Active Duty to Medical School

[Hansell_M98]

Hey everyone!

I've just recently graduated from college and I've become really interested in joining the military (not sure what branch just yet) and become an officer. However, my dream has always been to go to medical school and become a doctor (particularly looking into surgery). Is it possible to enter the military as an active duty officer and work your way to enter medical school?

I noticed that several of the branches (Army, Air Force, Navy) offer the HPSP program. Is it possible to apply for the program while being in active duty? If so, does being an officer help your chances of being accepted into the program? Any information will help. Thank you!

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[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Hey everyone!

I've just recently graduated from college and I've become really interested in joining the military (not sure what branch just yet) and become an officer. However, my dream has always been to go to medical school and become a doctor (particularly looking into surgery). Is it possible to enter the military as an active duty officer and work your way to enter medical school?

I noticed that several of the branches (Army, Air Force, Navy) offer the HPSP program. Is it possible to apply for the program while being in active duty? If so, does being an officer help your chances of being accepted into the program? Any information will help. Thank you!

Why don’t you just apply to USUHS or HPSP and go to med school through the military? If you have really looked at the pros and cons and decided it’s something you want to do, that is.

 

[Hansell_M98]

Why don’t you just apply to USUHS or HPSP and go to med school through the military? If you have really looked at the pros and cons and decided it’s something you want to do, that is.

Thanks for the response! I've been hesitant in applying for medical school considering that my GPA isn't as competitive as I would like to be. I've applied for post baccalaureate programs and Special Master's programs earlier in the year, but, because of the coronavirus, my family has been running low on money and I can't see myself being able to pay for these programs if I were accepted.

That being said, I wanted to know if joining the military can help me become a more competitive applicant for medical school in the future, and if it's possible to apply for those programs that they offer (USUHS or HPSP) while on active duty?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Thanks for the response! I've been hesitant in applying for medical school considering that my GPA isn't as competitive as I would like to be. I've applied for post baccalaureate programs and Special Master's programs earlier in the year, but, because of the coronavirus, my family has been running low on money and I can't see myself being able to pay for these programs if I were accepted.

That being said, I wanted to know if joining the military can help me become a more competitive applicant for medical school in the future, and if it's possible to apply for those programs that they offer (USUHS or HPSP) while on active duty?

Military service definitely looks good on an application, but it's not going to make up for a bad GPA or MCAT. It can give you a boost though. You can apply while on active duty, but there are more hoops to go through because you have to get permission, letters of release, etc. Definitely not guaranteed that you'd be able to apply while you're in, though I obviously have people in my class who did.

 

[act9]

If you are active duty and enlisted, they have the enlisted-to-MD program that can help you bridge that gap. You remain active duty while doing 2 years of premed, MCAT study, etc

Enlisted-to-Physician Program Seeks Applicants

USU News: the online source for news and updates from the Uniformed Services University

usupulse.blogspot.com

If you are not yet active duty, then I would work separately on improving your application if medicine is truely the way you want to go. I had several classmates who were officers in unrelated fields (intelligence, engineering), and then came in to medicine, but it is a more complicated process. They had been in those careers as that is what they had initially intended, then mid-career decided to go in to medicine; they did not join to make their application more competitive. If you definitely know you want to go into medicine, I would go directly though HPSP/USUHS to join

 

[LTMCUSN]

I took some of my Chem and Biology prerequisites on active duty using tuition assistance (around 2 classes a semester for me) because I had been out of college for years and those credits had expired- this ended up being very helpful for MCAT preparation as well. I had a very supportive last Command that let me shadow physicians at the MTF on base once or twice a week and I would come in at night and finish my work. All in all, it took me two years on AD and 1 in the reserves to get my application ready, but I’m sure others have done it more quickly. Also agree that getting a conditional release was a challenge, as Matthew said but communicate that early on with your leadership- they may even be more supportive, like I think they were in my case, if they know you are working towards a lateral move into the Medical Corps. Good luck!

 

[95ragtop]

I came from enlisted active duty to HPSP. Joining the military to boost your application is a horrible idea, fix the GPA or go to a less competitive school. If you join, the military can always say no if they deem you haven't paid your toll or they deem you're more needed in your current spot, going to interviews can be very difficult. If being a doc is your end goal, the military is only going to delay where you want to be.

What's your GPA and MCAT?

 

[Falcon12]

I came from officer active duty to HPSP. Not a super strong GPA but a very strong MCAT. Only got 2 interviews and 1 acceptance for MD school (didn't apply to USUHS). USUHS people might be able to say whether prior service will give the edge to relatively weaker candidates. That said, civ programs like military guys and once you get in to med school there is some value to having been in as people view it as a sign of maturity and value added to a program. But I would echo 95ragtop, joining military just for a boost to your med school application is a horrible idea. In the AF they would not release me from my AFSC or even talk to me about HPSP even though I got into med school. I had to talk to Navy and Army to ensure I had a scholarship waiting when I started school.

 

[d2305]

Military service definitely looks good on an application, but it's not going to make up for a bad GPA or MCAT. It can give you a boost though. You can apply while on active duty, but there are more hoops to go through because you have to get permission, letters of release, etc. Definitely not guaranteed that you'd be able to apply while you're in, though I obviously have people in my class who did.

I though I did a good job at getting the Navy to pay for my education, but you make me look like a rank amateur.

 

[deleted599599]

Little late but I graduated from undergrad in 2014, enlisted and am still active duty. This cycle I've had multiple interviews and one MD acceptance so far. The military definitely gave me a chance to showcase my commitment to service, medicine and have a successful cycle with a below average gpa and strong MCAT. If you have questions feel free to hit me up.

 

[xffan624]

I was an Army officer for 5 1/2 years. I can't say I joined to boost my medical school app, but it was in the back of my mind. For me, initially it was a way to advance a public health career and serve my country (I was an environmental health officer), but midway through I decided I wanted to go to medical school. Nobody has mentioned it yet, but one benefit of military service and then going to medical school is that you can use the post 9/11 GI Bill to pay for most of it. This is, of course, if you decide that you don't want to go back to be a military doc.