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Financials · Army HPSP · Medical Corps (MD & DO)
Paying for medical school, and what Army physicians earn
The 2026 federal loan changes, what HPSP is worth at your school, and how Army physician pay and benefits compare with the civilian path. HPSP is a competitive scholarship, and it comes with a service commitment.
100%of tuition and required fees, for up to 4 years (ask about student health insurance)
$3,113monthly stipend, effective 1 Jul 2026 (taxable)
Up to $20Koptional sign-on bonus (taxable; sets a 4-year minimum)
Year for yearactive duty owed for each scholarship year, after residency training (2-year minimum)
Sources: goarmy.com; DFAS HPSP stipend table (10 Jul 2026); DoDI 6000.13.
Starting medical school in fall 2027?
The federal loan rules changed. Here's what that means for you.
A new federal law (P.L. 119-21) changed how graduate and professional students borrow, starting 1 July 2026. Until then, medical students had two federal loans. The basic one (Direct Unsubsidized) had a yearly limit, and a second one, called Grad PLUS, covered whatever was left, up to the school's full cost of attendance. Grad PLUS has ended for new borrowers. Now the federal government will lend a medical student at most $50,000 a year and $200,000 in total.
If you start medical school in fall 2027, all four years of your borrowing fall under the new limits. At Washington DC schools, the published 4-year cost is more than $400,000, so most students will need another way to cover the difference. This section walks through the numbers step by step.
$50K / yrmost you can borrow in federal Direct Unsubsidized loans each year
$200K totalmost you can borrow in federal loans for all of medical school
Grad PLUS endedthe federal loan that covered the rest of the cost of school, closed to new borrowers on 1 Jul 2026
$410K–$484Kpublished 4-year cost of attendance at DC medical schools (2026-27)
1
What changed
| Students who started before 1 Jul 2026* | You, starting fall 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| Grad PLUS loans the second federal loan that covered whatever the basic loan didn't | Available, up to the school's cost of attendance minus other aid | Not available |
| Federal Direct Unsubsidized loans | Available | Up to $50,000 a year and $200,000 total |
| Most the federal government will lend you | Up to the full cost of attendance | $200,000, no matter what your school costs |
*The old rules continue only for students who were already enrolled by 30 Jun 2026 and 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. Fall 2027 starters don't qualify.
2
The gap at DC schools
Here is each school's own published 4-year cost of attendance (tuition, fees, housing, food, insurance and other costs in the school's budget), minus the $200,000 federal maximum. What's left is the amount a student would have to cover some other way.
| School (2026-27 budget) | 4-year cost of attendance | Federal maximum | Gap to cover another way |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard University College of Medicine | $410,224 | −$200,000 | $210,224 |
| Georgetown University School of Medicine | $479,414 | −$200,000 | $279,414 |
| George Washington University SMHS | $484,274 | −$200,000 | $284,274 |
- These are this year's prices. Schools raise costs most years, so fall 2027 starters will likely pay more.
- The $200,000 runs out at the end of year 4. If you add a research year or a dual degree, there's no federal borrowing room left for it.
- Your school may differ. The calculator has 30 schools, or enter any school's official numbers.
3
How students cover the gap
School scholarships and grants
Some schools have large aid programs. For example, NYU Grossman gives every MD student a full-tuition scholarship, and Johns Hopkins covers tuition for families earning under $300,000. Ask each school what it offers and what family income information it needs.
Family help or savings
Money from family or your own savings reduces what you borrow. The calculator has a "family help per year" box so you can see the effect.
Military scholarships
The Army, Navy and Air Force each offer the Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP). It pays tuition and required fees and adds a monthly stipend, in exchange for serving as a military physician. It's competitive. See step 5 for how the Army program fits.
4
What borrowing really costs, in plain language
Interest starts the day the loan is paid out
Federal Direct Unsubsidized loans charge interest from the first day, including all the years you're in school. For loans first paid out between 1 Jul 2026 and 30 Jun 2027 the rate is 8.07%. Each federal loan keeps its rate for life; next year's loans get next year's rate.
$50,000 × 8.07%≈ $4,035 of interest a yearabout $11 a day, on one year's loan
Interest builds up before you graduate
Your first-year loan is paid out in year 1 and keeps growing until you graduate; on average, first-year money grows for about three and a half years. Loans from later years grow for less time.
$4,035 a year × 3.5 years≈ $14,100 of intereston the year-1 loan alone, before you graduate
Borrowing the full federal $200,000
If you borrowed $50,000 in each of the four years at today's 8.07% rate, interest builds on each loan from the time it's paid out until graduation.
$200,000 borrowed + about $32,300 of interest≈ $232,300 owed at graduationbefore any private loans for the gap (estimate; simple interest from mid-year)
Fees and capitalization
Origination fee: the government keeps 1.057% of each federal loan when it's paid out. Capitalization: when unpaid interest is added to your balance, you start paying interest on that interest. Ask your lender when that happens on your loans.
$50,000 loan − 1.057% fee≈ $49,470 reaches youyou still repay the full $50,000
After graduation, the new federal Repayment Assistance Plan sets payments at 1% to 10% of income and forgives any balance left after 30 years, and PSLF still exists for federal loans; qualifying payments you make during residency can count toward it. Private loans have neither option.
