I think I've finally tied up all the major loose ends necessary to get prepared down the long road to medicine. This post is for everyone considering a career change to chase a dream and willing to work hard to get there.
My last day in the Air Force is 15 Aug, and I believe I have everything taken care of to make the transition from active duty military to fulltime student. I'm so excited about it I could scream. I never figured I would be this stoked about school, but summer semester has been over for all of a week and I already miss having something to work towards.
As of yesterday, my school certified the loan my family will need to cover all our expenses. Adding on the cost of our mortgage and child care easily bumped up the cost of attendance to where it needed to be to qualify for a loan capable of meeting our yearly budget. This has been a huge stressor for the past couple of weeks, and having it off my shoulders feels fantastic. It's a big loan, but it would be even moreso if it weren't for my GI Bill covering about half the burden. Next year will be a lot easier once the new GI Bill goes into effect. Regardless, I'm still amazed that this opportunity was even available.
My degree plan's set to give me a biology and chemistry double major in 3 years, while still leaving enough time for research internships over the summer. I'm going to be busting my ass, and the 09-10 year is going to be miserable, but I'm confident that with enough tenacity and dedication everything should be fine.
Currently, the only relevant EC work I have going on is shadowing a surgeon who operated on me a few months ago, but I'm using that as a foot in the door to network with other doctors and hopefully get some time watching them, too. I've put in a volunteer application at the hospital, but haven't gotten anything back from them yet.
The only thing I have left to do is track down some affordable yet decent student+family health insurance and find a part time job that either gets me more hours in a medical setting, or is fun. Both would be preferable, and need to be flexible enough to deal with my obligations as a student and someone's dad. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to them.
This forum has been an incredible resource in getting everything figured out and setting the path ahead, and I want to thank everyone for their contributions and for answering my stupid questions. You folks inspire the hell out of me.
My last day in the Air Force is 15 Aug, and I believe I have everything taken care of to make the transition from active duty military to fulltime student. I'm so excited about it I could scream. I never figured I would be this stoked about school, but summer semester has been over for all of a week and I already miss having something to work towards.
As of yesterday, my school certified the loan my family will need to cover all our expenses. Adding on the cost of our mortgage and child care easily bumped up the cost of attendance to where it needed to be to qualify for a loan capable of meeting our yearly budget. This has been a huge stressor for the past couple of weeks, and having it off my shoulders feels fantastic. It's a big loan, but it would be even moreso if it weren't for my GI Bill covering about half the burden. Next year will be a lot easier once the new GI Bill goes into effect. Regardless, I'm still amazed that this opportunity was even available.
My degree plan's set to give me a biology and chemistry double major in 3 years, while still leaving enough time for research internships over the summer. I'm going to be busting my ass, and the 09-10 year is going to be miserable, but I'm confident that with enough tenacity and dedication everything should be fine.
Currently, the only relevant EC work I have going on is shadowing a surgeon who operated on me a few months ago, but I'm using that as a foot in the door to network with other doctors and hopefully get some time watching them, too. I've put in a volunteer application at the hospital, but haven't gotten anything back from them yet.
The only thing I have left to do is track down some affordable yet decent student+family health insurance and find a part time job that either gets me more hours in a medical setting, or is fun. Both would be preferable, and need to be flexible enough to deal with my obligations as a student and someone's dad. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to them.
This forum has been an incredible resource in getting everything figured out and setting the path ahead, and I want to thank everyone for their contributions and for answering my stupid questions. You folks inspire the hell out of me.
