I'll be a first year in the fall and have applied for the scholarship starting this year. I should find out within a month (crossing my fingers).
There are several threads on this matter, many of them in the financial aid section.
Anyways, as far as cons-there is the obligation which some people may be hesistant to committ to; any specialization (other than GPR or Peds) has to wait until after you serve; and you may not make us much money. I'm sure there are other cons, but I would guess these are the major.
As far as pros-the main one would be that you are able to graduate with minimal debt. Personally I will still need to take out some loans to cover my expenses (the $1100 or $1300/month stipend-I forget which-won't quite cover me), but if I come out with only $50k in debt as opposed to $300k, that is a huge difference. Abd if you look at the savings per year in tuition and fees and combine it with your salary, you are making comparable money to somebody who is fresh out of school. Also, some of us aren't that concerned with making boatloads of money, but really want to help people who don't have access to quality care. Not only does this allow me to do this for 4 years as part of my commitment, but if I don't have this huge debt-load, I don't need to make nearly as much money every year (to pay off debt) and consequently I am more free to be able to take a position that might not pay as much but allows me to treat the underserved.
There are at least a few of us Pre-Dents who have applied for this scholarship that I know of....Interestingly, when I went for the interview for it, I was the only dental student they had seen.
Hope this helped...(and I didn't bore you with long, run-on sentences)