5
Where Army HPSP fits
If you're selected for HPSP, the Army pays your tuition and required fees, so you don't borrow for them. You also receive a monthly stipend of $3,113 (effective 1 Jul 2026) and about $6,225 of training pay for 45 days of active duty training each year. The stipend pauses while you're on training, so a year works out to about $32,700 in stipend (about 10.5 months × $3,113) plus about $6,225 in training base pay (allowances extra): roughly $38,900 a year, before taxes, toward housing, food and other living costs.
Any loans you'd still need come from living costs (and student health insurance, if HPSP doesn't cover it) that are higher than the stipend and training pay, which happens most at schools in high-cost cities.
In return, you serve. You owe at least one year of active duty as an Army physician for each year of scholarship (2-year minimum), and the optional sign-on bonus of up to $20,000 sets a 4-year minimum. HPSP is competitive, and selection isn't guaranteed.
Example: Georgetown, 4-year scholarship
Without HPSP≈ $561,570estimated debt at graduation
With HPSP≈ $5,511estimated debt at graduation
Plus a 4-year active duty obligation.
Calculator estimates using Georgetown's 2026-27 budget. "Without" assumes the full cost is borrowed: $200,000 federal at 8.07% and the rest private at 9%, with interest to graduation. Your numbers depend on your school and choices.
6
Questions to ask each school's financial aid office
- What is your cost of attendance for each year, and how much has it gone up recently?
- What scholarships or need-based grants do you offer, and do you need my parents' income information?
- What private lenders do your students use, and what rates are they getting?
- Is student health insurance required, and can it be waived if I have other coverage?
- How would an outside scholarship, like HPSP, change my aid package?
Sources: P.L. 119-21; U.S. Department of Education (6 Nov 2025) and Federal Student Aid (rates and fees, 4 Jun and 13 May 2026); AAMC (21 Jul 2026); Howard, Georgetown and GWU official 2026-27 cost-of-attendance budgets; NYU Grossman and Johns Hopkins aid pages; DFAS HPSP stipend table (10 Jul 2026) and 2026 officer basic pay; goarmy.com; DoDI 6000.13. Figures checked Sep 23–Oct 1, 2026.
What Army physicians earn
In a military residency, you're paid as an active-duty officer. (If you're deferred to a civilian residency, that program pays you until you go on active duty.) This pay is for the active duty service you owe. Here's what it looks like with 2026 rates, next to the civilian path.
First-year resident (PGY-1), 2026
| Army: first-year military resident | No dependents | With dependents |
|---|---|---|
| Basic pay, captain (O-3), under 2 years ($5,534.10 a month) | $66,409 | $66,409 |
| Housing allowance (BAH), Joint Base Lewis-McChord, tax-free | $33,408 | $37,476 |
| Food allowance (BAS), tax-free | $3,942 | $3,942 |
| Total per year | ≈ $103,759 | ≈ $107,827 |
Housing allowance depends on where you're stationed and whether you have dependents (such as a spouse or children); this example uses Joint Base Lewis-McChord, home of Madigan Army Medical Center. Civilian comparison: salaries vary by program; the AAMC's projected 2025 national average first-year resident stipend was about $67,400 (taxable).
Attending physician: specialty pays
| Specialty (examples) | Incentive pay, DoD maximum (FY2026) | Civilian median pay (BLS) |
|---|---|---|
| Family medicine | up to $43,000 | $244,180 |
| Internal medicine | up to $43,000 | $256,560 |
| Pediatrics | up to $43,000 | $210,040 |
| Psychiatry | up to $48,000 | $281,870 |
| Emergency medicine | up to $54,000 | $335,550 |
| OB/GYN | up to $60,000 | $292,910 |
| Orthopedic surgery | up to $66,000 | $358,550 |
Incentive pay is added on top of basic pay and tax-free allowances; it is not total pay. Amounts are FY2026 Department of Defense maximums for fully qualified physicians (DFAS); Army amounts can be lower and FY2027 amounts may differ. Board-certified physicians can also receive up to $8,000 a year, and retention bonuses require an additional service agreement. In 2026, a captain with over 4 years earns $7,382.70 a month in basic pay and a major with over 6 years earns $8,332.20. Civilian figures are BLS median annual pay, May 2025. Cash pay is usually higher in civilian practice; the Army path's value is no tuition debt for your scholarship years, tax-free allowances, benefits and a pension option, in exchange for your active duty service obligation.
Active duty Soldiers earn 2.5 days a month, 30 days a year, plus federal holidays.
TRICARE: active duty members pay nothing out of pocket. Families pay $0 to enroll in TRICARE Prime.
Housing (BAH) and food (BAS) allowances aren't taxed.
Thrift Savings Plan: the government adds 1% of basic pay after 60 days. After 2 years it also matches your own savings: put in 5% and the government's total contribution is 5%.
Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance: up to $500,000 of coverage for $26 a month.
Blended Retirement System: 2% × years served × the average of your highest 36 months of basic pay. Medical school years don't count.
Sources: DFAS 2026 officer basic pay, BAS and FY2026 Medical Corps special pay tables; Joint Base Lewis-McChord 2026 BAH chart; IRS Publication 3; AAMC sample resident budget (2025 projection); BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Physicians and Surgeons (May 2025 data, updated 27 Aug 2026); MyArmyBenefits; TRICARE (2026); tsp.gov; va.gov; 10 USC 2126. Checked 1 Oct 2026.
Ask a question
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Army Health Care Recruiters · Washington DC Medical Recruiting Station · MDW Medical Recruiting Company
What happens next
- A recruiter replies by email.
- If it helps, we set up a 30-minute conversation.
- If HPSP fits, a recruiter guides you through the application, step by step.