things just got more interesting

[GreyBlueEyes]

so, yesterday my husband told me that he's decided to re-enlist and go for the full 20. the reasons are numerous (and it's better for us financially), but it basically boils down to the fact that we've finally wound up at a base he loves and he doesn't want to leave his job anymore.

so, being a military wife, i am excellent at tossing out months or years worth of planning and formulating a new plan.

new plan: we're now due to transfer to norfolk summer 2009. i should be able to complete my BS at UNF by then. i'll apply to EVMS to start fall 2009. i've emailed them to ask if they'll give us in-state tuition rates (every base we've gone to, the local schools have always given active duty and dependents in-state rates, but these schools aren't med schools).

this should actually work out. he'll retire at 38, i'll be about halfway done with my residency, and he can either get out then or wait till i'm done with my residency. point being, when he gets out, he won't need to find another job. we'll have my salary and his retirement pay and he could do whatever he wants for a change. he'll be on shore duty when i'm in med school. the only sticky part is that he might have to back to sea when i'm a resident, but i guess we'll figure out a solution when/if that happens (we have children).

this should be fun/interesting i don't think i could possibly make becoming a doctor more complicated/difficult. i'll feel better once i hear back from EVMS.

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[Pemberley]

so, being a military wife, i am excellent at tossing out months or years worth of planning and formulating a new plan.

too true... military spouse is definitely the toughest job in the military. and the most underpaid.

this should be fun/interesting i don't think i could possibly make becoming a doctor more complicated/difficult. i'll feel better once i hear back from EVMS.

Figuring out med school admissions to coordinate with a non-military but location-dependent spouse's job is tough enough... this one really sounds entertaining. I'm glad your husband's job satisfaction has improved! Is EVMS military-friendly?

 

[GreyBlueEyes]

too true... military spouse is definitely the toughest job in the military. and the most underpaid.

aka: ZERO DOLLARS.

not to mention that the ONLY tuition assistance available to spouses is like, three scholarships which everyone has to compete for they really ought to at least pay for their education, since getting jerked around from station to station is a big part of why it takes us so long to finish.

Figuring out med school admissions to coordinate with a non-military but location-dependent spouse's job is tough enough... this one really sounds entertaining. I'm glad your husband's job satisfaction has improved! Is EVMS military-friendly?

i have no idea! that's what i wrote them to find out. if they're not, i'm screwed. i really wish they would write me back before his re-enlistment goes through so that we can include that in the decision.

and yeah, when we were planning to get out i knew i'd be location-dependent when i applied and i thought THAT would be hard! this will take a herculean effort in coordination while being part of a system that is notorious for being unpredictable (the navy, not med schools ).

 

[GreyBlueEyes]

btw, grats on your acceptance!!

i noticed you volunteered in a nicu and i'm hoping to do that starting in january. how did you like it? are you considering a related specialty?

 

[Pemberley]

btw, grats on your acceptance!!

i noticed you volunteered in a nicu and i'm hoping to do that starting in january. how did you like it? are you considering a related specialty?

Thanks. I'm very excited. And Texas has something called the Hazlewood Act, where most state school tuition & fees are free for Texas veterans. Especially given what I learned at the Duke financial aid office yesterday, it's nice to know that I'm into somewhere affordable.

I love it! I rock babies. There's some poor pre-med schmuck cleaning up bodily fluids in the ED, and I'm up in the NICU rocking a lonely baby. I used to volunteer tutoring, but now that I'm a physics grad student and TA, the last thing I want is more brainpower intensive work to do. So I rock the babies. It's great.

Yes, while I'm told that my opinion will probably change during med school, I'm currently inclined toward pediatric subspecialties: mostly ID, heme/onc, or neonatology.

 

[GreyBlueEyes]

Thanks. I'm very excited. And Texas has something called the Hazlewood Act, where most state school tuition & fees are free for Texas veterans. Especially given what I learned at the Duke financial aid office yesterday, it's nice to know that I'm into somewhere affordable.

I love it! I rock babies. There's some poor pre-med schmuck cleaning up bodily fluids in the ED, and I'm up in the NICU rocking a lonely baby. I used to volunteer tutoring, but now that I'm a physics grad student and TA, the last thing I want is more brainpower intensive work to do. So I rock the babies. It's great.

