NHSC Scholarship Program 2011

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dentalpanda

dentalpanda

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Hi everyone!

With the deadline for the NHSC Scholarship just around the corner, I figured I would open up a forum so we could all update each other when anything new comes to surface.

I am a 2nd year dental student and just submitted my application today!
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dentalpanda said:
Hi everyone!

With the deadline for the NHSC Scholarship just around the corner, I figured I would open up a forum so we could all update each other when anything new comes to surface.

I am a 2nd year dental student and just submitted my application today!
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I also applied! Here's hoping that we hear good news in a few months. I think all the scholarships regardless of division (dental/nursing/med) have the same timeline...but I guess we shall see.

I'm a first year med student.
 
I didn't realize this would be such a slow thread, but I wanted to mention that one of my supporting documents (Academic LOR) was faxed in prior to submitting my application. I just received an email today that they have received all my supporting documents. Yay! This was an extremely fast turn around given that the website said up to 45 days to update online.

Good luck to you faith100 and everyone else who views this thread!

(And don't be shy to post!!)
 
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I too submitted all my documents except for a faxed letter of rec. I have not received a confirmation email yet, crossing my fingers. Im just finishing up my 1st yr of dental school and would really like to get this scholarship. Best of luck to you both.
 
Good luck to you too Mit Lu! Please let us know when you hear something!
 
Hey everyone! I applied for the NHSC scholarship this year as well. I am a second year dental student in Oklahoma. I'm just curious, where is everyone else from (just the state is fine)?

I faxed in all of my information for this scholarship and I haven't heard anything back as of June 22nd. I did not upload any of my documents because in the guidelines it said DO NOT fax and upload (not sure how hard they are on that "rule"). I'll be sure to update on this thread if I hear anything from NHSC in the next few weeks. This program is a great one if you are willing to move and do not mind working for the government. Good luck to everyone!
 
Thanks for keeping us updated workingonmyDDS. I'm from FL. I was just wondering if you knew you could upload AND fax various portions of your application, you just could not upload and fax the same document? In any case, I hope you hear from them soon. Good luck to you and please come back and let us know when they notify you that they have received your application. Also, do you mind me asking when you submitted and faxed all your information? Thanks in advance!
 
I don't know specifically if you could or could not do both (upload and fax). From the way it was worded, I thought you should either fax everything or upload everything... not do a little of both. But that is just what I was thinking because of the way it was worded. I have no idea really and I don't think it matters... what does matter is that you get conformation that everything was received. I received an e-mail today (6/24/2011) saying that my supporting documents had been received. I confirmed this by logging onto the programportal webpage, which said "received" under all the headings.

I submitted my application the Friday before the application closed (I want to say I submitted it on June 3rd). On the faxing stuff in, I did it at all different dates (basically as soon as I got a document, I faxed it in... minus the LOR because they were sent in by the people that wrote them for me). If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll answer what I can. Hopefully some other people will find this page. I'd like to hear from others and their experiences.

Take care!
 
I received an email about a week ago saying they received all my documents....phew! Now its a waiting game. I am attending dental school in CA. Do any of you know someone personally who is a scholarship recepient?
 
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Mit Lu said:
Do any of you know someone personally who is a scholarship recepient?
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I am a physician who received the scholarship for the last two years of med school, so you could say that I do indeed know someone who is a scholarship recipient. ;)

The application process has changed a lot since I got it, but it is indeed a bit of a waiting game.
 
Hey smq123
Have you completed your scholarship term? Are you still working in public health? In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of the scholarship? Thanks.
 
Mit Lu said:
Hey smq123
Have you completed your scholarship term? Are you still working in public health? In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of the scholarship? Thanks.
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I have not yet even started my scholarship payback. I'm a resident, about to start my last year of residency.

The pros are: Obviously, the money. Not having to worry about loans, tuition, rent, etc., is great.

The cons: Lack of flexibility in where you move. Lack of flexibility in which fields you get to pursue. This may be less of an issue in dentistry, which has fewer fields than medicine does, but it's still an issue - can't become an orthodentist, can't do OMFS, etc. The NHSC can be very disorganized, although I feel like they're trying to work on this.
 
