<p>My son has a couple of friends who are in the Navy and they are really pressuring him to go thru the Navy to pay for his medical school. My son seems really interested in doing this (I'm not so hot on the idea, but if he wants it...)</p>
<p>How does that all work?</p>
<p>I know that after you're done with med school, you owe the military X number of years service (like 7-9 years??? not sure).</p>
<p>But, anyway...what's the process?</p>
<p>Do you apply to med schools and separately apply to the military in some way? Is there any coordination?</p>
<p>Once accepted to med school (not before), you apply to the HPSP program (Health Professions Scholarship Program, IIRC) for a specific branch (Army, Navy, Air Force). If accepted (and you pass a physical, background check, etc.), you are immediately commissioned a second lieutenant (or equivalent O-1 rank depending on branch), and the military starts paying for your tuition and fees (including required books and supplies). You also receive a salary which covers living expenses (I believe it’s around $2000/month). You will have to attend a short (several week) officer training course (also branch-specific) before your commission is “official”. Most students do this during the break between M1 and M2 year. </p>
<p>After school, you owe the military one year of active duty for each year of med school they paid for. Usually, its 4 years active duty and then 3 years ready reserve for a total of 7 years.</p>
<p>As far as residencies, you are required to apply to military residencies, and if matched to one, you must drop out of the standard allo or osteo match process. There is a way for you to match to a civilian residency, but I’m not quire sure of the specifics on that. Your time in residency (whether you are in a military residency or not) doesn’t count towards your “payback” period. However, if you are in a military residency, your time there does count as “time in service” for the purposes of promotions and retirement and whatnot. </p>
<p>The other interesting thing about the HPSP program is what is known as GMO (General Medical Officer) tours. This is where you get pulled out of residency after your intern year (i.e. after you become eligible for a full medical license), and the military uses you as a general practitioner wherever they need you for a while. In the air force, you become a flight surgeon, in the army, something else. But since you arent specialty trained, you don’t really get a fun assignment. This is becoming less and less common a practice, from what I understand, but it still happens. Not much you can do about it, but it does suck because it pushes back your residency training process.</p>
<p>Most people do the military scholarship for financial reasons, but I’ve seen calculations people have done on this, and in the end you don’t really come out ahead. The lost years of attending pay from working for the military are more costly than all the med school loans, etc. If you want to go into a very high paying specialty, then you come out really far behind your peers who went the non-military route.</p>
<p>So, like med school itself, this is something you should do only if you are dedicated to being in the military.</p>
<p>Somebody I know had recommended that my D check this out as well. I knew full well she would not be interested, but curiosity got to me to look into it. Here is something I found that was pretty informative and points out several things that Icarus said.</p>
<p>It was a VERY long time ago, but I took the undergrad money, but by the time I went to medical school, I figured borrowing was the way to go. A very long time ago, and a very cheap school, and low loans, but I was very glad I had the option to get out when I did. It’s so hard to predict what will seem important so far innthe future.</p>
<p>Yes, there is the military med school (USUHS) as another option. You do take specialized courses in military history and military medicine in that school, and it is a strictly military environment (uniform every day in class, etc).</p>
<p>I forgot to mention that, whichever path you take, you are an O-1 in school, and then promoted to O-3 (captain or equivalent) upon graduation. If you have advanced degrees (masters, etc), your promotion beyond O-3 is usually pretty quick. </p>
<p>And as far as having to do a military residency, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing - there are many very good military residencies out there.</p>
<p>A few students in my class are going this route. They always say you should do it because you want to be in the military, NOT because they’ll pay for school. It’s quite a commitment and shouldn’t be considered lightly!</p>
<p>Must admit, it seems like a sweet deal though (if going into the military is right for you). Not only do they pay for your tuition, fees, and books, but they also pay for anything else required like health insurance and instruments (which are quite pricey!)</p>
<p>(FYI: students going the Navy route are commissioned as ensigns)</p>