a. Payment of tuition, required fees, and approved book costs (paid directly to the university)
      b. Monthly stipend will be $1,907.00 for 10.5 months per scholarship year of $20,023.00 (taxable)
      c. Base pay during annual 45-day Active Duty Tour of $3,832.00 (taxable)
      d. Basic Allowance for Subsistence during 45-day Active Duty Tour of $304.00 (nontaxable)
      e. Basic Allowance for Housing during 45-day Active Duty Tour of $1,150.00 (nontaxable)

Total Gross Annual Income is: $25,309.00

Don't forget that you can also take out your usual student loans for living expenses.  At Creighton, you are allowed roughly $1,700 per month.  Adding this to the Scholarship amount, you will have about $65,000 for the first year (this includes the $20,000 bonus), and $45,000 per year after that.

Is it worth the money?

Many people begin looking at a military scholarship because of money.  Clearly, though, no one should take the scholarship for the money alone.  The military is not for everyone.  If the military is for you, it very comforting to not have the massive financial burden after graduating.  If you want to know why people choose this path, read what they have to say here, or just email someone in the program. 

What do I owe back?

If you are on a three year scholarship, you owe three years after completing your residency.  If you are on a four year scholarship, you owe four years after residency.  At this point, you will be in the reserves for 3 or 4 years (again, depending on your scholarship).  However, it is unlikely that you will be called for active duty during this time.  You are essentially done after your active duty time is up.  There are many people who wish to stay in for 20 years and retire.

What about deployment?

After residency, you will be available for deployment.  You will given a time period of 4 to 6 months to expect deployment.  At any point during this time period, you can be deployed.  You may get called up on the first day, or 3 months in.  You then serve until the end of that time period.  In other words, almost all cases result in a maximum of 6 months deployment.  Not everyone gets deployed.  Just because you're eligible doesn't mean you will go for sure.  Deployments can be anywhere, domestic or abroad.  Often they are part of a humanitarian effort, such as the tsunami of 2004 or hurricane Katrina.  Of course, the middle east is always a possibility, but don't forget that the military is stretched out all over the globe. 

Yes, it is frustrating having this uncertainty down the road.  However, if leaving everything behind for a few months to practice medicine sounds exciting, military medicine is a good match for you.

Do I have to do a military residency?

No.  However, you do have to apply to the military match first.  To fill all the required numbers, the selection board expects for HPSP students to go into both military and civilian positions available for each specialty.  You may indicate your preference for a civilian residency, but it is not guaranteed that you will get it.  If you are selected for a civilian residency, then you simply go through the civilian match (fill out your ERAS application, etc.).  If the selection board does not match you into your first or second choice of specialty, then you will do a transitional year and reapply the next year.  The benefit to this system is that you get more points on your application after doing a transitional year in the military system.  The opposite is true in the civilian world.

There are many reasons to prefer a military residency over a civilian (known as a deferred residency).  For instance, you are paid as an active duty Captain, which is considerably more than civilian counterparts (about a $25,000 difference).  There is no difference in the time you owe to the military between these two choices.   For more information on the process of applying to a residency, including civilian deferrals, click here.  There is also a new website (as of January 2009) all about Military Graduate Medical Education (residency). Click here to see it.

There is one other option, the 'civilian sponsored' residency.  These are rare, so maybe they aren't even worth mentioning.  If you do apply for one of these, you will do your residency wherever you are accepted in the civilian match, but will be paid the same as if you were on active duty.  The catch is that you now owe that many years above what you already owe on your contract.  In other words, you will now owe between 7 to 9 years.

How much will I be making during residency and after?

The way you will be paid when you are a practicing military physician can be very confusing.  you are paid a basic pay, basic housing allowance, basic subsistence allowance, and up to 5 additional pays for being a physician.  Here is a pay chart which shows your income if you go into family practice with the Air Force, just as an example.  The information includes your residency, four year "payback", as well as four additional year for those who continue on in their military career. 

Just as in the civilian world, primary care generally receives less compensation.  You will be paid more depending on your specialty.