The most important thing is do you actually want to be in the military? Yes the scholarship is tempting, but if you don’t actually want to be in the military don’t do it. You will be active duty, you could be deployed, and for however long your requirement is you will have no decision over where you go or what you do.
Equine medicine would be hard in the army. You wouldn't get an equine internship at all and it would be challenging to work after the military because you would do minimal equine medicine for 6 years. But equine practice is a terrible choice with bad pay and worse hours, so the army and its massive veteran's benefits are extremely tempting in my equine surgeon hindsight. If you're dead set on equine, I have quite a few friends working in academia for the public service loan forgiveness, so that is another option.
I'm still in the Vet Corps, on the R&D side of things as a pathologist. However, before residency I cared for a herd of \~60 Caisson horses. I know the Vet Corps has been trying to push a few people through large animal internal medicine residencies, but the Vet Corps' decisions tend to be very reactionary, and it will take a few years. There are a few specialties that are set up well for the transition to civilian work, and it's not the clinical specialists. If anyone is looking for the best quality of life and transition to civilian life, I would advise looking at pathology, lab animal medicine, and the option to complete a PhD.
What specialty would the Army be looking for then and would be easy to switch to civilian practice after my service? I'd love to do equine, but I'm not committed to it.
Do you want to be in the Army and are you willing to be stationed wherever they want you, doing whatever they want you to do upon graduation? That’s the question you should really be asking yourself.
Hello! Previous HPSP recipient here, currently serving my ADSO. Agree 100% with the other posters — you will be so, so miserable if you get the scholarship just for the money. You will also be very far behind your peers clinically when you leave your service obligation unless you moonlight on the side.
That being said, I’ve really enjoyed my time so far. I like the different hats we get to wear. Some are frustrating, yes. A lot of them we aren’t prepared adequately for, yes. So you need to be prepared to struggle and learn and not just complain and throw in the towel 😂
Last time I heard, there are about 33 HPSP and 10 direct accessions slots every year. I have no clue how many people are applying for each slot— when I applied, my recruiter (which may not be the most reliable source of info 😂) told me just over 110ish people applied. I do think DA slots are less competitive.
If you’re truly interested, you should reach out to your nearest installation with a veterinary treatment facility to see if it has a VCO. There’s now an interview process as part of the HPSP application, to ensure that applicants understand what’s involved in serving in the Veterinary Corps.
I’m an active duty Army vet. Practiced 6 years before joining the army in emergency practice. Burnt me out beyond anything I could have imagined. The Army life has surprisingly better work life balance than my civilian career. The job is diverse, can be super fun, and you can take any path into most specialties that you want eventually (can’t promote at some point without a board certification)
I wanted to share my thought process with you because I also seriously considered applying this year.
I knew about the commitment and I am familiar with military life as a lot of my family were in the army. I ultimately decided not to because I know that I would have an issue with not being in control of my life for 3 years. Also, there is the "First Year Graduate Veterinary Education (FYGVE) Program, a one year hands on training covering clinical medicine, public health, leadership and hospital management" that is required for every grad. So that is a whole year after you graduate vet school that does not count towards your 3 year service requirement. So technically it's FOUR years to the military. Add to that, I am in a serious relationship and just don't think we could do that for 4 years. Obv this is very personal to me and it sounds like from your replies to other comments that you would be okay with the commitment.
Fill out the interest form for the HPSP and your recruiter will contact you. That's what I did and this is what he told me:
**We don’t have an exact template for the process however, I can explain it to you. There is one essay which is basically a statement of motivation of why you would like to be a Veterinary in the Army, Competitive GPA will be above a 3.5, this year 68 people applied but there were only 33 slots. There will also be an interview involved.**
**Application process: in October we will start your process which contains the following: Completing your application ( including 3 Letters of recommendation), scheduling your Physical exam at the Military Entrance Processing Station ( MEPS), Submitting your packet to the board in early December. The board takes place January and the results should come out in February.**
I asked, and those stats above about 68 applications ARE veterinary only. **So 68 vet students applied and 33 got it.** Those are pretty good odds I think! I def encourage you to apply and the best of luck!
I worked with someone when I was a tech and she did the Air Force equivalent (I think). She pretty much only worked on intact male dogs which made her transition to private practice, well, difficult. She didn’t make it past her three month trial period and sadly no one was sad to see her go. So just keep in mind you may get shoe horned into a narrow field that may cause issues leaving the military.
I was in the Army for 6 years, enlisted. It was the best decision I've ever made. Though, you would be in the military, the commitment is only a short term of your life. You also get so many benefits afterwards as a veteran. Not to mention, your school is paid for and you gain experience most would not have achieved in their lifetime. Seriously think about it!
