Would serving in the military give an applicant an edge in admissions?

[maplesyrup23]

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I'm a high school senior from Canada and I'm planning on joining the Canadian Armed Forces in the coming September.

I'll be doing my undergrad in University of Toronto, probably in Electrical Engineering and I'll be taking the biomedical engineering option in the third year. And I'll be applying to medical schools all over (except for the Carribean lolz!)

Couple of questions based on the above,

- Are people who worked in the army given preference over regular applicants? Oh, and if it matters, I'll be serving in the army as an Electrical and Mechanical Engineer for 5 years.

- As I'm doing a electrical engineering undergrad, how hard would it be to get my name on some research papers that I could use in my admissions?

- To increase my chances to get in to med school in the States, should I do some grad studies (would it even help?)

- Assuming that I do a Masters after serving time, I'd be approximately... 27. Would I be considered a mature applicant and would I be discriminated against for that? Or is it altogether a new admissions pool for the matures?

Thanks.


*I had another question but it just slipped my mind. Will update/edit later.*

 

[smash]

Don't take this as gospel or anything but if you're really serious about medicine, why not go to college right now and from there straight to med school with the intent of applying for military medical scholarships? You'd still get to do your military service and you would probably be a doctor by the time you were 27 rather than just starting your medical training. You also would finish med school with no debt which is nothing to shake a stick at.

 

[FrickenhugeMD]

If the whole reason for doing time in the military is to give you and "advantage" in getting into med school, you will be disappointed in your decision.

That being said, this would probly be looked at as a plus as compared to other applicants that are just going strait through. I don't think that it is as big of a plus as you are hoping it would be, but it would be a plus.

Don't do grad studies unless you have a great interest in that particular field, otherwise it is wasted time and money.

In my opinion, a masters degree is near worthless if you go onto medical school (except maybe an MBA if you plan to own your own practice). You spend a ton of money on it and the reward is minimal to nothing.

 

[FrickenhugeMD]

O, and welcome to the board!

 

[johncalvin]

Don't take this as gospel or anything but if you're really serious about medicine, why not go to college right now and from there straight to med school with the intent of applying for military medical scholarships? You'd still get to do your military service and you would probably be a doctor by the time you were 27 rather than just starting your medical training. You also would finish med school with no debt which is nothing to shake a stick at.

He's a Canadian citizen, I presume.

 

[maplesyrup23]

Thanks smash and FrickenHugeMD.

Smash: I've considered that too, and the only reason I chose doing time before applying to medical schools is because of the edge I think it'll give me.

FrickenHugeMD: I'm not so desperate as to join the army TO get into a medical school! I want to serve time, but I'm just not certain if I should do it after undergrad or after med school.

And I thought a masters would put me over the top for admissions... Well, I thought wrong.

Thanks people, and thanks for the welcome (note the irony.)! You'll be seeing a lot more of me!

 

[UVAbme2009]

You're asking about something that will pertain to what happens 10 years from now.

 

[maplesyrup23]

You're asking about something that will pertain to what happens 10 years from now.

Your point being?

I'm just being prepared. And I'm making decisions in the coming few months that will for sure have consequences for a lot more than 10 years.

 

[maplesyrup23]

And does anyone know about how it is getting a clinical research post in university while studying engineering?

Would it be harder than those in the sciences or does it not even matter?

 

[Confused2626]

And does anyone know about how it is getting a clinical research post in university while studying engineering?

Would it be harder than those in the sciences or does it not even matter?

The research people who I have dealt with, only work/hire engineer students. At my university, a lot of PI's "advertise" on the engineering emails to get people. So, I think you will be pretty valuable. Mainly, a lot of researchers are in desperate need of somebody who can program...mainly C and Matlab, and as an EE you will learn those skills.

As for clinical research, it really depends. I think if your emphasis is on biomedical engineering, you would be able to more easily to get lab/physiology type research than just straight up EE. But that doensnt necessarily mean you're out of clinical research as an EE. As an example of clinical research that I had the opportunity to get involve with was CT studies in a pulmonary physiology lab

**skimming over this, the grammar in my paragraph sucks, sorry if its hard to understand. long day and didn't feel like editing

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

Don't do it. If you are joining the military just to get an edge on admissions, it's a really stupid idea and a huge waste of time.

Being older has its advantages when applying but a masters degree in engineering would look a million times better than what you'll probably end up doing in the military. There are some exceptions.. being a fighter jet pilot, for example.

If you go into the military I'd make sure to do it in such a way that they finance your medical education (ie: go after med school). Option 2 would be going after college, because at least you'd be an officer.