So I just got the waitlist letter from USUHS. This is my first choice school and definitely want to attend if I get off the waitlist. I also just got a spot in the navy HPSP. I'm worried because I don't want to hold off accepting my HPSP offer in the hopes of maybe getting into USUHS. Is it possible for me to commit to the HPSP now and potentially 2 months from now back out from it to attend USUHS?
USUHS acceptance after HPSP commitment
- Thread starter joloeo
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What is your rationale for preferring USUHS over HPSP? USUHS results in a 7 year pay back and HPSP is only 4.
Well either way I know I will be serving in the armed forces. As for the difference of 3 years to my commitment, I'm not too concerned with. I'm more concerned with what school I had a better feel about and want to spend the next 4 years at. This is why USUHS has become a top choice of mine. Another but smaller point is that I may want to do a surgery residency after school. And since surgery residencies in the armed forces are 6 years long, that would add 2 more years to my HPSP commitment anyways. So the difference between the 2 seems a lot less.
My impression is that you could back out of HPSP until the first day of med school (according to my AF recruiter, take that with a grain of salt I guess). Double check that with someone. You may be able to back out once you find out about USUHS.
Generally, I have heard the issue comes down to this. If you want to spend your career in the military, go to USUHS. If you want to serve and get out (or that is a possibility), take HPSP.
HPSP is not flexible by any means, but it is more so than USUHS. Worst case, you do GMO and get out and do a civilian residency. Not happening with USUHS.
Generally, I have heard the issue comes down to this. If you want to spend your career in the military, go to USUHS. If you want to serve and get out (or that is a possibility), take HPSP.
HPSP is not flexible by any means, but it is more so than USUHS. Worst case, you do GMO and get out and do a civilian residency. Not happening with USUHS.
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1) Most surgery residencies in the military (with the exception of neurosurgery) are 5 years, just like civilian residencies.
1.5) How do you know you are going to still want to be a surgeon when you're approaching the time to decide? Especially with general surgery, the sheen often fades after doing a rotation.
2) A five year surgical residency in the .mil (sans any issues related to GMO) incurs a 4-year obligation that will be paid concurrently with the HPSP-years sponsored obligation and the Minimum Service Obligation (3 years for HPSP and 4 years for HPSP+20K signing bonus according to the upcoming link). If you go HPSP-->.mil surg residency, you owe four years. Read this for an overview from a Navy perspective (but much still applicable to other services. Focus on slide 16): www.med.navy.mil/.../Recruiters Presentation on HPSP - February 2010.pp
3) And if you can't stand medicine in the .mil, or even just find that the negatives outweigh the extant positives? Do you think that those three years difference will matter so little then?
My advice: get a little better informed. Understand that there are many rational gambles you take with entering a career in medicine and this is especially so with military medicine. Try to understand that mitigating those risks is important, but is more important at a time that is very difficult for you to see and, especially understand (i.e. pretty far into the future-kinda hard to look 7-15 years ahead (seven being the minimum starting time for a 4 year HPSP and 15 being the end-obligation point for a USUHS-->surgical residency individual)) and understand what will be important/challenging/frustrating/rewarding/worth while. It can be a reasonable-to-good choice for some people (often the best suited are prior service), but blithely signing up for the longest commitment available based on shaky gouge is not a recipe for a happy career. Explore HPSP, USUHS in detail and, as always, keep FAP in the fore of your thoughts when you think time spent in milmed.
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Just to clarify-- all gen surg residencies in the Army are indeed 6 years, due to a required year of research. This is different from the other services that still have 5 year programs.
for example, here's tripler:
http://www.tamc.amedd.army.mil/residency/mchk-ds/gsrtp2.htm
for example, here's tripler:
http://www.tamc.amedd.army.mil/residency/mchk-ds/gsrtp2.htm
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So noted; thanks for the clarification. And: holy supreme suckage. Still, two less years of effective ADSO with (Army) HPSP vs. USUHS. And, back to the "suck" comment-if I've been reading the forum correctly over the years I've been here, 3 out of 5 Army surgical residencies are pretty good, but there are two that most would choose to avoid for a variety of reasons (correct?). Get to have the privilege of giving the Army a year for free for a 40% chance (if qualified) that you'll get a residency that most people would avoid. Let's pile on a bit more suck.
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I went through the same thing 4years ago except army vs navy, got approval for the army hpsp and was accepted at a civilian med school, but bailed after I got accepted to USUHS which was my #1. It wasn't a problem getting out of the hpsp, the recruiter will understand. Also I have some knowledge about surgery on the army side, you can pm me if you have any q's, about usuhs or anything else.
joloeo, are you waitlisted for the army at USUHS? If not, which branch? And when did you interview?
When you said you got a spot in the Navy HPSP, does that mean you were accepted to a civilian school already, or just accepted by the scholarship program?
When you said you got a spot in the Navy HPSP, does that mean you were accepted to a civilian school already, or just accepted by the scholarship program?
I'm waitlisted for the navy at USUHS. Also, I've already been accepted to a different medical school and already have the navy HPSP. In fact, I'll probably commission within the next 2 weeks... Also, I interviewed at USUHS on Sept 30. They put me on hold for the longest time. and I just recently got the letter putting me on the wait list
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