Post Bachelors Degree (med school) and ROTC

sjbd94

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So i know there are probably quite a few threads on this, but I want to be able to ask some questions so here it goes. I WANT to go into the military and have applied to all branches for ROTC scholarships, but I really want to go into med school or PA school then go into the military, is it a bad idea to do ROTC then try to go to med school or Physician's Assistant school? Can i be on scholarship then go to a professional program? Really any links of information on doing ROTC then going into a professional program like med, law, etc after 4 years in ROTC then going in as an officer in your perspective field. Thanks, sorry if this is hard to understand.
 
So i know there are probably quite a few threads on this, but I want to be able to ask some questions so here it goes. I WANT to go into the military and have applied to all branches for ROTC scholarships, but I really want to go into med school or PA school then go into the military, is it a bad idea to do ROTC then try to go to med school or Physician's Assistant school? Can i be on scholarship then go to a professional program? Really any links of information on doing ROTC then going into a professional program like med, law, etc after 4 years in ROTC then going in as an officer in your perspective field. Thanks, sorry if this is hard to understand.

Talk to your contacts at the different ROTC's

For Army, talk to the ROO at your 1st choice school about ED (Educational Delay)
 
Around 1% of ROTC cadets get approval to go straight to medical or dental school. Those are pretty tough odds.
 
Last year 108 out of 118 that applied received ED, about 3% of the AD OML. Not sure what the breakdown of educational studies were. You can see just how few go this route. One thing to note, not all those that received ED were in the top percentage of the OML, they ranged all through the list, and not that many actually apply for it.
 
These are some pretty mixed results, but if 118 out of 108 that applied for ED received it, those are pretty good odds. What branch is that for, because I am still unsure about which branch I wish to pursue. Also would the process be different for each branch?
 
I'm not sure of the details, but I recall something like for every two years of grad school, a soldier owes three additional years of active duty obligation.
 
ED doesn't mean nor guarantee you get into med school though, remember that. It just means you are approved to have a delay into the service if you receive an appointment. Without that acceptance letter your ED means nothing.

Also keep in mind pre-med and pre-PA requirements are different. PA school requires pre reqs similar to nursing (i.e. Human Anatomy and Physiology... little more humanities) while med school wants to see more straight bio and physics. Also, if your MCAT blows... even with a high GPA and stellar recommendations...kiss your chances goodbye.
 
Aghalad is right, as usual. My MS2 TAC has been granted a ED delay for Med School, but from what I understand, he only gets it if he is accepted to Med School.

I'm no expert on the process/program, but this is what I understand.
 
In addition the PAs in the army are given a lot more free reign than their civilian counterparts. A lot of the "front-line" docs with infantry units are actually PAs and provide the sole source diagnostic/pharmacological treatments. Because of this, many PAs in the army come from the IPAP program located at Ft. Sam Houston and many of the students are former medics/corpsman.
 
One other thing you need to understand which has yet to be addressed is how you will pay for med school.

I am the 1st to admit that I don't know about the medical program, but for the JAG program, there is no guarantee that they will pay for law school even if you get ED.

The options out there vary. They can delay you, but tuition is on you dime. They can also offer scholarship, plus pay. They can also offer you ED, but no scholarship...at least for AF.

Secondly, yes, 108 out of 118 were accepted. However, has anyone looked deeper into the selection process?

Do they need ROTC CC support? Is it like the AD world or even ROTC rated, where only X amount can be offered CC support? In other words, maybe 10 from the ROTC unit asked for ED, but the CC could only give 1 AD.

That's the problem with situations like this. 118 applying and 108 seems like it is easy. However, we don't know the system. I find it unfathomable that across the nation only 118 applied. I find it fathomable that the pool was much larger and cut down due to CC support, or eligibility requirements before they got to that 118 pool.

Think of it as the SA selection. Candidates get a nom from an MOC. 1 in 10, odds seem great. However, nobody says that the original pool may have been 300.

There is a difference when you ask a question. Posed incorrectly and you will get a different answer? Percentage of candidates that submit an application for an MOC get a nom? Percentage of candidates that are have a nom get apptd?

That is how I see the 108 out of 118. I am willing to bet my right pinkie finger that the 108 jumped hurdles to be 1 of the 108. I am not willing to accept that only 118 out of every ROTC unit across the nation applied for ED Med. Especially if you look at AF JAG alone. JAG has a lower percentage rate being accepted than the amount of graduates getting fighters.

Not saying don't do it. I am stating:

~Investigate it further.
~Understand like Aglahad stated your academic career regarding course selection will be a player in he equation
~Understand your GPA will be a make or break, because you can get ED, but if you do not get accepted, you will go traditional route of AD selection. GPA will be a factor for your OML. You will need to work your plan B at the same time as Plan A.
~ If you do not get a ROTC scholarship, how will you pay undergrad if you get ED, but not a scholarship for med school?

Scholarships on this site leave posters with the fallacy that it is the norm. Key word: FALLACY. Scholarships are the minority and with everyday becoming more and more of a minority. How do you achieve this dream with 25K in scholarships for undergrad, and now 100K in med school costs.

Again, I will bend to more knowledgeable posters who can say all med school military members who utilize ED have tuition costs covered. I am just saying if this is your path make sure you have every issue covered.

It would stink if in 3 yrs you get the ED for med school as a non-scholarship recipient at that point to realize you can't afford to pay or you lost that because you were not accepted to any school approved by the military.

