I went through the entire application process for HPSP and decided not to do the scholarship. As a brief background: I met with my recruiter many times in person, spoke with current medical students in HPSP over the phone, through e-mail, at medical school interviews, and through SDN about HPSP. I also spoke with family and friends who have served/currently are serving in the military and concluded this:
HPSP is a great idea for those who:
a.) Know exactly what they are getting into (previous armed forces experience, close family/friends in armed forces, etc.)
b.) Genuinely want to serve the country. The key word is
genuinely.
As
@River Rat mentioned, doing it for the money is NOT the correct reason to commit to this program. And as
@DO2015CA mentioned, it can pigeonhole you into a limited number of areas of medicine (eg: if the military doesn't currently need a neurosurgeon, there won't be a residency spot for a neurosurgeon, and you can't become a neurosurgeon.)
For me, the main reason I decided to withdraw my application (among others) was because I personally don't know where I will be 4 years from now; I don't know what area of medicine I will want to go into. Further, I don't know where I'll be 7-10 years down the road when I finally finish training. Maybe I'll have a family and kids and won't want to move around a lot for deployment? Maybe I'll end up in a lucrative area of medicine and won't necessarily have to worry about debt as much? Etc.
Despite feeling a genuine desire to give back to the country, I feel like I don't know enough about my future (and also the ins/outs of being in the armed forces) to commit to a program that will have me paying back my school debt (starting) 7-10 years down the road from now. If this seems to resonate strongly with you, I recommend looking into the F.A.P. (financial aid program) which can be through army, navy, or air force. This program is one you apply to after you have already matched into residency, so it doesn't pigeonhole you into a specific area of medicine, and it allows you time to figure out where you will be in life when you actually start paying back your debt.
The downside of FAP? You dont' get the financial stability DURING medical school that the HPSPers will. BUT you get 100% freedom to choose a medical specialty and you get more time to think about whether the armed forces might be a good idea for you.
Hope this helps, and congrats on your acceptance future doc!
-NF