Did anyone apply with EFN or disadvantaged status?
 
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Not me. Actually, after talking to my school's financial aid department, they said no one at my school would be able to claim EFN. Im not considered a disadvantaged student either. What about you?
 
I applied with disadvantaged status (I'm the first person in my family to graduate from college). I've never heard of anyone getting the EFN but who knows.

smq123: If you don't mind, did you apply for the scholarship with either the EFN or disadvantaged status? In your opinion (you don't have to state yours), does the NHSC care about GPA that much? Everyone at my school is just hoping to pass their classes. :scared:
 
workingonmyDDS said:
smq123: If you don't mind, did you apply for the scholarship with either the EFN or disadvantaged status?
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Nope, I did not apply with either. I'm not really disadvantaged in any meaningful way.

workingonmyDDS said:
In your opinion (you don't have to state yours), does the NHSC care about GPA that much? Everyone at my school is just hoping to pass their classes. :scared:
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I don't think they even asked for my GPA. :confused:
 
I didn't apply for disadvantage status or EFN either.

Hope we hear something soon! The anticipation is killing me!!

From their program application guide:
(9) When can I expect to hear from the NHSC as to whether or not I have received a scholarship? The NHSC SP expects to notify applicants selected to receive the scholarship award beginning in July and continuing through September. Applicants who are not selected to receive the scholarship award will be notified no later than October 31, 2011. For detailed information on the application and selection process, see the Scholarship section of the NHSC website NHSC.hrsa.gov/scholarship.

It will probably be the end of July at the earliest, but we can still hope for earlier especially if smq123 is right about them trying to get more organized :) .
 
Wow, I didn't know that it could be as early as July! I was thinking end of September at the earliest :) Hoping we all hear good news by the end of summer.

I also did not apply with EFN or disadvantage status - my financial aid rep said that no one could apply from our school since they do not participate in the scholarship program they specified in the guidelines.
 
I applied for the scholarship this year as well and applied with disadvantaged status.

I also had no idea we could find out so soon -- that is exciting!

Good luck everyone!! :luck:
 
I thought disadvantage status was based only on your parents income, not whether you were the first to graduate college...maybe im wrong.At least thats what financial aid said to me. Good luck everyone.
 
Mit Lu,

Hop on to the application portal and look at the verification of disadvantaged background form... It outlines some of the details and requirements to claim disadvantaged background, and they shockingly are pretty broad. It makes sense though, as there are many different definitions of disadvantaged. For instance, you qualify if the high school you went to school at had greater than 30% of students who receive reduced lunches, or if the average ACT/SAT scores are lower than the national average, or if you are the first generation to go to college. NHSC requires that you have this certified with the documentation/letter through your financial aid office, though (which I find odd, as your financial aid office for professional school typically has not idea what how you should qualify for anything besides financial stuff). From talking with NHSC, they don't consider an individual disadvantaged unless they have the paperwork filled out/verified by your financial aid office.

I also applied this year for the scholarship. I'm not sure if everyone knows, but this year the total applications they will be awarding is down to around 120, much lower than the amount was last year (In the 200's).

Good luck to all!
 
Hey smq123, I had a quick question. When you were in school, were you in state or out of state?
 
I've got another question smq123 if you don't mind. When did you hear about the scholarship when you received it (July, August, Sept, etc)? How did you hear? (I know things have probably changed since you applied but it would be nice to know.)

Thanks
 
workingonmyDDS said:
I've got another question smq123 if you don't mind. When did you hear about the scholarship when you received it (July, August, Sept, etc)? How did you hear? (I know things have probably changed since you applied but it would be nice to know.)

Thanks
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I was a 3rd year med student, and I heard that I had received the scholarship in August-September-ish. I heard by mail. The first check included all the money that I would have gotten in July and August (i.e. they didn't shortchange me those first few months.)

I had applied for the scholarship before, as a 1st-going-to-be-2nd year. I was rejected, also by mail, in May or June.
 
smq123 said:
I was a 3rd year med student, and I heard that I had received the scholarship in August-September-ish. I heard by mail. The first check included all the money that I would have gotten in July and August (i.e. they didn't shortchange me those first few months.)

