Your HPSP questions, answered

The Army Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) is a premier, competitive scholarship for future Army physicians. It's merit-based: selection boards weigh leadership, activities, fitness, grades and scores, and not every applicant is selected. For students at an accredited MD or DO school, it pays tuition and required fees, adds a monthly stipend, and currently offers an optional sign-on bonus of up to $20,000 (which sets a 4-year minimum obligation). In return, you serve as an Army physician on active duty after you graduate and finish your training.
You owe at least one year of active duty for each scholarship year (2-year minimum; 4 with the bonus), within an 8-year total service obligation.

Sources: goarmy.com AMEDD scholarship page (accessed Sep 2026); AR 601-141; army.mil (14 Feb 2025).

No. HPSP is a scholarship in exchange for service. You owe at least one year of active duty for each year of scholarship (2-year minimum), and taking the sign-on bonus sets a 4-year minimum. HPSP also doesn't cover every living cost; see "What happens to my living costs?" below.

Sources: DoDI 6000.13; AR 601-141; Medical Recruiting Brigade (MRB) physicians page.

It depends on where you are on the road to medical school. This site is for anyone heading toward an MD or DO degree.

• Pre-med in college, or in a pre-med research or clinical internship: learn about HPSP now and build what selection boards look for: leadership, activities, fitness, grades and scores. Talk with a recruiter the year you apply to medical school.
• Applying to medical school this cycle (a college senior, a gap-year graduate, a post-bacc or special master's student, an NIH postbac, or working in research, a clinic or a hospital): start now. A packet usually takes 90 days or more, and for a 4-year scholarship you can start before you're accepted.
• Accepted for fall 2027: apply right away. Scholarships are awarded on a rolling basis until slots are filled.
• First-year medical student (MS1): apply during MS1 for a 3-year scholarship.
• Second-year medical student (MS2): apply early in MS2 for a 2-year scholarship.

The earlier you start, the more options you have. Boards meet about once a month, and your recruiter confirms exact dates.
Interested in nursing, dentistry, PA, pharmacy, veterinary medicine or another health career? This site covers the Medical Corps only. Start at goarmy.com, or email us and we'll point you to the right recruiter.

Sources: goarmy.com; USAREC AMEDD Accession Packet Preparation Checklist (UR 601-37.66, Version 4); army.mil (14 Feb 2025).

Army Health Care Recruiters at the Washington DC Medical Recruiting Station (MDW Medical Recruiting Company). This is our station's working site. It is not an official U.S. Army website. Official program information is on goarmy.com, and your official program documents and contract govern your terms.

• Tuition: full tuition for up to 4 years.
• Required fees, books and equipment: required school fees, plus required books and equipment. A school can't bill the Army for costs it doesn't charge all students.
• Monthly stipend: $3,113 a month (effective 1 Jul 2026).
• Annual training pay: 45 days of active duty training each year, paid at O-1 (second lieutenant) rate with full pay and allowances. 2026 O-1 basic pay (2 years of service or less) is $4,150.20 a month, about $6,225 for 45 days before allowances.
• Sign-on bonus: up to $20,000 for medical students. Taxable.

Sources: goarmy.com (accessed Sep 2026); DoD FMR Vol 7A Ch 60; DFAS HPSP stipend table (updated 10 Jul 2026); DFAS 2026 officer basic pay table; 10 USC 2121.

$3,113 a month, effective 1 Jul 2026. The rate resets each 1 July. It's paid during school and breaks. It isn't paid during your 45 days of annual training, because you receive O-1 pay and allowances instead. Some older pages still show $2,999, last year's rate.

Sources: DFAS HPSP stipend table (updated 10 Jul 2026); 10 USC 2121.

• goarmy.com lists up to $20,000 for medical students, and the Medical Recruiting Brigade lists Medical Corps applicants as eligible at any scholarship length.
• The bonus is taxable and paid in three installments.
• Taking it sets a 4-year minimum active duty obligation, whatever your scholarship length. It runs at the same time as your scholarship obligation, not on top of it.
• Bonus terms are set by the Army and can change, so confirm the current amount with your recruiter.

Sources: goarmy.com; recruiting.army.mil/MRB_Physicians (accessed Sep 2026).

Ask your recruiter whether HPSP covers your school's required health insurance. To be safe, the calculator counts health insurance as a cost you pay.

The stipend and the bonus are taxable income. Qualified tuition and required fees are generally not taxable. Every situation is different, so talk to a tax professional.

