Should I resign or HPSP???

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r_mojo1

Engineer to Doctor
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After serving active duty in the navy for 8 years, I have decided that I not longer want to be in my community. I was prior enlisted for four years, then I went to school to get a Mechanical Engineering degree under the collegiate program--active duty while going to college, hence 8 years of active duty.
I plan to apply to med school next year and become an ortho--I love the mechanics, dynamic modeling, fatigue, fracture analysis, stress/strain elements of complex systems--the skeletal system in the human body has my full interest. I know that the Navy has great scholarship programs--USUHS and HPSP, and pretty much can come out of school debt free. But...

I'm from Texas and if I get accepted in one of the state schools, I don't have to pay any tuition because I would be considered a veteran and the state pays for the majority of the fees and tuition--this scholarship is called the Hazelwood program.
http://www.collegefortexans.com/cfbin/tofa2.cfm?id=31


My question to you ladies & gentlemen is:

Is it cost effective to leave the military after racking in 10 yrs of active duty and transfer to the civilian life and finish Med school as a civilian with no strings attached?

I ran some numbers and according to BUPERS, after twenty years of service I can earn $4.0M in retirement--40 yrs. and If I go to USUHS I can earn income while going to school $240K.

If I get out… I have to live with no income while going to school, I loose my retirement, and have to pay for some very minor fees in school.

What are the pros and cons of getting out at this point? and how hard is to get the residency of your choice in the Navy vs. Civilian, lets say I want one of the most competitive specialties--ortho, rad, anesthesia.

Thanks for your help. I have to make the big decision next year .

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Forget completely about the financial aspects; ultimately, they are irrelevant. The real question is: Do you still want to be in the Navy?

If the answer is "yes, I absolutely loved every minute of it, and would love to be in as an active duty doc" then by all means, do HPSP/USUHS.

If the answer is anything even remotely less enthusiastic, get out, wave goodbye, and never look back.

And not to be too pessimistic, but just make sure you have a backup plan for in case you don't get into med school . . .

X-RMD
 
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If you go to state school for little cost, that may be the best option for money and options down the road. If you like the USN then it is not a bad financial packages either since you have over 10 and your residency pay will be pretty good 80K+.

If you want the options but don't want to loose that 10yrs for retirement, you can go reserve in any of the services even as a Coastie.

For me the tuition costs were so high and with my prior service, HPSP was a great bargain -- and I like green canvas tents.
 
Do med school on your own. That way you can choose the specialty you wish to practice for the rest of your working years (mil and/or civ). After that point, if you want to re-join, I'm sure they would be happy to have you. Keep your options open and it is hard to go wrong.
 
Do med school on your own. That way you can choose the specialty you wish to practice for the rest of your working years (mil and/or civ). After that point, if you want to re-join, I'm sure they would be happy to have you. Keep your options open and it is hard to go wrong.

And, to re-join they may offer some good bonuses.
 
After serving active duty in the navy for 8 years, I have decided that I not longer want to be in my community. I was prior enlisted for four years, then I went to school to get a Mechanical Engineering degree under the collegiate program--active duty while going to college, hence 8 years of active duty.
I plan to apply to med school next year and become an ortho--I love the mechanics, dynamic modeling, fatigue, fracture analysis, stress/strain elements of complex systems--the skeletal system in the human body has my full interest. I know that the Navy has great scholarship programs--USUHS and HPSP, and pretty much can come out of school debt free. But...

I'm from Texas and if I get accepted in one of the state schools, I don't have to pay any tuition because I would be considered a veteran and the state pays for the majority of the fees and tuition--this scholarship is called the Hazelwood program.
http://www.collegefortexans.com/cfbin/tofa2.cfm?id=31


My question to you ladies & gentlemen is:

Is it cost effective to leave the military after racking in 10 yrs of active duty and transfer to the civilian life and finish Med school as a civilian with no strings attached?

I ran some numbers and according to BUPERS, after twenty years of service I can earn $4.0M in retirement--40 yrs. and If I go to USUHS I can earn income while going to school $240K.

If I get out… I have to live with no income while going to school, I loose my retirement, and have to pay for some very minor fees in school.

What are the pros and cons of getting out at this point? and how hard is to get the residency of your choice in the Navy vs. Civilian, lets say I want one of the most competitive specialties--ortho, rad, anesthesia.

Thanks for your help. I have to make the big decision next year .


I was in a similar situation with four years active duty (Air Force enlisted) and went to pharmacy school after discharge then Dental school on Navy HPSP. My four year Navy payback left me with eight years active duty and I had no intention to let that go. I stayed in the reserves made Captain and retired with a very good pension that will pay me between two and three million plus health care and the other benefits. I would say try to get those twenty or more years in some way. I was a very active reservist traveling a lot to fill in at mainly overseas clinics and had a great time.
 
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