pre med and military reserve

[KJH]

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I got accepted there and attended an open house and it seems like a decent school. Its no UF, or FSU but I think its a respectable institution. I'm pondering majoring in Health Sciences or "Clinical Lab Technology". At one point I considered Nursing but I've noticed that was frowned upon by medical school admissions folk. I realize that medical schools don't care too much about what you major in so I'm not worried about that. I'm more worried about the MCAT and essays. Standardized tests always make me nervous...

But I guess my real questions is, does anybody have any experience with University of West Florida? How was your experience and how does it compare to the other flagship universities? I was considering doing the Navy Reserve while I was Pensacola to help pay for college. Would you advice against that?

 

[Lil Mick]

I don't know UWF, but I've had pre-med friends in the reserves during college. I would advise against it, as some of them were called up during college (missed semesters and had to transfer after coming back to the States). If you did ROTC in college or the med school military program, you'd be able to serve and not have your education interrupted 1+ times while you're preparing for med school...

 

[the duck]

Erm hate to break it to you, but health sciences is another major that medical schools don't really like.


Sorry, can't comment much on the school

 

[TheTruckGuy]

If you go reserves, and aren't pursuing a commission as an officer, you can get called up. If you are in the reserves and are doing ROTC, PLC, or SMP, you won't be called up. Or if you are, you can get out of it with the help of your professor of naval/military science.

If you go the ROTC route, you will be required to serve 12 years after med school if you get them to pay for your med school as well (at least that's the way it is with the Navy HSCP program). If you want to go career, then it shouldn't be a problem.

I was a member of the Corps at A&M, the largest of the senior military colleges, so I know plenty of ROTC/SMP(army commissioning source) cadets that went/are going to med school.

Erm hate to break it to you, but health sciences is another major that medical schools don't really like.

Also, I'd agree with this statement. They tend to want to see someone that has depth and scope in their education.

 

[KJH]

Thanks for the information all.

Why is health sciences frowned upon? What do you mean by depth and scope? As in a broader range of knowledge?

bigtruckguy I'm envious of you. I've always wanted to attend Texas A&M but there out of state tuition is ridiculous.

 

[TheTruckGuy]

Thanks for the information all.

Why is health sciences frowned upon? What do you mean by depth and scope? As in a broader range of knowledge?

bigtruckguy I'm envious of you. I've always wanted to attend Texas A&M but there out of state tuition is ridiculous.

Actually, if you join the Corps at A&M you'll likely get a scholarship that will get you a waiver to pay in-state tuition.

As far as health sciences, med schools want students with a diverse education because they feel that they make a more human doctor. They're sort of afraid that someone who takes only science classes will turn into a socially awkward doctor that sees a patient as just something that needs fixing versus someone that needs help. I was an engineer, and if you were to pick a dozen random liberal arts majors vs a dozen random engineers, you'd be more likely to find a socially awkward engineer than liberal arts major. So the thought is that if you can diversify your education and take a broad scope of courses that aren't necessarily related to medicine, you'll be able to be a better doctor from the non-technical side. Because they think they'll be able to teach you everything you need to know to be a doctor from the technical side.

 

[KJH]

Actually, if you join the Corps at A&M you'll likely get a scholarship that will get you a waiver to pay in-state tuition.

As far as health sciences, med schools want students with a diverse education because they feel that they make a more human doctor. They're sort of afraid that someone who takes only science classes will turn into a socially awkward doctor that sees a patient as just something that needs fixing versus someone that needs help. I was an engineer, and if you were to pick a dozen random liberal arts majors vs a dozen random engineers, you'd be more likely to find a socially awkward engineer than liberal arts major. So the thought is that if you can diversify your education and take a broad scope of courses that aren't necessarily related to medicine, you'll be able to be a better doctor from the non-technical side. Because they think they'll be able to teach you everything you need to know to be a doctor from the technical side.

That makes complete sense, never thought about it that way I suppose. The in-state tuition deal sounds pretty decent. Could you tell me more about it or could you shoot me a link? I will be going to school off of my father's GI Bill and that covers a pretty decent amount of expenses but I would always look to save money when I could.

 

[TheTruckGuy]

Corps Scholarships: http://corps.tamu.edu/admissions-scholarships/corps-scholarships.html
Info on the Non-Resident Tuition Waiver: https://scholarships.tamu.edu/information/tuition_waiver.aspx

Let me know if you have any more questions about it. Also, check out the Corps of Cadets facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/AggieCorps

Not sure which service you're interested in, but A&M has it all. We also have a lot of facilities that most schools don't have, like an indoor shooting range, an obstacle course, stamina course, grenade assault course, leadership development course (like where you have to get a barrel over the river of fire, etc), a huge land nav area, and one of the largest firemen training centers anywhere. We use the FTC for rapelling, learning MOUT, and for field exercises.

If you do end up going there, shoot me a message when you're deciding on what unit to join. I'll give you some advice.