questions about scholarship vs. loan repayment

[snurpy]

Hello,

I was recently accepted to a DO school, and kind of stumbled on this thread about the public health service. I'm really interested in it, but several things confused me. I'd be grateful if anyone could shed some light.

1. For the scholarship, if I wanted all 4 years, I would have to apply before March 31 the year I enter medical school?

2. Is the loan repayment separate / different from the scholarship? My understanding is that you apply either during your MS4 or residency years? How much does it cover? For example, I think the scholarship pays for books, laptops, etc. Does loan repayment cover that as well, or only the tuition?

3. Does the loan repayment also cover a living stipend? Or is that only for the scholars?

4. Is it too late to apply now and be competitive, or should I attempt to apply earlier next year?

5. Are you only on active status in the military during the time that you are doing your commitment years, or is it life-long?

6. If you have to do a two year commitment, but you did not get matched into your first pick location the first year, can you reapply to get matched into another location during the second year?

7. How is the loan repayment from PHS more advantageous than the other loan repayment plans offered from other hospitals?

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[smq123]

1. For the scholarship, if I wanted all 4 years, I would have to apply before March 31 the year I enter medical school?

Yes. In other words, since you'll be starting in August/September of 2009, you have about 3 weeks to get your application together.

2. Is the loan repayment separate / different from the scholarship? My understanding is that you apply either during your MS4 or residency years? How much does it cover? For example, I think the scholarship pays for books, laptops, etc. Does loan repayment cover that as well, or only the tuition?

Yes, the Loan Repayment Program is completely separate AND different from the NHSC scholarship.

For the Loan Repayment Program (LRP), you apply in your final years of residency, in order to find a job as an attending in a geographic region that will qualify you for the LRP. It does not cover books, laptops, or anything like that - your residency program should already cover your books, and you'll be making money as a resident anyway.

The loan repayment program pays back your educational debts, which is usually a combination of tuition costs and living costs that accumulated while you were in med school. It doesn't "pay FOR" anything; it just sends your debt collectors a lump sum of money in your name.

The advantage to the LRP is that it offers more flexibility than the NHSC scholarship.

3. Does the loan repayment also cover a living stipend? Or is that only for the scholars?

No. While you participate in the LRP, you are already employed as an attending physician. There is no need for the LRP to give you an additional stipend, since you should already be earning a relatively decent salary.

4. Is it too late to apply now and be competitive, or should I attempt to apply earlier next year?

It's not too late to apply now, and it shouldn't make you all that much less competitive (since it's not a rolling admissions type of application), but it's going to be fairly challenging to pull your application together in such a short amount of time. It's a fairly complicated application, with a lot of components.

5. Are you only on active status in the military during the time that you are doing your commitment years, or is it life-long?

The NHSC and the LRP are completely unrelated to the military. You're not on "active duty" at all.

6. If you have to do a two year commitment, but you did not get matched into your first pick location the first year, can you reapply to get matched into another location during the second year?

The NHSC doesn't really "match" you into locations. You apply for jobs in your final years of residency, but if you're unsuccessful and don't find a satisfactory job, then the NHSC will place you wherever they need you.

You can move around between job sites, though, if you're not happy during your first year there. It's a bit of a pain, however.

7. How is the loan repayment from PHS more advantageous than the other loan repayment plans offered from other hospitals?

As far as I can tell, the LRP offered through the NHSC isn't really more advantageous; it just allows you to work in an area of the country that you might otherwise not be able to afford to work in.

 

[snurpy]

Thank you so much for your answers! I think that cleared up a lot. I was confused because one of the benefits that the website listed was that you have "active status" as a military, and it gives you access to military only discounted supermarkets etc. Plus they had this interviewed scholar who mentioned that she wore her military-ish outfit to her site in lieu of a white coat, and people asked her why a NAVY person was in their small town.

I think I will try to throw my application together this year, but it wouldn't be tragic if I push it off till next year as well. I might not be able to put in the time it needs because I have an insane workload right now doing a full time job and trying to complete my thesis for my masters project.