Non Traditional Applicant ...currently an immigrant..National guard option

[janeappleseed]

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So Good Day My first official post.......so am currently pursuing my bachelors(premed) only in my first year,
have no clinical experience but have recently started to volunteer at a clinic as receptionist will seek CNA next quarter, have found some research to get involved with .....but my impending problem is how I will pay for college .....I am 21 ...have been in US for 6 months have been weighing the national guard option to become a medic and do all that dandy reserve stuff.....but I want to know how exactly it works..... I have been hearing a lot a things about the recruiters(car salesmen) and don't want to put myself in something I do not fully understand? I want the Pro's and the cons.....I know I may get deployed but I want to do that college first thing....any one got any good advise it would be much appreciated any it would be wonderful if you could cite your sources...... facts and opinion are welcomed .....oh I did do FAFSA but I came into the country late so I got only loans......Again will appreciate you taking your time to read my ramblings

 

[NYCNative]

Military isn't a bad option if you wouldn't mind the lifestyle... If you are looking in that direction, you could join ROTC and have them pay for your schooling. Then apply to medical school. If you don't get in, you'll have the military to fall back on, and you won't have any debt. You could always join the military first and pay for school later with your GI bill, but that might be getting a little late in your life. There are a LOT of lifestyle drawbacks to the military, though, so you should probably check out the military medicine forum for tons of information about that route. And any aid package you get in the future will also probably mostly consist of loans, so I don't think that will change much. What country are you from? Why did you decide not to go to medical school in that country?

 

[RogueUnicorn]

you can't enlist without a greencard

 

[Mr Avante]

So Good Day My first official post.......so am currently pursuing my bachelors(premed) only in my first year,
have no clinical experience but have recently started to volunteer at a clinic as receptionist will seek CNA next quarter, have found some research to get involved with .....but my impending problem is how I will pay for college .....I am 21 ...have been in US for 6 months have been weighing the national guard option to become a medic and do all that dandy reserve stuff.....but I want to know how exactly it works..... I have been hearing a lot a things about the recruiters(car salesmen) and don't want to put myself in something I do not fully understand? I want the Pro's and the cons.....I know I may get deployed but I want to do that college first thing....any one got any good advise it would be much appreciated any it would be wonderful if you could cite your sources...... facts and opinion are welcomed .....oh I did do FAFSA but I came into the country late so I got only loans......Again will appreciate you taking your time to read my ramblings

State?

 

[Goucher2013]

you can't enlist without a greencard

The apparently re-started the MAVNI program.

 

[nonlinear]

The apparently re-started the MAVNI program.

One of the requirements under the MAVNI program is that the candidate should have legally lived in the US without any law infractions for a period of atleast 2 years. Considering the fact that he has been in the country for only 6 months, I'd suggest waiting out another 18 months and then talking to a MAVNI recruiter.

 

[SunsFun]

What's your status? Student visa, green card?

 

[janeappleseed]

What's your status? Student visa, green card?

Recently got green car, currently student

 

[janeappleseed]

WA

State?

 

[janeappleseed]

Military isn't a bad option if you wouldn't mind the lifestyle... If you are looking in that direction, you could join ROTC and have them pay for your schooling. Then apply to medical school. If you don't get in, you'll have the military to fall back on, and you won't have any debt. You could always join the military first and pay for school later with your GI bill, but that might be getting a little late in your life. There are a LOT of lifestyle drawbacks to the military, though, so you should probably check out the military medicine forum for tons of information about that route. And any aid package you get in the future will also probably mostly consist of loans, so I don't think that will change much. What country are you from? Why did you decide not to go to medical school in that country?

Could not pay for it had to work for couple of years graduated high school at 17 and just could not afford it

 

[janeappleseed]

you can't enlist without a greencard

Currently have one

 

[janeappleseed]

you can't enlist without a greencard

you can't enlist without a greencard

have It

 

[janeappleseed]

Can Someone who has been through this route or close to this route give me their experience it would be much appreciated....Thx

 

[Goucher2013]

Can Someone who has been through this route or close to this route give me their experience it would be much appreciated....Thx

You can get citizenship fast and without any filing fees through the military.

I hear the Army is quite proactive about getting you citizenship ASAP. It may vary from installation to installation and training company to training company, but several prior Army friends of mine tell me that they were put on the path to citizenship while still in basic training. Since the Army National Guard has you go through the same training facilities as the rest of the Army, it might be worth exploring whether what my friends experienced is still true. Either way, you should be gaining citizenship within 18 months of enlisting, because of a citizenship law that former President Bush (jr.) signed.

I got my Green Card through marriage and citizenship through the Marine Corps Reserve. I had an absolute blast (woof), although I had prior service as an infantry officer in Europe, so I would have joined even if they had charged me entry and told taken the soul of my firstborn. The Marine Corps still helps you gain citizenship once you finish training, but I had to take the initiative to get HQMC to sign off on the paperwork.

68W (medic) in the ARNG is a good job, especially if you can snag yourself a cool opportunity like a flight medic slot after a few years. Don't think you can go through service only to get citizenship, though. Even with the drawdown in Afghanistan and the end of Iraq, you should still expect to deploy once during your first five years of service, and several more times beyond that. You might be deployed as soon as six months out of basic training. If you can't stomach that possibility, run away now. As a whole, the military is most suited to people who can tough it out when the regrets are nagging them endlessly during the worst times, and can laugh about their predicament both then and afterwards. Much like medicine, a lot of soldiering sucks, even in the reserves.

If you want to join for the challenge and adventure - with the added bonus of a Green Card - then go for it. If you see service purely as a ticket to a passport, you're going to be absolutely miserable and might actually hurt your civilian career chances through poor performance and conduct while in uniform.