<p>Hi, all, first off I just wanted to say joining the army (+ attending a military school)was completely out of the question for me. However, after listening to a lecture from a former military surgeon I became inspired etc. I have a few questions if you guys could possibly answer.</p>
<p>Would attending West Point be wise decision to undergo study as a pre-med?</p>
<p>Does West Point have a pre med program? How competative is this program?</p>
<p>Does West Point have a decent science department?</p>
<p>What types of medical residencies are in the military? (I did look this up however, got a tons of "werid" information)</p>
<p>I heard that for graduation(fourth class) that your required to do boxing or gymnastics do you have to do both or you pick one?</p>
<p>After graudating from West Point how many years do you owe to the military?</p>
<p>Do all West Point grads go to the same "base"? </p>
<p>Overall how's the morale (classrooms, teachers, libraries etc. lol sorry I go to an academic rigorous school studying is the only thing we do here...) at West Point?</p>
<p>I don't know much about pre-med, but usually 2% of graduates get a chance to study medicine. I think last year, only little bit over 20 cadets get opportunities. Hope it helps</p>
<p>If becoming a medic is your goal, Army ROTC is a better option for you.</p>
<p>My S applied to West Point his senior year of HS and didn't get in, reapplied his freshman year of college and got in. But he turned West Point down, decided to stay where he is because he really loves it there. He's doing Army ROTC and has a full tuition scholarship. So anyways, you might consider ROTC. You'll owe less service when you get out of school (4 years active duty instead of 5), and you'll have a more normal life while you're in college. Word of advice: if you're going to do ROTC, decide before you get to college. Some schools don't give you a scholarship for your room and board if you wait and decide to do ROTC after you've already accepted your admission offer, so you end up with scholarship for tuition but having to pay room and board yourself when you could have had it all paid for. Quick, guess how we know this.</p>
<p>hey, i've heard that if you do go med from the academies (like dychang said - it's very very competitive) you'll owe the military much more than just 5 active. i've heard around 13 or so.</p>
<p>If your motive for applying to a Service Academy does not involve wanting to be a military officer and/or serving your country, do not apply.</p>
<p>If your primary goal is to become a medical doctor, there are other much easier ways to do so. </p>
<p>Getting into medical school straight from an Academy is very, very, very competitive. There are a limited number of billets available for medical (around 15 I think) for the whole graduating class of around 1000. Service selection (or I guess its called branch selection in the Army) is based a lot on class standing.</p>
<p>Service Academies do have good science departments, however Academies have a limited number of majors. They do not have every major under the sun, as my BGO put it. Cadets/Midn that apply for Med slots are primarily chemistry majors.</p>
<p>The service obligation that a Cadet/Midn inccurs from attending a Service Academy is 5 years active duty and 3 reserve. If you get into the medical program, there is an additional committment on top of that, I believe they tag on 7 years or so. When you add up the time you would spend at the Academy, Med School, and fullfilling your service committment, it comes out to be 16 year in the service that count toward time in the service. In reality when you add in the time spent in school, you will have worn the US Army uniform for 20 years. However, you will not be eligible for full retirement benefits until you reach 20 years in the service at which point you would have worn the uniform for 24 years.</p>
<p>"first off I just wanted to say joining the army (+ attending a military school)was completely out of the question for me."
Average Joe: Would you care to elaborate on that statement. It would help us to give you more informed advice. The question you should ask yourself is simple: "Am I willing to serve as an officer in the US Army". If the answer is "yes" then explore your USMA options. if the answer is "no" then look no further....
Good luck!</p>