Yes, while I'm told that my opinion will probably change during med school, I'm currently inclined toward pediatric subspecialties: mostly ID, heme/onc, or neonatology.

i found the residency form for EVMS and it asks if you or your spouse are currently stationed in VA, so i'm *hoping* that means they give in-state rates to military. i'll be surprised if they don't. makes a huge difference.

rocking babies is exactly what i'm applying to do! they call it "infant cuddler" at the hospital i'm applying with i'm hoping being a mom of 3 will help me get chosen.

ob/gyn is probably my top choice right now, although psychiatrist is a strong consideration as well. i'm not expecting to really make a choice until 3rd year of med school (which is a LONG way in the future).

 

[scpod]

new plan: we're now due to transfer to norfolk summer 2009. i should be able to complete my BS at UNF by then. i'll apply to EVMS to start fall 2009. i've emailed them to ask if they'll give us in-state tuition rates (every base we've gone to, the local schools have always given active duty and dependents in-state rates, but these schools aren't med schools).

Think about VCU (MCV) as well. If you end up living on the Peninsula side (closer to Williamsburg) then the commute to Richmond would not really be out of the question. At least you'd have another option.

 

[Age]

To the OP-
I'm in the same situation- different branch. My hub. will be active duty for the next 10 yrs+ and I'm contemplating applying next year. (Assuming I really do try this whole crazy idea!)

Since school apps are done before we would be given any kind of assignement it will be a real guessing game. It should be even more interesting trying to coordinate a residency!! (Can't even think about that one now- gives me a major headache!)

Will you be applying from w/i state or from out of state? Since we usually get resident status as soon as we move in on orders, what does that make us during the application process?

Glad to meet another in the same situation- good luck, keep us posted. I'll let you know if I find out anything relevant- but I'm not quite contacting schools just yet.

 

[GreyBlueEyes]

Think about VCU (MCV) as well. If you end up living on the Peninsula side (closer to Williamsburg) then the commute to Richmond would not really be out of the question. At least you'd have another option.

thanks, i'll look into that!

 

[GreyBlueEyes]

To the OP-
I'm in the same situation- different branch. My hub. will be active duty for the next 10 yrs+ and I'm contemplating applying next year. (Assuming I really do try this whole crazy idea!)

Since school apps are done before we would be given any kind of assignement it will be a real guessing game. It should be even more interesting trying to coordinate a residency!! (Can't even think about that one now- gives me a major headache!)

Will you be applying from w/i state or from out of state? Since we usually get resident status as soon as we move in on orders, what does that make us during the application process?

Glad to meet another in the same situation- good luck, keep us posted. I'll let you know if I find out anything relevant- but I'm not quite contacting schools just yet.

what i'm hoping is that if i tell them while applying that we're transferring to norfolk (we'll be transferring there regardless...he's attached to a sub that's due for DMP in summer 2009) that they'll consider my app as in-state, even though i'll still be in GA while applying. then i give them the official orders once we have them. hopefully they'll be understanding about the whole military thing and work with me regardless, as i understand it, we don't start giving them money until we start going to school, so i'll have in-state status for tuition purposes when i start (since, as you pointed out, it's instant when we PCS to an area), assuming they do that.

thinking about a residency gives me a headache, too. i'll be starting my residency when he has about two years left, so one option for us is for him to stay on shore duty and just get out at 20 and we stay in the area until i'm done with my residency. thankfully, he'll definitely be on shore the whole time i'm in med school. the other option is to come back to GA for my residency and stay in for 22-23 years instead. the schedule here is not very demanding and they don't spend much time at sea. that's the big thing: what would i do when he goes to sea and i'm on-call? i think that's something we can figure out at the time though. a lot can change in 7 years and we might have more options then

i'm actually farther away from applying than you are; i just like to know in advance what my options are so i can plan. i also emailed them because if they're going to be all "we don't encourage military dependents to apply" or something, i want to know BEFORE he re-enlists! i want to get a feel for how military-friendly they are before we sign another contract. i'll be very interested in hearing how things work out for you

 

[Age]

what i'm hoping is that if i tell them while applying that we're transferring to norfolk (we'll be transferring there regardless...he's attached to a sub that's due for DMP in summer 2009) that they'll consider my app as in-state, even though i'll still be in GA while applying.

