NHSC- your experiences

[thegoodtimes88]

Hello!

I have recently been accepted into med school and have been working on my NHSC Scholarship application. I have not submitted yet but would really appreciate some honest feedback on your experience with the process such as: are you generally happy with your repayment location? Were you able to work at a location that you wanted? Overall did you feel like it was worth it? Also, anything else you feel could be relevant. Thank you in advance!

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[Notsosuperman]

I'm a dentist, but I have posted most of my thoughts in this thread in response to some people's bad experiences. My post is 1/16/16.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/warning-about-joining-the-nhsc.952879/
Let me know if you have any other questions. It is a little different between dental and medical but there are similarities.

 

[SuperGrover44]

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[Notsosuperman]

I don't remember the actual amount, but it is a lot. It is pretty easy to calculate. Basically they took the sheet that my dental school had with all the fees for each year and just added up every fee that isn't billed to the student (they had a few thousand budgeted for health insurance, a couple hundred for licensure exams, basically anything the school is saying you'll have to cover yourself during that year that isn't included in your tuition and fees and directly billed). Then the NHSC just covers it no questions asked and lumps it all in as the ORC.

I remember having a hard time getting a straight answer before I applied as to whether health insurance was covered. But like I said, if it is on that list, and if your school is comprehensive about their cost of attendance sheet (some schools aren't, mine itemized it very well, estimating what the local licensure exam cost), it should be covered, and mine was covered in my ORC as cash, regardless of whether I was covered by my wife's work or not.

They even accidentally paid me an extra 5 thousand one year for my instruments even though they were also billed by the school, and it was the hardest thing to give back. I don't mean ethically, I mean I had to repeatedly call them over a year and prove to then they screwed up before I could write a check back.

Hope that helps. ORC was a fun time during the year.

 

[simpler2]

Hello!
are you generally happy with your repayment location? Were you able to work at a location that you wanted? Overall did you feel like it was worth it? Also, anything else you feel could be relevant. Thank you in advance!

Yes. Yes. Yes. I am just finishing my 4 year service obligation at a clinic that I would have been working at regardless. I have a colleague who pays over $1000/mo in student loan repayment because she wanted to "have more options". She is struggling to make desired career choices now because of this burden. I could quit medicine and do virtually whatever I wanted, go part time, do locums as of July because I didn't acrue the $300K debt I would have otherwise. I think the scholarship for those at higher cost schools almost always makes sense when planning for the long game. A debt "obligation" is no different than a contractual obligation for work. I have not seen people gain much more career freedom/options with the former.

 

[thegoodtimes88]

Yes. Yes. Yes. I am just finishing my 4 year service obligation at a clinic that I would have been working at regardless. I have a colleague who pays over $1000/mo in student loan repayment because she wanted to "have more options". She is struggling to make desired career choices now because of this burden. I could quit medicine and do virtually whatever I wanted, go part time, do locums as of July because I didn't acrue the $300K debt I would have otherwise. I think the scholarship for those at higher cost schools almost always makes sense when planning for the long game. A debt "obligation" is no different than a contractual obligation for work. I have not seen people gain much more career freedom/options with the former.

Thank you so much for your input! Overall this is just too good of an opportunity to pass up and I'm happy to hear that your experiences reflect my outlook on this scholarship. I sumbitted my application a couple weeks ago and now am waiting anxiously to find out if I got it. Fingers crossed!

 

[Brig7]

I don't remember the actual amount, but it is a lot. It is pretty easy to calculate. Basically they took the sheet that my dental school had with all the fees for each year and just added up every fee that isn't billed to the student (they had a few thousand budgeted for health insurance, a couple hundred for licensure exams, basically anything the school is saying you'll have to cover yourself during that year that isn't included in your tuition and fees and directly billed). Then the NHSC just covers it no questions asked and lumps it all in as the ORC.

I remember having a hard time getting a straight answer before I applied as to whether health insurance was covered. But like I said, if it is on that list, and if your school is comprehensive about their cost of attendance sheet (some schools aren't, mine itemized it very well, estimating what the local licensure exam cost), it should be covered, and mine was covered in my ORC as cash, regardless of whether I was covered by my wife's work or not.

They even accidentally paid me an extra 5 thousand one year for my instruments even though they were also billed by the school, and it was the hardest thing to give back. I don't been ethically, I mean I had to repeatedly call them over a year and prove to then they screwed up before I could write a check back.

Hope that helps. ORC was a fun time during the year.

Wait a minute... ORC covers everything on the school Cost of Attendance that isn't already covered by the scholarship?

So there's: scholarship (to cover tuition and fees) + ORC (to cover the rest of COA) + living stipend ?

 

[Brig7]

I ask because my school's COA sheet includes a line: "Maximum Living Allowance" $21,000 per year. So if this is included in the ORC then the living stipend ON TOP would be amazing. But it would also seem redundant and too good to be true. Let me know either way please!
Thanks in advance.

 

[Notsosuperman]

I ask because my school's COA sheet includes a line: "Maximum Living Allowance" $21,000 per year. So if this is included in the ORC then the living stipend ON TOP would be amazing. But it would also seem redundant and too good to be true. Let me know either way please!
Thanks in advance.

Room and board aren't included. The ORC covers mandatory costs other than room and board that the student themselves pay that are included in your cost of attendance sheet. For example, my school itemized these costs into the cost of attendance and they included things like health insurance and licensure exams. Even if I was covered by other health insurance or didn't end up taking the regional exam they used to come up with that cost, the money still would have come through in the ORC because it was itemized on the cost of attendance.

At least, that is how it worked a few years ago and that's how I understood it. Good luck!

 

[Brig7]

Room and board aren't included. The ORC covers mandatory costs other than room and board that the student themselves pay that are included in your cost of attendance sheet. For example, my school itemized these costs into the cost of attendance and they included things like health insurance and licensure exams. Even if I was covered by other health insurance or didn't end up taking the regional exam they used to come up with that cost, the money still would have come through in the ORC because it was itemized on the cost of attendance.

At least, that is how it worked a few years ago and that's how I understood it. Good luck!

Thanks so much! There are a handful of insurance, book, and equipment fees on the COA that will convert to helpful ORC, so that's something to look forward to should I get selected.

 

[michaelakay]

Hello! I have a question also. I know the deadline for next year is in the spring. Is early application very important like it is for medical schools? Just wondering if I still have a shot at this time of the year.


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[smq123]

Hello! I have a question also. I know the deadline for next year is in the spring. Is early application very important like it is for medical schools? Just wondering if I still have a shot at this time of the year.


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I don't think that the applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Actually, I would be completely shocked if they were; that would require a level of organization and fore-thought that I am not sure that the NHSC is capable of.