Air Force Academy

[kimberly1993]

So I know some of you may think this question is ridiculous, but I am still going to ask it. I currently attend the US Air Force Academy in hopes of getting into medical school. However, I am interested in knowing if this school is actually going to give me a leg up. The academics are tougher here and our schedules are full of military duties so GPAs here are typically lower than what other universities have. I feel like this alone is already ruining my chance. What do you guys think?

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[askamsky51]

So I know some of you may think this question is ridiculous, but I am still going to ask it. I currently attend the US Air Force Academy in hopes of getting into medical school. However, I am interested in knowing if this school is actually going to give me a leg up. The academics are tougher here and our schedules are full of military duties so GPAs here are typically lower than what other universities have. I feel like this alone is already ruining my chance. What do you guys think?

Don't you have a service obligation after your undergrad which cannot be deferred unless you attend another military sanctioned location?

I know there were multiple self-proclaimed low stat applicants at my USUHS interview from some of the academies (one was from the air-force academy). I imagine it gives you a leg up to land an interview there.

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

So I know some of you may think this question is ridiculous, but I am still going to ask it. I currently attend the US Air Force Academy in hopes of getting into medical school. However, I am interested in knowing if this school is actually going to give me a leg up. The academics are tougher here and our schedules are full of military duties so GPAs here are typically lower than what other universities have. I feel like this alone is already ruining my chance. What do you guys think?

Probably would do better in the Military forum. I'm sure there's some academy grads there.

If you do your 5 and then apply, you'll have 5 years of leadership experience, plenty of time to prepare for the MCAT, and will probably fare quite well in the process. If you apply straight out, I'm sure some schools will give you a break, but personally I think it's a much better idea to finish your obligation then apply. Otherwise you're signing onto a guaranteed milmed career (via HPSP or USUHS) which you may or may not actually want once you get into the trenches. If you have shadowed AF docs in a variety of capacities and know what you're getting into, then go for it.

I have a cousin starting at USNA this summer and I plan to essentially forbid him from applying to medical school until after finishing the service obligation.

 

[music2doc]

I know USAFA produces a few successful pre-meds each yr, but I believe there are some caps on how many they will approve to continue with medical school. One girl in my class is a USAFA grad and I could probably connect you with her if you want. You could also contact Dr. (Helen) Piggage and see what she has to say. (Although I will warn you that anything she says about CUSOM is NOT condoned by that school as they and the Piggages don't exactly get along.... The Dean has had some words with them....)

 

[jr93]

Due to your obligation, you should apply to USUHS. It would be the best of both worlds. Free school, O1 pay, and the school is pretty impressive all while not affecting your obligation or having to wait to apply anywhere unless you absolutely want to be done with the military in the next few years. But then you're looking at med school at 30. I'm 30 and don't think it's a big deal but some might.

 

[alpinism]

Yes, you'll get a small boost. But you still need a competitive GPA/MCAT with solid ECs though (in addition to your AF experience).

Don't expect to get much love from MD schools with only a 3.4/28 (for example).

 

[NARP]

Hey I am graduated from USAFA and am currently in med school. I know Dr. Piggage left or is leaving soon, but I am sure you will hear from the pre-med advisor (whoever that is) soon enough in an email. Basically, it does not give you much of an advantage, but it does make you a unique applicant, which is useful if you manage to get an interview, then you are more likely to stick out I guess. You can message me if you wanna know more, but you will hear about from the pre-med committee some time soon I'm sure and they will know a lot more than me about most things. But if you wanna hear my thoughts and perspective on how everything went let me know and I'll tell you.

 

[Lil Mick]

Not sure about the academy, but I do know about the ROTC and application experience. A lot of us had lower gpas (not always so much time to study when there's a PT test before a midterm), but on my interviews, it was something that stuck out to some of the schools as a positive characteristic--leadership, commitment... It probably won't help with a dismal gpa (<3.0), but as long as you meet school screening cut-offs, it probably won't be an issue to have a somewhat lower gpa. Send me a pm if you want to talk a bit 🙂

 

[mvenus929]

There are two people in my class from the AFA, and our class is the highest stat class in the history of my school (unless the new class beat us out, but we definitely beat out the class below us, and I'm pretty sure the class two years below us).

 

[Perrotfish]

Due to your obligation, you should apply to USUHS. It would be the best of both worlds. Free school, O1 pay, and the school is pretty impressive all while not affecting your obligation or having to wait to apply anywhere unless you absolutely want to be done with the military in the next few years. But then you're looking at med school at 30. I'm 30 and don't think it's a big deal but some might.

The obligations for USUHS and the academies are served consecutively, not concurrently. Also residency doesn't count towards the obligation and fellowship actually adds to it, year for year. Someone who goes directly from the academy to USUHS will owe 12 years AFTER residency, or 15 years if they choose to also do a 3 year fellowship. You will have to work with the military through retirement. That's a big commitment to an employer you haven't really worked with yet.

 

[Goro]

Service university as a leg up? Nope.

Service to your country? Yes.

Groing from service academy to medical school to miliatry medicine? Maybe.

Bailing on the USAF to be a doctor, but not a military doctor? You might as well set fire to your application.

Academics are tougher in lot of places, but a 3.2 GPA is a 3.2 whether it's from Harvard or Weber State

So I know some of you may think this question is ridiculous, but I am still going to ask it. I currently attend the US Air Force Academy in hopes of getting into medical school. However, I am interested in knowing if this school is actually going to give me a leg up. The academics are tougher here and our schedules are full of military duties so GPAs here are typically lower than what other universities have. I feel like this alone is already ruining my chance. What do you guys think?

 

[zkbd9]

I honestly think it is going to give your app a huge boost. USMA sends a handful of firsties to med school every year, and it in no way means you're turning back on your service obligation (they resign commitments at beginning of 3rd year, not sure if it's the same for y'all). It pays for med school, then you serve.

I don't think you'll find a lot of useful advice on your situation here though. Unless you've been a part of a service academy, you couldn't possibly imagine the responsibility on the plate of a student there. It's that simple. You're guaranteed to be one of the most unique applicants: you've made it through one of the toughest educations our country has to offer, your leadership abilities will be far above other applicants, you understand service.

Drill the mcat and go enjoy four years out of uniform living in rooms with air conditioning.

I truly wish you all the best. PM me if you have any questions.

 

[askamsky51]

I agree with the last poster, except the part about service. You don't know a damn thing about it. Not yet.

It's important that you remember that, especially as you eventually get to your command. Even you have something to learn from those junior enlisted that have some time abroad. As for your senior enlisted? It should be nothing but respect.

 

[barrnrwp]

Piggage and see what she has to say