Getting out soon--how does this plan sound?

Student Lounge Veterans
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<p>After six years and two deployments, I'll finally be out of the Army. I'll be home in North Carolina by November this year, and I think I may want to pursue a career in medicine. I've got a rough course planned out for my future, and I'm hoping the fine people here are willing to offer some insight/advice/constructive criticism/past experience on my plan.</p>

<p>To start off, I have no higher education, besides what the ARMY/AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION REGISTRY TRANSCRIPT SYSTEM says I've earned (ignore the all-caps, I'm copying and pasting like a mo'fo). I'll list them below:</p>

<p>2 SEMESTER HOURS IN PHYSICAL CONDITIONING, 1 IN MARKSMANSHIP, 1 IN
FIRST AID, AND 2 IN MILITARY SCIENCE. (from basic training)</p>

<p>3 SEMESTER HOURS IN NEWS
WRITING, 3 IN GRAPHIC DESIGN AND LAYOUT, AND 3 IN JOURNALISM (THEORY AND PRINCIPLES) (this is from advanced individual training--I'm an Army journalist)</p>

<p>My high school GPA is a 2.7. It's much less than what I feel I'm capable of. My plan is to enroll at the local community college for a semester, rock an awesome GPA, and then start applying to different universities. Do you guys think that a single semester (assuming solid grades) is enough to make me an attractive applicant? I'll be paying for this part out of my savings, and holding out on the sexy new GI Bill for the more expensive university courses.</p>

<p>Assuming a school (preferably UNC Chapel Hill ) accepts me, I'm planning on majoring in journalism, since, you know, I've been doing it for six years already. While there, I figure I'll knock out the pre-med requirements/take the MCAT. I'm also planning to get some more exposure to the medical field during this period, maybe by working as a paramedic/LPN (or whatever is the entry-level nurse). Is it reasonable to assume that I can do one or the other part time?</p>

<p>And then, if everything went well up to this point, start spamming medical schools admission forms.</p>

<p>That's the rough plan. Do you guys see any major flaws? I joined the military immediately after high school (23 now), and didn't pay much attention to the high school counselors when they started speaking about college/admissions/the future in general. I'm a little concerned that I may be overly optimistic, or may be missing some critical piece of information.</p>

<p>I already had one blunder when I was preparing to submit an admissions form to UNC; the dead line was early March for transfer students, which I didn't know I'm classified as (wasn't planning on transferring any credits, I just assumed I'd be lumped in with the traditional student applicants).</p>

<p>My apologies if this isn't completely coherent. My caffeine reserves are running low.</p>

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<p>Pretty much the same position I was in (and same general plan after military too). I’m in a different state, so I don’t know if NC is different, but the soonest I could transfer was after a year. I transferred after 2 years, but would not recommend this. Just make sure you keep a 3.9+ GPA and you’ll have a great shot at getting in anywhere instate.</p>

<p>Your plan is not at all overly optimistic. School and a medical intern is doable. Call local hospitals. They are always looking for unpaid interns/volunteers. Also, check out some of the Ivies’ transfer programs. I got accepted into a few of them, as they love smart ex-military transfers. Any questions, just PM me. I don’t really check this forum anymore, since it is so obscure. Good luck.</p>

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<p>If you want to stay in journalism go to Columbia. They have a great veteran community and the schol of GS really looks favorably on vet applicants. Maybe do a semester or two of community college and get a 4.0? The journalism school at Columbia is as far as I know one of the best available.</p>

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<p>At least a semester or two of community college plus your 6 years of service will be extremely attractive to most universities I would imagine. Just bust it at CC, and write a bomb essay. </p>

<p>As far as being a Tar Heel…good on you! I’m a Tar Heel…born and raised one at least. I didn’t go to school there, just about everyone else in my family did. So I bleed Carolina blue! UNC is one of the top overall universities in the nation, so you will no doubt need to do VERY well in community college (like, at the most, 1 B). Show them you have what it takes. A very good essay combined with your grades, and your 6 years of service should put you in place to get into UNC I would imagine.</p>