Air force National Guard and Medical school - is it a good idea?

[rkamal]

I will be taking my MCAT this may and hopefully get into a medical school. I looked into doing the national guard since it would allow me to do civilian residency. I know Alabama National Guard will pay for 100% of the tuition but not fees for 6 years of commitment. The 6 years will begin as soon as I finish officer training which will be the summer before medical school. It will be 8 years before I am out of school and I will be done with my commitment. The recruiter also said I will be undeployable as long as I am in school or residency. Also I will not be taking any of the scholarships since it will add 8 years of commitment after residency. Has anyone else gone through this route and can help me decide if this is a good option?

pros:

Military residency and Civilian

Paid tuition

Drill pay

CV boost

Cons :

Drills on the weekends and summer

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[907914]

I will be taking my MCAT this may and hopefully get into a medical school. I looked into doing the national guard since it would allow me to do civilian residency. I know Alabama National Guard will pay for 100% of the tuition but not fees for 6 years of commitment. The 6 years will begin as soon as I finish officer training which will be the summer before medical school. It will be 8 years before I am out of school and I will be done with my commitment. The recruiter also said I will be undeployable as long as I am in school or residency. Also I will not be taking any of the scholarships since it will add 8 years of commitment after residency. Has anyone else gone through this route and can help me decide if this is a good option?

pros:

Military residency and Civilian

Paid tuition

Drill pay

CV boost

Cons :

Drills on the weekends and summer

As a reservist, I can tell you that the commitment is a lot more than “One weekend a month and 2 weeks in the summer.” As just an NCO I have had around a 5-10 hour a week commitment for teleconferences, correspondence courses, additional training, checking in on my soldiers, writing evaluations etc.

If you are single, it would be manageable even in medical school, but it is just one more thing that can detract from your education.

 

[seanm028]

The military can be a great option. However, I caution everyone to 1) really consider the magnitude of the commitment you're making, and 2) READ THE FINE PRINT.

To point 1, weekends and summers might not seem like much, but they add up. At least in my experience, they always seemed to be the least convenient weekends, too. Some commanders are extremely reasonable and will allow you to make up drill if you have something for school. Others are very strict, and will not excuse you even if you are a medical student. Even if you get a great commander, they tend to turn over every 3–4 years as part of the officer career progression. So really, it's a roll of the dice.

To point 2, most recruiters are generally honest, but they also have a quota to fill and aren't always completely up to date with current incentives. A lot of states get you by advertising that they'll pay up to 100% of tuition, but it's usually much less. Make sure whatever you sign clearly states how much they'll pay.

Bottom line, medical school is a huge commitment, and the National Guard can be, too. While it's certainly possible to juggle both, it can be very difficult.

 

[rkamal]

As a reservist, I can tell you that the commitment is a lot more than “One weekend a month and 2 weeks in the summer.” As just an NCO I have had around a 5-10 hour a week commitment for teleconferences, corespondents courses, additional training, checking in on my soldiers, writing evaluations etc.

If you are single, it would be manageable even in medical school, but it is just one more thing that can detract from your education.

thank you

 

[rkamal]

The military can be a great option. However, I caution everyone to 1) really consider the magnitude of the commitment you're making, and 2) READ THE FINE PRINT.

To point 1, weekends and summers might not seem like much, but they add up. At least in my experience, they always seemed to be the least convenient weekends, too. Some commanders are extremely reasonable and will allow you to make up drill if you have something for school. Others are very strict, and will not excuse you even if you are a medical student. Even if you get a great commander, they tend to turn over every 3–4 years as part of the officer career progression. So really, it's a roll of the dice.

To point 2, most recruiters are generally honest, but they also have a quota to fill and aren't always completely up to date with current incentives. A lot of states get you by advertising that they'll pay up to 100% of tuition, but it's usually much less. Make sure whatever you sign clearly states how much they'll pay.

Bottom line, medical school is a huge commitment, and the National Guard can be, too. While it's certainly possible to juggle both, it can be very difficult.