What will you do at that time? You are contracted and will have to serve. What will you do if you can't go med? Will you be happy in Public Affairs for the Army? Mission Support for the Navy? SP for the AF?

Remember, you serve at their luxury. You may want to be in the medical field, but you are not LT. DOCTOR or PA, you are LT. sjbd94. Have the goal, have the dream! Understand you have limited control regarding your future in the military. Your goal/dream is secondary to the needs of the military.
 
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I'm not sure of the details, but I recall something like for every two years of grad school, a soldier owes three additional years of active duty obligation.

The 3 year pay back for 1 year school is for GRADSO. This is the program that allows an AD officer to attend Grad School, usually after 3 years service. The Army will pay for Grad school in return for the extra years of service.

The ED is a different program, this is where the cadet delays their entry into AD until they finish there Post Graduate schooling. The Army does not usually pay for this schooling, if they did it would fall under GRADSO.
 
I think two points need to be illustrated.

1. Commitment owed is re-calculated each and every time they register for classes. From my POV it would be 3 yrs concurrent. Register in Sept and than register in Dec. The clock will change to Dec. If they owe 5 yrs, and grad school is 3 yrs for each registration. They can actually leave at the exact same time as their original commitment. Complete Masters at 18 months, you owe no time. Go to AFIT (AF in house grad school) 1 yr, you are still eligible to walk at 5. Go to a 3 yr at Harvard, you are at 6 yrs, because your last reg. was 3 yrs in, and you owe 3 yrs.

2. If they are released from the program for whatever reason, they can either be given a pink slip or assigned to whatever the branch desires.

~~~ In other words. Fail med or grad school. They can say, "You are done". Or they can say "You are still in, but here is your new career field". You don't really have a voice in the decision factor. You live and die by their decision.

Jcleppe said:
The ED is a different program, this is where the cadet delays their entry into AD until they finish there Post Graduate schooling. The Army does not usually pay for this schooling, if they did it would fall under GRADSO.

Thank you for that information. I thought the Amy was like the AF, they may allow ED, but it could be on the cadets dime, and not on the military's dime.

I want sjbd94 to understand that even if he gets ED, it doesn't mean he will collect an AD salary and get his medical education paid for.

If he does not get a scholarship for undergrad, but ED, he is still on the hook for his entire educational bill.

I do not want him to believe that even as an ROTC cadet with ED they will pick up the tab for med school.

It happens, but that cgpa at college better be top 1%. Not at the school, but nationally. sjbd94, you will compete against every cadet in every ROTC program in the nation. Not sure if SA cadets also vie for the same. Again, investigate. Pretty hard to compete for a spot as an ROTC cadet at Drexel for that med school scholarship against the SA cadet or the UMich cadet.

It is the WHOLE picture.
 
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To the OP:

Consider DO schools as well. You get to be a physician that way too.
 
My daughter is an MSII and is planning on going to Vet or Med school. In looking at this I figured out there are three possible paths forward.

1. Get Educational Delay, borrow money for med school, serve in Army as doctor for 4 years to complete ROTC obligation. Leave Army, private practice, repay loans.

2. Get Educational Delay, get HPSP scholarship from Army to pay for Med School Tuition, serve 8 years (4 for ROTC and 4 for HPSP) in Army as doctor. After 8 years service obligation is complete with no debt.

3. Get Educational Delay, borrow money for med school, serve in the Army as doctor for 4 years to complete ROTC obligation, serve 3 more years as doctor in the Army and use the ACTIVE DUTY HEALTH PROFESSIONS LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM to pay back $40K per year of loans for a max of $120K repayment.

The first option provides the minimum service obligation with least amount of cost reduction. The second option provides the most educational cost support but has the longest service obligation. The last option is the most flexible. You can decide how many additional years of obligation you want and get $40K loan reduction per year.

These are the options I was able to find. I can't guarantee each is available to an ROTC cadet on Educational Delay. However, I found nothing to say these options were not viable either.
 
My daughter is an MSII and is planning on going to Vet or Med school. In looking at this I figured out there are three possible paths forward.

1. Get Educational Delay, borrow money for med school, serve in Army as doctor for 4 years to complete ROTC obligation. Leave Army, private practice, repay loans.
Your minimum obligation in the Army would end up being more like seven to ten years. After medical school you need an internship and residency which as a ROTC person would most likely be done in the military. The shortest of those is 3 years and your ROTC obligation does not start until you are out of training.

2. Get Educational Delay, get HPSP scholarship from Army to pay for Med School Tuition, serve 8 years (4 for ROTC and 4 for HPSP) in Army as doctor. After 8 years service obligation is complete with no debt.
I believe the HPSP program is seperate from Ed Delay. With this your minimum service would be more like 11 years due to training requirements.

3. Get Educational Delay, borrow money for med school, serve in the Army as doctor for 4 years to complete ROTC obligation, serve 3 more years as doctor in the Army and use the ACTIVE DUTY HEALTH PROFESSIONS LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM to pay back $40K per year of loans for a max of $120K repayment.

One would need to sign up for the repayment program prior to coming onto active duty and I think because one already has a military obligation they MAY not be elgible for this program. Again, you would need to serve for longer than 4 year prior to even completing the ROTC commitment.

The other option not mentioned is USUHS. ROTC to USUHS is a very viable option.
 
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