Does anyone have experience or knowledge with the vet school ROTC program? I'm starting vet school this fall and I have been browsing scholarship opportunities and this seems like an extremely lucrative option. Do you have to spend a lot of time away from your family as an army vet? What the are the obligations during and after vet school? If you've done it, any regrets? Any info would be greatly appreciated!
I'm currently a vet in the Army and I received a three-year HPSP scholarship, so I'm happy to answer any questions. Thanks to USArmyHPSP for the recommendation of my website!
Most veterinarians in the Army are called on to either deploy or serve an unaccompanied assignment at some point in their career. If you only do the three year active duty commitment and then get out, you might be able to avoid this, but it's not guaranteed. I was on an unaccompanied assignment in Egypt for a year, and during the rest of my time in the Army I've typically had to be away from my family for a few days out of every month.
During vet school there really aren't many obligations. You have the option to do "active duty training" at any Army vet clinic around the world for six weeks a year, during the summer or clinical rotation period, but you can also choose to simply meet this requirement through your regular schoolwork.
Every HPSP scholarship comes with a commitment of three years on active duty and another five years in the Individual Ready Reserve. For most people, this doesn't mean any commitment of time, but theoretically you could be called back up to service if the Army needed you back.
I don't really have any regrets about participating in the program, even if I'm still not sure if I want to stay in past my service commitment. I've gotten to travel all over the world, practice a lot of clinical medicine, and do a lot of things that I never would have been able to in any other job as a veterinarian.
