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Hi all!
New to the forum, so I thought I would introduce myself. I'm Tom, and I'm currently a Staff Sergeant in the US Army; married, 2 kids. I've been in the past 7 1/2 years. I am originally from northern Ohio, but will be relocating to Nebraska this summer after the Army gives me the "you're done" stamp. From there I will more or less start over on college as a pre-med student.
After a lot of questioning myself and what I wanted to do after I am forced out of the Army (spine surgery, no real choice in the matter), I decided on medicine. Wasn't just a "snap decision" - I come from a family in medicine (dad is a physician as are 4 of his 10 siblings, mom's a nurse practitioner at a pain management practice). Regardless of what career path I thought would be "easier", I always come back to medicine as my true passion.
I went to college for 2 1/2 years after high school, first as a pre-med for 2 semesters. However, I had little direction and I didn't really know what I wanted to do, so I didn't do so well. At the time I thought law enforcement would be a better choice, so I went back home to a local community college and took law enforcement/criminal justice classes. Did really well in those, but instead of going through the peace officer certification course, I joined the Army. 7 1/2 years later, here I am.
Thought long and hard about the decision, and ultimately came to the conclusion that I would rather do what I've always really wanted to do - regardless of the amount of schooling it would take to get there.
Pretty nervous about my chances of getting into medical school - my indecision and poor performance in my first 2 semesters have me a little nervous. But, I think that as long as I keep my GPA up and score well on the MCAT, I will be competitive, especially with the experiences I have had in the military.
Any words of wisdom, advice, etc would be great. Looking forward (nervously) to the journey! Take care everyone!
New to the forum, so I thought I would introduce myself. I'm Tom, and I'm currently a Staff Sergeant in the US Army; married, 2 kids. I've been in the past 7 1/2 years. I am originally from northern Ohio, but will be relocating to Nebraska this summer after the Army gives me the "you're done" stamp. From there I will more or less start over on college as a pre-med student.
After a lot of questioning myself and what I wanted to do after I am forced out of the Army (spine surgery, no real choice in the matter), I decided on medicine. Wasn't just a "snap decision" - I come from a family in medicine (dad is a physician as are 4 of his 10 siblings, mom's a nurse practitioner at a pain management practice). Regardless of what career path I thought would be "easier", I always come back to medicine as my true passion.
I went to college for 2 1/2 years after high school, first as a pre-med for 2 semesters. However, I had little direction and I didn't really know what I wanted to do, so I didn't do so well. At the time I thought law enforcement would be a better choice, so I went back home to a local community college and took law enforcement/criminal justice classes. Did really well in those, but instead of going through the peace officer certification course, I joined the Army. 7 1/2 years later, here I am.
Thought long and hard about the decision, and ultimately came to the conclusion that I would rather do what I've always really wanted to do - regardless of the amount of schooling it would take to get there.
Pretty nervous about my chances of getting into medical school - my indecision and poor performance in my first 2 semesters have me a little nervous. But, I think that as long as I keep my GPA up and score well on the MCAT, I will be competitive, especially with the experiences I have had in the military.
Any words of wisdom, advice, etc would be great. Looking forward (nervously) to the journey! Take care everyone!
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