Military instead of College? For a girl?

Lilacs4Me

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 31, 2015
I've had two nephews join the military in the past 3 months. Similar stories: they are both having a hard time supporting themselves and paying for college. One wants to be a doctor and the other a police officer (at least, that was what they were going to college for pre-military). Not sure how it all works, but since both have some college credit, they said they are entering at a higher rank than beginning level, and are able to pick the (general) area of work/study while in the military. They are 21 and 20.

DD14 is intrigued. She can't stop talking about her possibly doing this as well. She wants to be a doctor. She is in all honors classes and has good grades.

Anyone military/former military here? I know she can go talk to a recruiter, of course, but I'm just looking for personal stories/experience - especially from a woman's point of view!

She will have two options:

1. take classes for free at our local community college, then join the Navy (the branch she wants to go into)
2. Join the Navy straight from HS

Of course there are other options, too, but those are the ones that seem most cost-effective, college-wise, at this time. She is more than welcome to not join the military, and of course she will probably change her mind a hundred times in the next 4 years, and if so we will partially pay for her college like we do with DS18 adn scholarships/loans will cover the rest, but she is SO interested in finding out more!

ETA: She is fascinated with the prospect of being a doctor for our soldiers in the military...she has even said that she would like to do that even as a civilian, so she wouldn't be doing it JUST to get her schooling paid for. Not sure if that matters....)
 
I've had two nephews join the military in the past 3 months. Similar stories: they are both having a hard time supporting themselves and paying for college. One wants to be a doctor and the other a police officer (at least, that was what they were going to college for pre-military). Not sure how it all works, but since both have some college credit, they said they are entering at a higher rank than beginning level, and are able to pick the (general) area of work/study while in the military. They are 21 and 20.

DD14 is intrigued. She can't stop talking about her possibly doing this as well. She wants to be a doctor. She is in all honors classes and has good grades.

Anyone military/former military here? I know she can go talk to a recruiter, of course, but I'm just looking for personal stories/experience - especially from a woman's point of view!

She will have two options:

1. take classes for free at our local community college, then join the Navy (the branch she wants to go into)
2. Join the Navy straight from HS

Of course there are other options, too, but those are the ones that seem most cost-effective, college-wise, at this time. She is more than welcome to not join the military, and of course she will probably change her mind a hundred times in the next 4 years, and if so we will partially pay for her college like we do with DS18 adn scholarships/loans will cover the rest, but she is SO interested in finding out more!

ETA: She is fascinated with the prospect of being a doctor for our soldiers in the military...she has even said that she would like to do that even as a civilian, so she wouldn't be doing it JUST to get her schooling paid for. Not sure if that matters....)

I think of Air Force for medical more than other branches. There may be some medical in other branches, but AF is where I've heard of doctors.

Good luck ! Military is a very noble and honorable chouce.
 
Our niece joined the Air Force when she graduated High School. She is in her third year now, and loves it. She is a translator in Farsi (I think I spelled it right, lol), and working in GA at the moment.
 


One of my best friends joined the military a few years after high school. Her parents weren't super involved in her life, she had fallen in with some less desirable crowds at some points in high school (I still remember her calling me asking her to pick her up from all sorts of shady peoples' houses), she had a tendency to get on the straight-and-narrow for 6 months or so, then meet someone or start getting into stuff she shouldn't and off the rails she would go again. Fortunately my friend is also smart enough that she knew this was all becoming a pattern, and she didn't have funds for college, so she joined the military. I think it was the best decision she could have made. She needed that structure in her life, and it really helped her thrive. She's not a big person, we are very similar in size actually (about 5 foot, 110lb) but she still managed to carry those million pound backpacks and weaponry in the Iraq sun. I was so proud of her. She was deployed to Iraq twice, and did mostly intelligence work. She met her husband while enlisted. Now she is in the reserves, and the army helped put her through school -- she had to pause on it a few times, marriage, had a kid, etc. but she's now completing her master's degree. Her husband retired and has done the same, working on a master's degree. They take turns taking semesters (one takes classes when the other one isn't) to get it done. But it all worked for them.
 
I've had two nephews join the military in the past 3 months. Similar stories: they are both having a hard time supporting themselves and paying for college. One wants to be a doctor and the other a police officer (at least, that was what they were going to college for pre-military). Not sure how it all works, but since both have some college credit, they said they are entering at a higher rank than beginning level, and are able to pick the (general) area of work/study while in the military. They are 21 and 20.

DD14 is intrigued. She can't stop talking about her possibly doing this as well. She wants to be a doctor. She is in all honors classes and has good grades.

