I'm also in ROTC. Prior to that I was in the Reserves and am in the process now of switching to the Guard. ROTC isn't paying anything towards my undergrad. I'm basically doing it just to get a commission.
Are you going to have obligations to the Army in any form after undergrad? Most folks I know who did ROTC need to then apply for permission to apply to medical school and several essentially did not get it and had to go active for X number of years before getting out and apply to med school then.
After deciding I want to attend med school after I finish my Bachelors, I'm thinking I should get out of ROTC. It takes up all my time.
If you're planning mid-stream to apply to med school, it's probably wise to drop ROTC and focus on your studies to maximize grades. Free time would be better spent doing volunteer work and expanding your medical experience. Your past Army experience will make a nice bullet point on your resume; ROTC won't add much anything to that in the eyes of adcom's.
My question is, if I continue ROTC, commission as an MP Officer in the Guard, then attend med school and attempt to obtain Guard benefits from being a med student, won't I incur a crazy service obligation ? It will be 6 years obligation from rotc, then however many years for whatever program I can get into once I'm a med student.
There are a few ways for you to do this. All of this is highly dependent on your ROTC contract allowing you to transfer out of your branch of commission and being re-classed. I have NO idea how that works, and if there were any hiccups, you'd be limited to option 1a, which would suck:
1. Stay in ROTC and get commissioned as an MP (brrrr...).
a. Stay as an MP and attend med school, drilling on weekends. You'll add nothing to the 6 year ROTC obligation, but you'll likely be deployed at least once and med school will turn from 4 years into 5, 6, or 7 and you won't graduate with your class, you'll irritate the hell out of faculty, etc. Very bad idea.
b. Get reclassed as a 0067E (med student) and don't take any benefit programs. You'll only owe your 6 years from ROTC contract. You won't get any money beyond drill pay (you need to drill a minimum of once every quarter) and a $4,500 tuition assistance (plus whatever your state offers), but you'll finish out your contract while in residency without deploying.
c. Get reclassed as a 0067E (med student) and take the MDSSP. You'll get 1b., plus $2k/month but you'll owe an additional 8 years of drilling post-residency.
2. Do not take ROTC and get direct commissioned into MSC. This is paperwork, though you'd likely go to BOLC either right before med school (I don't know anyone who actually managed this) or in the summer between MS1 and MS2 (far and away the best time).
a. You're classed as a 0067E and don't take MDSSP. You're obligated to drill for 6 years (no IRR after this due to your prior service). Same as 1a in terms of perks/benefits.
b. You're reclassed as 0067E and you take MDSSP. Same as 1c for benefits.
Hope this helps. I'd drop ROTC like a hot potato if you're going to med school, especially if you're prior service. There's just not much upside and a lot of downside to it.
