I don't see why any branch would be more competitive than another at USUHS. Most applicants will be non-traditional students. The three USUHS students (now psychologists) from my Army cohort had anywhere between 3 and 14 years of military experience as officers prior to USUHS. They all took time "off" from school to work in the Army prior to applying. Generally, serious applicants will be those who have: a military background, very strong research skills/experiences, and strong clinical experiences. GRE/Psych GRE are used in the same way that other schools use them (i.e. to weed out applicants). I've never encountered a USUHS grad who came directly from undergrad or a direct accession (civilian->USUHS) though I've been told it's happened before.
my, my, how things have changed..... and by things I mean the quality of selection/of this program itself has deteriorated dramatically over the yrs
i still keep in touch with current students and recent grads. in most recent classes, i heard the majority of applicants being selected now are babies with zero life experience or perspectives, which is pretty unbelievable. there’s apparently several rotc grads with zero life & research experience for Army that are barely 22 by the time they get in. there’s also been AF students straight from the academy, not really competitive whatsoever in their research, clinical skills or experiences prior to getting in. i was told a there was a newer student selected this yr who already had a phd(?) and overshared she got in by luck, basically bragging USUH was the only place she applied to and she didn’t really want to be a psychologist lol (btw, why any department would give someone else their 2nd phd is.... telling).
as for the civies, not too familiar with the civilian process, but judging from the grads selected, clearly the program is still invested in only choosing white, privileged young chicks as future researchers. surprise, anyone? outside of the recent weird pool of students being selected for mil psych though, the university and SoM itself is having serious DOD budget cuts. i read somewhere in sept it may be completely shut down over the next 6yrs.
for those considering applying or already applied: the dept itself has had crazy changes that have been a literal nightmare for mil psych students. A new Army faculty is treating students like straight up PVTs, is a total condescending [edited] and a self righteous O5. he’s made a [edited] of pointless reqs that mil psych students find pointless. lastly, i’d be doing a disservice if i didn’t give a warning to female applicants: you aren’t valued at all, your male ‘cohortmates’ wont be coming to your defense about issues, and the faculty won’t [edited] to advocate for you when [edited] hits the fan. i was personally subject to a particular faculty member known for treating female students like complete [edited] and being super disrespectful (EO for the course, amirite)
anyways, enough venting, all that to say is they do an excellent job of creating miserable mil psychs who 1) end up HATING their careers after their first billets and 2) are left with 0 competitive skills for the civ world after paying back service obligations. here i am wishing i could go back in time.
choose wisely.
Moderator note: Edited for language
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