I'm currently in the middle of enlisting in the Army Reserve, and after finishing my ASVAB, I was all set to head to MEPS this coming Tuesday, July 7th, to sign for a 92M slot as an E-4. But then I sat down with an uncle of mine who has 29 years in the military, and when I told him what they offered me, he couldn't believe it; he reminded me that since I have my Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with high honors, my permanent Puerto Rico license, and my active colegiación, I should be entering as a commissioned officer (Lieutenant) through an AMEDD recruiter, not as an enlisted soldier. When I confronted my recruiter about this, he actually tried to flip the blame on me, asking why I hadn't said anything sooner and acting like it was my fault, even though I handed him my official nursing degree. As a civilian, I obviously didn't know the difference between regular and medical recruiting—I just trusted him to guide me the right way based on my paperwork—so now I'm trying to find an AMEDD recruiter in Puerto Rico.

Current fellow wanting to join the navy as a neonatologist through direct commission. I always wanted to join the military, but ended up going the civilian route for medical school and residency.

Anyone have any experiences as a military neonatologist?

My daughter applied for this scholarship and was selected. She has done MEPS and completed and passed her PT portion. Now, she says all she’s waiting for is to be sworn in or receive a “scroll”. My concern is that her DO medical school started this month with learn to a study course. I’m so nervous because according to her she said she definitely got it so she turned down student loans. She said she’s talked to the school’s business office and they know she will be a HPSP student so they’re “not worried about getting paid”. I told her I thought that was a bad idea, to turn down the loans, in case something falls through. She completed PT a week and a half an ago. What is the timeline for her to get sworn in and all that stuff now. If this falls through, her family doesn’t have money to give her like that. I don’t want to see her lose medical school because HPSP fell through. If she’s already completed PT, what is the timeline to finally be sworn in and receive the scholarship. Any peace of mind out there? I’m worried she put all her eggs in one basket.

I’m a rising senior with a 4.0 GPA. I took the 6/27 MCAT, so TBD but my practice FLs were 505-506. I have no previous military experience. 500 clinical hours, 450 hours as leadership for food pantry, 400 hours research w/ poster at national conference, 230 hours non-clinical service, medical mission trip to Guatemala (and on exec for this org), 450 hours teaching, premed study abroad, 200 shadowing hours. Those stats do not include expected hours.

I’m worried about lack of military experience and my MCAT. Thoughts?

I have a GPA 4.0 w/ a MCAT 504. Served AF for 3 years, currently an AF reservist. 600+ hours volunteer( 120+ at VA still volunteering, now started volunteer in the ER at a civilian hospital also shadowing), I have applied USUHS, whats the odds of getting accepted?

Im really really interested and have been interested in neurosurgery, independently however, my whole life ive been interested in serving, since way before i became interested in medicine or even going to college.

Im an incoming med student and do have to start making a choice and I feel torn. I know that these two paths - nsgy and military - are not very compatible as residency spots are next to none.

Could anyone drop some wisdom/advice?

Hey everyone, I recently completed the 5-week abbreviated course OTS over a hot, humid, and very rainy summer month as an HPSP student and wanted to put together a quick guide with some things I wish I had known beforehand. The intended audience is all the direct commissions going to OTS. That said, a lot of this also applies to anyone becoming a line officer, so hopefully this helps!

Things to Do Before You Go

• Complete the travel request form as soon as they send it to you. I almost missed my original OTS class date because I didn't submit the form until about 1 month beforehand so get on it ASAP.
• BE IN GOOD PHYSICAL SHAPE: it will make your OTS experience so much easier.
• Use your oath of office, go to a military base, and get a CAC before you get there. They took a long time to get us our CACs when we were there and it was nice to not have to think about it and stand at attention with my SPINS for hours waiting to take a picture.
• Make sure all required paperwork is completed and uploaded before arriving and read through ALL the documents they send you; they like doing things in particular ways.
• Print out and make a booklet version of the SPINS; you can do it for about 20$ at an Office Depot and you don't need to waterproof your pages since you can put everything in a Ziploc bag. They'll give you one when you get there but they'll ask to pull it out when you first get there during in-processing, and it's a helpful way to not get yelled at immediately.
• Make a booklet version of the Pre-Class Assignment; they will quiz you on it.
• Get comfortable with the 7 basic responses, greetings of the day, DFAC procedures, Dorm SOP. You don't need to memorize everything, but having familiarity helps.
• Break in your boots before you arrive if possible but bring a blister kit in case, I popped some gnarly blisters when I was there and it helped a lot.
• Get used to waking up early, they don't let you have coffee to avoid dehydration.

