Ivy League Army Doctor

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Sewilliams13

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I want to go to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale and major in Biochem.(currently hs junior) Afterwards my plan is to attend Army medical school. After completing that, I really hope to be deployed to foreign countries. Anywhere! I want to travel and help people in life. I feel like an Army doctor is the perfect job to do so. Is my above plan correct in pursuing a career as an Army Doc? Any guidance, input would be highly appreciated.

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Sewilliams13

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Thats always been my dream, to go to an Ivy. I work my butt off in school and this would be the ultimate pay off. I can continue to challenge myself and have the honor of being a graduate from that prestigious school.
 
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narcusprince

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What is a Ivy league education going to offer you over a good state education? Are you saying you cannot realize your dreams unless you go ivy league?
 

Loudster

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Wait, so you want to do ivy league for undergrad and then do "army med school" (usuhs?). That's not a problem, in fact it's a good goal, but just keep in mind that once you're a doctor nobody is going to care in even the smallest way that you went to an ivy league undergrad. So, go for it if it's your own personal goal, but don't bother if you just want it for some sort of prestige-factor. People will only care about where you did med school.
 

Cooperd0g

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People will only care about where you did med school.

And I'll argue that most people won't even care about that. They will care that you are a licensed physician, had good recommendations from people they knew, and practiced in the specialty where they need help.
 

backrow

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I'm all for going the State U route as well, but in my opinion if one can both afford and get accepted to a top tier school they should go. I think doing great at one of those schools is harder than most state u's which can make med school admission harder, but going to certain schools can definitely open doors for you.

Most people will change their career aspirations at least once in college why not go somewhere that can possibly make getting a job in that new field much easier?

Now if it means taking out endless loans and struggling while at a ivy league school it may definitely be better to go to a lower tier school
 

orbitsurgMD

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If you are a good candidate for admission to one of those schools, then apply. If you are fortunate and a good candidate, you may have the privilege of a choice; if you don't get accepted, at least you won't be asking yourself later what chances you might have had.

As for borrowing hugely for undergrad school, be very careful. Harvard, Yale and Princeton have big endowments and robust financial aid programs so you may not do so badly going there as opposed to many state universities whose endowments are lesser and whose "sponsoring" states have cut funding. You might end up with a less marketable degree and nearly as much debt going to a lesser school.

If you are shooting for the top Ivies, you ought to look at other schools in the same general class: Penn, Dartmouth, Duke, Stanford, Columbia, Brown, Cornell, Northwestern, University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins. And you would be foolish to discount the premier state universities, particularly Berkeley, Michigan, Virginia and U. Texas Austin. Most of those are very highly competitive and very well endowed. Of course, you could also be very shrewd and go to a less famous school, do very well and move on to a nationally-known school for your graduate studies. Whether you go to a top Ivy or not, you will have to do well to be competitive for a place in a good medical school. Leaving yourself the freedom to choose either a civilian medical school or USUHS without having to consider the weight of substantial undergraduate debts is undoubtedly a better strategy than feeling you must favor USUHS for financial reasons.
 

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And I'll argue that most people won't even care about that. They will care that you are a licensed physician, had good recommendations from people they knew, and practiced in the specialty where they need help.

Completely agree.
 

Hook

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Rather than saying "I want to go to an Ivy!" ask yourself "What environment will I do best in?" Use this year and next summer to visit different colleges and universities. To get into med school, you really just need to do very well in undergrad. Will you strive at a large university with lots of opportunity for volunteerism and research? Or will you get distracted with all the side fun? Is a small school with small classes better for you, or will you feel trapped? Which school offers decent other options if you decide pre-med isn't your thing?
 

corpsman33

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I want to go to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale and major in Biochem.(currently hs junior) Afterwards my plan is to attend Army medical school. After completing that, I really hope to be deployed to foreign countries. Anywhere! I want to travel and help people in life. I feel like an Army doctor is the perfect job to do so. Is my above plan correct in pursuing a career as an Army Doc? Any guidance, input would be highly appreciated.

I am very confused, because your status says "Medical Student", but according to your statement you haven't even started undergrad yet.

Am I missing something??
 

Perrotfish

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I want to go to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale and major in Biochem.(currently hs junior) Afterwards my plan is to attend Army medical school. After completing that, I really hope to be deployed to foreign countries. Anywhere! I want to travel and help people in life. I feel like an Army doctor is the perfect job to do so. Is my above plan correct in pursuing a career as an Army Doc? Any guidance, input would be highly appreciated.