I had applied for the scholarship before, as a 1st-going-to-be-2nd year. I was rejected, also by mail, in May or June.
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When you reapplied what was different about your application? (recommendation, essays)

Thx
 
faith100 said:
When you reapplied what was different about your application? (recommendation, essays)

Thx
Click to expand...

Well, when I applied, there weren't any letters of recommendation or essays. My year was the last year that the application was just a multiple choice test (literally; we were given booklets and scantron sheets in the mail). We listed references in lieu of LORs, and some of the questions on that test were ridiculous. I remember one in particular: "You are leading a group of friends on a 10 day camping trip. On the first few days, it continually rains torrential downpours. Do you....a) Tell the group that the weather is bad so you should all go home? or b) Persuade the group that the weather will improve and you should stay?" I mean, crazy.

The big change from my application was the "Where are you willing to serve?" My answer the second time was broader than the first time. I think the first time, I specifically mentioned urban and Immigration/Customs. By the second time I applied, I had started to become more comfortable with the idea of living in a rural area, so I pretty much checked off everything.
 
Hello! I also applied this year for the NHSC Scholarship and have not heard anything yet. We can all keep each other informed by posting. Wishing us all the best of luck! :xf: :luck: :thumbup:
 
Still waiting to hear back from NHSC! I am just going to assume that we won't hear from them until September, that way if I find out anything earlier it will be like a nice surprise :)
 
Has anyone's status in the NHSC customer service portal changed from "Complete?". Mine hasn't...
 
hiplikeahippo said:
mine still just says "complete", if that's what you mean
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Oh gosh, I read that completely wrong! Sorry, mine still just says complete as well. I wonder if it will ever update considering it just tells us to keep checking our e-mails lol.
 
smq123, do you know if they update the online portal status when they decide to release their decisions?
 
dentalpanda said:
smq123, do you know if they update the online portal status when they decide to release their decisions?
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I don't know, unfortunately.

When I applied, this was long before this whole "online portal" thing. We were strictly on paper.

Man, you guys make me feel OLD. :(
 
smq123 said:
I don't know, unfortunately.

When I applied, this was long before this whole "online portal" thing. We were strictly on paper.

Man, you guys make me feel OLD. :(
Click to expand...

:laugh: That was definitely not my intention and of course the program changes what seems like yearly so by this time next year, we will all be outdated with our information as well lol... I also just figured that maybe you've seen things in monitoring these forums over the years. :)
 
They sent out e-mails today notifying finalists! It said that finalists aren't guaranteed a spot, but they have us include bank info, W4 information, etc! Also: my online portal was updated as well!
 
Has anyone else been notified? I wonder if they tell everyone at once :confused:

I haven't received any e-mails from NHSC. I hope they just go one by one. :)
 
workingonmyDDS said:
Has anyone else been notified? I wonder if they tell everyone at once :confused:

I haven't received any e-mails from NHSC. I hope they just go one by one. :)
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Congratulations to the finalists!

I also did not hear anything - which probably mean I'll be paying back student loans the old fashion way. If Obamacare doesn't change the system so it's easier for me to pay loans back as a primary care doc - there might be one less primary care doc.:thumbdown:

I really hope more funding is made available in the future for this program. But we lost our subsidized loans too - sigh

Sorry for complaining - again a sincere congratulations to the finalists:thumbup:
 
Thanks! Does anyone know what the rough probability is of receiving the scholarship if you have been selected as a finalist? I'm just wondering if the finalist pool is much larger than those who are actually selected for the scholarship.
 
I was notified as well. Just as in the dark as everyone else as to what this means, though, in terms of chances.
 
I also got the email, and I'm getting excited. Hoping that we all will hear back great news sooner than later!
 
workingonmyDDS said:
Has anyone else been notified? I wonder if they tell everyone at once :confused:

I haven't received any e-mails from NHSC. I hope they just go one by one. :)
Click to expand...

