Originally Posted by
Liziz
My DH is a military MD so I just wanted to throw out a couple comments related to that. I'm using a "you" here to refer to all your DCs that are considering this:
My DH did both ROTC (in undergrad) and had the military pay for med school - he graduated medical school with $0 debt, and then was paid much better than most civilian residents (training post-med school) are paid. It's a great option for those interested in avoiding debt for medical school. BUT - be aware, it's not just a trick to get free education. The military will then "own" you, and you will NOT get the same choices a civilian will get. Sometimes it's for the better, sometimes it's for the worse!
Be aware that if you look into ROTC for undergrad, you will have a commitment to the military. You will have to apply for and be granted an educational delay (of your required service) to be allowed to go to med school. If you don't get the ed delay, you won't be allowed to go to med school, even if you get it. If you get an ed delay, but DON'T get into med school, you don't just get to take a year off and go do your own thing and try again the next year. The military will assign you a different role you'll be expected to do. You can certainly apply again for an educational delay in the future, but the choice isn't exclusively yours. If you do ROTC then also have the military pay for medical school, you will owe the military 8+ years of service. That's 8+ years of being an officer in the US military, and all that comes with it (moving every few years, deployments, assignments for things you'd rather not do, etc.).
If the military pays for medical school -- you will be expected to do your residency at a military hospital, unless you get an exception (which were rare when DH did it, I hear they're even more rare now). If you want to specialize (do a fellowship) after residency, again, you're expected to do it at a military hospital, unless you get an exception (again, rare). The military has very limited fellowship spaces and specific needs for their medical corps. Just because you're interested in something doesn't mean you'll be able to do it. For example, the specialty my DH wanted has *1* spot each year -- and some years they've had *0* spots. Most of the doctors we know eventually were able to do what they wanted (fellowship-wise) but many had to spend several years doing something else first. Options and training sites are just much, much more limited, especially recently, as the military has started to really focus on a few key areas they want physicians (i.e. - they want specialties that are most needed on the battlefield, and by their young, mostly healthy active duty corps) -- and farming out the areas that don't fit that. For example - you'll have a much easier time studying something like primary care, emergency medicine, general surgery, trauma surgery, etc. But if you want something like dermatology, rheumatology, pediatrics, etc. -- there are going to be less opportunities.
My DH (and our family) have had an excellent experience with the military paying for DH's school. We (so far, lol!) have zero regrets, and there are many, many positive things our family has experienced because of DH's military service. It was absolutely the right choice for DH and it is an excellent choice for lots of people. So please be clear that although I have a lot of cautions listed above, I am not trying to talk anyone out of considering the military. However, I often hear people talking about using the military to pay for med school like it's just "free money" (not saying anyone here was doing that, just in general), and I always feel the need to correct that notion. There is absolutely commitments and sacrifices much beyond civilian life if you choose that route. It's an EXCELLENT way to pay for medical school....but only if you truly want to (or trust you can handle it) be in the military!