OTH discharge and acceptance

[rrt]

I am posting here due to word around the block saying that you guys are tough.

So I completed training and some time in Active Duty in the army. Got a honorable discharge for this. Was placed with my reserve unit and made drill for a while, but making weekend drills really hurt my income potential as a respiratory therapist/sleep tech. Patients cancelled during the week, and not so much during the weekend.

So my last commander was very understanding of this, and allowed me to come during the week once a month. This worked out great, especially because my unit didn't do anything with me during the weekends as it was. I was the only RT in the unit, and there weren't any non commissioned officers to guide me, so they usually put me in S2 to get paper work done (administrative duties). My commander was mad about this, and tried to get me into the hospital we were connected to, but was deployed during the process.

We got a new commander, and he wasn't so lenient of my situation. I broke down the math, and showed him that by not working even 1 weekend a month at my full time job, and even with my income from the reserve weekend, I still was put in a situation where I would have to chose between bills and rent.

A night is worth about $250 working the sleep lab in my position, and going to weekend drill made me give up Friday, Saturday and Sunday due to having to be at drill at 5:30 am on Saturday. Being that my patients don't get woken up until 5:30 am, plus all the paper work and cleaning afterwards, I couldn't work Friday night. I made about $300 during drill weekend (I am being modest, more like $240 after taxes), and lost the potential to make $750 at the lab. That is a loss of ~$400 a month on a person that has a child, goes to school full time, and makes maybe ~$2600 after taxes.

I ran into some financial trouble and needed to work every day possible, and for 3 months (3 meetings) missed drill. I tried going in early and after drill to make up the drill days, but like I said, my new commander didn't approve. His exact words were "LTC Sumners (last commander) was too easy on you. Make it work!"

I literally was having to chose between bills, food and rent, and luckily my apartment complex was super nice and allowed me to pay rent 2 weeks late without any repercussions. I went in for drill, and was told that I was out processed, and should be receiving my discharge. That I knew out right that staying home would do this to me, and disregarded direct orders to come to drill. I agreed, and asked if there was anything I could do. They said that it actually cost them more to keep me in, so they let me go on a other than honorable/administrative discharge.

With the new law making it mandatory to check honorable or OTH on aamcas, do you think this will be a deal breaker for me? Or should I aim at out of country programs? This is a hard blow to me, and honestly, my GPA is hovering around 3.85 and my practice MCAT hovers consistently around 33 WITHOUT all the pre-reqs.

Be harsh, be strict, don't soften your blows. I need to make some decisions. I served my time in active duty and did it well. I hate that being a part of a reserve unit that couldn't utilize me to my full potential and being in my situation can hold be back.

Anyone get int with similar problem?

RRT

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[kautionwirez]

I am posting here due to word around the block saying that you guys are tough.

So I completed training and some time in Active Duty in the army. Got a honorable discharge for this. Was placed with my reserve unit and made drill for a while, but making weekend drills really hurt my income potential as a respiratory therapist/sleep tech. Patients cancelled during the week, and not so much during the weekend.

So my last commander was very understanding of this, and allowed me to come during the week once a month. This worked out great, especially because my unit didn't do anything with me during the weekends as it was. I was the only RT in the unit, and there weren't any non commissioned officers to guide me, so they usually put me in S2 to get paper work done (administrative duties). My commander was mad about this, and tried to get me into the hospital we were connected to, but was deployed during the process.

We got a new commander, and he wasn't so lenient of my situation. I broke down the math, and showed him that by not working even 1 weekend a month at my full time job, and even with my income from the reserve weekend, I still was put in a situation where I would have to chose between bills and rent.

A night is worth about $250 working the sleep lab in my position, and going to weekend drill made me give up Friday, Saturday and Sunday due to having to be at drill at 5:30 am on Saturday. Being that my patients don't get woken up until 5:30 am, plus all the paper work and cleaning afterwards, I couldn't work Friday night. I made about $300 during drill weekend (I am being modest, more like $240 after taxes), and lost the potential to make $750 at the lab. That is a loss of ~$400 a month on a person that has a child, goes to school full time, and makes maybe ~$2600 after taxes.

