Joining the Air Force before medical school

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lilqu

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Hey guys I had a question, I graduated recently, and will be applying for med school this year - my question is would it be beneficial for me to join the air force right now (and would they allow me a leave for med school next year). Or would it be better to just apply once I am in medical school or before residency?

I searched for similar threads, and neither answered my question.

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Hey guys I had a question, I graduated recently, and will be applying for med school this year - my question is would it be beneficial for me to join the air force right now (and would they allow me a leave for med school next year). Or would it be better to just apply once I am in medical school or before residency?

I searched for similar threads, and neither answered my question.

I don't understand... Why would you apply or the air force if you're wanting to go to medical school :confused:
 
Hey guys I had a question, I graduated recently, and will be applying for med school this year - my question is would it be beneficial for me to join the air force right now (and would they allow me a leave for med school next year). Or would it be better to just apply once I am in medical school or before residency?

I searched for similar threads, and neither answered my question.

Nope, Nope, better later. Look into USU and HPSP
 
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Go to the military medicine forum...they can answer more fully, but the short answer is no. You can't join and then leave to go to school unless you're in the reserves or guard, and even then you'll still have to complete basic and AIT before starting school, and that can't really happen in the short time-frame between graduating and starting med school. You'd still have to drill one weekend a month, etc...and in school all your time would be spoken for.
 
Talk to an Air Force officer recruiter. There are programs where you can get paid while you are medical school for a portion of your life later.

It's not a bad gig. I would look into going that route first.

And unless you are just dead set on Air Force, look into talking to a Navy officer recruiter as well.
 
Talk to an Air Force officer recruiter. There are programs where you can get paid while you are medical school for a portion of your life later.

It's not a bad gig. I would look into going that route first.

And unless you are just dead set on Air Force, look into talking to a Navy officer recruiter as well.

Do not talk to a recruiter.
 
Look into applying for the HPSP scholarship if you want to do med school and be in the military. Go over to the military med forum to get a basic gist of the pros and cons (just be aware, it's pretty heavy on cons but it's a good place to start). Also I would suggest into trying to contact some current physicians. If you want to go this route, you need to start NOW because this application takes months to assemble and send off (at any point you can stop, so I would start even if you haven't made a decision yet).

Joining now before school and not applying HPSP would be a horrible choice. They would most likely not let you leave to go to med school.

Do not talk to a recruiter.

I think what you mean to say is to take what the recruiter says with a grain of salt. Mine was pretty good, but it seems that many don't know what they are talking about. I would suggest relying on outside sources to get all of your information, but you have to talk to a recruiter to apply. So go talk to a recruiter ASAP and get the application started.

Edit: Wait, are you applying this summer? Then you don't need to start until you start applying to med school. Still, I would start the process early (not long after starting the med school process). You have to do an application and get a physical so don't put it off.
 
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