Post-Academy

hornetguy said:
Most graduates who pursued a graduate degree and then went to UPT were in no way penalized. Many commanders these days see these people as top performers and their delay has not had any detrimental effects. All my peers who went grad school and then UPT are doing better than most of my non-grad school peers in terms of assignments, rewards, and promotions.
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Intuitively, what you say makes sense. If I understand things correctly, those coveted graduate degree spots are offered up about 5% of the cadet body. I've met a couple of the cadets who are off to MIT (all want to fly). Other items being equal, I suspect having MIT on one's resume helps promotions etc.
 
My sons really wanted to get to UPT (and get it over with). There was no way they could have attended classes at the graduate level when they arose at 3 a.m. and went to bed the next day at 1 a.m.

They also decided right away that they wanted to go to UPT first, so as not to jeopardize their flight slot. Some would contend that is backwards thinking, some applaud them. Their acquaintance from the Steeler Nation had a medical school slot and delayed it for ten years while he flew all over the world. He figured, if he really wanted to be a pilot, he should do that first, since it might be dicey later.

He's now an MD, and I think doing an orthopedic residency.
 
This is why it has to be an individual choice. There is no definitive choice if you have a pilot slot whether to attend grad school immediately after the academy if given the opportunity.

A lot can be said with having completed a grad school degree first at MIT, or Oxford, or Harvard. Or even finishing a PhD at Rand. A lot can be said for you and your career. Even with starting your UPT training 2-3 years later.

Many have done it, obviously most haven't. Most academy grads, 90+%, go straight to their career training, UPT, or whatever, and do grad school later. But those given the opportunity to go to grad school full time after the academy, even with a pilot slot, usually consider it seriously. But in the end, it's an individual choice. Basically, no one can ask should I or shouldn't I. It has to be your choice. Just like applying to the academy in the first place. There are no definitive answers either way.
 
MN-Dad-2016 said:
Good links. It reads "The Academy has the authority to select one USAFA graduate a year to send to law school immediately following graduation in an excess leave status." So that question is answered.

I thought about a dozen or so USAFA cadets traditionally go off to medical school. Some chose Uniformed Services University or USUHS because of increased financial aid (with more commitment and STILL HPSP) while others select their top medical school choice via HPSP. My DS chose this path. For students reading this and considering military medicine (and wanting an Academy experience), remember 1/2 of the USAFA student body dreams of flying. Therefore they have never approached the 3% cap rule at USAFA. But unlike a civilian college where if you don't get into a medical school you can reapply the next year, at USAFA you have one year to get in. But the good news is USUHS normally doesn't turn down a qualified academy grad. So I think all of the 2016 cadets who applied for medical school got in somewhere.
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Looking at the AFSC job assignments it looks like only one member of the class of 2016 is headed to USUHS. My DD, class of 2015, took the MCAT after graduation and applied for the AFHPSP after getting a seat at a civilian medical school. There are some other officers at her base that have been trying for years to get the scholarship. She was awarded the scholarship this year and starts medical school classes this fall. Getting the HPSP after graduation is a long road. She has worked on it continuously since graduation. She enrolled in a masters program, volunteered at a local hospital, was always tops in physical fitness and worked hard at her day job. Getting releases from her chain of command, letters of recs from her academy instructors and the application process itself was daunting but it can be done.
 
JMC0759 said:
Looking at the AFSC job assignments it looks like only one member of the class of 2016 is headed to USUHS.
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Congratulations to your daughter for persevering!

Is there a published assignment list? If so, I'd be interested in glancing it over. As a side note, our son didn't pick his medical school selection until last week. So the data could be off some. In fact, D-day for selecting a medical school isn't over until month end. Then there is the wait list musical chairs portion before they finally settle in.

Our DS interviewed at USUHS. He really liked the school and the better stipend (with more commitment). He prefered the culture, location, and instruction better than a few top ranked civilian schools that he interviewed with. He concluded USUHS is a great school to study medicine. After a lot of back and forth trade-offs, he finally picked a medical school out east. I know one 2016 USAFA medical student that is off to UofMN and another Creighton. He didn't mention where the others are going (I think about 10 total students are off to medical school).

Outside of being an active military member like your daughter, getting an AF selection HPSP slot is tougher than say an Army HPSP slot. Hence it is very competitive. The Army for instances uses FIFO. Meaning once you are accepted to any medical or dental school as well physically qualifying, they fill their spots based off of 1st completed. But for the AF, they rack and stack to pick their overall best candidates (which they define as higher MCAT and DAT scores). Normally the average DAT and MCAT score are 2-3 points higher in the AF over the Army. This assumes a 4 year HPSP. For a 3 year (3 year scholarship ==3 year payback) the Army pools the remaining total and therefore is more selective on their 3 year option versus their 4 year. I guess future military docs like the AF bases better. Our daughter was offered and accepted a 3 year Army HPSP for dentistry. I do not know how the Navy picks their HPSP candidates.
 
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My DD is a 2015 graduate and received the GSP from the chemistry department. Since AFIT doesn't have a chemistry masters program, she applied to civilian universities. She was given 1 year to complete her masters program and she is at the University of Florida. She will graduate in August and then go on to UPT at Columbus. She really isn't that far behind her peers.

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MN-Dad-2016 said:
Congratulations to your daughter for persevering!

Is there a published assignment list? If so, I'd be interested in glancing it over. As a side note, our son didn't pick his medical school selection until last week. So the data could be off some. In fact, D-day for selecting a medical school isn't over until month end. Then there is the wait list musical chairs portion before they finally settle in.

Our DS interviewed at USUHS. He really liked the school and the better stipend (with more commitment). He prefered the culture, location, and instruction better than a few top ranked civilian schools that he interviewed with. He concluded USUHS is a great school to study medicine. After a lot of back and forth trade-offs, he finally picked a medical school out east. I know one 2016 USAFA medical student that is off to UofMN and another Creighton. He didn't mention where the others are going (I think about 10 total students are off to medical school).

Outside of being an active military member like your daughter, getting an AF selection HPSP slot is tougher than say an Army HPSP slot. Hence it is very competitive. The Army for instances uses FIFO. Meaning once you are accepted to any medical or dental school as well physically qualifying, they fill their spots based off of 1st completed. But for the AF, they rack and stack to pick their overall best candidates (which they define as higher MCAT and DAT scores). Normally the average DAT and MCAT score are 2-3 points higher in the AF over the Army. This assumes a 4 year HPSP. For a 3 year (3 year scholarship ==3 year payback) the Army pools the remaining total and therefore is more selective on their 3 year option versus their 4 year. I guess future military docs like the AF bases better. Our daughter was offered and accepted a 3 year Army HPSP for dentistry. I do not know how the Navy picks their HPSP candidates.
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There is a list of assignments that shows where and many are going to each job. I found it on FB and it was posted by another parent. I can see that the numbers can be misleading as candidates are doing and waiting on the school match. We were lucky. DD got her first choice in the first round of offers and accepted it. How can I get a copy of this list to you? If you are on FB it would make it very easy.
 
I received one of the endowed scholarships in 2009. Happy to answer any specific questions.
 
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