When/How to apply for AF HPSP?

[Chewy12]

I have looked at other posts, but haven’t really found the info I need.
I am currently applying to Dental School. When can I start applying for Air Force HPSP scholarship, and how does one get an application?

Also, what are competitive factors for receiving the scholarship?

Thanks!

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[hattrack04]

I have looked at other posts, but haven’t really found the info I need.
I am currently applying to Dental School. When can I start applying for Air Force HPSP scholarship, and how does one get an application?

Also, what are competitive factors for receiving the scholarship?

Thanks!

You can start applying for the AF HPSP scholarship now! You should start applying soon if you want to get the AF scholarship. When I was applying, I used this link (https://secure.airforce.com/resume/oahp/?or=hp&tr=afmfs ). I filled out the requested information, and a recruiter called me shortly after. You may also simply do a search for the nearest Air Force recruiting station near you, and ask them if they deal with HPSP scholarships. If they don't, I'm sure they could point you in the right direction. Once you get in touch with a recruiter, he/she will give you the application and help you through the entire process.
The AF scholarship is pretty competitive. The key is to apply early; just like your dental school applications. If your grades are good enough, along with a good DAT score, you can become matrix qualified, which basically means that if you apply early enough (have everything submitted by October), you are guaranteed a scholarship. If not, then it's even more important to APPLY EARLY!! See the redundancy with my advice? Where are you from? I'll actually PM you my recruiters e-mail address, and you can shoot him an e-mail and see if he can find a recruiter near you.

 

[AFDDS]

Chewy12,
You got some good advice from hattrack04. I don't think you can do anything official until you are accepted, but if you wait until then to apply, it may be too late. Contact your local recruiter now. If you have any problems, contact their central office.

 

[Herme]

Chewy,

I'm in the middle of applying right now. Just turned in all of my application and sent in my medical prescreening questionaire. You definitely want to get started asap. Timing is crucial for the AF. It will take at LEAST 30 days to make it through all the red tape once you receive your workbook to fill out. I have the workbook and will try to attach it or PM it to you if I can. Right now, get 3 people to start writing your letters of evaluation. There is a page with guidelines at the end of the Workbook for you to give to your evaluators. Again, I'll try to find a way to get that to you. What region of the country are you in, b/c if you're anywhere near Chicago, I can connect you directly with who you need. They do NOT wait until you are accepted to dental school to decide on you. They will offer you the scholarship in Nov-Dec "contingent" upon your acceptance to school. AFDDS is right, the "official" stuff does not happen until you have both the scholarship offer AND an acceptance-meaning that until you are holding both paper in your hand, you cannot sign the final paperwork and take your oath. Once you sign that final paperwork and take your oath, there is no turning back. It looks like I can attach the workbook to this message. Let me know if you can't get it. Everything you need to get started is in it with instructions. Well, the file is too big to upload here. I'll try to PM you. Good Luck!

 

[krmower]

It's not a bad idea to apply for one of the other scholarships as a back up in case you don't get Air Force. I did that when I applied. You can always turn down the one you don't end up needing/wanting as much.

 

[paul510psu]

Get started soon if you're planning on applying for the AF HPSP. My application is complete for the program and the first review board is in October, so you better get moving.

Get in contact with your recruiter as soon as possible to get the ball rolling faster. You'll need to roll that ball pretty fast though because all of the Air Force's dental corps scholarships were gone by January of 2008 for the 2008 entering class.

I originally contacted my recruiter in March and started filling the paperwork out then just to get a head start on it.

Good luck

 

[inquirer89]

Hey, this is a little off topic, but when should I apply for the 3 year AF HPSP? Before my 1st professional year or after? I am currently applying to pharmacy school for Fall 2009, and I do not have any acceptances as of now...so should I even look at the HPSP?

 

[eric275]

Hey, this is a little off topic, but when should I apply for the 3 year AF HPSP? Before my 1st professional year or after? I am currently applying to pharmacy school for Fall 2009, and I do not have any acceptances as of now...so should I even look at the HPSP?

You might want to get ahold of a recruiter and find out the specifics about pharmacy and the HPSP scholarships. I don't know anyone that has done a pharmacy HPSP scholarship but I do know that the programs differ depending on the field of study, specifically how many years they will support you, etc.

