Residency after military service

[D1Bound]

For someone who wants to serve only their 4 year HPSP commitment and then specialize in the civilian world, how do residency programs view veterans? Let's use orthodontics for an example. Will they still look at dental school grades and expect a stellar class rank and GRE? Or will they consider military service as a huge plus and accept stats that are a little less compared to the traditional applicant? Thanks

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[SirBrotherJam]

All specialties are becoming more competitive each year with record breaking #s of applicants. Of course it is dependent on the directors own view, but yes they tend to look more favorable on prior service. I know a guy that did Ortho after serving, but would have been considered competitive even with out(i.e. had high grades and solid GRE). The military allows for easy access to specialists and flexibility to shadow/work with. This gives one the potential for great letters of recommendations. Being in the military improves your application, DOES NOT make it. I think some of the programs I interviewed at gave me a courtesy interview due to my service, but had more competitive applicants that they wanted.
Bottom line: Keep your grades up and your options open!

 

[Tooth Ferry]

For someone who wants to serve only their 4 year HPSP commitment and then specialize in the civilian world, how do residency programs view veterans? Let's use orthodontics for an example. Will they still look at dental school grades and expect a stellar class rank and GRE? Or will they consider military service as a huge plus and accept stats that are a little less compared to the traditional applicant? Thanks

Ortho is hard to get into whether you're applying to a military residency or civilian. As SirBrotherJam said, you have to be super competitive to get into Ortho regardless of you have any affiliation with the military.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

Being in the military improves your application, DOES NOT make it.

This.

Big Hoss