Thank you

 

[theKingLT]

I'm confused by this set up. In doing this they get no actual service out of you as an attending physician? What's the point?

 

[907914]

I'm confused by this set up. In doing this they get no actual service out of you as an attending physician? What's the point?

That is the fine print: the ‘up to 100% of tuition’ is likely if you do the 8 year post residency commitment.

I don’t know enough to be 100% about that, but I am pretty certain.

 

[rkamal]

I'm confused by this set up. In doing this they get no actual service out of you as an attending physician? What's the point?

Yes that is what the recruiter told me. But most people stay longer and get the retirement benefit

 

[rkamal]

That is the fine print: the ‘up to 100% of tuition’ is likely if you do the 8 year post residency commitment.

I don’t know enough to be 100% about that, but I am pretty certain.

The GI bill and the state tuition assistance will cover all the tuition for my in-state school. The 8 years of commitment after residency would only come if I accept any scholarships like AMEED, STRAP or HSPS- per recruiter

 

[907914]

The GI bill and the state tuition assistance will cover all the tuition for my in-state school. The 8 years of commitment after residency would only come if I accept any scholarships like AMEED, STRAP or HSPS- per recruiter

GI Bill is only for enlisted soldiers. And tuition assistance can not be used on the same credits as the GI bill. Also, NG GI Bill is only about $375 a month.

You would be an enlisted soldier and likely deployable. It sounds like this recruiter is trying to get you to go to basic training and to enlist. Turn back now.

 

[907914]

I am fairly confident in my information, but if anyone else can correct me please do.

 

[rkamal]

I am fairly confident in my information, but if anyone else can correct me please do.

The recruiter said 10k after joining and then 10k after 6 years. State Tuition Assistance and Federal Tuition Assistance, GI bill and GI bill kicker. Another 300 every month from drilling.

 

[907914]

The recruiter said 10k after joining and then 10k after 6 years. State Tuition Assistance and Federal Tuition Assistance, GI bill and GI bill kicker. Another 300 every month from drilling.

I know, it sounds tempting. I have all that right now. Guess what, it barely covers undergrad tuition.

 

[907914]

Alabama May have more favorable state TA...but the commitment away from medical school is a big no.

You may be non-deployable, but you may still be activated for National, state and civil defense for up to 30 days without formal title 10 orders that count as a deployment/activation

 

[seanm028]

The recruiter said 10k after joining and then 10k after 6 years. State Tuition Assistance and Federal Tuition Assistance, GI bill and GI bill kicker. Another 300 every month from drilling.

Yeah man, the recruiters are notorious for being "technically correct." The enlistment bonuses depend on job and are highly variable between fiscal years. If they're offering you a $20k enlistment bonus, then you'll almost certainly be deployable. The job is also probably either unusually dangerous or unusually undesirable. It's basic economics — Uncle Sam isn't going to pay you $20k so that you can stay at home and not deploy, and he certainly isn't going to pay you to go to school on top of that.

 

[TheEarDoc]

Hmmm going enlisted route while going to medical school? I would say a big no to that. Being Guard you serve 2 masters. The state and Uncle Sam. You can get pulled to active for either at any time. They won't care if you're in med school or not. My advice would be if you want to serve in the military and get money for school then you take the med school incentives and the commitment that goes with it (I would strongly research the pros and cons as they've been laid out here many times) and be able to focus on medical school and not worried about being called away all the time.

 

[j4pac]

Honestly, I’d be nervous without dishing out the $500-750 for a reputable contract lawyer to review the contract to ensure it aligns with your goals. SDN is great, but it is difficult to give you great advice other than to say be careful.

 

[notdeadyet]

One big question for you, OP, is whether you are enlisting or commissioning (as an officer).

The reason this is important is that when you enlist, you typically go to basic training and then advanced training to get a military specialty. With this military specialty, you are deployable, regardless of being in medical school. If you commission as an officer, you need to attend officer training at some point, but you do not do advanced training or get a military specialty until you graduate medical school. After this point, you are technically deployable, but the military almost never deploys residents.