Things to Bring

You don't need to buy all clothing items before you get there since they give you plenty of time to buy it all. That said, buy the summer OCPs and all your name tags + patches once you get your CAC before you get there, they're AWESOME! Regarding Blues, it's a double-edged sword. You can get them beforehand, meaning you don't have to do all the tailoring and waiting for them to arrive 3 weeks later (AAFES is really slow), but then you will have to have them inspection-ready at all times during all the room inspections. If you get them there, you don't have to have them in your luggage and in your dorm closet for inspection, but AAFES requires you to pay more for "expedited processing" for tailoring. I probably spent around $500 on blues when I got there and didn't even wear the service coat or long sleeve, but that was the first time they've allowed an OTS class to not wear the service coat since it's been a pretty hot summer, so don't count on that. Also utilize your local airman's attic for things like PTGs, I saved a lot of money getting stuff from there since it's all free and you're allowed to shop there with a CAC.

Must-Haves

• Basically everything on the packing list that is required
• A BLACK camelback (they didn't like the camo ones for some reason)
• Comfortable running shoes
• Two pair of boots (mine got wet after I fell in water during one of the leadership events and the shoes didn't dry for a couple of days, so an extra will come in handy; my favorite boots are the Redhead RCT Warrior Ultra Mil-Spec Tactical Boots, which cost $100 per set with the military discount at Bass Pro Shop and they're really good for wide feet)
• Sports watch (helpful for waking up and to remember time for the greeting of the day if you have a watch, my coros pace 3 was really good but it did end up getting fried due to the sweat, heat, and humidity so keep that in mind if you really care about your sports watch)
• Lock for security drawer (never leave it unlocked)
• Copies of important documents (in manila or laminated folder)
• Ziploc bags (sandwich-sized, 2.5-gallon-sized): can be used to put shoes in when traveling, trash in dorms, toiletry stuff, put things like your SPINS in ziplock to avoid it getting wait when it rains.
• Fish-flops for showers (or any flops for that matter, but fish flops go hard fr)
• Small notebook (playing hangman with buddy next to you and doodling to avoid falling asleep in class since they get REALLY angry if you start dozing off in class and you 100% will)
• Mouthguard (a lot of people got RIC'd for not having them and we didn't even use them)
• Electrolytes (preferably one you like the flavor of; Propel is my favorite tasting but make sure you get one with more electrolytes than you need, they taste worse but they're way more beneficial, we had tons of people pass out from dehydration and lack of electrolytes)

Nice-to-Haves

• Sleeping bag liner (made bed one time)
• Poo Pouri
• Arm & Hammer Ball for your shoes and clothes
• 500 mL Nalgene water bottle (didn't drink from my camelback a single time, kinda risky tho. Also good to sip on to stay awake in class)
• Quality socks (merino wool socks)
• Airpods (or earplugs)
• Facemask (the airpod + facemask duo made it super easy to full asleep)
• Blousing straps
• Cough drop (Ricola Berry Medley, again you will get sick and sleepy)
• Toiletry bag (required for DORM)
• Gloves (holding airsoft guns, obstacle course, holding charge for prop and wings)

Things You Don't Need

• Waterproof notebooks
• CAC Reader
• Foldable fan (we got lucky that our building had the AC working over time 24/7, but not all the dorms are the same. Another building never had a working AC but they had hot water, we didn't have hot water for the first two weeks of OTS. I would bring one just in case, but it's not something I needed)
• Lint Roller (they're helpful but I never had to use one)

Things I Was Worried About That Didn't Matter

• Not knowing every rank before arriving (you'll use sir/ma'am for everyone)
• Having no prior military experience
• Being older than other trainees
• Forgetting a random item from the packing list
• The academic assessment
• Being bad at drill
• Getting a 100 on my PFA (you get the chance to do the Forged by the Sword challenge and the obstacle on your own if you get over a 95, but besides that it doesn't really matter unless you care about getting distinguished graduate or something like that)

You will figure things out very quickly.

