Completing pre-med on Active Duty?

[stewart]

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I graduated from West Point a few years ago, and being unsure of whether I wanted to pursue medicine in the military when I chose my major I did not complete all pre-med requirements. I am now an aviation officer and would love to have the opportunity to complete them and apply to medical school, but am not sure how to do that without waiting until my military commitment is up and leaving active duty. I have looked into taking classes at a local university but many of the lab courses are scheduled in a way that would make it impossible with a normal military work schedule. Plus, the current deployment tempo in the Army would also make it nearly impossible for me to complete all the classes before being deployed again (I am currently in Iraq). Does anyone have any idea of programs through which the Army allows a 1-2 year return to school? I know that Captains go to civilian masters programs quite frequently, but a post-bac type program is non degree granting so it doesn't necessarily fall into that category. I would be willing to pay tuition myself. My grades out of West Point were very high (>3.9 and in top 5% of class) and would hopefully make me competitive for a post-bac program, it is simply a matter of figuring out how to attend one while in the military. Thanks!

 

[elderjack21]

I graduated from West Point a few years ago, and being unsure of whether I wanted to pursue medicine in the military when I chose my major I did not complete all pre-med requirements. I am now an aviation officer and would love to have the opportunity to complete them and apply to medical school, but am not sure how to do that without waiting until my military commitment is up and leaving active duty. I have looked into taking classes at a local university but many of the lab courses are scheduled in a way that would make it impossible with a normal military work schedule. Plus, the current deployment tempo in the Army would also make it nearly impossible for me to complete all the classes before being deployed again (I am currently in Iraq). Does anyone have any idea of programs through which the Army allows a 1-2 year return to school? I know that Captains go to civilian masters programs quite frequently, but a post-bac type program is non degree granting so it doesn't necessarily fall into that category. I would be willing to pay tuition myself. My grades out of West Point were very high (>3.9 and in top 5% of class) and would hopefully make me competitive for a post-bac program, it is simply a matter of figuring out how to attend one while in the military. Thanks!

A guy that gave me a tour at USUHS had done some sort of "post-bac" program through them for a year prior to starting school. I couldn't tell you any of the details, but I know they only had a couple slots. You may have to call around up there to find out if it work for you. No doubt, it would come with a pretty high repayment plan in years served as they would expect you to attend USUHS.

I was able to piece together my pre-meds over the course of my last two years on active duty, with a deployment and several TDYs in between courses. It was tough, but I made it work. I did end up separating from active duty though after my pre-med courses were complete. I wanted to make sure that I had my choice of schools to attend rather than just being forced to choose USUHS. I am now on the HPSP "scholarship" at a civilian medical school and having as much fun as any first year could have I suppose.

Good luck!

 

[NAVYLABTECH08]

I am not sure of any programs to allow an officer to go back to school full time and complete pre-med classes. I guess the real question is how many pre-req classes are you short. If you are only short a class or two, I would recommend putting a chit or something in to get those classes. If you are short like all your sciences, then you may want to wait until you can get them all done. The reason for this is that if it takes >5 years, the classes could be considered old and your may have to retake them.

 

[RichL025]

A guy that gave me a tour at USUHS had done some sort of "post-bac" program through them for a year prior to starting school. I couldn't tell you any of the details, but I know they only had a couple slots. ...

At least when I was there (Class of 2006) the post-bacc program is only for promising minority students whose grades were just a little shy of the standards. It was not designed as a program for AD officers to get their science courses done.

 

[Fly Army]

Ran into the same thing. I was a senior CPT AV branch... selected for CGSC.... but got orders to Gillem/McPherson prior to CGSC results being released. Best thing that happened to me though at the time I was pissed. I was able to take organic chem and physics classes while stationed there at night for the most part. That being said, I still ended up being off AD approx 10 months prior to starting med school. I opted to not go to UHUSC.. took HPSP instead. Your AD time and USMC diploma will be a plus for you on the application and interview trail. I did try looking into other programs.... UMKC is a six year program combining bs/md. They would not let me start into the program since I already had a ba. I told them I would just start all over... no go. I looked into a few other programs and had no luck. So if there is something out there, I didn't have any luck finding it. Hopefully you only need to knock out a class/lab or two and you can get an assignment that will let you stay still for a few months in a place that has schools with the classes/labs you need.... a tough sell, I know.

 

[elderjack21]

At least when I was there (Class of 2006) the post-bacc program is only for promising minority students whose grades were just a little shy of the standards. It was not designed as a program for AD officers to get their science courses done.

The white kid who gave me my tour at USUHS was enlisted and had done the program...but you never know.

 

[AFIM]

Don't do it, man. Fly helicopters or whatever it is you do. It'll be a long, long time before you get back to the same professional level you are at right now, and when you look back, I don't know if it'll be worth the time.