NHSC anyone heard?

[Brown10]

does anyone know how many months you get the stipend from NHSC the applicant bulletin says academic year, which months are excluded?

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[Lurchdubious]

does anyone know how many months you get the stipend from NHSC the applicant bulletin says academic year, which months are excluded?

Probably the months when you're not in school.

I'm also wondering what happens with the stipend checks we're supposed to get this month (backdated to first of semester). If I took out the full COA in loans this semester, does that mean I won't get a big fattie check from NHSC?

 

[matlabsux]

To all the winners/finalists. congrats! Can any of you offer any tips or advice you think might have helped you win or be a finalist to land the scholarship? Anything you can add would be appreciated. Good Luck!

 

[L413]

Probably the months when you're not in school.

I'm also wondering what happens with the stipend checks we're supposed to get this month (backdated to first of semester). If I took out the full COA in loans this semester, does that mean I won't get a big fattie check from NHSC?

We're supposed to be getting stipend checks by Nov 7, but on their FB page, they said "middle of November." Hopefully we will see our stipends soon. They've been really unresponsive to me(you have to send emails multiple times before you get an answer, and usually not even a complete answer). So frustrating.

If you took out loans this semester, your financial aid should be able to cancel the loan and send a bill directly to your NHSC analyst for tuition and fees.

 

[Brown10]

does anyone who is currently a scholar know about the stipend. One place says you receive it during the academic year another says you receive the stipend all year long. which information is correct?

 

[pugha15]

I received an e-mail the other day that we'll be receiving the first deposit on November 13th and it includes from the start of the academic year until now. The next stipend will be sent at the end of December and the end of each month after that.

Regarding loans, any refund check you received and have been living off of is yours to either keep as cushion money (and repay when you finish school) or you can send it directly back to the loan company when you receive your stipend & not incur any interest on it or worry about paying it back after graduation. As L413 said, your tutition/fees loans that the school has can be canceled and sent back & the NHSC billed by financial aid.

Can't wait for that nice big deposit on 11/13!

 

[Lurchdubious]

I received an e-mail the other day that we'll be receiving the first deposit on November 13th and it includes from the start of the academic year until now. The next stipend will be sent at the end of December and the end of each month after that.

Regarding loans, any refund check you received and have been living off of is yours to either keep as cushion money (and repay when you finish school) or you can send it directly back to the loan company when you receive your stipend & not incur any interest on it or worry about paying it back after graduation. As L413 said, your tutition/fees loans that the school has can be canceled and sent back & the NHSC billed by financial aid.

Can't wait for that nice big deposit on 11/13!

Dude, that is the best news I've heard all week! Thank you! So I wonder how they got around the "Cost of Attendance" thing? I was told that the scholarship and stipend can not equal more than you would normally receive in COA loans.

 

[smq123]

Dude, that is the best news I've heard all week! Thank you! So I wonder how they got around the "Cost of Attendance" thing? I was told that the scholarship and stipend can not equal more than you would normally receive in COA loans.

I'm not sure where your confusion is coming from.

The NHSC expects that, before you are awarded the scholarship, you WILL have taken out loans. They also expect you to give those loans back once your stipend money starts coming in.

 

[Lurchdubious]

I'm not sure where your confusion is coming from.

The NHSC expects that, before you are awarded the scholarship, you WILL have taken out loans. They also expect you to give those loans back once your stipend money starts coming in.

That's not what this member is saying:

Regarding loans, any refund check you received and have been living off of is yours to either keep as cushion money (and repay when you finish school) or you can send it directly back to the loan company when you receive your stipend & not incur any interest on it or worry about paying it back after graduation.

Yeah. Crystal clear.

 

[Brown10]

my understanding is that you can keep loans you took out if you wanted to, but you still have to be eligible to receive them once they consider your scholarship. For example, I took out over 60k in loans and once I got the scholarship, I could only keep 7500 of it if I wanted to because I was not eligible for any more than that.

 

[smq123]

Yeah. Crystal clear.

Ohhh....now I see what you're asking.