I have received this email yesterday!!! Is that a good sign?
 
Below is what the email they sent me had to say. I will be very surprised if those that receive this email are not awarded the scholarship assuming they comply with the request. I mean, why would they bother requesting me to fill out a W4 form/bank info if they gonna reject me?? Just my 2 cents. Anyone disagree?


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello,

We are writing to inform you that your application for the 2011 National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program (NHSC SP) has been forwarded for final review. The final review process requires you to submit additional information. To remain a NHSC SP finalist, you must complete the five steps listed below within five (5) calendar days of receiving this email. Please note that this email is ONLY being sent to applicants who are being considered in the final review process. Following these steps DOES NOT guarantee that you will receive a scholarship. This email only indicates the additional steps you must complete in order to remain a finalist.

Please complete the following five steps within the next 5 days. If you do not complete these steps within the timeframe given, your application will no longer be considered for an award.

If you still wish to be considered for a scholarship, please complete steps 1 through 5 and fax all requested materials back to the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Team at the same time. All materials can be faxed with the attached fax cover sheet to 301-XXX-XXXX and must be received by the deadline to remain eligible for award..

If you are no longer interested and would like to withdraw your application, you only need to complete step 1, declining the scholarship via the online application portal.


Step 1: Confirm or Decline on the Online Application Portal

Please log onto the Online Application Portal: https:// and confirm or decline your continued interest in receiving an NHSC Scholarship. Please complete this step even if you wish to decline any further interest in the scholarship program to help expedite offering a scholarship to another potential candidate.

Step 2: Complete Banking Information

Using the link below, please follow the instructions to create a login and enter your banking information into the BCRSIS system. You will be provided with a banking receipt at the end of the process. Print off the receipt and include it in the documents to be faxed to the Division of National Health Service Corps (DNHSC).

https://

Step 3: Sign Contract

The scholarship contract is attached to this email; you must Print, Sign and Fax back the contract. If you are requesting more than one year of support, you MUST sign the contract for each school year for which you are requesting funding. For example, if you are requesting funding for four years, you will sign the contract four times, once for the initial year and again for each of the three optional years listed on the contract. See the "Optional Contracts" section at the bottom of the contract. If you are requesting funding for just one year (2011-2012), then you only sign the contract on the first line in the designated space provided above the "Optional Contracts" section. You should not sign for any of the optional contract years unless you are requesting funding for those years. Please see the 2011 NHSC Scholarship Program Guidance on the online portal for more details regarding funding selection and your obligation to the National Health Service Corps. The contract is not valid until it is signed by the Secretary's designee.

Step 4: Complete W-4 Form

Using the link below, please Complete, Print, Sign and Fax an IRS W-4 form. The downloadable PDF form has active fields that can be populated before printing. This information is needed in order to properly withhold taxes from the monthly stipend if you are selected for award.

http://

Step 5: Complete Cover Sheet
 
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Thanks for the updates everyone. I'm glad I found this web page to keep me updated on the scholarship. Congratulations to those finalist on this page! I haven't decided if I'll apply next year. Take care everyone and thanks again! Feel free to post about your experiences with the NHSC Scholarship program. I'll probably check back on this page to see how things panned out.
 
workingonmyDDS said:
Thanks for the updates everyone. I'm glad I found this web page to keep me updated on the scholarship. Congratulations to those finalist on this page! I haven't decided if I'll apply next year. Take care everyone and thanks again! Feel free to post about your experiences with the NHSC Scholarship program. I'll probably check back on this page to see how things panned out.
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You still have a fighting chance. They gave us 5 days to reply. There might be those who have cold feet or are not compliant with the time allotment. Thus, let's keep the hope alive!
 
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Haven't received anything either. Thanks for the updates everyone and congratulations!! :)
 
Also received the email on Friday as a finalist.

Does anyone know if they'll continue sending out finalist emails throughout the month or is this it?? Seems kinda weird that they would send it on a Friday afternoon...
 
Does anyone know how to find out what our application ID is? NHSC requests for this ID on the cover sheet that has to be returned with your packet.

Thanks for the insight.
 
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