I think i screwed up my Nom interview?- I really need help :(

I am an appointee for two of the academies for the class of 2014, who also wants to go to medical school. Not only did my admissions officers and congressional interviewers have no real problem with the idea, they seemed to encourage it. Two things to keep in mind though. First, I was an extremely competitive candidate. Secondly, I always, always, made it very clear to them that I understood how difficult it was to go to medical school, and that I will be very excited to be an officer, regardless of what I am doing. So...my advice to you would be to keep your dream, and don't hide it from people, but make it clear to them that you will be happy no matter what you end up doing. Assuming that's true, of course. You may have some soul-searching to do in this regard.
 
Just_A_Mom said:
Whoa----

I don't think it's your desire for med school that is giving pause.

I think the "instead of injuring others" is the operative statement here.
You need to fully understand that as an Army doctor you are also a soldier. You will learn to shoot. You will be caring for those who "injure others". Mostly though, if you go to West Point and do not become a doctor, you will still be a soldier.
Think about this long and hard and possibly refine your statement with more clarity.
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JustAMom, you put your finger on the exact statement that bothered me also. At my son's nomination interviews, there were always retired or active military folks there who probed his understanding of his obligations and his desires to be a part of The Long Gray Line. I don't think that your statement that you "don't want to injure others" would fly with them. An officer can't think like that.

What sort of AP classes does your school offer? It is imperative that you challenge yourself with the most difficult classes your school has to offer. The small Christian private school in my area does not offer much in the way of Advanced Placement classes so you might want to explore some classes at your community college.

Also, if you have not visited West Point, you really need to do so. The cadets are glad to answer questions and it may help you decide if it is the place for you or not.
 
Dixieland said:
JustAMom, you put your finger on the exact statement that bothered me also. At my son's nomination interviews, there were always retired or active military folks there who probed his understanding of his obligations and his desires to be a part of The Long Gray Line. I don't think that your statement that you "don't want to injure others" would fly with them. An officer can't think like that.

What sort of AP classes does your school offer? It is imperative that you challenge yourself with the most difficult classes your school has to offer. The small Christian private school in my area does not offer much in the way of Advanced Placement classes so you might want to explore some classes at your community college.

Also, if you have not visited West Point, you really need to do so. The cadets are glad to answer questions and it may help you decide if it is the place for you or not.
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Yea I understand that "not injuring others" isn't something i shoud be saying, I guess what I meant by that was that I know under dire circumstances I'll have to fight but I'd prefer not to if i had a choice. Just a personal moral issue there, but I will be able to if the situation calls for it, I'm positive. I want to serve my country by serving/saving the people who are brave enough to go out into the battlefield to fight. I admire these people and want to help them.

My school actually has more AP classes then normal classes. Except we're not acredited for AP Chemistry b/c we have no functioning lab, other then that we has Bio, Physics, U.S. hist, Euro, world, etc so I think I'm ok.
 
WP hopeful said:
Hey! I'm actually from the CA 40th district! I can tell you for sure that what you went through wasn't the official nomination process. That starts september/october with forms and recommendation letters and all this other stuff.

What you did was just a simple overview of your competitiveness and stuff for her own office files. No worries.
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oh dang really?! That's awesome that we're from the came district :D Oh I have more time than I thought before the actual forms start.

What city do you live in? Did you go to the formal night last week maybe we met?
 
Hey guys, thanks for all the info about medical corps.

Yea, I'm aware that I have a low chance of getting into the medical scholarship right after graduation from WP, and I'm happy to go serve for 5 years before I continue my schooling for medicine.
with all the information that you guys posted here for me, I'm now know that i have an option of getting my degrees then joining the Medical corps. But i'm not so sure how that works if a civilian wants to join the Medical corps, not as a volunteer but as a job.

I'll be honest, It's not that I just want to be in the medical corps but I want to be an Army officer. There are so many branches in the army that I'll be glad to serve under. I'm considering my options of going into the Mathematics/science/engineering branch if I had to, I'll still be able to help other soldiers.

I guess the most important thing I learned here is that I need to get my priorities figured out and start researching all my options. I also need to work hard so I'll not only be a really competitve candidate, but set to be a competitive cadet so I can start my path in the medical corps, If i'm one of the lucky few.

Thank you everyone, I'll try my best so If worst comes to worst and I'm not nominated, then I'll know I did everything I could, so I wont be in regret. :D I hope God chooses the right path for me.
 
They have a direct commissioning program for chaplains and doctors. I'm not exactly sure how it works but a college degree is required.

It's good that being an army officer is the goal for you. I'm sure whatever path you find yourself on it will be a successful one.
 
ikijunot said:
oh dang really?! That's awesome that we're from the came district :D Oh I have more time than I thought before the actual forms start.

What city do you live in? Did you go to the formal night last week maybe we met?
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WOW! No joke?! I also live in CA district 40! Did any of you go to that informational meeting that one Monday?

I actually just found out recently that I lived in the 40th district. All these years I thought I had lived in Loretta Sanchez's district in the 47th when I actually pretty much live right on the border! One street over and I've crossed into the 47th. It was surprising for me to find out that 40th was pretty competitive and 47th as far as I know is not very competitive.
 
