I'm entering my senior year of college and will have my BSN by this time next year. I have more than one reason for wanting join the military. As I approach graduation, College Loan Repayment, Future Education opportunities and Salary are some of my biggest concerns at the moment. I will eventually go and talk with a medical recruiter but I'd like to go in somewhat informed as I don't know much about these areas. Please bear with my questions and I appreciate any help you can give!
I hope with these questions I don't come off the wrong way. These areas of concern that I express are not the only reasons why I'm considering joining the military. As I prepare to graduate and enter the real world these are major concerns in my life right now. How sweet it would be to be able to serve my country all the while simultaneously furthering my career.
College Loans:
1. I read on both the Army and Air Force websites that new-grads can qualify for up to $120,000 in loan repayment over 3 years (max $40k per year). Does this mean they will pay all loans up to $120k? (I will have approximately $90k in loans total from a state college by the time I graduate if that matters)
2. Is there any "catch" to loan repayment? (ie for every year the military repays my loans do I owe the military a certain # of active duty years in return, etc.)
Future Education:
1. My goal after graduation is to become a CRNA or possibly an NP. Will joining the military hinder or benefit me in any way to achieve that goal? (will I be put on a track to achieve this goal such as being positioned in a critical care setting and gaining experience to ready me for grad school)
2. Does the military have their own exclusive CRNA or NP program or will I attend a civilian grad school?
3. Will the military pay for grad school as well as continue paying my normal salary?
4. Similar to my loan repayment question, is there a "catch" for the military putting me through grad school? (ie for every year of grad school they put me through I owe in return a certain # of active duty year, etc.)
Salary:
1. Is the salary for all officers the same or is there a differential for nurses? (After looking at the Officer pay grade chart I've noticed that the salary for an O-1 is almost 1/3 what some of my friends are making in the civilian world with their BSN) This is not such a big deal when considering loan repayment, grad school costs, etc. but it is an area I'm a little cloudy on.
2. Does salary and loan repayment become intertwined/overlap in any way or are they two separate entities? (ie if the military is repaying my college loans will I receive a lower salary?)
What determines the amount a soldier's base pay is taxed? (ie where you're stationed, single/married, etc). Where can I find info on how to calculate how much I would be taxed?
You may be eligible for an sign-on bonus of $20,000 or $30,000.
ACTIVE DUTY HEALTH PROFESSIONS LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM (ADHPLRP)
As a participant in this program, you can qualify for up to $120,000 to repay your nursing school loans. Under this three-year program, you could receive up to $40,000 annually for qualifying educational loans. You may opt to accept both the an accession bonus of $10,000 and the ADHPLRP.
SPECIAL PAY
Provides up to $30,000 ($10,000 per year for a maximum of three years) to nurses with a BSN, MSN, DNSc or Ph.D. in nursing."
Army vs. Air Force Questions
Although all branches of the military share the same base pay for similar ranks, the Army pays nurses $10k more per year, and offer up to $120k for school loans (vs. Air force's $40k). Does this indicate they currently have a higher demand for nurses, or does the Army simply have more resources?
Does anyone have info regarding the commitment requirements for the Army as it applies to School Loan Repayment and Bonuses?
Are there any benefits for a nurse to joining one branch of military over another?
It seems the Army offers much more as far as loan repayment for someone in my position. I'm assuming there's a hidden tradeoff here. Judging by casual conversations I've had with my sister I get the feeling the Army will be less "understanding" toward my career goals, whereas the Air Force will provide more opportunities to put myself in the right positions to pursue my CRNA (ccu experience, grad school, etc.). I have no valid reason for that claim. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
On the other hand, the Army may make graduate school more pursue-able due to their higher demand of nurses and probably specialized nurses. Or the exact opposite, "Graduate school is not an option right now, we need you as a nurse".
what determines the amount a soldier's base pay is taxed? (ie where you're stationed, single/married, etc). where can i find info on how to calculate how much i would be taxed?
what is not taxed is allowances, ie housing, food. base pay, bonus, student loan repayments etc are taxed. the only time they are not taxed is when you are in a combat or certain hazardous duty stations, they you pay no taxes as long as you do not make for the senior enlisted member of the service. unless you have not been in for a while and picked up some rank this is not a issue
you may be eligible for an sign-on bonus of $20,000 or $30,000.
active duty health professions loan repayment program (adhplrp)
as a participant in this program, you can qualify for up to $120,000 to repay your nursing school loans. under this three-year program, you could receive up to $40,000 annually for qualifying educational loans. you may opt to accept both the an accession bonus of $10,000 and the adhplrp.
special pay
provides up to $30,000 ($10,000 per year for a maximum of three years) to nurses with a bsn, msn, dnsc or ph.d. in nursing."
this is valid info, but unless you speak with a recruiter you do not know if it applies to you or not.
army vs. air force questions
although all branches of the military share the same base pay for similar ranks, the army pays nurses $10k more per year, and offer up to $120k for school loans (vs. air force's $40k). does this indicate they currently have a higher demand for nurses, or does the army simply have more resources? as far as "pay" the army or any other service does not pay anymore then the other. it is based on rank and time in service. as far as bonuses that depends on each service and you degree you have along with your speciality. i can tell you from personal experience that i am not recieving anymore pay then a o3e in the af or navy with the same number of years. the army does have what is called isp and that is if you are ceritified in your area of expertise ie cen, ccrn, corn, etc and it can be as high as 20k a year with a 4 year commentment. just because a bonus is available to today does not mean it will be available tomorrow.
does anyone have info regarding the commitment requirements for the army as it applies to school loan repayment and bonuses? student loan repayment is 2 years i believe and bonus depends on what bonus and how much. you need to speak with a healthcare recruiter about the bonuses since they change all the time.
