Waiting out my enlistment...

[noxcuzes]

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I'm posting in the hopes that you all can offer some expert advice on my situation. I'm currently in the military and awaiting my elistment to end in about 3 years. Here's the short version.

-I have no pre-reqs done.
-Got BA degree with 3.9 GPA
-Got my EMT-B certification (unable to use it do to current job)
-Just started to volunteer at a local hospital
-I'm a single 27 year old (probably doesn't matter)

I'm dead set on being a doctor and I know I have a long road ahead me. Once I'm done with the military I plan on taking the pre-reqs at a local college. I looked for post-bac programs and there aren't any here in S.C.. I can't take the pre-reqs now b/c of my current schedule. I have the GI Bill to use and some money saved up for when I exit. My concern is the time between now and then. Is there anything anyone can think of that I should be doing to prepare myself for success during these next 3 long years? God, I can't wait...

 

[makushin]

i think you're nuts if you don't try to complete as many pre-reqs as possible before getting out. Thats what you can do between now and then. The rest is all fluff. You don't need a post-bacc program or any of that non-sense, just take 2 each semesters of BIO, physics, chem and organic at most any 4 year college, or at a bare minimum try and get the general chemistry out of the way ASAP.

I know many people that work on college while in the military, anythings possible without excuses.

 

[noxcuzes]

well it's not like i never thought of that, but when your out to sea for 2-3 months at a time and back home for maybe 2 months, it's kind of hard to fit in a semester long class. i guess i should've mentioned this to start out with. anyway, thanks for the reply.

 

[SoonerGeek]

Seriously, if you are worried about your scheduling over the next 3 years, talk to your CO. Unless he is a jerk, he'll work with you to let you take some courses. Now, if you have been deployed or deployment is emminent, that will certainly throw a kink into it. Frankly though, any university will be willing to work with you should that happen mid-term.

Do you really want to START your prereq's in 3 more years and push yourself 3 years further down the timeline? you're looking at probably 2 more years of school in prereq's alone, assuming that you haven't already completed some. Very doable on a 3 year part-time schedule.

I can't speak for the other non-trad's, but I certainly wish that I had gotten my **** together sooner.

 

[notdeadyet]

well it's not like i never thought of that, but when your out to sea for 2-3 months at a time and back home for maybe 2 months, it's kind of hard to fit in a semester long class. i guess i should've mentioned this to start out with. anyway, thanks for the reply.

Agreed. And the last thing you want are transcripts full of Incompletes, which is exactly what you'll get if you deploy in the middle of a course.

If you know you'll be in port for a full semester or two over the next few years, I'd personally recommend trying to take General Chemistry I and General Chemistry II. If you can take care of that, you can theoretically take the rest of your prereqs (Organic Chem, Bio and Physics) in one academic year. This is what I did. If you aren't able to do that first, your prereqs will take at least two.

I'd highly recommend checking out the military forum. I know there are a few folks who finished up prereqs during active duty, so you'll find folks there with more educated opinions on the matter.

 

[nick89302]

-I have no pre-reqs done.
-Got BA degree with 3.9 GPA
-Got my EMT-B certification (unable to use it do to current job)
-Just started to volunteer at a local hospital
-I'm a single 27 year old (probably doesn't matter)

I'm in basically the same position as you. 24yo. Prior service USAF. No pre-reqs. I was assigned to a combat communications squadron while I was in and deployed frequently. Because of the ops tempo, I wasn't able to take traditional classes. However, I did take full advantage of the free CLEP/DANTES/Excelsior testing offered through the base ed. office. When I separated almost two years ago, I had nearly 100 credits from the free CLEP tests and about 70 from my military education. I was able to roll that into three years of college and only needed to take 39 credit hours to graduate with a degree in Organizational Management. I know, it's a cheesy degree but in my defense, I wasn't considering medicine as a profession when I enrolled. I merely wanted a piece of paper because that was all I needed for Fed LE. A short time after I moved back to the states, I started to work part-time for the local FD. I did it initially because I missed the fast-paced life of my old unit. After I became FF1&2 certified, I obtained my EMT-B cert and started to ride the ambulances. I love it! It combines the problem solving aspect I liked about my AF job with my desire to help people. I plan on taking an accelerated medic course after I graduate which should allow me to start my pre-reqs in the fall.

Are there any courses other than the aforementioned BIO, GEN & ORG CHEM, and PHY that I should take to prepare myself for the MCAT and med school?

 

[Pemberley]

Are there any courses other than the aforementioned BIO, GEN & ORG CHEM, and PHY that I should take to prepare myself for the MCAT and med school?

The "standard" is:

• 1 year biology
• 1 year general chemistry
• 1 year organic chemistry
• 1 year physics
• .5 or 1 year calculus

However, you should look at schools you plan on applying to, because there are variations. I almost didn't notice until too late that one of mine absolutely required biochemistry. Every school will have this info somewhere on its admissions webpage.

Good luck, guys. I was able to do pre-reqs on active duty; but then, I didn't have to worry about sea duty. I self-studied the first five weeks of p-chem while deployed, but that approach isn't for everybody.

I also got some shadowing done on base before I separated. If you're looking for something else to do while on shore for irregular periods, that's always a good one. Or, like the last poster said, find a part-time use for your EMT-B, even if it's a volunteer opportunity (getting paid, of course, would be better.)

 

[GreyBlueEyes]

my husband is active duty navy. i know there's a program where you can do coursework while deployed, but i'm not sure if the med prereqs are covered. i'd recommend going to the navy college office and finding out what your options are during deployment/underways/patrols 🙂

 

[makushin]

I can't speak for the other non-trad's, but I certainly wish that I had gotten my **** together sooner.

Ditto.... I could've lobbed a whole year off this process if I had taken Gen Chem 1 a semester earlier. When you already have a degree, you'll probably want to expediate the post-bacc experience as much as possible. It's limbo.