America's Finest said:
So you want to be an army officer but only for the required 5 years?
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Ahh~ no, thats not what I meant. -___- I'm really bad with words (This is probably why my interview went badly.) :frown: sorry.

I meant that if I'm still planing on going to the medical corps after I finish my service, I'll still be doing something I want to do. If I change my mind about going to the medical corps I'll probably stay in the Army for a while then maybe seek a government job.

I want to be an army officer for sure. But I'm not 100% sure what branch I want to serve in. I'm still researchnig all my options and the medical corps is my top choice right now.

I'm really sorry for the confusions I make.
 
KveTina said:
WOW! No joke?! I also live in CA district 40! Did any of you go to that informational meeting that one Monday?

I actually just found out recently that I lived in the 40th district. All these years I thought I had lived in Loretta Sanchez's district in the 47th when I actually pretty much live right on the border! One street over and I've crossed into the 47th. It was surprising for me to find out that 40th was pretty competitive and 47th as far as I know is not very competitive.
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lol. Yea I went on Monday. Yea I heard the 40th is really competitive, especially this year. I know like 4 people just in my city who are trying for WP, and they have pretty good profiles too.
 
Are you only going for WP? How did you get your "interview" already? Did you have to call Patty or what happened?
 
I know its just my personal opinion but I've always felt that West Point really isn't the greatest spot to kick off a career into the medical field. Like you mentioned, getting a spot into medical school is extremely competitive - if I recall correctly, the total number accepted was below 10 last year (someone correct me if I'm wrong). And West Point is a liberal arts college that, despite being one, has a relatively strong engineering program. Its not really known for offering the best pre-med education. The whole focus of the school is to prepare men and women to become the finest Army officers. I think that if medical school is the real end goal for you (from your posts, it seems that this has precedence over serving your country), I suggest you try and apply for other civilian colleges that have stronger pre-med programs and attempt to get to graduate school from there. It would be much easier and much less messier, without having to juggle a 5 year active and 3 year reserve commitment in between. And if you are West Point material (which it appears so) I think you would be equally, if not more successful at an Ivy or Public Ivy. For me, and I will assume the vast majority of appointees/cadets, attend West Point with serving their nation as an Army officer as the end goal. And I believe that that aspiration should come before wanting to leave the Army and go into the private sector. Other than that, I wish you good luck with whereever you choose to apply :]
 
KveTina said:
Are you only going for WP? How did you get your "interview" already? Did you have to call Patty or what happened?
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ahha yea I'm only going for WP. It's pretty much gonna be a hit or miss for me. It took a while to convince my mom that I wanted to go to WP, this is gonna be my one and only chance to apply.

Oh for the interview, I introduced myself to Patty at the monday thingy and she told be to come to a meeting the next day so she can help me prepare and all. I think you should call her up and tell her you're interested in going and she'll help you alot. And she'll ask alot about you so be ready to answer Q's about your academics, extraciriculars, future goals, etc.
 
"I know under dire circumstances I'll have to fight but I'd prefer not to if i had a choice." - I would defiantly think about your decision to apply for West Point then, as an officer you are not only expected to kill people, you are expected to motivate others to do so as well. If you are sent somewhere by the United States Army, it is under the premise you will lead soldiers in accomplishing the Army's mission, which usually involves killing people. I think its great that you want to become an Army Doctor, but I would think long and hard about a SA as the route to do so. If you don't get a medical slot, then you have to branch into something that might very well require that you injure someone. A job where other peoples lives depend on your decisions is not really the best place for a crisis of ethics. Just my 2 cents however, and best of luck to you during the nominations process.
 
Chockstock said:
I know its just my personal opinion but I've always felt that West Point really isn't the greatest spot to kick off a career into the medical field. Like you mentioned, getting a spot into medical school is extremely competitive - if I recall correctly, the total number accepted was below 10 last year (someone correct me if I'm wrong). And West Point is a liberal arts college that, despite being one, has a relatively strong engineering program. Its not really known for offering the best pre-med education. The whole focus of the school is to prepare men and women to become the finest Army officers. I think that if medical school is the real end goal for you (from your posts, it seems that this has precedence over serving your country), I suggest you try and apply for other civilian colleges that have stronger pre-med programs and attempt to get to graduate school from there. It would be much easier and much less messier, without having to juggle a 5 year active and 3 year reserve commitment in between. And if you are West Point material (which it appears so) I think you would be equally, if not more successful at an Ivy or Public Ivy. For me, and I will assume the vast majority of appointees/cadets, attend West Point with serving their nation as an Army officer as the end goal. And I believe that that aspiration should come before wanting to leave the Army and go into the private sector. Other than that, I wish you good luck with whereever you choose to apply :]
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I recently heard of a similar story to the OP which happened quite a few years ago but I feel it applies. A candidate applying to USMA was asked what his ultimate goal was in the army. His response? To be a lawyer. The officer who was conducting the interview promptly told him USMA would not be the school for him to follow such a career field. If you want to know what became of this candidate just go here.

http://www.dean.usma.edu/DeansCorner/dean_bio.cfm
 
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