Sources: IRC section 117; goarmy.com and MRB (bonus is taxable).

HPSP doesn't pay rent or food directly. Your stipend and training pay go toward them. Schools in high-cost cities, and clinical years with 12-month budgets, can have living costs above the stipend. The calculator shows any gap for your school.

• Active duty: at least one year for each year of scholarship, with a 2-year minimum. If you take the sign-on bonus, the minimum becomes 4 years. The bonus and scholarship obligations overlap; they aren't added together.
• Total military service obligation: 8 years in total, counting active duty. Any remaining years are served in the Individual Ready Reserve, an inactive reserve status.

Sources: DoDI 6000.13 Encl 3; AR 601-141 para 2-3; MRB physicians page.

No. Time in an internship or residency doesn't pay down your HPSP obligation. A military residency also adds its own obligation (one half year for each half year of training, 2-year minimum). Ask your recruiter to confirm how the two combine for you before you sign.

Sources: DoDI 6000.13 Encl 3.

In school, you're an Army Reserve second lieutenant (a student officer). At graduation, you become a Medical Corps captain.

Sources: USAREC Reg 601-37; AR 601-141 para 2-5; MRB physicians page; Army ROTC Medical Corps Scholar Guide (Apr 2026).

• You apply for Army first-year graduate medical education (the military residency match).
• Students not selected may be allowed to postpone active duty and complete a civilian residency first.
• More than 95% of HPSP and Uniformed Services University graduates (combined) train in military hospitals.
• Specialty, residency selection, location and assignment are competitive and not guaranteed.

Sources: AR 601-141 para 2-6; Army ROTC Medical Corps Scholar Guide (Apr 2026).

The basics:

• accepted to, or enrolled full time at, an accredited MD or DO school in the U.S. or Puerto Rico (online programs don't qualify)
• a U.S. citizen by the time you're commissioned (ask your recruiter about timing)
• no other scholarship or commitment that obligates you to serve someone other than the Army
• no unfinished obligation from another DoD-sponsored program
• able to pass a commissioning physical and complete the required security forms

Age limits and academic minimums can change. Ask your recruiter for the current Army standards; we only publish numbers we've confirmed.

Sources: goarmy.com; AR 601-141 para 2-1; DoDI 6000.13 Encl 3.

2, 3 or 4 years.

• 4-year: usually students accepted for the coming fall.
• 3-year: current MS1s.
• 2-year: current MS2s.

Sources: army.mil (14 Feb 2025).

Your recruiter gives you the current official checklist and walks you through it. A Medical Corps HPSP packet includes:

• the HPSP application, which includes your statement of motivation
• all college transcripts (including transfer credit) and your MCAT score report
• your acceptance letter, or, for a 4-year scholarship, a signed list of the schools you applied to (3-year applicants also need a dean's letter)
• 3 to 5 letters of recommendation, dated within a year of the board
• a commissioning physical, at a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) or a military treatment facility
• identity documents such as your birth certificate, Social Security card and driver's license
• security forms (SF 86) and fingerprints
• prior service records, if you've served

Start the physical and the security forms right away, because they take the longest.

Sources: USAREC AMEDD Accession Packet Preparation Checklist (UR 601-37.66, Version 4); USAREC Reg 601-37.

Selection boards include at least three field-grade officers (majors through colonels) from the Army Medical Department corps you're applying to; at least one has program-director experience. Boards weigh leadership, extracurricular activities, fitness, grades and scores. Selection is competitive and not guaranteed. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until slots are filled.

Sources: AR 601-141 para 2-8; army.mil (Feb 2025); goarmy.com.

Boards look at the whole person. Strong packets usually show:

• Leadership: roles where you led people or projects, with results
• Activities and service: sustained clinical, research or community work
• Fitness: a commitment to physical fitness; officers must meet Army fitness standards
• Grades and scores: your GPA and MCAT
• Strong letters: 3 to 5 letters of recommendation from people who know your work
• A clear statement of motivation: why you want to serve as an Army physician

Your recruiter can review your packet with you before it goes to the board.

Sources: army.mil (14 Feb 2025); USAREC AMEDD Accession Packet Preparation Checklist (UR 601-37.66, Version 4).

Be careful with cutoffs you find online. Some widely shared HPSP minimums and "automatic selection" numbers belong to other services' programs, and the Army's criteria can differ. We only publish Army standards after we confirm them, so ask your Army recruiter for the current Army criteria.