What OTS Is Like as an HPSP Student

Honestly, OTS was much less stressful than I expected. It felt like a paid vacation (food was free and honestly not that bad; chicken was a little dry sometimes, but it's essentially an all-you-can-eat buffet that you have to eat in 10 min) where you just had to earn what you were being paid through LARPing (live action role play). Take it seriously but also have fun, OTS is really fun, especially if you have good people around you.

I will say though, I wouldn't consider the first 9 days as fun. They would yell, get in our face, and we had to stand around with our SPINS a lot! That said, the staff is full of incredible people, and they care a lot about your success, so don't make excuses, don't get confrontational, know your SPINS, and you'll get through Mod 1 no problem. Everything simmers down after the blue line ceremony, and you start doing classes with your instructors. The first week is the busiest because you're learning procedures, getting settled, and figuring out expectations. After that, most people find a routine.

If you're worried about leadership positions, it's not bad at all. Unless you get a high position like Squadron commander and above, then it sucks. Typically, the priors will be in leadership positions for Mod 1 then everyone else will get a shot. Of the 15 people in my flight, only one person was able to get away with never doing a leadership position, so you will do something no matter how hard you try to fly under the radar. I implore you to volunteer for these positions though, they're great practice and very low stakes. It's all stuff that will play a big role in your future career as an Air Force Officer.

Expect:

• Early mornings
• LOTS of briefings and classroom instruction
• Military customs and leadership training
• Group projects and teamwork
• Physical training (PT in the mornings was very easy, a lot of the time it was self-paced)
• Inspections

As an HPSP student, remember that everyone knows you're there to become a healthcare officer. You're not expected to be a future combat arms expert or professional at drill. The goal is to learn how to function as an Air Force officer and understand the organization you'll be serving in.

You realistically only need to do three things to pass OTS. Pass your PFA, pass the academic assessment, and don't do something completely stupid (follow instructions) like pointing your gun at someone during CADM . If you go into this in good physical shape, you're going to kill it. The academic assessment is honestly super easy if you just kind of study. They give you "cognitive SOBs" that are a great study guide to do well. I barely studied and passed with flying colors, and not a single person failed the assessment in our class.

Tips

1. Help your classmates. OTS is much easier when your flight works together. Don't leave anyone behind during any activity whatsoever.
2. Make the most of weekends; there's tons of free time and it's a good time to get sleep.
3. Don't take corrections personally.
4. Stay organized from day one.
5. Learn from prior-service members, they're an incredible resource.
6. Keep a sense of humor (at the right times though).
7. Remember that almost everyone feels overwhelmed during the first week.
8. Take pictures and enjoy the experience when you get the opportunity. It goes by faster than you think.
9. Use your OCP belt on your khakis when you're in-processing day 1 so you don't have to pack an extra belt you won't use.
10. For my religious friends, they give religious accommodations on Sundays from 8am-12pm to attend the service of your choosing and you have access to a Chaplain when you're there.
11. HYDRATE! It's really easy to pass out in that heat.

Overall, OTS ended up being one of the more memorable experiences of my career. If you're heading there as an HPSP student, show up prepared, stay flexible, work with your classmates, and you'll do just fine.

Feel free to ask questions (even things like which camelback did I buy or what specific things were like are all totally acceptable questions), and I'll do my best to answer them.