Anyone military/former military here? I know she can go talk to a recruiter, of course, but I'm just looking for personal stories/experience - especially from a woman's point of view!

She will have two options:

1. take classes for free at our local community college, then join the Navy (the branch she wants to go into)
2. Join the Navy straight from HS

Of course there are other options, too, but those are the ones that seem most cost-effective, college-wise, at this time. She is more than welcome to not join the military, and of course she will probably change her mind a hundred times in the next 4 years, and if so we will partially pay for her college like we do with DS18 adn scholarships/loans will cover the rest, but she is SO interested in finding out more!

ETA: She is fascinated with the prospect of being a doctor for our soldiers in the military...she has even said that she would like to do that even as a civilian, so she wouldn't be doing it JUST to get her schooling paid for. Not sure if that matters....)

Female Navy veteran here...enlisted at 20 years old, in for 10 years and I separated about 2 years ago. I was an IT (radio/computers). Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or ask here. I 100% loved my time in and would do it all again in a heartbeat.

So, for the Navy, she can enlist as a Hospital Corpsman, or she can choose the college first option and be commissioned as an officer for Doctor or Nurse or Dentist. ROTC is a great option for that route. If she chooses to enlist, there are also options to become commissioned as an officer later on in her career. Medical personnel (enlisted or officer) can be stationed pretty much anywhere in the Navy, from shore station overseas, on a ship, or Corpsman can be embedded with Marine units. I can ask around to some of my friends and see if they have any more advice.

Has she taken the ASVAB? I understand some high schools offer the test.
 


Look into her going to college under ROTC.

https://www.todaysmilitary.com/training/rotc

Going in after college graduation, she goes in as an Officer.
This! It’s what I did. The Air Force paid for my tuition, books, and gave me a monthly allowance. When I graduated with my Bachelors, I had a four-year commitment. AND, I had a guaranteed job, doing cooler engineering work than most of my civilian counterparts. I left after my initial commitment but stayed in the Reserves for a full career. It was awesome.

After getting her Bachelors, your daughter could actually go straight to med school, continue to have the military pay, and just incur an additional commitment. When she graduates, she will have little to no student loans—probably will actually have savings—plus a position doing cool things, and opportunity to travel and meet interesting people. She will also be serving her country. If after her commitment, she decides to leave, she’s still in the prime of her career, with a great resume and no debt.
 
I'm a female and enlisted in the Marine Corps at 17. Military life certainly isn't for everyone and there's definitely a lot BS that you deal with, but I would absolutely do it all over again.

If she wants to actually be a Doctor in the Navy, then she will need to go to college and complete med school before going to Officer's School in the Navy to become commissioned. Should she decide to go this route, have her talk to a recruiter as the Navy does offer some great educational packages that would pay for a large portion of (if not all of) her education, as well as provide some living expenses, in return for her signing a contract to serve in the Navy for x number of years after wards.

Enlisting as a corpsman is another great opportunity. She would gain a lot of training and experience in the medical field, though obviously wouldn't be a Doctor. While she is enlisted, she could pursue a class here or there in college in her free time and the Navy would pay for it. She would also likely end her enlistment with some college-equivalent credits from the Navy that could be used towards Gen Ed requirements. For instance, I was Maintenance Admin in the Marine Corps and came out of my 4 year enlistment with over 30 credits from my military experience (along with 6 more from college classes taken while active duty) that translated into Gen Ed courses I didn't then have to take for my BA. That combined with spending my senior year of high school in college through dual enrollment gave me enough credits to complete my BA in 2 yrs after getting out of the Marine Corps. So then after she ends her enlistment, she could then go to college under the GI Bill for an additional 36 months.

Whatever path she decides, I would encourage her to take advantage of any and all opportunites available to her in high school for college credit, whether that be dual enrollment, AP classes, CLEP tests, etc. Any college credits she is able to earn before graduating high school will help set her up with less to have to do once she gets out. Also, if she were to go the enlisted route, she would likely enlist at a higher rank due to having college credits.

I would also encourage her to check out some YouTube videos (or you guide her in the direction of some) about the Navy: what Boot Camp is like, about Officer's School, what it's like in the fleet, on the ship, etc. If there's anything else I can help with, I'd be happy to.
 
My cousin wanted to be a doctor, but didn't want all the debt. She had excellent grades and test scores and was accepted into the air force academy where she was on track to become a doctor. Except she fell in love with flying and switched to pilot training. She graduated the academy a couple years ago and is now stationed in a foreign country flying a freight plane and she loves it!
 
I think of Air Force for medical more than other branches. There may be some medical in other branches, but AF is where I've heard of doctors.