It would be very helpful to be an instate applicant- beyond the whole tuition question. This is something that I will try to push for wherever I apply. (if I do of course ) - Age



i'm actually farther away from applying than you are; i just like to know in advance what my options are so i can plan. i also emailed them because if they're going to be all "we don't encourage military dependents to apply" or something, i want to know BEFORE he re-enlists! i want to get a feel for how military-friendly they are before we sign another contract. i'll be very interested in hearing how things work out for you

They wouldn't dare say that- but we'll never know what they are really thinking. It's frustrating to read all those school missions that aim to turn out "physicians to serve the state of X", knowing full well I can't even pretend to be a part of meeting that goal.

At any rate, for all these perceived minuses, there are certainly some plusses to our situation. (And I'll be sure to let you know just what they are as soon as I come up with one! )

 

[Pemberley]

i'm actually farther away from applying than you are; i just like to know in advance what my options are so i can plan. i also emailed them because if they're going to be all "we don't encourage military dependents to apply" or something, i want to know BEFORE he re-enlists! i want to get a feel for how military-friendly they are before we sign another contract. i'll be very interested in hearing how things work out for you

Sadly, if I were going to take that attitude, I doubt they'd be honest about it. It's like all those catalogs that talk in somber and officious tones about the school's no-tolerance policy about racial discrimination. Waste of space. I mean, really, is a racist admissions director going to come right out and say "yeah, sorry, I don't think this group will make good doctors..."? I think not.

Probably the best you can do is wax rhapsodic about how much you love the area and have hopes that your husband can retire in his current posting so you can stay there.

 

[GreyBlueEyes]

if they ask about where i see myself winding up, i'll just say that there's a good chance we'll be staying in the area for my residency and when we retire. we DO want to retire near a base, so we can reap the benefits (commissary, etc.) and we are considering staying in norfolk for my residency, so i wouldn't be lying. and i wouldn't mind at all avoiding selling another house or changing our kids' schools, so it really is a distinct possibility that we'd stay in norfolk from then on out. we've always considered VA as a place to settle down. even if i left for my residency, we'd still consider moving back to VA when he retired.

as far as military in general, bases are often near poor areas, and you can talk about the fact that becoming a doctor means it'll be easier for you to find a job wherever you go and you hope to serve in the poorer areas near the bases where you are stationed. if nothing else, they must be familiar with the military, given their location, and will hopefully realize that military wives are some of the most dedicated, hardworking, and resourceful people around

 

[jvencius]

...if nothing else, they ...will hopefully realize that military wives are some of the most dedicated, hardworking, and resourceful people around

Military husbands too (I R one). I was AD AF until AFPC decided, in their infinite and incomprehensible "wisdom" to give my wife orders here and me to a base 1500 miles away. So, instead of dealing with that separation for the sake of a paycheck, I pulled the pin, re-enrolled in college to complete my pre-reqs, and am SOOOOOOOOO much happier than I was whilst active duty.

 

[GreyBlueEyes]

Military husbands too (I R one). I was AD AF until AFPC decided, in their infinite and incomprehensible "wisdom" to give my wife orders here and me to a base 1500 miles away. So, instead of dealing with that separation for the sake of a paycheck, I pulled the pin, re-enrolled in college to complete my pre-reqs, and am SOOOOOOOOO much happier than I was whilst active duty.

absolutely!!! and i think you did the right thing

 

[Age]

if they ask about where i see myself winding up, i'll just say that there's a good chance we'll be staying in the area for my residency and when we retire. we DO want to retire near a base, so we can reap the benefits (commissary, etc.) and we are considering staying in norfolk for my residency, so i wouldn't be lying. and i wouldn't mind at all avoiding selling another house or changing our kids' schools, so it really is a distinct possibility that we'd stay in norfolk from then on out. we've always considered VA as a place to settle down. even if i left for my residency, we'd still consider moving back to VA when he retired.