I am needing some advice from prior HPSP physicians in regards to board exams.
I am entering 4th as a DO medical student and am about to take the second round of board exams. My plan is to take COMLEX 2 and then STEP 2 a week later.
I wanted to get the opinion from any prior HPSP student or those involved in the residency application process on if the military differentiates between those two exams. I know on the civilian side, as a DO, it benefits you to have also taken STEP 2, but I have been hearing some mixed opinions when it comes to the military.
I have heard that the military doesn’t really view these tests as having too much of a difference as it’s based on more of a point system and have been told by a few people to just take COMLEX 2 and not to worry about STEP.
Is anyone able to either confirm this? Or should I not be relying on just taking COMLEX?

Good day everyone! I hold an RN license from New York but am currently residing in California and am a Green Card holder. I am wondering if it is possible for me to join the U.S. military as a commissioned nurse officer given my current residency and immigration status? Additionally, if I am able to join, am I allowed to enroll in a master’s degree program after completing my initial training? I would love to hear from anyone who knows how this process works, what the pros and cons are, and what kind of educational or career benefits come with it. Thank you so much for your time and guidance!

Hello all, looking at commissioning in the Navy as a Healthcare administrator? Is the MHA degree more preferred over the MPH? Anyone have a MPH going Healthcare administrator?

Does it matter as long as the degree is accredited and the program is accredited?

Thanks

Hi all,

Quick question regarding HPSP timeline here. My recruiter pushed my oath and paperwork to BUMED on June 3rd. This past Monday (June 29th), I had asked him if he could inquire about my status, and he reported they had received my paperwork.

I was hoping if any kind souls here could give me a timeframe of when I should expect my welcome email from them (possibly based off their own experience however variable that may be).

School starts in less than a month and my hope (probably misguided) was to have everything with them squared away before then.

Thank you.

DCC: June 2 - June 24 2026
Fort Sill - Lawton, OK

About me: AMEDD Army HPSP currently in school. No prior service nor family/friends that have served. All my preparation came from blog posts, reddit, SDN, and any emails they sent beforehand. Wrote this up so future students can have a better idea of what may occur - a lot of us felt unprepared going in.

TLDR; our course schedule was unique due to the class size, no wifi, food was mid, people were nice, lots of sweating = many laundry loads, lots of waiting around, death by powerpoint, class was too big to do anything hands-on, come extra prepared

Categories

My class: mostly med or dental students with some vet students. There were ~400 of us largest class they've ever had). Some prior service/ROTC but most people were new to military life. Everyone I spoke to was really nice and easy to get along with. Insane amount of small talk. We were split into 8 sections and the schedule sometimes varied depending. You'll likely get close with your platoon and squad since you spend so much time together.

Cadre: Mainly NCOs and Drill Sergeants. The Cadre were somewhat easy going. We didn't get yelled at as much as I imagined (or how much you'd expect in normal basic). As long as you don't do anything bad, you'll be fine. If you get yelled at, just fix it and learn for next time. Some Cadre were harsher than others. Some were goofier than others. As a whole class, we only really got 1-2 corrective training sessions and they weren't that bad. There might have been more depending on platoon.

Barracks: Essentially college dorm life. They separated men's building and women's building. Some rooms have a private bathroom; most don't. The AC in my dorm was too good; it was freezing at night. I brought my own sheets and used the thin blanket they gave us. The sheets they have are gross. There is no wifi in the barracks nor anywhere else. I had to use my roommate's hotspot to download the google drive folders to my laptop.

Packing/Clothes: I packed 1 large checked suitcase, 1 carry-on suitcase, and 1 colored backpack. Better to pack everything (uniforms, etc) ahead of time. I had to buy another backpack because you can only wear solid color black, tan, or camo when in uniform. I brought civilian clothes for BOLC which was good because we spent travel days in civilians. They are strict about wearing only uniforms for the rest of the time; make sure before you get there your full uniform is compliant with the right patches and sock type. I had 2 sets of OCPs and 4 PTs. There aren't many opportunities to buy stuff at the PX store. I personally wish I had brought full size bottles of shampoo lotion etc rather than travel size. It's nice to have your own sheets, trash bags, and cleaning supplies if you can fit it; the stuff they provide is dog shit. They don't give you a fitted sheet so if you use their sheets it will come off the mattress during the night.