 

[inquirer89]

Thanks, I emailed my nearest AF health recruiter and hope to hear from them soon. I don't hear too much about pharmacy HPSP but I know they exist, just not as many are available as for medicine.

 

[eric275]

Thanks, I emailed my nearest AF health recruiter and hope to hear from them soon. I don't hear too much about pharmacy HPSP but I know they exist, just not as many are available as for medicine.

If it's just general info you want about the program I would call an Army or Navy recruiter since your more likely to get ahold of one. they could atleast give you the basic info about how the program is structured.

 

[yakuza]

Aren't we suppose to apply once we get accepted into dental school? So how are people applying during ~October?

 

[murff05]

Aren't we suppose to apply once we get accepted into dental school? So how are people applying during ~October?

They award scholarships before you get into school. If you don't get into school then they give them to the next person on the list. Applying takes a long time so its better to get it started early. I started in the Summer and my stuff was sent out as soon as I got my acceptance on Dec 1st. Apparently all the AF scholarships have been decided on at this point.

 

[dentaldore]

bump. This was a very informative thread! I had no idea the application process started this early for HPSP.

 

[MatthewLeeDDS]

bump. This was a very informative thread! I had no idea the application process started this early for HPSP.

Long story short, you need to get with a recruiter the minute this option crosses your mind. I was in talking to my recruiter Sophomore year of college and it gave me lots of time to think about it and get all my stuff turned in. If you think you want it, start making it happen. It's never too early, but it eventually will be too late.

 

[dentaldore]

BoomerSooner10 thank you so much for the advice! I took your advice to heart and immediately contacted my local air force recruiter and I have a meeting set up with him right after Thanksgiving. I always assumed that you could not apply for HPSP until you have been accepted to dental school. He said he would be emailing me the workbook and information today, although I have not received it yet. But I'm making it happen! 👍

 

[dentaldore]

By the way, Boomersooner10, your blog is awesome!! Everyone's information on SDN about the military has been super helpful. Big thanks to everyone...I will keep SDN posted 🙂

 

[MatthewLeeDDS]

By the way, Boomersooner10, your blog is awesome!! Everyone's information on SDN about the military has been super helpful. Big thanks to everyone...I will keep SDN posted 🙂

Of course! When I was in your shoes I would have loved to hear about it from someone doing it, so I decided I wanted to be that person for other people. Good luck!

 

[GatesINK]

It's not a bad idea to apply for one of the other scholarships as a back up in case you don't get Air Force. I did that when I applied. You can always turn down the one you don't end up needing/wanting as much.

From my understanding, if you get the scholarship and turn it down then that scholarship is gone because it was accepted for you only and there isn't enough time to get that scholarship to someone else after the decision is made so the money goes out the window. By applying and turning down the ones you don't want that eliminates a scholarship that could have gone to someone else. The process is just too long and involves too many people to do it over for someone else after you decline. So it would be a bad idea to apply to more than one.

 

[GatesINK]

They award scholarships before you get into school. If you don't get into school then they give them to the next person on the list. Applying takes a long time so its better to get it started early. I started in the Summer and my stuff was sent out as soon as I got my acceptance on Dec 1st. Apparently all the AF scholarships have been decided on at this point.

I was told that the application could not be submitted until the acceptance letter was in the file. However, applying early is a must because there is so much more than the acceptance letter (MEPS, paperwork, etc.). I also understand that the board that decides on the scholarships does not meet until January.

 

[AFDDS]

From my understanding, if you get the scholarship and turn it down then that scholarship is gone because it was accepted for you only and there isn't enough time to get that scholarship to someone else after the decision is made so the money goes out the window. By applying and turning down the ones you don't want that eliminates a scholarship that could have gone to someone else. The process is just too long and involves too many people to do it over for someone else after you decline. So it would be a bad idea to apply to more than one.

Doesn't work that way in the AF.

 

[GatesINK]

Doesn't work that way in the AF.

Guess the recruiter I'm working with is just mistaken, or didn't want me trying to get in at another branch at the same time. Either way, thank you for the clarification. Do you happen to know when the decisions are made on the applications? If I've gotten my acceptance on 12/3 then do I still have a good chance of getting into the HPSP, as far as time goes?