I'm not 100% sure - I think that the expectation is that you'd just pay back loans rather than let interest accrue. But it does say in the scholars bulletin that you're eligible for other funding sources, as long as those funding sources don't require any kind of conflicting service payback.

 

[Lurchdubious]

Ohhh....now I see what you're asking.

I'm not 100% sure - I think that the expectation is that you'd just pay back loans rather than let interest accrue. But it does say in the scholars bulletin that you're eligible for other funding sources, as long as those funding sources don't require any kind of conflicting service payback.

The only reason I'm concerned with the stipend is I have a wife, a kid, and one on the way. Cash is very hard to come by.

 

[L413]

has anyone gotten word on whether we're going to have this fall conference?

 

[picaresque]

...so I got the finalist e-mail in mid-October, then heard nothing...until today when $10,128.10 magically appeared in my bank account from HRSA? WTF?

Could someone else who received the scholarship please tell me if this is the amount they received and explain what it is for? The monthly living stipend, even backdated until August, shouldn't be anywhere near this amount, but this is not even half of what my tuition is. I am really confused, and am just getting the run around from the call center. Thanks.

 

[Brown10]

I think it includes the stipend from July plus other reasonable costs, which your school determines. Does anyone know if it includes anything else?

 

[Noctivagant]

...so I got the finalist e-mail in mid-October, then heard nothing...until today when $10,128.10 magically appeared in my bank account from HRSA? WTF?

Could someone else who received the scholarship please tell me if this is the amount they received and explain what it is for? The monthly living stipend, even backdated until August, shouldn't be anywhere near this amount, but this is not even half of what my tuition is. I am really confused, and am just getting the run around from the call center. Thanks.

I got $10135.10....so bizarre. I tried to call them/email them and I have heard nothing. I think this is our stipend PLUS the ORC? But what's weird is that, the financial aid officer at my school hasn't heard anything from NHSC. How did they determine the ORC amount??!!

 

[Lurchdubious]

I received roughly the same amount. Not sure what the excess is either...

 

[picaresque]

Curiouser and curiouser.

Well, at least we're all in approximately the same boat.
My office of financial aid had absolutely no idea what I was talking about, and kind of looked at me like I was speaking in tongues.

Has anyone's school received funds from NHSC? Or just the scholars so far?

 

[smq123]

I got $10135.10....so bizarre. I tried to call them/email them and I have heard nothing. I think this is our stipend PLUS the ORC? But what's weird is that, the financial aid officer at my school hasn't heard anything from NHSC. How did they determine the ORC amount??!!

- That is indeed your stipend (backdated from July) and your ORC. It's generally some insanely big amount - my first payment was right around that amount as well.

- As to how they determined the ORC amount, I'm not sure. Is there another student from your school who has an NHSC scholarship?

Could someone else who received the scholarship please tell me if this is the amount they received and explain what it is for? The monthly living stipend, even backdated until August, shouldn't be anywhere near this amount, but this is not even half of what my tuition is. I am really confused, and am just getting the run around from the call center. Thanks.

Yep, my first payment was around $10,000 as well.

Your stipend is backdated from July, so you would assume that, by now, you should have received about $5500 in living expenses.

Your ORC is generally, depending on where you go to school, etc., around $5000. That's including books, stethoscopes, equipment, testing fees, health insurance, etc.

So, if you calculate it out, it sort of makes sense.

 

[Brown10]

does the other reasonable cost payment include health insurance or is it sent to the school directly with you tuition and fees? If a current scholar has any information, it would be much appreciated.

 

[smq123]

does the other reasonable cost payment include health insurance or is it sent to the school directly with you tuition and fees? If a current scholar has any information, it would be much appreciated.

Well, I'm not a current scholar, but I did just graduate.

The ORC includes health insurance only if your school does not require that you buy their insurance plan. If you have an option on what you can buy, then the NHSC will give you some money in your ORC to pay for your insurance.

 

[Brown10]

Great, thanks! Do they ever send you a statement or something saying what the money they give you is supposed to be covering?

 

[smq123]

Do they ever send you a statement or something saying what the money they give you is supposed to be covering?