Laundry: The laundry situation wasn't horrible if you were smart about it. Bring lots of detergent/tide pods; we did laundry every couple days even compiling with roommates because we sweat through everything so quick. Set a timer and get your load ASAP; there are a lot of people waiting for the machines. Our building had a sticky note system where we wrote our name, number, and room in case a load was sitting for a while.

Leadership: There are multiple leadership roles that you can volunteer for (some people were chosen), and these roles rotated throughout the weeks. I heard they can be great resume builders.

Fire Guard: Every night including weekends we have "fire guard" which is where each room gets assigned chores for one hour during the night. You could be assigned 0100-0200 and have to wake up to clean the bathrooms then fall back asleep for 0400 wake up.
The list rotates until all rooms have been assigned. Chores range from cleaning the classrooms to mopping floors to cleaning the bathroom.

Food: The food was eh but there is basically no fiber and lots of added sugars in the packaged meals. We ate Eagle Rising meals for each breakfast and MREs for each lunch on weekdays. Dinner was mermite cafeteria food. If you're picky, trade with others or bring snacks. Weekends we went to the DFAC for breakfast and dinner with MRE lunch. A blessing to eat real, hot food. DFAC visits were a whole performance that lasted 1-2 hrs long (mostly just standing in the sun waiting for out turn). Any leftover snacks from the packaged meals I saved in my closet for spare time or to bring home. There were vegetarian, halal, and kosher options.

SRP: We visit the health clinic twice to get bloodwork taken and immunizations. The first day is bloodwork for antibodies, blood type, HIV, etc. and vision and audio tests. I did a hearing test beforehand through PHA, so I got to leave early. Bring a book or something to do since this was a whole day of waiting around. The hospital had wifi.

Classes/Lectures: BY FAR THE WORST PART OF EACH DAY. We sat in an old theater with no outlets. There were two stalls for the bathroom and a lot of us so the bathroom was never free. Always a long line for the water fountain or coffee machine. The lectures were sleeper material. Some days were 6-8 hours in there. They did give us 10 min breaks between each lecture which ranged from 10-45 min each. Cadre watched us like hawks to make sure no one was on their phone or falling asleep. I brought my laptop to take notes, but since there as no wifi and I didn't want to get in trouble I just sat there.

Final Exam: extremely easy and open-note. Make sure to download PDFs of the slides and use control-F. No need to study.

D&C: Drills and ceremony was fun. We were in full OCPs doing your typical "left right left" marching and formation. It was a lot more stimulating compared to class time even in the hot sun. Felt like we were playing the part, doing the thing. D&C was every day since we had to prepare for the final evaluation exam. It's messy bc no one knows what they're doing, but everyone improves slowly over time. Your final score is based on a group evaluation, so make sure not to mess anything up for anyone else.

Land Nav: didn't do it :/ (class size too big) They gave us a didactic lecture to prepare us for BOLC which was honestly pretty helpful. Because of this we did not go to CIF to retrieve assault packs or any gear

Gun Range: didn't do it :/ We were able to take out the rifles to learn how to hold them and disassemble. No shooting though.

EGAS: I lowkey had a great time. It sucked for sure but only for like 10 seconds at most. I was lucky enough to be in the first 4 or 5 groups so it wasn't as saturated as the later groups. Some prior service people said it was worse than they did it in basic before. No wearing lotion, sunscreen, nothing. It was just exciting to do something new. Remember to take deep breaths to calm yourself down before they make you take the mask off. They had us sing happy birthday, and I started coughing as soon as I got one word out. The skin stinging wasn't too bad. The coughing was the worst part. As soon as you go outside and breathe fresh air, you recover very quickly.