 

[ALTOSS]

Guess the recruiter I'm working with is just mistaken, or didn't want me trying to get in at another branch at the same time. Either way, thank you for the clarification. Do you happen to know when the decisions are made on the applications? If I've gotten my acceptance on 12/3 then do I still have a good chance of getting into the HPSP, as far as time goes?

i had my package ready all except the acceptance letter with AF in early december, and had the package transfer over to the army in mid-december. it was submitted late december for the january board. i was notified in mid january and commissioned early february.

 

[krmower]

Of course! When I was in your shoes I would have loved to hear about it from someone doing it, so I decided I wanted to be that person for other people. Good luck!

Not that way in the Army, and I would be very suprised if it was that way in the AF or Navy. Typically alternates are selected so that if the offer is turned down - someone else is waiting.

 

[krmower]

Guess the recruiter I'm working with is just mistaken, or didn't want me trying to get in at another branch at the same time. Either way, thank you for the clarification. Do you happen to know when the decisions are made on the applications? If I've gotten my acceptance on 12/3 then do I still have a good chance of getting into the HPSP, as far as time goes?

For the Army the first board will meet around the 2-3 week of January. Results are announced 3-4 weeks after. Cut off to make the January board is usually a week or 2 in advance since it will have to get screened for missing documenets, etc...

 

[AFDDS]

For the Army the first board will meet around the 2-3 week of January. Results are announced 3-4 weeks after. Cut off to make the January board is usually a week or 2 in advance since it will have to get screened for missing documenets, etc...

For the AF, the board meets on 25 Jan and the results will start coming out right after that. We have 11 + or - 1 or two 4-year scholarships this year and 65 + or - one 3-year scholarships.

 

[dentaldore]

For the AF, the board meets on 25 Jan and the results will start coming out right after that. We have 65 + or - 1 or two 4-year scholarships this year.

You're kidding! My recruiter said there was only 10 available this year... 😕 Will they all be given out after the January meeting, or will there be some left over for rolling?

 

[AFDDS]

You're kidding! My recruiter said there was only 10 available this year... 😕 Will they all be given out after the January meeting, or will there be some left over for rolling?

No, just made a typo. Its 65 3-year scholarships. Its 11 4-year scholarships

 

[dentaldore]

Ok, gotcha. Thank you for clearing that up! 🙂

 

[GatesINK]

For the AF, the board meets on 25 Jan and the results will start coming out right after that. We have 11 + or - 1 or two 4-year scholarships this year and 65 + or - one 3-year scholarships.

When you say that there are 11 scholarships is that for the whole United States Air Force for the whole year? Also, is 25 Jan the first board meeting? Do you know about how many usually apply for Air Force HPSP?

 

[dentaldore]

When you say that there are 11 scholarships is that for the whole United States Air Force for the whole year? Also, is 25 Jan the first board meeting? Do you know about how many usually apply for Air Force HPSP?

Yes, 11 is the number I have confirmed by my recruiter today, as well as the 25 Jan meeting. He did not know how many apply for the AF HPSP, so I am curious about that too. 😀

 

[Drizzzles]

No, just made a typo. Its 65 3-year scholarships. Its 11 4-year scholarships

This is indeed a very informative thread, thank you everyone for the information!

I was also wondering, can those of you in the AF tell us more about your actual experience in it?

I am also worried about being able to start my own practice after active duty/pay back years. Those years would normally be spent in a private practice learning the tricks of the trade as a civilian. Would being a part of the program delay the ability to open my own practice?

 

[AFDDS]

This is indeed a very informative thread, thank you everyone for the information!

I was also wondering, can those of you in the AF tell us more about your actual experience in it?

I am also worried about being able to start my own practice after active duty/pay back years. Those years would normally be spent in a private practice learning the tricks of the trade as a civilian. Would being a part of the program delay the ability to open my own practice?

I know several people that have done it and are very successful. I also know some that opted to work as a partner and are successful. I don't think it hurts you at all.

 

[Frank22]

Question: if I won't be applying to dental school until June of 2016, when is a good time to apply for the HPSP scholarship?