won't let you out until your winging obligation is
>complete. Once you know that date, you can start with a plan. For example,
>my winging obligation expired August 2003. Hence I applied for the fall
>class starting Sept 2003. Thus if your obligation is complete as of, say,
>May 2007 (just as an example), you'll want to plan your applications to
>enter the class starting fall of 2007.
>
>Below is the instruction for applying to USUSH in Bethesda, MD. It's a good
>school that keeps you on active duty, yet as an Ensign (temporary 4 year
>demotion). Also, here's there website: http://www.usuhs.mil/
>
>SECNAV 1500.8a: Admission Policies and Procedures for the School Of
>Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
>
>Below is the instruction for the Navy's medical school scholarship
>
>SECNAV 1520.8a: Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarships Program
>(AFHPSP)
>
>program. In this program, you are discharged and recommissioned as an
>Ensign, USNR, inactive ready reserves. You're a jack civilian during
>school, the Navy pays your tuition, books, fees, etc, plus gives you a
>stipend of $1190 a month. You do 45 days of active duty each summer with
>full Ensign pay. Once you graduate, you're promoted to a LT (just as with
>the USUHS program). I wanted to be a civilian during school and didn't want
>to have to wear an uniform to class each day (like you do at USUHS), so I
>choose to go with the HPSP scholarship and I have no regrets.
>
>Yet part of the requirements for both programs is that you submit and get
>an approved contingent resignation, in order to enter either program. The
>request provides a blanket approval to apply to both
>
>MILPERSMAN 1920-170: Contingent Resignation For Acceptance To Attend
>Medical Training Under The Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship
>Program (AFHPSP) or at The Uniformed Services University Of The Health
>Sciences (USUHS)
>
>programs. Basically an approval says the Navy will let you go if you either
>accepted to the HPSP scholarship or to USUHS. Here's the instruction:
>
>You can find these instructions on the Bureau website at:
>http://www.bupers.navy.mil/cdrom/cdrom.html
>
>Here's an example of an time-line, say you're shooting to start med school
>in Aug/Sep 2007:
>
>April 2006: take the MCAT, or sooner.
>
>June 2006: you will have you MCAT scores back, and depending how you did,
>you can submit your initial medical school applications via either the
>allopathic school's application service: AMCAS
>http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/
>
>or for DO schools, through AACOM: http://www.aacom.org/ (40% of military
>doctors are DO's so consider DO schools too, they tend to look at the
>"whole" applicant, not just your MCAT scores or GPA, you do everything an
>MD does, you just have an extra bag of tricks).
>
>AMCAS and AACOM are the standardized application services, everyone does
>their initial application through them. They send your application to the
>various schools you designate. Think of them as the gate keeper, you submit
>your transcripts, MCAT scores, etc, directly to AMCAS/AACOM, not to the
>schools directly.
>
>July 2006: Submit your MILPERSMAN 1920-170 Contingent resignation to the
>Bureau. It'll take about 2 months to get the final approval.
>
>July/Aug 2006:
>
>1. If you interesting in going to a civilian school and want to do the HPSP
>scholarship, you need to contact your local area Navy medical officer
>recruiter, as strange as that sounds. The medical recruiters have the HPSP
>applications and they submit it on your behalf. If you are applying only to
>USUHS, you don't need to do this. USUHS simply needs your approved
>contingent resignation letter to proceed with your application. As you can
>see, there's somewhat separate paths to each program. For the HPSP
>scholarship, once you get your med school acceptance letter, you will
>submit your HPSP application. They need proof that you were actually
>accepted to a school before granting you the scholarship, makes sense.
>
>2. You should start receiving secondary applications directly from your
>designated schools. You send these applications directly to the school,
>with an application fee (usually between $50-75 each). You get these only
>if you meet the school's minimum admission's consideration threshold. Once
>the schools get your secondary back, they'll determine whether or not to
>grant you an interview.
>
>Sept 2006 - February 2007: Open season for interviews. The sooner you
>submit your initial application, typically the sooner you'll get an
>interview request. Most folks who are offered spring time interviews are
>those who didn't submit their initial AMCAS/AACOM applications until the
>fall time. (For example, I submitted my initial application early July, I
>received secondaries in August, had my interviews in October, received my
>acceptance letters in November, got accepted to the HPSP scholarship in
>December.) The later you apply in the year, the longer this process is drug
>out, so the earlier the better, that's why most recommend taking the April
>2006 MCAT as the latest attempt (again on the premise you're shooting for
>the2007 class). Of course you can take the Aug 2005 MCAT, or even earlier.
>Most schools honor MCAT scores up to 3 years old, some only 2 years old.
>Again, up to your schedule and when you're prepared to take the exam.
US Naval Academy 99'
H-60B Pilot
Currently instructing at USNA
B.S. History
M.S. Psychology
post bac work completed at USNA and Anne Arundel Community College.
In the process of filling out supplementals now and waiting on the first interview email (I just got my MCAT scores back from an August test).
