Navy ROTC + HPSP for dental school

[drill-and-fill]

Hi all. Does anyone here know if it's possible to do Navy ROTC for undergrad and then do Navy HPSP for dental school right after graduating? I've searched SDN regarding this topic and all I could find were threads talking about either Army ROTC + HPSP or Navy ROTC + HPSP for medical school. I'm asking because a member of my family will be graduating from high school soon and he's interested in potentially going this route if possible.

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[Incis0r]

It's possible to do Army ROTC + HPSP. I know an Army dentist who did exactly that. It is risky though since you need to apply for an "educational deferment" after college to delay the payback of your ROTC years. It may or may not be possible, depending on the needs of the branch.

Although this is anecdotal, one of my friends here in college is on the Navy ROTC, and is pre-med. He told me he wishes he hadn't done ROTC, and that he had done HPSP instead because the Navy is not granting him an educational deferment for Med School. So he will have to go and do his four years and then come back and begin the process for Med School apps.

 

[drill-and-fill]

Oh that's unfortunate. I'll have to look into that educational deferment deal then. Thanks for the info

 

[vellnueve]

Possible? Yes, but that second situation is more likely.

 

[Dentiny]

Oh that's unfortunate. I'll have to look into that educational deferment deal then. Thanks for the info

If you're going NROTC there is a 0% chance they will an allow an educational deferment or select you straight out of undergrad for dental school. This used to happen occasionally to top candidates, however NROTC no longer does this. If you have the grades to go to dental school and haven't taken the ASTB, you're likely to find yourself operating a nuclear reactor.

I'm a former NROTC instructor and watched students with these aspirations at a top university with grades and aptitude for any medical school in the country get denied due to the needs of the Navy every single time. Do not go into NROTC without understanding you WILL be going into an unrestricted line community until your service obligation for NROTC is complete.

That being said... if you want a good path to being a Navy dentist: go to undergrad and keep your student loans to a minimum at a good public school, and then apply for the Navy HPSP / HSCP at the same time you are applying to dental school. Or, do what I did, do NROTC, serve your time as an Unrestricted Line Officer, and then apply to dental school.

 

[drill-and-fill]

If you're going NROTC there is a 0% chance they will an allow an educational deferment or select you straight out of undergrad for dental school. This used to happen occasionally to top candidates, however NROTC no longer does this. If you have the grades to go to dental school and haven't taken the ASTB, you're likely to find yourself operating a nuclear reactor.

I'm a former NROTC instructor and watched students with these aspirations at a top university with grades and aptitude for any medical school in the country get denied due to the needs of the Navy every single time. Do not go into NROTC without understanding you WILL be going into an unrestricted line community until your service obligation for NROTC is complete.

That being said... if you want a good path to being a Navy dentist: go to undergrad and keep your student loans to a minimum at a good public school, and then apply for the Navy HPSP / HSCP at the same time you are applying to dental school. Or, do what I did, do NROTC, serve your time as an Unrestricted Line Officer, and then apply to dental school.

Thanks for the info. I'm actually prior enlisted and I'm about to graduate from dental school; I was asking for my little brother who was interested in applying for NROTC and then applying for HPSP before graduating undergrad.

 

[Tooth Ferry]

For the Army, there's a guy in my class who's ROTC and got an educational deferment, but did not get the HPSP. He's going to be doing reserve payback upon graduation, FWIW.

 

[Helpful Troll]

For the Army, there's a guy in my class who's ROTC and got an educational deferment, but did not get the HPSP. He's going to be doing reserve payback upon graduation, FWIW.

You might ask the person you know that got an Educational Delay from Army ROTC if he actually accessed to the Reserves/NG rather than active duty (AD). An Educational Delay after ROTC requires AD service even if they are not selected or choose not to accept the HPSP scholarship. See AR601-25 and AR145-1 in the apd.army.mil website. If they were accessed to the Reserves/NG their commitment would be to the NG/Reserves.

 

[krmower]

If you plan on going into the military as a dentist DO NOT DO ROTC!!! By doing ROTC you will gain a 4 year obligation. When you do HPSP you will gain another 4 year obligation. If you specialize you will gain an additional obligation (can be paid off concurrently with HPSP - but the time in the residency does not count). All this being said - by doing ROTC you will make it so you have to be in the military longer before you are eligible for the specialty bonuses.

What this means:

1) If you don't plan on being in the military long term - doing ROTC and HPSP mean you will already be in at least 1/2 your career before you can get out.
2) If you plan on doing the military as a career - you will lose at least $200,000 in specialty pay because of how long you have to wait before you can start taking the multi-year bonuses post-residency