USAFA vs ARMY ROTC

B

brownabigal.rose

5-Year Member
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First, BEFORE ANYTHING, I need to address the two different branches. I went to the USAFA Seminar and my brother has an Army ROTC scholarship. Therefore, I applied to only the USAFA and only for an army ROTC scholarship and figured I would choose the one that wanted me...however.

I have received an appointment to the USAFA for the class of 2019, AND I was awarded a four year Army ROTC scholarship to my dream civy school, University of Illinois.

(Btw I am a female, if that matters)

Anyways...it has been my dream over anything to become a surgeon. I have done a copious amount of medical programs over the summers to validate that this is the career path I want and it is. I am torn between the academy and ROTC. I feel as if ROTC would put be in a better position because I would be part of the army and later on being a surgeon would make most sense. Yet the academy is something i've wanted forever.

I feel as if need to get ROTC and the academy out of the way, and pick which branch is better suited for me.

Any advice?
 
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Honestly, neither program has super high statistics for getting people directly to med school. What's your plan B?
 
If you don't get to pursue medical school until after your time in the service, which one do you find more appealing? You'd be looking at a minimum of 5 years in the AF, or 4 in the Army (assuming you were selected for active duty in the Army) during which time you'd be performing the duties of a junior officer. Only a small % actually go to medical school immediately after graduation. If that is the case for you, do you see yourself as an AF officer or an Army officer? Have you looked at branch choices or career fields besides medicine?

I'm not clear on how the AF does it, but for Army at least, if you only desire to be a doctor and do not want to take a chance on "having" to serve in a different field, you're better of skipping ROTC altogether and applying for the HPSP after you've been accepted to medical school. You receive funding for medical school, a stipend to live on, and commissioning upon graduation. You should check out all your options before committing to anything.
 
Jcc123 said:
If you don't get to pursue medical school until after your time in the service, which one do you find more appealing? You'd be looking at a minimum of 5 years in the AF, or 4 in the Army (assuming you were selected for active duty in the Army) during which time you'd be performing the duties of a junior officer. Only a small % actually go to medical school immediately after graduation. If that is the case for you, do you see yourself as an AF officer or an Army officer? Have you looked at branch choices or career fields besides medicine?

I'm not clear on how the AF does it, but for Army at least, if you only desire to be a doctor and do not want to take a chance on "having" to serve in a different field, you're better of skipping ROTC altogether and applying for the HPSP after you've been accepted to medical school. You receive funding for medical school, a stipend to live on, and commissioning upon graduation. You should check out all your options before committing to anything.
Click to expand...

Very informative, thank you.
 
Look into COT/OCS. I dont believe it will pay for undergrad, but in some cases they pay for grad school and give you a job afterwards.
 
By PlanB, you could consider non-military related, unless you are first set on a military career, and secondly on a medical career.

You realize, I trust, that at USAFA, you will take Engineering courses, whether it's what you like or will "use" in the future, or not.
 
My son has the same choice to make. He is going for engineering, and he likes both branches. A very tough choice indeed. Right now I think ROTC is the way he is leaning.
 
Here's a way to make it really easy:

Air Force has the best housing and golf courses.

There. Decision made.
 
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