HUGE PROBLEM - Please give advice

[CrazyIsraeli]

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So to make long story short, I am a 1st year at a very good medical school in Israel (an American program) that does really well with matches in the tri-state area and california. However, since I was born in Israel (even though I spent most of my life in NJ/NY) I am being drafted into the IDF (Israeli army) at the end of my first year. For how long it is as of yet unclear, but it is clear that I would have to miss anywhere from 1 to 3 years of school (most likely 1, but you can never know with the military). Please ignore the reasons for why I should or should not serve in the army, they are not relevant to this discussion and much of how long I would need to serve depends on my arguing with the army.

I have 2 choices in hand: 1)stay in my medical school and serve in the army (the school will defer me for a year or whatever) and return after service. OR
2) come back to the states and reapply (the dean has agreed to write me a letter of rec showing that I am one of the top students in the class - which I am)

I did not get into an American school when I first applied - I went to NYU with a 3.67 overall, 3.4 science, 3.9 in my nonscience major, 29Q MCAT (taken once), with tons of hospital work, volunteering, and jobs and 1.5 yrs of orgo research (but no publications). If I return and reapply I will retake the MCATs ( I believe I would do much better) and I would also have a letter from my med school dean stating that I can clearly handle the sciences in medical school to make up for my lower science GPA.

I really would like to get advice here. Is the fact that I am dropping out (even given my circumstances) going to be held against me? any advice would be great, but lets keep it civil.

 

[faith2]

I would come to the states redo MCATand reapply. Start talking to the schools of interest and explain your situation. Normally I would say serve your country, but since they are not giving you a definite time frame it would not be to your benefit...Good Luck

So to make long story short, I am a 1st year at a very good medical school in Israel (an American program) that does really well with matches in the tri-state area and california. However, since I was born in Israel (even though I spent most of my life in NJ/NY) I am being drafted into the IDF (Israeli army) at the end of my first year. For how long it is as of yet unclear, but it is clear that I would have to miss anywhere from 1 to 3 years of school (most likely 1, but you can never know with the military). Please ignore the reasons for why I should or should not serve in the army, they are not relevant to this discussion and much of how long I would need to serve depends on my arguing with the army.

I have 2 choices in hand: 1)stay in my medical school and serve in the army (the school will defer me for a year or whatever) and return after service. OR
2) come back to the states and reapply (the dean has agreed to write me a letter of rec showing that I am one of the top students in the class - which I am)

I did not get into an American school when I first applied - I went to NYU with a 3.67 overall, 3.4 science, 3.9 in my nonscience major, 29Q MCAT (taken once), with tons of hospital work, volunteering, and jobs and 1.5 yrs of orgo research (but no publications). If I return and reapply I will retake the MCATs ( I believe I would do much better) and I would also have a letter from my med school dean stating that I can clearly handle the sciences in medical school to make up for my lower science GPA.

I really would like to get advice here. Is the fact that I am dropping out (even given my circumstances) going to be held against me? any advice would be great, but lets keep it civil.

 

[dragonfly99]

Do you mean that if you leave Israel they can't draft you into their army?
I'm confused.

Anyway, I do think that dropping out of your school after 1 year for the reasons you stated would certainly be looked upon differently than someone who had failed out of or dropped out of any med school (US or foreign). I'm not sure if having been in an Israeli med school for a year would make your application stronger or just keep it unchanges as far as competitiveness for US programs. Certainly the letter from your med school dean would be a good LOR for you. If you knew the Israeli military would only keep you for 1 year, then I don't think being off for a year between 1st/2nd years of school would do you much harm...any more than that and I would worry you might start forgetting stuff. However, if you come back to the US then you may end up having to wait a year or two to get into school anyway.

As a last ditch effort, you could spam all the US schools in the Northeast to see if anyone has a 2nd med school spot open, and send a recommendation from your current med school dean. Maybe some school that has had a student drop out would agree to admit you to 2nd year.

 

[riverjib]

So to make long story short, I am a 1st year at a very good medical school in Israel (an American program) that does really well with matches in the tri-state area and california. However, since I was born in Israel (even though I spent most of my life in NJ/NY) I am being drafted into the IDF (Israeli army) at the end of my first year. For how long it is as of yet unclear, but it is clear that I would have to miss anywhere from 1 to 3 years of school (most likely 1, but you can never know with the military). Please ignore the reasons for why I should or should not serve in the army, they are not relevant to this discussion and much of how long I would need to serve depends on my arguing with the army.

I have 2 choices in hand: 1)stay in my medical school and serve in the army (the school will defer me for a year or whatever) and return after service. OR
2) come back to the states and reapply (the dean has agreed to write me a letter of rec showing that I am one of the top students in the class - which I am)

I did not get into an American school when I first applied - I went to NYU with a 3.67 overall, 3.4 science, 3.9 in my nonscience major, 29Q MCAT (taken once), with tons of hospital work, volunteering, and jobs and 1.5 yrs of orgo research (but no publications). If I return and reapply I will retake the MCATs ( I believe I would do much better) and I would also have a letter from my med school dean stating that I can clearly handle the sciences in medical school to make up for my lower science GPA.

