VA HPSP (Physician)

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Hey everyone! I'm seeing a lot of offer pendings, so congrats to everyone for going to medical school for free!

I had a quick question about the scholarship in case anyone had a similar experience. I reached out to a program assistant asking if the scholarship allows students to place preferences on where they would like to be located for their 6-year giveback, and they told me pretty straightforwardly that the needs of the VA will come first and they will place students in locations where it is most difficult to recruit and retain location. I was just wondering if this was everyone else's experience? I'm not necessarily stuck to one place, but I would love to at least put in a preference to stay close to my family. Congrats again everyone on getting accepted into this awesome scholarship program!
 
DrVan Nostrand said:
does the "packet accepted" message indicate that they went through it and checked for completeness? or is it automatically marked as "packet accepted" right after initially submitting it?
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I believe it marks that right away after you submit! Not 100% sure though!
 
Yo I just made a Facebook group for us if anyone is interested. I don’t know what we’ll use it for, but if anything it’ll be nice to have connections to a few others going through the same new program! Here’s the link:

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
 
Are there any of these left? And how many slots were there originally?

Is it too late to apply for this HPSP?
 
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Submitted my application on 4/26. My status changed from accepted to scored 05/05. How long does it normally take to hear back with a decision? *anxiously waiting*
 
disdatsplat said:
Submitted my application on 4/26. My status changed from accepted to scored 05/05. How long does it normally take to hear back with a decision? *anxiously waiting*
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im also waiting. looks like most people heard back a few days after being scored
 
If granted the VA HPSP, do you have to work wherever they tell you (like with the military HPSPs), or do you get to choose where you will work? Or do you get a list of a few options and then you choose from those? Seems like since the HPSP is like a contract, HPSP students would be at the mercy of the VA to send them where nobody else is willing to go...
 
DReamer9000 said:
Thanks for offering to answer questions!
-I saw on reddit that most people who do the PA HPSP with the VA get placed in federal prisons, is this the case for physicians too?
-I have ZERO experience with the VA, so what are some things potential VA doctors should know about?
-How does this scholarship compare to NHSC (I know for one, with NHSC you have to commit to FM, IM (no fellowship), Psych or OB)
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First time i've heard of the NHSC one... trying to consider all my options, since HPSP might reject me for my medical conditions. I assume NHSC underserved communities includes rural? Is it the best option for someone interested in rural practice?
 
does anyone have any insight on the alternate list? i just got put on. chances of getting an offer from it? and how long that wait typically is? i think have only seen one person here report getting an offer from it, and they had to wait about 1.5 months I believe
 
ThatSerb said:
does anyone have any insight on the alternate list? i just got put on. chances of getting an offer from it? and how long that wait typically is? i think have only seen one person here report getting an offer from it, and they had to wait about 1.5 months I believe
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I have been on Alternate list for almost 2 months now. Have not heard anything from them yet. I hope we both hear from them soon.
 
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Hey guys, I just called the vendor ppl to see if they had received my form I sent 3 weeks ago. Turns out they did receive it, but I didn't fill out my email/phone number on the form. If you followed the instructions Scott emailed us on how to fill out the form, it didn't specify to fill out the email/phone number sections. Seems stupid, but the form is a little weird so I didn't think about it when initially filling it out. Figured I would share, because if you don't provide your email address they won't be able to send you the information to finish registration.
 
My understanding was that they have no authority to place you in a VA of their choosing. It is completely up to you which VA and what specialities. You just have to be working at a VA in order to pay back. Have folks heard differently?
 
drgoldenboy said:
My understanding was that they have no authority to place you in a VA of their choosing. It is completely up to you which VA and what specialities. You just have to be working at a VA in order to pay back. Have folks heard differently?
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There must be a need (job opening) for your specialty. As long as there is, you can go to any VA hospital.
 
brola said:
There must be a need (job opening) for your specialty. As long as there is, you can go to any VA hospital.
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Got it. So, to be clear, I'd be applying for VA hospital jobs just like any other candidate interested in a VA hospital. I could be working as a physician in the Manhattan Medical Center VA or rural small town clinic VA, but I'd be satisfying the requirements all the same, right?
 
brola said:
Yea man, I think that’d be great. Set it up and drop the link.
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Yes! this is a great idea. there's an HPSP group on FB but is pretty much all military and not many people know about the VA program
 
drgoldenboy said:
Got it. So, to be clear, I'd be applying for VA hospital jobs just like any other candidate interested in a VA hospital. I could be working as a physician in the Manhattan Medical Center VA or rural small town clinic VA, but I'd be satisfying the requirements all the same, right?
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im thinking about doing a med-psych combined program and am wondering if this would be allowed. anyone have any thoughts? and if I wanted to work primarily as a hospitalist, my concern is whether I would get to choose what I primarily do? I guess a better way to ask the question, is do we apply for jobs after we graduate or do we just get sent somewhere?
 
annieb_baxter said:
im thinking about doing a med-psych combined program and am wondering if this would be allowed. anyone have any thoughts? and if I wanted to work primarily as a hospitalist, my concern is whether I would get to choose what I primarily do? I guess a better way to ask the question, is do we apply for jobs after we graduate or do we just get sent somewhere?
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Check USAJobs. They list job descriptions in lengthy detail. If you’re curious in a specific specialty, perhaps try shadowing at the nearest VA?

Once you’re accepted, you have to be finger printed so that could make shadowing a bit easier.
 