No.

 

[Gypsyrose]

So this is very strange indeed. I received the email back in September saying that I was either a "finalist or an alternate", and since then I have heard nothing. I had assumed that since I had not received a letter or email telling me that I had received the scholarship, that I was out of the running. Of course I called the 800 numbers multiple times and like everyone else, the people I spoke with were totally useless, so I couldn't get any answers regarding my status.
Then on Friday I received a deposit in my account for $10,539.10 from HRSA. The thing is, I DO NOT WANT THE SCHOLARSHIP!
I am so put off by the incompetence/arbitrariness of NHSC that I don't want them to be controlling my life for 4 years, regardless of the money.
In short, I want out of the scholarship. Has anyone had any success speaking with anyone at NHSC/HRSA who knew what was going, and who I might be able to speak with to explain the situation and tell them that I don't want the scholarship?
I'm sure that someone else would be happy to receive the scholarship in my stead.
Also, I do remember calling the 800 number for NHSC and one of the people that I spoke with saying that I would not be committed to the scholarship until I received my official notification and THEN signed a form saying that I would accept the scholarship.
Thanks,
Gypsyrose

 

[Gypsyrose]

I'm in the same boat. I received the "alternate or finalist" email back in mid September and haven't heard a word since then (not a letter or email). I assumed I was out of the running since I never heard anything. Then on Friday I received a deposit in my bank account for $10,539.10. Truly bizzare.

 

[picaresque]

So I haven't been able to confirm my physical address or e-mail address with the NHSC since I got the mystery deposit. Furthermore, I haven't even been able to get someone to confirm whether or not I am actually a scholarship recipient despite getting a $10,129 deposit. So I'm in a bit of a communications bind, as the NHSC can't/won't contact me, and when I contact them it is entirely useless.

I am calling upon you guys for assistance. When someone who got the deposit on Friday finds out that their school has received funds to cover their tuition, could they please post here? My office of financial aid acts as though they've never heard of the NHSC before, and experience tells me I need to be really, REALLY proactive with both the fin aid office and the govt.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Brown10]

the bursar at my school said after the invoice is sent to NHSC they usually receive the funds within 30 days. Your school does have to send an invoice to the NHSC to receive payment from them.

 

[matlabsux]

For those of you who applied the year prior to matriculating to medical school, what kinds of evaluations/who did you ask for your supporting materials? Did yo use any physicians you shadowed or research PIs? Thank you for your input.

 

[lastar]

I received a finalist/alternate email and had a series of phone calls with the NHSC confirming some information around then. Since then, I have not received a letter. I have not received an email. I was told several times by the 800 # to wait for the decline letter that was sure to be in the mail. I had given up completely on the scholarship. Today, however, the government just deposited a bunch of money in my account - I'm taking it that I'm a scholar then?

Mine was only $8,778.12 - maybe because I'm in PA school?

 

[pugha15]

I also received a deposit on Friday, however I knew it was coming. I had received an e-mail from the NHSC on 11/5/09 with some info. about the deposit (i.e. expect it on 11/13, it will contain the stipend from July to November as well as the ORC, December stipend will be deposited at the end of December).

For anyone who is having difficulty communicating with the NHSC, have you tried asking the call center for your analyst's name/number directly? As I understand it, every scholar has an analyst assigned to them who will handle answering questions, changing addresses and other concerns. You may be able to get more answers from them.

Also, the NHSC has a Facebook "fan page" that some scholars have been using to get answers. Questions are either being answered directly on the page, or they tell you to call, but their response is quite prompt (usually within 24-28hrs).

I'll be checking with my financial aid office on Monday to see if they received funds or have sent an invoice yet. When I spoke with financial aid initially, they said they've always had a very positive experience with the NHSC and that the organization is always trying to do more and more for the scholars.

Congratulations to all who have received the scholarship!

 

[picaresque]

Thanks, Brown10. I'll stop by my bursar's office Monday morning. Was there anything else pertinent in your acceptance letter, such as an address/fax/email for where the invoice should be sent?

