The armed services get the majority of thrir doctors from civilian medical schools and frequently the HPSP scholarship.
Look for “HPSP” at the dropdown menu.
Thinking about joining the Navy while you are pursuing your college degree? Learn about Navy scholarship opportunities, tuition assistance and college options.
www.navy.com
There is also the USUHS Medical School in Bethesda, MD, at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Complex.
www.usuhs.edu
The mission of NROTC is to produce unrestricted line officers in certain numbers, who are expected to serve and deliver value in the URL communities. You have taken an excellent first step by contacting a primary source at NROTC to determine the current policy.
You can also take the long road. Commission as a URL officer, excel, and there are opportunities at certain career junctures to apply for a competitive transfer to the Medical Corps, and off to years of medical school, and follow-on training, you go. I have had a submarine officer and a surface warfare officer do that as lieutenants. One went to USUHS and one went to his home state’s flagship university's medical school. I have known flight surgeons who were naval aviators first. These days, it’s not uncommon to find a range of ages in medical school. I always respected the docs I saw who wore warfare pins, in a different way. I knew they “got” me.
Or, for the really long path, go URL, do your obligated service time plus the 36 months you need to earn the full 100% of the Post 9/11 GI Bill education benefit after separation. A peer of mine used hers to go to vet school in her 40’s. Lest you think you are teetering at grave’s edge when I mention those years, right now you probably have another 60-75 years on the planet. It’s amazing what you can fit in.
Lastly, I have always liked Ga Tech’s NROTC FAQs. Scan down the following link. You will notice it says 0-15
nationwide are allowed to go to medical school, similar to the handful out of USNA. Based on my experience with the ones I have seen selected out of USNA, they are truly extraordinary candidates. So, it seems there is a needle’s-eye chance. You have to be sure you are absolutely fine going URL in case you try for one of those and don’t get it. Notice it’s “0-15.” That means in any given year, the needs of the Navy will always dictate how many, if any, are selected for this path. If the Navy needs more URL bodies out of NROTC, the med school slots will drop.
Can I join the NROTC program even if I do not want a naval career? Certainly. Very few people of high school age, or even college age, will know what they want to do for an occupation for the rest …
nrotc.gatech.edu
Do some thinking about what you really want, and educate yourself on what’s possible by talking to the right people. Good luck!