I really would like to get advice here. Is the fact that I am dropping out (even given my circumstances) going to be held against me? any advice would be great, but lets keep it civil.

This is a truly unique situation that probably can't be addressed here. I think (and HOPE) that American med schools would take you over others, even though I'm applying this year 🙂

You need to do some serious homework now. I would directly call the medical schools that interest you the most, and email the rest. Call those you emailed when you have time. Make quick and decisive moves toward applying to US medical schools. I'm sure someone close to home will be sympathetic and happy to accomodate you.

 

[Mister T]

SO basically you want all the benefits of an Israel medical school -- cheap cost of attendance, but you don't want to do any of the service to your country

Oh how this evokes so many stereotypes that I couldn't ever say here.

 

[Econ2MD]

So to make long story short, I am a 1st year at a very good medical school in Israel (an American program) that does really well with matches in the tri-state area and california. However, since I was born in Israel (even though I spent most of my life in NJ/NY) I am being drafted into the IDF (Israeli army) at the end of my first year. For how long it is as of yet unclear, but it is clear that I would have to miss anywhere from 1 to 3 years of school (most likely 1, but you can never know with the military). Please ignore the reasons for why I should or should not serve in the army, they are not relevant to this discussion and much of how long I would need to serve depends on my arguing with the army.

I have 2 choices in hand: 1)stay in my medical school and serve in the army (the school will defer me for a year or whatever) and return after service. OR
2) come back to the states and reapply (the dean has agreed to write me a letter of rec showing that I am one of the top students in the class - which I am)

I did not get into an American school when I first applied - I went to NYU with a 3.67 overall, 3.4 science, 3.9 in my nonscience major, 29Q MCAT (taken once), with tons of hospital work, volunteering, and jobs and 1.5 yrs of orgo research (but no publications). If I return and reapply I will retake the MCATs ( I believe I would do much better) and I would also have a letter from my med school dean stating that I can clearly handle the sciences in medical school to make up for my lower science GPA.

I really would like to get advice here. Is the fact that I am dropping out (even given my circumstances) going to be held against me? any advice would be great, but lets keep it civil.

Will avoiding military service affect you in any way? Will it affect your ability to practice or move to Israel if that is your desire? When you are older, will you regret not serving your country? Will you be able to tell your grandchildren about this decision with pride, or will you be embarrassed? I'm not judging you at all, just asking questions.

I would definitely pull all strings to get a transfer to another medical school in the US. Use all personal relationships you can muster to accomplish this goal, if this is your goal. Being at the top of your class will bode well for you. You should put all your effort into this option before you choose to quit and reapply.

 

[schrizto]

Hm. I thought that some American programs in Israel wouldn't even allow Israeli citizens to apply to their American-geared programs, I think I saw that stated on one such program's site.

I used to know of someone who gave up their Israeli citizenship to avoid serving in the Israeli army. I don't know how that works though.

 

[wanderer]

Do you mean that if you leave Israel they can't draft you into their army?

He isn't going to be extradited to serve in the military. It also means he won't be able to easily go back to Israel for a vacation or whatever.

 

[Buzz Me]

Did you apply broadly the first time?

 

[womp]

So to make long story short, I am a 1st year at a very good medical school in Israel (an American program) that does really well with matches in the tri-state area and california. However, since I was born in Israel (even though I spent most of my life in NJ/NY) I am being drafted into the IDF (Israeli army) at the end of my first year. For how long it is as of yet unclear, but it is clear that I would have to miss anywhere from 1 to 3 years of school (most likely 1, but you can never know with the military). Please ignore the reasons for why I should or should not serve in the army, they are not relevant to this discussion and much of how long I would need to serve depends on my arguing with the army.

I have 2 choices in hand: 1)stay in my medical school and serve in the army (the school will defer me for a year or whatever) and return after service. OR
2) come back to the states and reapply (the dean has agreed to write me a letter of rec showing that I am one of the top students in the class - which I am)

I did not get into an American school when I first applied - I went to NYU with a 3.67 overall, 3.4 science, 3.9 in my nonscience major, 29Q MCAT (taken once), with tons of hospital work, volunteering, and jobs and 1.5 yrs of orgo research (but no publications). If I return and reapply I will retake the MCATs ( I believe I would do much better) and I would also have a letter from my med school dean stating that I can clearly handle the sciences in medical school to make up for my lower science GPA.

I really would like to get advice here. Is the fact that I am dropping out (even given my circumstances) going to be held against me? any advice would be great, but lets keep it civil.

Retake the MCAT (aim for 34+) and you'll get in.

 

[TheDuder]

SO basically you want all the benefits of an Israel medical school -- cheap cost of attendance, but you don't want to do any of the service to your country

Oh how this evokes so many stereotypes that I couldn't ever say here.

You could say it here, it would just be perceived as the anti-semetic ramblings of a bigoted prick. Which it would be. Prick.