are there any benefits for a nurse to joining one branch of military over another? depends on what you want. i know it is not a good answer but you need to investigate each service and see what it has to offer you.
it seems the army offers much more as far as loan repayment for someone in my position. i'm assuming there's a hidden tradeoff here. judging by casual conversations i've had with my sister i get the feeling the army will be less "understanding" toward my career goals, whereas the air force will provide more opportunities to put myself in the right positions to pursue my crna (ccu experience, grad school, etc.). i have no valid reason for that claim. please correct me if i'm wrong. can not speak for the af but the army offered 24 or 25 slots for crna and did not recieve enough "qualified" applicants and only gave about 20 of the slots.
on the other hand, the army may make graduate school more pursue-able due to their higher demand of nurses and probably specialized nurses. or the exact opposite, "graduate school is not an option right now, we need you as a nurse".
each year the army allows x number of nurses attend graduate school as their job. the exact number depends on the needs at the time and what typed of program you apply for. a example is crna they had more applications then slots, but see above, and less then the number offered for nursing informatics.
pooh, ugghhhh my recruiter tells me different. I am signing for three years and I WILL receive tuition reimbursement
No, you actually won't. As I said, the information I have for the Air Force came from the Air Force Personnel Center.
For three years you get nothing except a guaranteed paycheck.
EDIT: I'm going to edit myself and I'm going to leave my mistake in my above words intact.
I read 'loan repayment' and not 'tuition reimbursement'. I apologize.
YES, you WILL get tuition reimbursement. Every single member of the Air Force gets that regardless of how long they signed for or how long they've been in (after a year, that is). I took $40K in loan repayment and I still get tuition reimbursement. Everyone is eligible for that.
You will not get student loan repayment with a three year contract. Student loan repayment means your student loan balance disappears.
Tuition reimbursement means you go to school while you're on active duty and the Air Force pays the bill as long as you maintain a specific GPA. It does not mean they repay your student loans. You'll be paying that bill.
According to my recruiter, the current bonuses/loan repayment options for nurses are:
$40k loan repayment - 3 year commitment (Your loans are not paid off in one lump sum. You provide the AF with all of your loan info, prioritize which loan you want paid first, and they make payments to your loan each month. The $40k is taxed, so it won't actually pay $40k of your loans).
$30k bonus - 4 year commitment, paid in lump sum (minus taxes)
$40k loan repayment AND $20k bonus - 6 year commitment
Of course these are all for FY10, so it could change.
I just completed my packet this week, so I know these are valid.
According to my recruiter, the current bonuses/loan repayment options for nurses are:
$40k loan repayment - 3 year commitment (Your loans are not paid off in one lump sum. You provide the AF with all of your loan info, prioritize which loan you want paid first, and they make payments to your loan each month. The $40k is taxed, so it won't actually pay $40k of your loans).
$30k bonus - 4 year commitment, paid in lump sum (minus taxes)
$40k loan repayment AND $20k bonus - 6 year commitment
Of course these are all for FY10, so it could change.
I just completed my packet this week, so I know these are valid.
Do you have this in writing? The reason I'm asking is I came under FY10 and this also isn't what AFPC is currently stating (although God knows they've been wrong before). I'm intrigued by the 3 year, $40K loan repayment. It's odd for a service to switch repayment schemes midyear, especially since there's a severe shortage of student loan funds anyway and many people aren't having their loan repayment confirmed until after they're at OTS.
It would be odd for a service to offer more money for less time as well - especially since there's no shortage of applicants right now and they're not having attrition problems.
My concern is that you're not being given correct information; this isn't a personal attack on you, so please don't take it that way. If it IS correct, I'd like to know it, so I can re-contact AFPC and find out what's actually the case so I know what I'm saying and am being told is correct.
FY11 will start 1 October. Is there a chance this is actually when this offer starts?
Anyone else get this sort of offer (for FY10 - which is 1 October 2009 through 30 September 2010)?
Anyone else get this sort of offer (for FY10 - which is 1 October 2009 through 30 September 2010)?
Now please don't quote me on this, but I am pretty sure what I was told in July 2009 was:
3 year: $30,000 bonus
4 year: $40,000 loan repayment
6 year: Both
I am going to COT in August and will be doing the 6 years and was told that I would be getting $40,000 loan and $20,000 bonus. Obviously I don't know anything for sure for sure yet, but that is what I have been told.
everything should be in writing and not just verbal at the time of contract.. and always bear in mind those amounts are prior to fed taxes which run about 28% on on your bonuses... and make sure your loans are qualified for the loan repayment.
Yes, I have it in writing. You're right in that there are less funds for loan repayment, and you have to wait for it to be approved. I waived the bonus and applied for the loan repayment, although I have been debating whether I should change it or not. If I am not mistaken, I was told that the August Board is the first board for FY11 and that I should have no problem getting the loan repayment approved.
Now please don't quote me on this, but I am pretty sure what I was told in July 2009 was:
3 year: $30,000 bonus
4 year: $40,000 loan repayment
6 year: Both
I am going to COT in August and will be doing the 6 years and was told that I would be getting $40,000 loan and $20,000 bonus. Obviously I don't know anything for sure for sure yet, but that is what I have been told.
This is what AFPC is currently stating, except if you take the loan repayment, it's a $20K bonus (which is what I received). I'll do some digging at AFPC and find out if the status of this stuff has changed for FY11; again, I'm intrigued by an increase in bonus when their retention is at an all-time high with no shortage of applicants.
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carolinapooh, BSN, RN
3,577 Posts
No problem - I know each service is different. I keep seeing the AF misquoted though, so if I jumped to the wrong conclusion I apologize.