Good luck ! Military is a very noble and honorable chouce.
??? I have absolutely ZERO ties to the military (dad was in the Army before I was born, but that's it), and I know there are medical personnel in every branch. If anything, I would think there would be MORE medical personnel in non-AF branches.
 
??? I have absolutely ZERO ties to the military (dad was in the Army before I was born, but that's it), and I know there are medical personnel in every branch. If anything, I would think there would be MORE medical personnel in non-AF branches.


I live in an area with a respected Air Force training hospital. Many now civilian doctors here got their training through the Air Force.

I understand that there are medical fields in every branch. But this is my experience and why AF automatically comes to mind.

I did a little looking on the internet last night and saw that there are several websites to direct potential new members to a branch or study program that they might be interested in. Looks like medical career paths are mostly available in the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

I would suggest that op and her daughter treat this like a college search and meet with recruiters and scout the websites for info and further direction.
 
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I think of Air Force for medical more than other branches. There may be some medical in other branches, but AF is where I've heard of doctors.

Army, Navy and Air Force all have Medical Corps. The Marines are (normally) cared for by Navy physicians. The Coast Guard, I believe is still primarily under the USPHS (US Public Health Services). If you live in or near Biloxi, logically AF would be the first you considered but there is a Naval Hospital in Pensacola, Air Force in Destin, Navy in Panama City, Navy in NOLA....


If she really wants to be a doctor enlisting isn’t the best way to make that happen. She could get into medical school then apply for the medical corps with the Navy or Air Force. That will pay for her medical school and then she’ll serve as a doctor and an officer when she’s done.

I agree...enlisting delays for the length of enlistment entrance in medical school. I knew one person who was AD Air Force prior to his attending medical school and the rigors of medical school and residency are physical and mental (different than enlistment tenure) and best left to young or young-ish. He was a the top of his class but constantly exhausted.


??? I have absolutely ZERO ties to the military (dad was in the Army before I was born, but that's it), and I know there are medical personnel in every branch. If anything, I would think there would be MORE medical personnel in non-AF branches.

I think there's usually a limit to how many in each. The Navy takes care of the USMC so I don't know if they have a few more or not.

I would also caution against meeting with recruiters on the street. They know very little to nothing about the medical corps and can do more harm than good. If she is truly interested, have her try to meet with medical students and/or physicians at the closest military hospital to ask about USUHS and/or HPSP (Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda/ Health Professions Scholarship Program). Have her research these programs on line.

I have a good friend who attended Duke on ROTC scholarship, attended USUHS and did her internship, residency and fellowship in the Navy. She owes them something like 26 years payback but has not had one cent of debt and will be retiring with excellent benefits in 2020.

Each thing the military pays for (ROTC)/med school/post graduate training will incur a military obligation. It's easy to think you want to be with an organization for "forever" but reality usually has a way of intruding, so there is also that consideration. If she truly wants to serve the military there are often non military positions at military installations and of course, always the VA system, treating and caring for military veterans.
 
Wow, great advice! Thank you everyone!

DD did talk about the Medical Corps - I guess she has been doing her own research, too!

We live a few miles from a large VA hospital/facility, so it would be feasible for us to contact someone there for more information, and my uncle just retired from the Navy as a Captain with 32 years of service, so she will definitely be talking to him, but he wasn't in any sort of medical field (he was stationed at the Pentagon in his later years, and presented the US Naval budget to Congress every year). He will definitely be able to give her a sense of what military life is like, though, and he already told my nephew that he "knows a guy" or two in the Navy lol and will help the kids in any way possible.

So many more options than I first thought...
 
The sister of a girl I went to high school with is an Air Force Doctor and Major. She got her undergrad and then went to med school via a US Air Force health scholarship program. She did her residency at a military hospital.
 
I'm a girl who joined the Navy after completing a year of college and deciding I just didn't want to do more school at that point. I was 19 yo and since I had some college I was able to enter as an E-3 which helped (straight out of high school you usually start at E-1 rank). The best case of course would be to complete college while doing ROTC and enter the Navy as an officer. If she is sick of school she can enter right after high school but I would strongly recommend she has a guaranteed "A" school in writing from the recruiter before she joins. If she wants to be in the medical field she can go to Corpman A school. That particular A school usually has a waiting list so she may want to plan ahead and inquire about that.

I was in the Navy for 8 years and absolutely loved it. My main goal was to travel and I have been to Canada, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea, Guam, Puerto Rico and lived in Japan for a few years. It was an amazing experience! I wish your daughter the best of luck in whatever she chooses to do.
 

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