I actually got the e-mail address for a woman I assume to be my analyst during one of my numerous calls to the NHSC, but when I e-mailed her with my questions (such as, "have I actually received the scholarship? How can I verify my address? What should I do now?") she just told me to call the call center again. I'm not entirely sure my analyst is going to be the most helpful person...

 

[montessori2md]

does anyone who is currently a scholar know about the stipend. One place says you receive it during the academic year another says you receive the stipend all year long. which information is correct?

So, the applicant bulletin says "academic year" but it also says the first stipend back-pays to July 1, so that seems like 2 different things to me. I'd like a scholar to answer this as well.

Regarding other posted questions, I can answer these:
1) WHEN DOES SCHOOL GET TUITION: YOU, the SCHOLAR, need to go to your bursar with a copy of your award letter (or fax said letter after contacting bursars office), and ask them to send an INVOICE to NHSC. Ideally, that invoice would be sent to your analyst, but if your analyst is unknown or useless, I would think the address on your letter will be just fine. Invoice does not equal your account statement, etc, it's a document produced by the people who accept money for tuition at your school. If you don't know who that is/don't have bursar, ask your finaid counselor who the bursar is. Upon receiving invoice, NHSC will process your payment.

2) LOANS YOU ALREADY HAVE: IF you are going to go over your estimated cost of attendance, then you MUST pay back some loans. At my school, finaid has a change form, filled out by me, ready to be processed as soon as the money hits my student account, so that I don't go over. The only downside of the loans you took out for this semester: you are out the origination fees (usually a couple hundred bucks). You only MUST pay back the amount you are overawarded. You can keep the rest if you want.

3) LOANS YOU MIGHT WANT LATER: I already have debt from last year. My plan is to continue to take out subsidized Stafford, and use it to pay down some of my unsubsidized Stafford, because sub stafford is a better deal, even with the origination fees. Also, it will serve as an emergency fund, in case the car explodes, etc. Talk to your finaid counselor about what makes sense for you.

4) GETTING OUT OF YOUR CONTRACT: The date is sort of tricky when you don't HAVE the signed contract in hand. I would WRITE A LETTER and then send it certified, fax it, and email it to NHSC. If you don't have a fax # then contact the call center. I would also consider contacting your bank to see if they can send the deposit back, and contact your school's bursar/office of student accounts to explain the situation and see if they can help ensure they don't take them money. Even if you haven't been notified, this is a really big deal, and I would go into full blown riot mode on the phone, etc. until you get it resolved.

 

[picaresque]

Regarding other posted questions, I can answer these:
1) WHEN DOES SCHOOL GET TUITION: YOU, the SCHOLAR, need to go to your bursar with a copy of your award letter (or fax said letter after contacting bursars office), and ask them to send an INVOICE to NHSC.

I never got a letter, or any emails since the finalist e-mail a couple months ago. Is there an address on your letter that my bursar could send this invoice to? A fax number? I literally have gotten zero answers from my analyst and the call center, and could really use a straight answer from somebody. Thanks

 

[montessori2md]

They did give a contact and phone number, I would prefer to pm that, it doesn't seem appropriate to post on the board. The return address on the envelope is not an NHSC address, it's a HRSA address.

BUT the information about needing to send an invoice, and where to send it, was NOT in my letter, and I HAVE NOT given that info to my bursar -I only gave them the letter, as advised by my analyst, so I have NO IDEA where they send that invoice. My guess: it's like the military scholars. Somewhere in student accounting world there is a reference manual, with scholarship info, and they know where to send things based on that. I will say, once you get an analyst, they are HRSA employees, not NHSC gov't contractors (who run the app process).

Also, regarding the school year, I reread the bulletin and this is what I pulled from 2 sections:
"The school year is defined as July 1 through the following June 30 during which an applicant is enrolled in a school as a full-time student. Students may not receive full funding for each school year of their program, to the extent their course work does not coincide with the NHSC Scholarship Program’s definition of school year. (For more information, see section “Graduating Off-Cycle.”.........