A complete packet usually takes 90 days or more from start to board, and boards meet about once a month. Your recruiter confirms exact dates.
Key AAMC dates for MD applicants in the fall 2027 class (DO schools set their own):

• 15 Oct 2026: first MD acceptances
• 19 Feb 2027: Plan to Enroll opens
• 30 Apr 2027: Commit to Enroll milestone
• Jul–Aug 2027: orientation

Talk to a recruiter early, while you're applying or as soon as you're accepted. Don't wait until orientation.

Sources: AAMC application timeline; station board schedule (confirm with your recruiter).

You can start. For a 4-year scholarship, the packet checklist accepts a signed list of the schools you applied to if you don't have an acceptance letter yet. You still need an acceptance to an accredited MD or DO school to use the scholarship, so your recruiter will explain how the timing works for your board. Because packets take months, starting early helps.

Sources: USAREC AMEDD Accession Packet Preparation Checklist (UR 601-37.66, Version 4); goarmy.com.

Yes, if you're applying to MD or DO schools for fall 2027. Many applicants are working a gap year, for example as:

• NIH postbacs, clinical research coordinators, or HJF, WRAIR, FDA or ORISE fellows
• scribes, ED techs or EMTs
• post-bacc and special master's students, AmeriCorps and other service-year volunteers, or MCAT tutors

If you're in the Washington DC area now, it's easiest to start before you move away for school.

Not if you're an MS1 or MS2. MS1s can apply for a 3-year scholarship and MS2s for a 2-year scholarship. We try not to contact students during exam blocks or Step 1 study, so reach out whenever it works for you.

Yes, it's smart to compare. All three services offer HPSP, and the monthly stipend is the same DoD-wide rate. Obligations and bonus terms differ; for example, the Navy's minimum obligation is 3 years. Ask each service's recruiter for current terms. We'll give you straight facts about the Army program.

Sources: DFAS stipend table; med.navy.mil (accessed Sep 2026).

You attend the medical school you're admitted to, like any other student. You don't wear a uniform to class, and you won't be pulled away from school for deployments. Each year includes 45 days of paid active duty training: usually officer training (the Basic Officer Leader Course at Joint Base San Antonio–Fort Sam Houston, Texas) early on, and later, clinical rotations at Army hospitals. Your recruiter confirms when you'll attend officer training. See the HPSP process for every step.

Sources: army.mil (14 Feb 2025); Army Medical Center of Excellence (MEDCoE) BOLC page; AR 601-141 para 2-4.

You become a Medical Corps captain. If you're selected for a military residency, you go on active duty then; if you're delayed to a civilian residency, you go on active duty after it. You apply for residency through the military match, and more than 95% of HPSP and Uniformed Services University graduates (combined) train in military hospitals. Military residents are on active duty, and federal pay law entitles active-duty officers to basic pay plus tax-free housing and food allowances, with health care. After training, you serve as an Army physician until your obligation is complete. Then you can choose to stay or move to civilian practice. Specialty, residency selection and location are competitive and not guaranteed.

Sources: Medical Recruiting Brigade physicians page; Army ROTC Medical Corps Scholar Guide (Apr 2026); Defense Health Agency GME (29 Jun 2026); DFAS 2026 pay tables; IRS Publication 3.

Not while you're in medical school. After medical school, like every Soldier, Army physicians can deploy. The Army says its medical officers "would not typically be part of or very near combat operations," and field surgeons, who serve with units, are the most forward physicians.

Sources: army.mil (14 Feb 2025); goarmy.com Army medical careers page (accessed Oct 2026).

For new borrowers starting 1 Jul 2026:

• Grad PLUS loans ended. Grad PLUS was the second federal loan medical students used to cover whatever their basic federal loan didn't, up to the school's full cost of attendance.
• New caps: medical and other professional students can borrow at most $50,000 a year and $200,000 in total in federal Direct Unsubsidized loans.
• Who's covered by the old rules: only students already enrolled by 30 Jun 2026 who had already received a federal Direct Loan for that program, and only for up to 3 more academic years or the rest of the program, whichever is shorter.

If you start medical school in fall 2027, all four years of your borrowing fall under the new limits.

Sources: P.L. 119-21; U.S. Department of Education (6 Nov 2025); AAMC (21 Jul 2026); studentaid.gov.