The GI bill and the state tuition assistance will cover all the tuition for my in-state school. The 8 years of commitment after residency would only come if I accept any scholarships like AMEED, STRAP or HSPS- per recruiter

The Post-9/11 GI Bill (which can be used by officers or enlisted) is only applicable after you have served a prolonged period of active duty time. You will not get this as a Guardsman or Reservist until you finish training and deploy.

There is a Select Reserve GI Bill, but for officers, you need to have completed your initial 6 year hitch and then sign an agreement to an ADDITIONAL 6 year hitch and you only get $384/month (or some such).

State Tuition Assistance varies by state and by year. You get $4500/month. I was able to get it 1 year out of 4 in medical school.

So I don't see how you can medical school tuition paid for, unless Alabama has one of those free-college-for-National-Guard folks like NJ does. Even then, get written confirmation that the program in your state covers the entirety of your MEDICAL school tuition. Many states have this program, but most of them only cover up to the in-state tuition of UNDERGRADUATE degrees, which is usually far less than medical school.

 

[notdeadyet]

In regard to the overall wisdom of your plan, if it's to ENLIST, then I'd say a strong god-no.

If you're looking to commission, I would do so only with the desire to serve and the realization and acceptance that the needs of the Air Force trump that of your medical school. I'm Army National Guard, but Air Guard works in a similar fashion. Your service AVERAGES one weekend per month, but that gets monkeyed around to the point that I do a couple of one day drills and a few 3 day drills.

There is often accommodations made for medical students, including missing drills when they have a big test or not doing the third day of three day drills, but this is up to the commander. Same with waiving 2 week Annual Training. So it pays to talk to other medical students in your state's Guard to find out if that's being honored.

I served for 2.5 years in medical school in the Army National Guard. I stayed in it for all of residency and fellowship and am still in many years later. I'm happy with my service, but I had to come to terms with the fact that the needs of the military will always trump my need, the needs of my family, the needs of my school, or the needs of my employer.

If you're not okay with that: don't join.

 

[Mad Jack]

Yes that is what the recruiter told me. But most people stay longer and get the retirement benefit

It's often not worth it for physicians, as the time spent adds up to a massive loss of practice income that no paltry guard retirement can make up for

 

[seanm028]

Also, here are some numbers that may help your decision.

Borrow or Serve? An Economic Analysis of Options for Financing a Medical School Education

 

[DeadCactus]

Read and consider all the advice you can get but try to find some physicians and medical students in your state's Guard and talk to them about their experience. Recent medical students and physicians from other state's Guard units would be the next best. Medical students and physicians from the reserve would be third best. And then the relevance of the advice drops precipitously from there even from well intentioned and experienced members of the military. I'm not trying to disparage anyone, a lot of people just don't appreciate how different of an animal the Guard as a medical trainee or physician is.

Notdeadyet has given you a ton of good information.

 

[d2305]

Enlisting in the military sucks. While the AF is easier that the other branches, it still sucks. Come to thing of it the BOC course sucks too. Wandering through the woods with a compass sucks. Breathing CS gas in a tent really sucks. I don't know what it's like to be on the ground in a combat zone, but I'm sure it isn't fun either.

 

[maddeh87]

I’m in the Air National Guard as a medical student. It ain’t easy, but I Gabe supportive leadership so it helps. There’s program in the Air Guard called “early appointment for physicians program” that I’m doing. There is no money in it outside of whatever your state offers already in the way of tuition waiver and regular drill pay, but it’s a direct commission and you can go to AMP and get some fun opportunities. I did 8 years active so I have full GI bill which is paying for school, and I’ve been in the MA ANG and now NJ ANG. Army guard has MDSSP (I think) where they give a stipend but there’s a steep service commitment, but other than that I don’t know too much about it.

 

[maddeh87]

Also, Guard recruiters rarely deal with medical students so they really don’t know how to handle you. Its been...frustrating to say the least. It’s taken me a year from when I first contacted the recruiter to hopefully commissioning this week. I’m prior service so I’m unsure of the process for NPS medical students.