Working out: We didn't have access to the track or gym until the third day, and you can't workout on your own until after dinner. Any formal morning PT training is not enough to stay in shape or prep for the AFT (which is diagnostic and week 3). There's a small gym in the basement with lots of free weights, dumbbells, hex/straight bars, cardio, and some machines. There is an outdoor track with bars to hang/do pullups. The "beaverfit" is a shipping container outside the barracks that has all the items you need for the AFT. We had to sign our name with CQ each time we used track/gym/beaver. They could get busy but there's enough room.

Room Inspections: We had our first formal room inspection the second weekend. Wasn't bad as long as you don't have contraband items and stuff everything in suitcases/drawers out of sight. This is where having your own cleaning supplies comes in handy because what they provide doesn't really do the job. The main issue was cleaning bathrooms. It's best to have people clean during the day because there isn't enough time for fire guard to clean within their time slot at night. Throwing the shower curtains in the wash will turn them from yellow to white.

AFT: diagnostic, doesn't count. Everyone's times were faster day-of than any other time practicing. Must have been the cheering and adrenaline.

Misc

We had final formation at 2100 every day.

The first two days were completed entirely in civilian clothes. We went to Exchange the day after arrival. They let some people go to PX on the first weekend for essential hygiene items/etc and male haircuts.

Strict battle buddy system where you cannot be out and about without a person of same gender or 2 people of opposite with you.

The first week was kinda brutal because we have less privileges and mostly boring intro classes.

I think the shower water and hair regulations messed my hair up. I lost a lot of hair and it felt more damaged than it has ever been coming out.

We had a barracks plague. A head cold spread through all of us like wildfire.

So many people went to sick call and were on profile for MSK injuries. Many of them were shin splints or activity-related injuries.

DEERs was a nightmare for many people because more paperwork was needed for some people than they told us. Naturalized citizens needed documents they didn't have. You need everything for your dependents as well. They told us to overnight ship very important papers. It was kind of a mess.

Cadre highly discouraged mail/packages/letters. Ubereats/Doordash was forbidden.

Top performing students get awarded or named at graduation. I was in the top 10% of the class but they only awarded top 5% :(

Tips/Advice

DRINK WATER ALL DAY it's unbearably hot and you lose more water than you think just standing around.

Bring a small notepad and pen with you for classes so you don't have to use an electronic.

Take you CAC with you everywhere.

Memorize your social security number and DoD ID.

Try not to go on your phone during the day. I was still able to text my friends or call people at the end of the day. If we're just standing around, I opened my phone to send a quick text. It's generally discouraged to have your phone out while in uniform.

Be prepared to do nothing A LOT. Especially since they messed up having too many people in our class, we spent a lot of time waiting for the next task and feeling unproductive since there was no wifi.

Get into a regular workout routine on your own before coming here. Try training for the AFT on your own. Most people had the most trouble with the 2-mile run and push ups.

Bring fiber supplements and eat as many veggies/fruits as you can. They sometimes gave us apples/pears/bananas that I liked to stock up on. Everyone's bowel movements were fucked up for a while.

Take naps when you can. We don't have enough allotted sleep time for the amount we're working out and eating like shit.

I really enjoyed meeting everyone, but at some point you get so exhausted being around people. There is never a moment of alone time. Prepare your social battery.

Read up on all the rules especially in the handbooks beforehand. It's better to come prepared and presentable than get yelled at for, say, having your hair out of regulation. Bring what you need to do all of that (hair gel, shave beard, bring bobby pins, bring black above ankle socks, etc.). You'll learn the minute details of the culture while you're here (ex. when to say sir/ma'am, how to stand, when to take your cap off).

Take it seriously but have some fun! It's basically summer camp. Army stuff can be ridiculous; just play the part and move on. Be grateful that you get more freedom than regular Basic Training. Do not take for granted the money they are giving you.

I will probably make a post for BOLC-B as well.

I hope everyone is doing well! Has anyone been accepted into the EMDP2 program with a SAT waiver? Scored a 1200 but had a 570 in the math section 😭😭 The ACT score is out of of the 5 year limit or would be in the clear with a 28 on the ACT 😩

Hello Just curious on which branch to do hshp or USHUS planning on applying to medical school and just wanted to know the differences between Air Force and army in terms of quality of life as a officer , deployments, etc any help will much needed.