Until 1 Jul 2026, medical students could use two federal loans:

• Direct Unsubsidized loans: the basic federal student loan, with a yearly limit.
• Grad PLUS loans: a second federal loan that covered whatever was left, up to the school's full cost of attendance (minus any other aid). It was the more expensive of the two. For 2026-27, Grad PLUS carries a 9.07% interest rate and a 4.228% fee, versus 8.07% and 1.057% for Direct Unsubsidized.

"Grad PLUS ended" means new borrowers can't use it anymore. For fall 2027 starters, the only federal loan left is Direct Unsubsidized, capped at $50,000 a year and $200,000 in total. Anything your school costs above that has to come from somewhere else: private loans, family money, school aid or a scholarship.

Sources: P.L. 119-21; Federal Student Aid (rates and fees, 4 Jun and 13 May 2026); AACOM (25 Jun 2026).

Published 4-year cost of attendance at Washington DC schools (2026-27 budgets):

• Howard: $410,224
• Georgetown: $479,414
• George Washington: $484,274

Against the $200,000 federal maximum, that leaves about $210,000 to $284,000 to cover with private loans, family money or school aid. Nationally, the median 4-year cost of attendance for the Class of 2026 was $297,745 at public schools and $408,150 at private schools. Schools raise costs most years, so fall 2027 starters will likely pay more.

Sources: each school's official 2026-27 cost of attendance page; AAMC Debt, Costs, and Loan Repayment Fact Card.

For 2026-27, federal Direct Unsubsidized loans for graduate and professional students carry an 8.07% interest rate and a 1.057% origination fee (a fee taken out of each loan when it's paid out). Private loan rates vary by lender and credit. The calculator uses 9% as an estimate you can change. Rates are set each year, so loans for fall 2027 will use the 2027-28 rate.

Sources: Federal Student Aid (4 Jun and 13 May 2026).

Interest starts the day a loan is paid out, including the years you're still in school. A loan from year 1 grows for about four years before you graduate, so you owe more than you borrowed by graduation. The calculator estimates your balance at graduation with that interest included.

Sources: Federal Student Aid; HPSP Value Calculator method (simple interest from mid-year disbursement to graduation).

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) still exists, and qualifying payments you make during residency can count toward it. The new federal Repayment Assistance Plan sets payments at 1% to 10% of income, forgives any balance left after 30 years, and counts toward PSLF. Private loans don't qualify for PSLF or income-driven repayment.

Sources: ed.gov (11 Jun 2026); AAMC; AACOM; studentaid.gov PSLF.

Pick your school and scholarship length. You'll see a side-by-side comparison:

• Tuition and required fees: $0 with HPSP, because the Army pays them.
• Living costs: these stay the same either way.
• Stipend and training pay: with HPSP, these go toward living costs.
• Estimated debt at graduation: with and without HPSP.
• Your service obligation: always shown.

30 schools are preloaded from their official 2026-27 budgets: 8 Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia schools, 16 top-ranked MD schools nationally, and 6 U.S. News-ranked DO schools. For any other school, choose "Other school" and enter its official numbers.
Open the calculator.

Georgetown University School of Medicine, 4-year scholarship (calculator estimates):

• Without HPSP: about $561,570 in debt at graduation, with interest.
• With HPSP: about $5,511 in debt at graduation, with interest. It comes from the years when budgeted living costs and health insurance run higher than the stipend and training pay.
• Obligation: a 4-year active duty obligation.

These are planning estimates. Your numbers depend on your choices and the loans you use.

Sources: HPSP Value Calculator, run 1 Oct 2026 (Georgetown 2026-27 budget; default rates).

At those schools, budgeted living costs plus health insurance (which the calculator counts as your cost) are higher than the stipend and training pay. That's most common in high-cost cities and in 12-month clinical years. The calculator also doesn't carry extra stipend from one year into the next.

Not every school has published a complete 2026-27 budget. Choose "Other school" and enter the numbers from your school's official cost-of-attendance page, or email us and we'll look at adding it.

• School costs: each school's official 2026-27 cost-of-attendance page (linked in the calculator).
• Program figures: DFAS, goarmy.com and the U.S. Department of Education.

All figures were verified 23–25 Sep 2026. These are estimates for planning; official terms come from your recruiter and your contract.

Book a 30-minute appointment, in person or on Microsoft Teams, on our booking page, or send us an email.

In the first conversation we cover:

• your goals and school plans
• the cost math for your school
• the service obligation
• a quick fit check: MD or DO path, timing, U.S. citizenship and no other service obligation

If HPSP fits, we connect you with the Army health care recruiter who will guide your application.

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