"The end of the scholarship support will be the date that the scholar completes the required classes for graduation or June 30 (the last day of the school year for which the scholar has an executed contract), whichever comes first. The NHSC Scholarship Program cannot make payments to scholars when they are not enrolled or attending classes on a full-time basis or if they do not have a current contract."

They note in another section that "summer tuition and fees" are NOT covered within this definition unless that is required by the school for completion of the program.

I take all that to mean that you get the stipend 12mos/year, but may lose that last month if you graduate in May instead of June.

 

[Gypsyrose]

4) GETTING OUT OF YOUR CONTRACT: The date is sort of tricky when you don't HAVE the signed contract in hand. I would WRITE A LETTER and then send it certified, fax it, and email it to NHSC. If you don't have a fax # then contact the call center. I would also consider contacting your bank to see if they can send the deposit back, and contact your school's bursar/office of student accounts to explain the situation and see if they can help ensure they don't take them money. Even if you haven't been notified, this is a really big deal, and I would go into full blown riot mode on the phone, etc. until you get it resolved.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, montessori2md. That sounds like a good action plan. Since I never signed a contract and haven't been contacted since the "alternate/finalist" email back in September, I imagine (or at least hope) this won't be too difficult.

 

[pugha15]

Since I never signed a contract and haven't been contacted since the "alternate/finalist" email back in September, I imagine (or at least hope) this won't be too difficult.[/QUOTE]

Just out of curiosity, did you fax back the form that was in the September e-mail that said something regarding accepting the scholarship if it was offered to you? The e-mail also contained the contract that was to be faxed back signed for the academic years your want the scholarship. If you faxed those back, it may be an issue in trying to cancel it...best of luck, though, keep us posted with how it goes!

 

[lastar]

I checked with my fin. aid dept. today and no one has any idea what I'm talking about. I also called the 1-800 number for the NHSC and told them about the mysterious, but welcome, deposit. The lady told me that she "could neither confirm nor deny" that I had received a scholarship - what is this, some sort of secret?? She said she would have my name flagged or something for priority (???) and that someone would call me back. Low and behold, it's been since 9:00 AM and no one has called.

Now what? Anyone had any better luck?

 

[picaresque]

I've had pretty much the same series of events happen to me, lastar. From what I've gathered, we need to get a copy of our paper award letter SOMEHOW from HNSC, then take that to your bursar's office or accounts receivable or fin aid, whomever deals with this stuff at your school. They will send an invoice to NHSC, and THEN money from the scholarship fairy will arrive to cover your tuition.

For the past two months I haven't even been able to verify my address, so I'm thinking verifying our status as scholarship recipients might be a tad trickier. Good luck, and let all of us in the same situation know if you find something out!

 

[Gypsyrose]

I called 800 number today and had a similar experience. As usual the person on the other end of the phone was useless and could not answer a single, even basic question (i.e. have I received the scholarship or was this some type of mistake, when might I receive and official acceptance letter, etc.) She just kept repeating that she would "escalate" my concerns and someone (i.e. a supervisor) would call me back within 72 hours. When pressed, she said that the surpervisors were at another location and she did not know of any way to contact them directly.

It never ceases to amaze me the level of disorganization, incompetence, and mind-numbing bureaucracy that is the NHSC. If only there was just a tiny bit of accountability for the pathetic way in which they administer this program. If only.
Anyway, that's it for my rant. Best of luck to all.

 

[picaresque]

I don't know if this will be in any way helpful and it's possible everyone has gotten this number as well, but on one of my numerous calls to the 800 number I was given the number for the Division of Awards and Applications. Here it is:
301-594-4400
The people here also pretty much just took my information and said someone would call me back (which hasn't happened yet), but at least it's another avenue to explore?

I know it's frustrating now, and I know it's going to be frustrating when it comes to repaying our service commitment and paperwork goes astray and dialing dungeons get us nowhere (which will happen, trust me), but let's all embrace the mediocrity and ineptitude, as we are getting a free ride for school. Maybe we should form a support group or something

 

[lastar]

I know it's frustrating now, and I know it's going to be frustrating when it comes to repaying our service commitment and paperwork goes astray and dialing dungeons get us nowhere (which will happen, trust me), but let's all embrace the mediocrity and ineptitude, as we are getting a free ride for school. Maybe we should form a support group or something

I agree that it is very frustrating. But something tells me that coming out of school debt free is worth the hassle.