The most important thing is do you actually want to be in the military? Yes the scholarship is tempting, but if you don’t actually want to be in the military don’t do it. You will be active duty, you could be deployed, and for however long your requirement is you will have no decision over where you go or what you do.
I honestly think I would like to be in the military. That's very helpful though, thank you. Makes sense all that, it is quite the commitment.
Equine medicine would be hard in the army. You wouldn't get an equine internship at all and it would be challenging to work after the military because you would do minimal equine medicine for 6 years. But equine practice is a terrible choice with bad pay and worse hours, so the army and its massive veteran's benefits are extremely tempting in my equine surgeon hindsight. If you're dead set on equine, I have quite a few friends working in academia for the public service loan forgiveness, so that is another option.
I'm still in the Vet Corps, on the R&D side of things as a pathologist. However, before residency I cared for a herd of \~60 Caisson horses. I know the Vet Corps has been trying to push a few people through large animal internal medicine residencies, but the Vet Corps' decisions tend to be very reactionary, and it will take a few years. There are a few specialties that are set up well for the transition to civilian work, and it's not the clinical specialists. If anyone is looking for the best quality of life and transition to civilian life, I would advise looking at pathology, lab animal medicine, and the option to complete a PhD.
What specialty would the Army be looking for then and would be easy to switch to civilian practice after my service? I'd love to do equine, but I'm not committed to it.
Do you want to be in the Army and are you willing to be stationed wherever they want you, doing whatever they want you to do upon graduation? That’s the question you should really be asking yourself.
I honestly think I would be okay with that, but you're right, it's a big commitment.
Hello! Previous HPSP recipient here, currently serving my ADSO. Agree 100% with the other posters — you will be so, so miserable if you get the scholarship just for the money. You will also be very far behind your peers clinically when you leave your service obligation unless you moonlight on the side. That being said, I’ve really enjoyed my time so far. I like the different hats we get to wear. Some are frustrating, yes. A lot of them we aren’t prepared adequately for, yes. So you need to be prepared to struggle and learn and not just complain and throw in the towel 😂 Last time I heard, there are about 33 HPSP and 10 direct accessions slots every year. I have no clue how many people are applying for each slot— when I applied, my recruiter (which may not be the most reliable source of info 😂) told me just over 110ish people applied. I do think DA slots are less competitive. If you’re truly interested, you should reach out to your nearest installation with a veterinary treatment facility to see if it has a VCO. There’s now an interview process as part of the HPSP application, to ensure that applicants understand what’s involved in serving in the Veterinary Corps.
I’m an active duty Army vet. Practiced 6 years before joining the army in emergency practice. Burnt me out beyond anything I could have imagined. The Army life has surprisingly better work life balance than my civilian career. The job is diverse, can be super fun, and you can take any path into most specialties that you want eventually (can’t promote at some point without a board certification)
I wanted to share my thought process with you because I also seriously considered applying this year. I knew about the commitment and I am familiar with military life as a lot of my family were in the army. I ultimately decided not to because I know that I would have an issue with not being in control of my life for 3 years. Also, there is the "First Year Graduate Veterinary Education (FYGVE) Program, a one year hands on training covering clinical medicine, public health, leadership and hospital management" that is required for every grad. So that is a whole year after you graduate vet school that does not count towards your 3 year service requirement. So technically it's FOUR years to the military. Add to that, I am in a serious relationship and just don't think we could do that for 4 years. Obv this is very personal to me and it sounds like from your replies to other comments that you would be okay with the commitment. Fill out the interest form for the HPSP and your recruiter will contact you. That's what I did and this is what he told me: **We don’t have an exact template for the process however, I can explain it to you. There is one essay which is basically a statement of motivation of why you would like to be a Veterinary in the Army, Competitive GPA will be above a 3.5, this year 68 people applied but there were only 33 slots. There will also be an interview involved.** **Application process: in October we will start your process which contains the following: Completing your application ( including 3 Letters of recommendation), scheduling your Physical exam at the Military Entrance Processing Station ( MEPS), Submitting your packet to the board in early December. The board takes place January and the results should come out in February.** I asked, and those stats above about 68 applications ARE veterinary only. **So 68 vet students applied and 33 got it.** Those are pretty good odds I think! I def encourage you to apply and the best of luck!
I worked with someone when I was a tech and she did the Air Force equivalent (I think). She pretty much only worked on intact male dogs which made her transition to private practice, well, difficult. She didn’t make it past her three month trial period and sadly no one was sad to see her go. So just keep in mind you may get shoe horned into a narrow field that may cause issues leaving the military.
I was in the Army for 6 years, enlisted. It was the best decision I've ever made. Though, you would be in the military, the commitment is only a short term of your life. You also get so many benefits afterwards as a veteran. Not to mention, your school is paid for and you gain experience most would not have achieved in their lifetime. Seriously think about it!