I ran into some financial trouble and needed to work every day possible, and for 3 months (3 meetings) missed drill. I tried going in early and after drill to make up the drill days, but like I said, my new commander didn't approve. His exact words were "LTC Sumners (last commander) was too easy on you. Make it work!"

I literally was having to chose between bills, food and rent, and luckily my apartment complex was super nice and allowed me to pay rent 2 weeks late without any repercussions. I went in for drill, and was told that I was out processed, and should be receiving my discharge. That I knew out right that staying home would do this to me, and disregarded direct orders to come to drill. I agreed, and asked if there was anything I could do. They said that it actually cost them more to keep me in, so they let me go on a other than honorable/administrative discharge.

With the new law making it mandatory to check honorable or OTH on aamcas, do you think this will be a deal breaker for me? Or should I aim at out of country programs? This is a hard blow to me, and honestly, my GPA is hovering around 3.85 and my practice MCAT hovers consistently around 33 WITHOUT all the pre-reqs.

Be harsh, be strict, don't soften your blows. I need to make some decisions. I served my time in active duty and did it well. I hate that being a part of a reserve unit that couldn't utilize me to my full potential and being in my situation can hold be back.

Anyone get int with similar problem?

RRT

That's above average for MD applicant.... No need to apply out of country.

 

[LizzyM]

First: I'm at a top tier school & don't see many applicants with military service.
Second: there should be somewhere on the application where you'll be able to explain (briefly) the reason for your discharge from reserve duty. If not, mark a line ......... at the bottom of your application and put a brief explanation down there. (sadly it means you need a shorter personal statement but you'll do what you have to do to tell your story).

On the other hand, you are going to need to reflect on the situation you'll face in medical school/residency and figure out how you are going to make it work from a financial standpoint. There may be some folks who are going to question your ability to manage obligations that are in conflict.

 

[Catalystik]

When one answers "No" to the question about honorable military discharge on the AMCAS application, new instructions pop up and one has the opportunity to explain the situation in 1325 characters:

Did you receive an honorable discharge or a discharge under honorable circumstances?
Yes No

Note that a dishonorable or general discharge under other than honorable conditions will not necessarily disqualify you for acceptance or admission. Individual medical schools will review your response for accuracy and completeness, and will consider the information in the context of their overall assessment of your suitability for admission. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) recommends that all U.S. medical schools verify your response(s) upon your initial acceptance to a medical school by means of a national background check.

Failure to disclose information, or the submission of inaccurate or incomplete information on this application, may disqualify you for admission. If No, please explain the circumstances of your discharge, including the circumstances leading to your discharge, your period of service, and your rank at the time of discharge (maximum 1325 characters):

 

[rrt]

First: I'm at a top tier school & don't see many applicants with military service.
Second: there should be somewhere on the application where you'll be able to explain (briefly) the reason for your discharge from reserve duty. If not, mark a line ......... at the bottom of your application and put a brief explanation down there. (sadly it means you need a shorter personal statement but you'll do what you have to do to tell your story).

On the other hand, you are going to need to reflect on the situation you'll face in medical school/residency and figure out how you are going to make it work from a financial standpoint. There may be some folks who are going to question your ability to manage obligations that are in conflict.

This is a question that I ask myself. If I couldn't make it work with the reserves, what can I say to make adcom really believe I won't do the same with medical school.

I guess what makes it worst is that I got discharged 10 months before my ETS day. I would have been out this Dec 22... I wish I could turn back time and just stick it out. But I wasn't prepared for the financial burden it was putting me in. While I was active duty, that wasn't a question, it was quite easy to live off of my funds.

I work really hard for what I have, and my grades reflect that as well. I am working full time, going to school full time, am a full time father, with a wife who is on bed rest and makes 0 income at the moment. I lead a youth ministry at the college I go to. Something had to give... and unfortunately I made the bad decision and chose my service obligation. I took on too much, and instead of it hurting my grades, which is something I could have bounced back from, it hurt my service time.

RRT

 

[Bree Scove]

there should be some places that you can give the explaination.Anyway, have a try

 

[mekel]

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[rrt]

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??