Expert: Cynthia Bedell - 6/18/2007

Question
These questions are for a friend who would like to enlist in the Air Force.  She is 23 yoa, currently a student at a prestigious university with about 3 semesters left.  Her major is criminal psychology w/ a minor in psychopathology.  She would like to enroll in ROTC, complete school & join the Air Force with a position commensurate with her degree.  Her questions are:
1.  Can she get into ROTC when she has existing student loans?
2.  Would it be more beneficial to join the Air Force w/ a college degree through ROTC or to finish school in the Air Force?
3.  She has taken the ASVAB and received a score of 83.  What rank would that be or what does that mean in light of her above desires?
4.  Does the fact that she is just completing an inpatient alcohol program affect any of the above?

If these questions are out of your area of expertise, could you direct me to the appropriate sources for answers to these questions?  Your help is greatly appreciated.

Answer
Dear Bob --

I will take your questions in order and then add some comments.

1.  Yes, she can join ROTC with existing student loans, as a non-scholarship candidate.  She can also apply for an ROTC scholarship to get her last year paid for, perhaps even all three semesters, but she should act immediately to put in an application.

2.  She is a much more viable candidate if she enters the service with her degree, especially since she is so close to being done.  ROTC will give her a commission as an officer.  Officer's commissions are not guaranteed, if you enlist.  However, if she finishes her degree, and then enlists, she can stipulate in her contract to have some of her college loans paid off rather than accept a college fund bonus (since she already has a degree.)

3.  Her ASVAB strikes me as low for someone close to completing college.  The ASVAB is usually based off a 120 point scale.  Unless she has recalculated it to be off a 100 point scale, her current ASVAB does not qualify her for officer candidate school, or other attractive specialties.  I would recommend taking the ASVAB again for record, after taking some pratice tests.

4.  If she completes her inpatient alcohol program, she can get a medical waiver to enlist.  She must mention it on her medical forms, or she can be guilty of fraudulent enlistment.  However, she should consider that the military is a stressful environment.  If college triggered an episode of alcohol abuse, many military environments will trigger it too.  A hectic, unpredicatble life around young people who drink and smoke heavily (even though we discourage it these days) is not condusive to staying clear of alcohol.  

With the degrees your friend will have when she graduates, she could be in the medical service corps of any of the services.  

The Army is most likely to waive the most requirements right now.  The Air Force has the easiest training during basic training.

If she does really well in college, she should consider attending the Uniformed Services Medical School to get her MD in Psychology.  She would enter medical school as a paid second lieutenant.  When she graduated, she would be promoted to captain, and be sent to a military hospital for her internships and residency.  She would owe the military two years of service for every year of schooling they paid for, but she would be paid the MD bonus in pay.  During the time she is in school, she can defer payment on her student loans.  

In this program her college grades and academic abilities will count more than the ASVAB.  Her MCATs will be important, so she should prepare for those and take them.  

Finally, the Army is looking for physician's assistants.  If she is interested in that program, she should definitely pursue it.  PAs are not MDs but they are commissioned officers.  They do not get the MD bonus but the do get commissioned officer pay.  Further, she can defer her student loan payments for up to four years while she is serving.  That way, she should be making a fair living by the time she has to start paying on her loans.

Feel free to write back, if my answer raised new questions.

Good luck.