Med School

T

tcas26

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What does it take to go from WP to Med school? I've read that they take 2% of the graduating class but I'd like to know the exact details, i'm still confused. How competitive is it? Will the 4 years of med school add on another 4 years of active duty and reserve? Becoming a military surgeon has always been a life long dream of mine.

Thanks
 
Med services is very competitive at WP. By law it is limited, So Cadets who enter a major of health sciences are identified way early on in there academics. (towards the end of there Plebe year) By the time they get to Cow year, there are about 40 to 45 who have survived and then they list cuts in half then half again. The department head who hold the keys to select those who go on to Hopkins Med school is a civilian and very picky. (politics) So those who are selected are usually in the top 5% or less in the class.

In my opinion, seeking med school through the Army is not very efficient. You may be better off with ROTC.

Please take a look at how branching works. It can be done!!

https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/branch-night.52148/page-2

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
tug_boat said:
Med services is very competitive at WP. By law it is limited, So Cadets who enter a major of health sciences are identified way early on in there academics. (towards the end of there Plebe year) By the time they get to Cow year, there are about 40 to 45 who have survived and then they list cuts in half then half again. The department head who hold the keys to select those who go on to Hopkins Med school is a civilian and very picky. (politics) So those who are selected are usually in the top 5% or less in the class.

In my opinion, seeking med school through the Army is not very efficient. You may be better off with ROTC.

Please take a look at how branching works. It can be done!!

https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/branch-night.52148/page-2

Push Hard, Press Forward
Click to expand...

Thanks for your feedback. I was reading some statistics and saw that some classes did not fill up the 2% quota limit, is this because not enough people were qualified enough? Also I have read about cadets who attended med schools of their choices. Thanks for the input, while becoming a doctor is a dream of mine, attending WP takes precedence.
 
Every year we hear about people who dream of med school via West Point and every year many of those same get in. It's tough, but those cadets are super dedicated and work very hard to maintain their grades and do whatever is necessary to get in. It is risky in that some people are disappointed and don't get it; therefore, don't go to an academy unless you want to be an officer. If you will not be happy in another MOS, seek another route to becoming a doctor.
 
DD starting exploring med school pathways through the SA's. She was fortunate to meet a BGO early in her junior year. He was quite frank about the limited slots and insisted that she'd be better off going ROTC. As she worked with her FFR, and her ALO, they all confirmed the same message. Quite similar to what everyone here has stated. And yes, it would definitely add on years to your service commitment if you would be one of the chosen few.

Knowing this helped DD narrow her focus. She also has a passion for engineering so that's what she going to focus on.

Best of luck...
 
If it is 2% that sounds VERY competitive to me. This gets asks every year as mentioned above. If you go to WP and do NOT get to become a doctor will you be satisfied with the other choices? Need to decide if you main goal is being a doctor or military service. Unlike civilian colleges there is no guarantees that you will eventually get your first choice of service selection.
 
Brave said:
DD starting exploring med school pathways through the SA's. She was fortunate to meet a BGO early in her junior year. He was quite frank about the limited slots and insisted that she'd be better off going ROTC. As she worked with her FFR, and her ALO, they all confirmed the same message. Quite similar to what everyone here has stated. And yes, it would definitely add on years to your service commitment if you would be one of the chosen few.

Knowing this helped DD narrow her focus. She also has a passion for engineering so that's what she going to focus on.

Best of luck...
Click to expand...

Your DD can always keep an Army doc career dream alive in a quiet corner of her mind. After she does service in a non-med branch, there may be ways she can request to go to med school and continue her career. I am familiar only with Navy, but I had several junior officers over the years, all commissioning sources, when they were eligible, request a lateral transfer. They had completed service required for their particular specialty, done all required steps such as taking MCAT and applying/getting accepted to med school, submitted a request package. Some went to USUHS in active duty status (uniformed services med school in Bethesda, MD, on Walter Reed NMMC campus) or to civilian med school, on the Navy dime.

Some officers complete their obligated service, separate from service, and use their GI Bill benefits and any applicable state veteran agency benefits to attend medical school. They then apply to come back in as a commissioned officer in Med Corps, possibly to a different service. One of my AF docs was a Marine who had gone that path - fairly astonishing rack of chest candy.

There are usually obligated service options involved any time the military funds something.

Comb through the forums for med school threads. I only mentioned a few points here.

SA cadets and mids get plenty of briefs on all the options, so she will have plenty of information.
 
She might also take a look at Public Health Service options.
 
Going to medical school through any SA is a difficult path. If you goal is to be a doctor a SA is not the path with your best chances. You already know that very few are selected to take that path. Not USMA, but USNA has some very detailed information on the path to medical school through USNA. USMA may have similar information, but I do not know where to find it. Read through the documents they are very informative. https://www.usna.edu/ChemDept/ChemMajor/med-corps-info.php
 
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