I'm attaching a great email I got from a friend a few years ago. I lays out the Navy to MD path pretty well. However, realize that an unqualified letter of resignation also serves as approval to apply. A contingent letter of resignation means that you will continue to serve on active duty if you are not accepted. good luck:
>First of all, you got to look at your MSR (when you winging obligation is
>up). The Navy generally won't let you out until your winging obligation is
>complete. Once you know that date, you can start with a plan. For example,
>my winging obligation expired August 2003. Hence I applied for the fall
>class starting Sept 2003. Thus if your obligation is complete as of, say,
>May 2007 (just as an example), you'll want to plan your applications to
>enter the class starting fall of 2007.
>
>Below is the instruction for applying to USUSH in Bethesda, MD. It's a good
>school that keeps you on active duty, yet as an Ensign (temporary 4 year
>demotion). Also, here's there website: http://www.usuhs.mil/
>
>SECNAV 1500.8a: Admission Policies and Procedures for the School Of
>Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
>
>Below is the instruction for the Navy's medical school scholarship
>
>SECNAV 1520.8a: Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarships Program
>(AFHPSP)
>
>program. In this program, you are discharged and recommissioned as an
>Ensign, USNR, inactive ready reserves. You're a jack civilian during
>school, the Navy pays your tuition, books, fees, etc, plus gives you a
>stipend of $1190 a month. You do 45 days of active duty each summer with
>full Ensign pay. Once you graduate, you're promoted to a LT (just as with
>the USUHS program). I wanted to be a civilian during school and didn't want
>to have to wear an uniform to class each day (like you do at USUHS), so I
>choose to go with the HPSP scholarship and I have no regrets.
>
>Yet part of the requirements for both programs is that you submit and get
>an approved contingent resignation, in order to enter either program. The
>request provides a blanket approval to apply to both
>
>MILPERSMAN 1920-170: Contingent Resignation For Acceptance To Attend
>Medical Training Under The Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship
>Program (AFHPSP) or at The Uniformed Services University Of The Health
>Sciences (USUHS)
>
>programs. Basically an approval says the Navy will let you go if you either
>accepted to the HPSP scholarship or to USUHS. Here's the instruction:
>
>You can find these instructions on the Bureau website at:
>http://www.bupers.navy.mil/cdrom/cdrom.html
>
>Here's an example of an time-line, say you're shooting to start med school
>in Aug/Sep 2007:
>
>April 2006: take the MCAT, or sooner.
>
>June 2006: you will have you MCAT scores back, and depending how you did,
>you can submit your initial medical school applications via either the
>allopathic school's application service: AMCAS
>http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/
>
>or for DO schools, through AACOM: http://www.aacom.org/ (40% of military
>doctors are DO's so consider DO schools too, they tend to look at the
>"whole" applicant, not just your MCAT scores or GPA, you do everything an
>MD does, you just have an extra bag of tricks).
>
>AMCAS and AACOM are the standardized application services, everyone does
>their initial application through them. They send your application to the
>various schools you designate. Think of them as the gate keeper, you submit
>your transcripts, MCAT scores, etc, directly to AMCAS/AACOM, not to the
>schools directly.
>
>July 2006: Submit your MILPERSMAN 1920-170 Contingent resignation to the
>Bureau. It'll take about 2 months to get the final approval.
>
>July/Aug 2006:
>
>1. If you interesting in going to a civilian school and want to do the HPSP
>scholarship, you need to contact your local area Navy medical officer
>recruiter, as strange as that sounds. The medical recruiters have the HPSP
>applications and they submit it on your behalf. If you are applying only to
>USUHS, you don't need to do this. USUHS simply needs your approved
>contingent resignation letter to proceed with your application. As you can
>see, there's somewhat separate paths to each program. For the HPSP
>scholarship, once you get your med school acceptance letter, you will
>submit your HPSP application. They need proof that you were actually
>accepted to a school before granting you the scholarship, makes sense.
>
>2. You should start receiving secondary applications directly from your
>designated schools. You send these applications directly to the school,
>with an application fee (usually between $50-75 each). You get these only
>if you meet the school's minimum admission's consideration threshold. Once
>the schools get your secondary back, they'll determine whether or not to
>grant you an interview.
>
>Sept 2006 - February 2007: Open season for interviews. The sooner you
>submit your initial application, typically the sooner you'll get an
>interview request. Most folks who are offered spring time interviews are
>those who didn't submit their initial AMCAS/AACOM applications until the
>fall time. (For example, I submitted my initial application early July, I
>received secondaries in August, had my interviews in October, received my
>acceptance letters in November, got accepted to the HPSP scholarship in
>December.) The later you apply in the year, the longer this process is drug
>out, so the earlier the better, that's why most recommend taking the April
>2006 MCAT as the latest attempt (again on the premise you're shooting for
>the2007 class). Of course you can take the Aug 2005 MCAT, or even earlier.
>Most schools honor MCAT scores up to 3 years old, some only 2 years old.
>Again, up to your schedule and when you're prepared to take the exam.