After you sign the tentative scholarship what are the next steps in the process?
 
Just curious, but what happens to these types of scholarships like VA HPSP if you don't complete school, or fail to match residency, or other such hiccups occur?
 
jdubs1984 said:
Just curious, but what happens to these types of scholarships like VA HPSP if you don't complete school, or fail to match residency, or other such hiccups occur?
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You have to payback the amount that you owe.
 
disdatsplat said:
After you sign the tentative scholarship what are the next steps in the process?
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did you end up getting any new tasks or forms to complete? I have finished everything in my portal, I'm assuming ill get an email soon with more stuff to do
 
ThatSerb said:
did you end up getting any new tasks or forms to complete? I have finished everything in my portal, I'm assuming ill get an email soon with more stuff to do
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No I didn’t get anything else in the portal but I did get an email with that was about fingerprinting and a background check yesterday so my nerves have calmed lol
 
disdatsplat said:
No I didn’t get anything else in the portal but I did get an email with that was about fingerprinting and a background check yesterday so my nerves have calmed lol
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how long after accepting the tentative offer did it take to get that stuff?
 
Hi guys, missed the timeline to apply to this early on in the cycle. Could I perhaps apply to this in my M2 year to hopefully get the scholarship for my M3-M4 year and then have 3 years of VA service post-graduation?
 
adc_needs_buff said:
Hi guys, missed the timeline to apply to this early on in the cycle. Could I perhaps apply to this in my M2 year to hopefully get the scholarship for my M3-M4 year and then have 3 years of VA service post-graduation?
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Yes, you can! Also, it’s 1.5 years of service per year of support. So a 3 year scholarship = 4.5 years of service.
 
wow I just graduated and I have major pangs of disappointment. I would have loved to have applied to this scholarship if I knew it existed. I only knew of military HPSP and NHSC. I literally just saw this thread pop up today, after graduating with full COA loans. And I wouldn't have minded working for the VA. This sucks. Congratulations to all of you who are participating!
 
Is anyone else still applying now even though its late May now? I wonder if the limit on recipients have been filled by now... I submitted May 14th, would be great to know what the odds are of still getting selected.
 
sunshinefl said:
wow I just graduated and I have major pangs of disappointment. I would have loved to have applied to this scholarship if I knew it existed. I only knew of military HPSP and NHSC. I literally just saw this thread pop up today, after graduating with full COA loans. And I wouldn't have minded working for the VA. This sucks. Congratulations to all of you who are participating!
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Im sorry that sucks! But if it makes you feel any better, this scholarship wasn't even around yet when you started. I believe last year was the first year they even offered it!
 
DrDreamMadeReality said:
Im sorry that sucks! But if it makes you feel any better, this scholarship wasn't even around yet when you started. I believe last year was the first year they even offered it!
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Omg that does make me feel better lol. (Hope it’s true!)

also I did see (even before this thread about the scholarship, sometime during my loan exit counseling at school or at studentaid.gov website) that they have a VA student loan reimbursement program but I did the math and much like the NHSC scholarships, it’s much much more valuable to get the upfront scholarship than the back end reimbursement. Not just because of interest accrual in between during school + residency, but also the actual amount of money given as well.
 
For fingerprinting, does the VA office that does the fingerprinting send the fingerprints for us after we tell them the "security office numbers"? Or is there anything that we have to physically send ourselves?
 
ThatSerb said:
For fingerprinting, does the VA office that does the fingerprinting send the fingerprints for us after we tell them the "security office numbers"? Or is there anything that we have to physically send ourselves?
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Nope. They will take care of that for ya. It took me about 3 days to get the clear
 
I deferred my acceptance to next year, so my first year would start Fall 2022. Does anyone know when the next cycle for this scholarship opens, and if earlier application would help me a bit? Thanks
 
I have a question. I have accepted the tentative award and today I got to know that my school has increased their Cost of Tuition. Is that something that will effect my scholarship?
 
sunshinefl said:
wow I just graduated and I have major pangs of disappointment. I would have loved to have applied to this scholarship if I knew it existed. I only knew of military HPSP and NHSC. I literally just saw this thread pop up today, after graduating with full COA loans. And I wouldn't have minded working for the VA. This sucks. Congratulations to all of you who are participating!
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Look into va loan repayment for physicians!
 
offer pending received today!! submitted my app on may 22 and sat at application accepted for about a week and a half. I come from a military family, but have no connection myself currently so I am very thankful for this opportunity. good luck to everyone applying!
 
maddieaki said:
offer pending received today!! submitted my app on may 22 and sat at application accepted for about a week and a half. I come from a military family, but have no connection myself currently so I am very thankful for this opportunity. good luck to everyone applying!
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Congrats! I submitted around the same time. Just wondering, is there something we’re supposed to do after it says “application accepted”? Or do we just wait for them to update? Mine’s been sitting on application accepted since the day I submitted
 
controller212 said:
Congrats! I submitted around the same time. Just wondering, is there something we’re supposed to do after it says “application accepted”? Or do we just wait for them to update? Mine’s been sitting on application accepted since the day I submitted
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Thanks! Just have to wait! I checked mine religiously and it just happened to change today without any further action on my end.
 
controller212 said:
Congrats! I submitted around the same time. Just wondering, is there something we’re supposed to do after it says “application accepted”? Or do we just wait for them to update? Mine’s been sitting on application accepted since the day I submitted
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Yeah I submitted on May 14th and it’s still been radio silence so far.
 
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