as far as military in general, bases are often near poor areas, and you can talk about the fact that becoming a doctor means it'll be easier for you to find a job wherever you go and you hope to serve in the poorer areas near the bases where you are stationed. if nothing else, they must be familiar with the military, given their location, and will hopefully realize that military wives are some of the most dedicated, hardworking, and resourceful people around

...That and the fact that everytime we move, we have to sew new curtains so we should be really good at stitches. (If only that were true for me- I'm more of a mini-blinds from Target gal myself )

Or we could tell them how we won't be limiting ourselves to serving the people of state X, (start playing anthem here) but we will be serving all of the American people as we go from post to post supporting our military spouse (wipe away tear) and no matter where we are sent by Uncle Sam, our medical education from school X will be carried with us to the benefit of the tired, the weary, the wretched refuse... (rip open suit jacket to show flag shirt underneath). Think that should do it?

 

[jvencius]

absolutely!!! and i think you did the right thing

My separating from active duty was truly a blessing. I made a very nice living in the AF but I was depressed and miserable. Becoming a civilian again and returning to school has invigorated me and unlike the previous time I spent in college, I have realized that beer doesn't help grades and studying actually causes "A" to show up on top of my on exams. Who'd have thunk it...

Also (shameless plug for my dog), getting Mr. Teddy has improved my mental outlook on life immeasurably, especially with Mrs. JV deployed 13 time zones away. He's not good for a whole lot other than making me smile, but the value of a little critter who loves us completely is beyond description.

Here's my little buddy:

 

[GreyBlueEyes]

Or we could tell them how we won't be limiting ourselves to serving the people of state X, (start playing anthem here) but we will be serving all of the American people as we go from post to post supporting our military spouse (wipe away tear) and no matter where we are sent by Uncle Sam, our medical education from school X will be carried with us to the benefit of the tired, the weary, the wretched refuse... (rip open suit jacket to show flag shirt underneath). Think that should do it?

i would totally accept you!

seriously, though, you have a point. i think the "train me and you're serving the whole country" approach is valid.

 

[GreyBlueEyes]

My separating from active duty was truly a blessing. I made a very nice living in the AF but I was depressed and miserable. Becoming a civilian again and returning to school has invigorated me and unlike the previous time I spent in college, I have realized that beer doesn't help grades and studying actually causes "A" to show up on top of my on exams. Who'd have thunk it...

Also (shameless plug for my dog), getting Mr. Teddy has improved my mental outlook on life immeasurably, especially with Mrs. JV deployed 13 time zones away. He's not good for a whole lot other than making me smile, but the value of a little critter who loves us completely is beyond description.

Here's my little buddy:

your dog is adorable! and it really does help to have something to take care of when your spouse is deployed. that's the motivation behind the decision many young military wives make to have babies. i try to caution them away from that, though. it seems like a great idea before you have any, but while it's great to have something to take care of when you're alone, it sucks to have someONE to take care of when you're alone. someone to cuddle is nice, but being a single parent sucks, and that's basically what you are when your husband is gone. my husband left when our son matt was 4 weeks old. matt nursed nonstop. i still remember nursing him in one arm and pushing the grocery cart in the other. it was exhausting!

we're only re-enlisting because his assignment now involves very little time at sea and no return trips to iraq. he wants to be around to raise his kids. i hear you on the depressed and miserable thing. that's how my husband was until we got here, so i fully supported him getting out (despite the $100k bonus for re-enlisting). here, he finally found his niche and is really liking his job so, we stay.

 

[Pemberley]

Military husbands too (I R one). I was AD AF until AFPC decided, in their infinite and incomprehensible "wisdom" to give my wife orders here and me to a base 1500 miles away. So, instead of dealing with that separation for the sake of a paycheck, I pulled the pin, re-enrolled in college to complete my pre-reqs, and am SOOOOOOOOO much happier than I was whilst active duty.

AFPC really ought to be serious about joint spouse assignments if it wants good people to stay in. I, also, was overpaid but miserable during my last year or two of the Air Force. I'm very much happier making 1/3 the money as a student, than 3x the money as a bureaucrat.

Cute dog! I agree, my kitten made everything better when I was hating my job across the country from my (then) fiance.