#hpsp application

So I was stumped on the last portion of the HPSP Application, where they ask you to identify your top 3 active duty sites, so I e-mailed one of my recruiters about it. The list he sent me differs somewhat from the one that anyone can access online at:

HPSP Active Duty Sites

I'm not a fan of this inconsistency since all of the people who are against me applying for this scholarship are insisting that the Army is shady. I think this is the beginning of me really learning that you have to be on top of your shit and ask the right questions.  I'm chalking this up to laxness on website maintenance, and (as the recruiter mentions below) the fact that vets are "outsourced" to all branches.

Here's the exchange:

Me: I've attached my DCA Application Worksheet for review. I'm still looking at the active duty sites, and have not filled that section out. Could you give me a more detailed description for what I should put in the "Duty Assignment" sections? I'm assuming that the "Area" is the name of the base. Also, if there are some positions/bases that either of you think I should focus on more based on my interest in public health, infectious disease surveillance, and large animals, please let me know. What are the chances that I will be offered a slot at any of my top selected areas?

I lucked out, probably not, but I'm going to think of it that way.

3 weeks ago I located a local AMEDD recruiter and went in to talk to him with my friend Paul. He's interested in the HPSP Medical, while I went in to find out how to start my HPSP application for the Veterinary Corps.

The deadline for the veterinary application is in March/April of every year (medical applications get reviewed monthly...) and I have missed the deadline for this year. Since CSU won't allow me to defer for a year the most tuition repayment through the program that I can get is 3 years.

Now, it's only June, but I managed to convince the recruiter I saw to let me fill out the application 8 months early so that he can hold it for me until it's due. Ergo, the I lucked out comment. They probably just do this when someone comes in and really seems to know what they want. I'm sure it's easier for them to meet their recruiting quota that way too. Regardless of the role that luck has really played in this, I'll fill it out in the next few months, before I move to Colorado for vet school and am overwhelmed by classwork. Then I will fly back next spring to visit friends back here, sign the paperwork, and send everything in.

This may sound really over-eager, but I stress about time... all the time. The HPSP is something that I know I want to do, so I was really hoping that there would be an opportunity for me to get the application filled out early. The entire thing can take people from 2 weeks to 7 months to fill out too, because of the amount of information required. That was the biggest motivator to start early.

So I got the main application worksheet by e-mail this week and I slaved over the details for hours. Finally finishing it in 3 days! The only thing I have left to do is choose my top active duty sites, which is probably the hardest part!

They're all listed on the HPSP website: HPSP Duty Sites

Today marks the beginning of my application to the Army Veterinary Corps Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP).

This is not a rash decision by any means. I've been contemplating the option for over a year in the case that I miraculously was accepted to vet school. Well... the miracle happened, and now I need to pay for it!

So it's not even the fact that I desperately need funding in order to make it through vet school that made me decide to apply for the program. My ultimate goal of working for the government facilitated the choice, and the benefits outweigh the downfalls to me. It's an individual decision, and for some people it's not the right one, but I understand and appreciate the structure and function of the military and know that I am going to personally and professionally benefit if I'm accepted.

The experience began this morning when my friend Paul (who's interested in the medical scholarship) and I traveled to an AMEED recruiter in San Mateo. We never called to schedule an appointment, just showed up. I'm still not sure what the protocol is on that because the lieutenant took us in right away to answer our questions.

Because I already knew that I want to apply, my questioning went straight to the whens and how's of that process... and we got to talking about how long the application takes (up to 4 months) and how difficult if is going to be to fill out during vet school classes. SO he offered to let me start it and have it held until the next application deadline in March 2012.

I said YES! Mostly because I'm a planner and I worry a lot about time and if I have the chance to get this out of the way ASAP I'm going to take it! I also really like this guy, and I'm not sure if the recruiter in CO is going to be as accessible.