When should one apply for Air Force 3 year HPSP?

[WilliamC93]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I have a sick feeling in the pit of my gut that I may already be too late for it. I have only tried once to contact a recruiter about this a month ago, never heard back, and got caught up in other things and now I'm worried I may have put it off too long. Still got a chance if I get on the ball ASAP?

 

[ktran17]

Are you an incoming D1?

 

[tbiv21]

You would have to contact a recruiter about that. Also AF is the most competitive so you would increase chances by contacting army and navy, and AF gives out a lot of 3 year scholarships before people start school because they have very limited number of four year available. Also be up front with any health/mental health issues. They can also submit a waiver for anything that can typically disqualify you.

 

[WilliamC93]

Are you an incoming D1?

Yeah I am, I start in a month.

You would have to contact a recruiter about that. Also AF is the most competitive so you would increase chances by contacting army and navy, and AF gives out a lot of 3 year scholarships before people start school because they have very limited number of four year available. Also be up front with any health/mental health issues. They can also submit a waiver for anything that can typically disqualify you.

Shoot, are 3 year scholarships more for people who haven't begun yet? I was hoping to get the scholarship for my last three years.

 

[jmh018]

I have the 3 year Air Force scholarship. I first got in contact with my recruiter at the beginning of September of my D1 year I think. There is a lot of paperwork and hoops to jump through so I would contact a recruiter soon. Sooner than September will only make things easier for you.

I don't think tbiv21 is correct. Some 3 year scholarships may be given out to people who applied for four year scholarships but most are filled by people applying as D1s.

 

[WilliamC93]

I have the 3 year Air Force scholarship. I first got in contact with my recruiter at the beginning of September of my D1 year I think. There is a lot of paperwork and hoops to jump through so I would contact a recruiter soon. Sooner than September will only make things easier for you.

I don't think tbiv21 is correct. Some 3 year scholarships may be given out to people who applied for four year scholarships but most are filled by people applying as D1s.

Ok thanks, awesome to hear its possible if I start even in September. Do you happen to know what it was that got you to receive the scholarship? Do they look at college and DAT stats most, or early application, or just a good physical fit? I have a really good DAT score and college GPA, but average shadowing and volunteer worlk (if that has anything to do with the application). I'm really banking on getting an HPSP scholarship so would it even be safer to go army as to increase my chances?

 

[USArmyHPSP]

WilliamC93:

This may sound a little harsh, but I want you and everyone else reading this to get this message loud and clear. Get to the MEDICAL recruiting station now, do not pass go, do not collect the $200.00, go directly to the recruiters now. Start the process NOW. Not in August, and certainly NOT in September. There are a whole lot of little things like personal statement and letters of recommendation that you need to get on top of a pile of papersork litterally a foot high that you need to review and sign not to mention the physical and any waivers (moral or physical) that may arise.

Can you apply to more than one Service? Yep. Should you? We can't tell you that. It seems that it SHOULD be a part of your motivation for wanting to serve your country and those who volunteer to defend it. My (name a friend or relative) served in the XYZ service until he could retire and said it was the best job in the world or I've wanted to be a part of the XYZ service since I was a little kid or some such.

 

[WilliamC93]

WilliamC93:

This may sound a little harsh, but I want you and everyone else reading this to get this message loud and clear. Get to the MEDICAL recruiting station now, do not pass go, do not collect the $200.00, go directly to the recruiters now. Start the process NOW. Not in August, and certainly NOT in September. There are a whole lot of little things like personal statement and letters of recommendation that you need to get on top of a pile of papersork litterally a foot high that you need to review and sign not to mention the physical and any waivers (moral or physical) that may arise.

Can you apply to more than one Service? Yep. Should you? We can't tell you that. It seems that it SHOULD be a part of your motivation for wanting to serve your country and those who volunteer to defend it. My (name a friend or relative) served in the XYZ service until he could retire and said it was the best job in the world or I've wanted to be a part of the XYZ service since I was a little kid or some such.

No thanks for your honesty, harsh gets the point across! I will definitely try harder to get in contact with a recruiter. Unfortunately, I live out in the middle of no where and am a long way away from any office, but I will be more persistent for sure. I can definitely see how it came across that I am not interested in the serving-my-country aspect. I am, and its a big reason I want the scholarship: kill two birds with one stone, in a sense. I've just been told that I can only choose one branch to apply too because every branch has a little tiff-fit with every other branch so it will make them not interested in me. I personally don't care which branch I would go to because in my outsider eyes, they all share the same purpose of serving our country. I just know some family friends in the AF which makes me want to join them. Army could be a just as good if not better, but I just simply don't know anyone from that branch.

On a side note, I was wondering if this would automatically disqualify me, if you happened to know the answer. I have, until about 3 months ago, been on sleeping pills for multiple years. I started with lunesta, then switched to trazodone, and recently tried lunesta again, but wasn't into it and was simply tired of pills, so I self-paced my ween off of them, and now I sleep great without anything, probably better than ever. Even though I am off of them, has my usage just simply been too recent that it would automatically keep me from joining any military branch?

 

[jmh018]

Ok thanks, awesome to hear its possible if I start even in September. Do you happen to know what it was that got you to receive the scholarship? Do they look at college and DAT stats most, or early application, or just a good physical fit? I have a really good DAT score and college GPA, but average shadowing and volunteer worlk (if that has anything to do with the application). I'm really banking on getting an HPSP scholarship so would it even be safer to go army as to increase my chances?

I looked back at my emails from my recruiter and I did in fact start the process in September. I originally contacted him in May and didn't hear anything back. I contacted him again in June and got a response in July that he was waiting on new information on HPSP from the Air Force. I received the paperwork to fill out in August/September. Earlier would be better though. I would have liked to start the process in May but my recruiter was late getting back to me. I would not recommend starting the process in September. Working on the paperwork and getting LORs in September worked out fine for me though.

I had a 21 DAT and a 3.72. So not even close to the top stats that applied. I know of someone who had a 4.0 and a 23 and did not get the 3 year scholarship the same year I applied. I had some pretty substantial military related charity work that I planned and organized myself which I have no doubt is the reason for getting accepted.

One thing I remember about applying is that the part that slowed me down was the system itself. It takes a lot of time for things to get filed, verified and then for you to get information to continue. Get started as soon as possible so you don't have to worry about it. Definitely contact a recruiter now. I never met my recruiter. Never even saw his face. I did everything through email.