Input:


1) Don't fixate. I wanted to go to an Ivy leage (or something similar) too. It didn't work out, and in retrospect it wasn't the end of the world. I hope you're the one who gets in, but there a lot of good schools out there if you don't and life goes on.

2) Be open minded. I origionally wanted to do some kind of nanotechnology research. It turns out labs suck. Be open to the idea that your perception of your dream career might have very little to do with the realities of that career. 5 years from now you might found out what you really want is finance. Or engineering. Or maybe seminary. Or even joining the Marines as a line officer. Leave your options open until you've made a sincere attempt to explore at least some of them

3) DON'T COMMIT TO THE MILITARY. Not until you hit medical school, anyway. Do not pick up an ROTC, OCS, reserve, or whatever else obligation before/in undergrad if you're considering medicine. It makes your commitment to military medicine WAY too long. There will be plenty of chances to sign up for military medicine when you're actually accepted to medical school.
 
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haujun

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And I'll argue that most people won't even care about that. They will care that you are a licensed physician, had good recommendations from people they knew, and practiced in the specialty where they need help.

Not even that. Patients like when you are just nice to them, see them without appointments, smile etc...

In the military we are called providers...
 
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usnavdoc

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There was a guy in my med school class(univ of tenn). That went to Harvard undergrad. To this day when someone asks where he went to school(meaning med school). He says Harvard. What a looser. Lol
 

bustbones26

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There was a guy in my med school class(univ of tenn). That went to Harvard undergrad. To this day when someone asks where he went to school(meaning med school). He says Harvard. What a looser. Lol

I can top that.

I once had a co-worker the completed six months of a PGY-2 year at a Harvard affiliated hospital before changing to another residency program?

What that says to me is:
--He decided before six months to change programs
--Probably a trouble maker and left on good terms before getting into trouble

TO this day, he still tells peopel that he went to Harvard, even wears Harvard ties. :laugh:
 

bustbones26

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Overall, if you have the opportunity to attend an ivy league school, then by all means go for it!! Certainly that would be an opportunity.

However, if you do not go Ivy, it's not the end of the world. If you end up USUHS--> military residency --> military attending, well then, you end up with the same education, residency, job that all of the non-ivies had too, so what does it really matter?
 

pgg

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You know what the difference between a doctor with an Ivy League undergraduate degree and a State U undergraduate degree is?

Maybe $100K of debt that compounds at 6-8% during medical school and residency.


IMO, short of financial aid or scholarship assistance akin to a full ride ... they're not worth it.
 

jabreal00

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You know what the difference between a doctor with an Ivy League undergraduate degree and a State U undergraduate degree is?

Maybe $100K of debt that compounds at 6-8% during medical school and residency.


IMO, short of financial aid or scholarship assistance akin to a full ride ... they're not worth it.

Not necessarily. Many Ivy league schools are really good about giving need based grants and scholarships that make it affordable for middle income students. My cousin (my dad's sister's daughter) just started her undergrad at Upenn. They are a middle income family, maybe $50-60K a year medium income in TX. She has basically a full ride with all the grants, work-study and need based scholarships given.

So I say if one can reach for the stars and get into the ivies, go for it. The med school thing may or may not pan out an ivy league degree opens doors for grad school or job opportunities right out of school.
 

pgg

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Not necessarily. Many Ivy league schools are really good about giving need based grants and scholarships that make it affordable for middle income students. My cousin (my dad's sister's daughter) just started her undergrad at Upenn. They are a middle income family, maybe $50-60K a year medium income in TX. She has basically a full ride with all the grants, work-study and need based scholarships given.

So I say if one can reach for the stars and get into the ivies, go for it. The med school thing may or may not pan out an ivy league degree opens doors for grad school or job opportunities right out of school.

Like I said:

IMO, short of financial aid or scholarship assistance akin to a full ride ... they're not worth it.

My opinion is that they're not worth a debt premium, especially if medical school is a goal.
 

xXIDaShizIXx

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And I'll argue that most people won't even care about that. They will care that you are a licensed physician, had good recommendations from people they knew, and practiced in the specialty where they need help.

Especially small towns. Most people around here don't even care what degree you hold as long as you treat them well.
 

pgg

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Especially small towns. Most people around here don't even care what degree you hold as long as you treat them well.

Most people can't tell the difference between nurse practictioners and doctors because they both generally wear the same clothes and carry stethoscopes. MD vs DO isn't even on their radar.

Smile, be on time, put some magazines less than a year old in the waiting room and you're golden. Short of death and disability, laypeople wouldn't know the difference between poor care and good care if it walked up and punched them.
 

yudodis

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Good luck kid, let us know when (if) you get it.
 
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