Thanks for the extra number - I'll have to give it a try tomorrow.

 

[lastar]

It seems I might be getting somewhere with the Facebook group. You might want to look them up. I'll post if I find anything out too.

 

[picaresque]

This is so funny/maddening, I just though I should share. Hopefully it will bring a little chuckle to everybody out there trying to get straight answers out of the call center.

This is the reply I received to an e-mail asking how to verify my address, whether or not I had actually received the scholarship, and how to go about getting a copy of my award letter:

"Thank you for your inquiry to the HRSA Call Center. According to our records you called the call center on 11/16 about the issue in this email dated on 11/15. I assume your issue was resolved with the phone call but if you need any further assistance please feel free to contact the call center."

Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

 

[Lurchdubious]

This is so funny/maddening, I just though I should share. Hopefully it will bring a little chuckle to everybody out there trying to get straight answers out of the call center.

This is the reply I received to an e-mail asking how to verify my address, whether or not I had actually received the scholarship, and how to go about getting a copy of my award letter:

"Thank you for your inquiry to the HRSA Call Center. According to our records you called the call center on 11/16 about the issue in this email dated on 11/15. I assume your issue was resolved with the phone call but if you need any further assistance please feel free to contact the call center."

Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Hah! That is awesome. ...in a very sad way.

 

[lastar]

This is so funny/maddening, I just though I should share. Hopefully it will bring a little chuckle to everybody out there trying to get straight answers out of the call center.

This is the reply I received to an e-mail asking how to verify my address, whether or not I had actually received the scholarship, and how to go about getting a copy of my award letter:

"Thank you for your inquiry to the HRSA Call Center. According to our records you called the call center on 11/16 about the issue in this email dated on 11/15. I assume your issue was resolved with the phone call but if you need any further assistance please feel free to contact the call center."

Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Sounds like something that would happen to me! Sad and hilarious. Good luck getting that resolved for real.

 

[picaresque]

Haha, thanks. I'm hoping for more luck on the Facebook page. Posted Sunday, so maybe I'll get some answers soon...

 

[lastar]

When I was contacted in September with the finalist/alternate email, I also received a phone call from someone asking to clarify if I wanted a 2 year or 3 year contract. I emailed him today and found out that he's my analyst. He said I did receive a scholarship and that it is not a mistake. He is faxing me my award letter today so that I can present it to the school so that they can send an invoice for fee payment.

I don't know if this is helpful to any of you, but be reassured that it is not likely a mistake but simply a lack of communication.

Good luck!

 

[picaresque]

My analyst said she couldn't answer any of my questions, and that I had to call the division of awards. They took my info and said I would be called back, which has not happened. I am so frustrated I could cry, I'm stuck in the referral circle of death.
Congrats, lastar, and keep your fingers crossed for me!

 

[lastar]

My analyst said she couldn't answer any of my questions, and that I had to call the division of awards. They took my info and said I would be called back, which has not happened. I am so frustrated I could cry, I'm stuck in the referral circle of death.
Congrats, lastar, and keep your fingers crossed for me!

Perhaps clarifying what I know might help you.

My analyst has helped some, but as of right now, he answers about 1 of the 10 or so questions I ask in each email. I'm thinking about sending him 10 emails next time. He was able to confirm that I had received the scholarship and faxed me the award letter (it was addressed to my old address that I attempted to change twice with them this summer - surprise, surprise). He told me that my school needs to fax an invoice to the NHSC. He did not provide me a fax # or clarify what he meant by invoice (my fin. aid dept was clueless - I wonder if they even believed me...) I ended up faxing my "bill" (paid by loans currently) from the school's fax machine to the fax number that was provided for the contract back in September. We'll see what happens from here...

If there's anything I can do to help, let me know. I'll keep posting any information I get a hold of.

 

[picaresque]

Thanks, lastar! I really appreciate it.