Active duty Navy physician. Completed military residency, with all prior applications through MODS several years ago now. Now applying for fellowship, including to civilian programs through ERAS. It’s obviously not as objectively designed for military applicants as MODS is. I’m being flexible about where and how I list things in ERAS.

Gathering opinions: Is it appropriate to list military awards like NAMs/COMs/SWMDO/FMFWO/FS under honors and awards, or is that more just for academic achievements that would be relevant to civilian programs?

Hi there!

I am an O3, with 6 years in the reserves in an MOS I love and am starting down the medicine route after a diff civilian career. I owe 2 more years on my MSO, but will hopefully be starting med school next summer. A few questions as I consider HPSP:

1. Can I take a 4 year HPSP scholarship if I still owe a year of my MSO from ROTC? My assumption is no, but maybe if I can get a conditional release from my CoC? This is probs a recruiter question but curious on input.

2. I don’t think I’ll want to do a full career in milmed. I’m 28F and want to have kids soon - my best guess is I’d pay back my 4 year MSO from HPSP and then get out. With that in mind, I’d love to hear stories re: how the transition from mil med to civ med worked for folks? I believe I either want to do child psych or developmental peds. It seems like this might look like doing primary care non specialized in the military and then doing a fellowship once I’m out? Is that about right?

3. I’ll have TIS when it comes to matching and I’ve historically been a strong student. Should I worry about having to do a GMO tour? Or is that really a crapshoot and I should go into it knowing it’s a strong possibility?

TIA!

I am interested in becoming a Navy Pharmacist Officer after I graduate from pharmacy school. Writing has never been my strong suit, and I sometimes struggle with organizing my thoughts on paper.

From my understanding, the application prompts typically include: “Why the Navy?”, “Why pharmacy?”, and “Why you are a strong candidate?” Are there any other common questions I should expect?

Any advice on how to approach these essays or what to include or avoid would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I was just awarded the HPSP and scheduling my first PHA as school starts. Hypothetically, if I was overweight at the PHA what would happen to me? Do they do a tape test?

Hey y'all,

I'm a rising junior at UT in Knoxville. I have a 3.9 GPA, am in University Honors, and am double majoring in Business Analytics and Biochemistry. I am heavily considering doing the HPSP when I go to medical school with the Navy. I have multiple family members who have either served or worked closely with the DoW, and to me, getting to travel the world and gain experience working with the people who serve this country, all without debt, seems like a pretty sweet deal. Ideally, I would want to become a Flight Surgeon and then transition into Primary Care Sports Medicine after serving a full 20 year career. I am trying to connect with any doctors and officers here who have done parts of or even all of this path before to see what their experience has been like, if they would recommend it, and any tips they would have for someone like me. Thanks for y'alls service and God Bless!

I know everyone thinks their situation is unique but I have not heard a situation quite like mine. I was an MS4 this past year. The start of this past semester I was put back on ADHD medication by a psychiatrist. I have previously disclosed that I had had a previous diagnosis as I had to get a waiver in order to receive my scholarship. I am also an S&P cadet. I also got in trouble with school and I ended up resigning from college about two months after the medical determination started. The psychiatrist stated in the letter that it is “chronic” and requires “long term treatment. This was initiated originally at the beginning of April and still haven’t heard anything back. I also received a performance counseling DA 4856 I believe is what it was called. That said that I had previously failed height and weight however that was remediated and that participation in class felt forced and that I got back on ADHD medication, which was a breach of contract. Just looking for any advice or insight of what the future is going to look like regarding scholarship payback and/or possible enlistment service. Also, what is the typical turnaround time if the medical determination is still the prevalent thing going on the counseling and the medical determination obviously have nothing to do with the resigning from college side because that came after the medical determination and the counseling. But what is the typical turnaround time for a medical determination for ADHD medication currently being taken and diagnosed? Thanks