I'm going into the Army nation guard. I'm going to BCT this fall, and AIT for a few months next year to become a combat engineer so I can immediately start reaping the benefits of being a soldier. I plan on attending college this year as a ROTC cadet through SMP, becoming Un-deployable majoring in Biology, and hopefully signing a contract after the first term to be locked into the program, Then Once I graduate I'll become a lieutenant. However I dont want to stop there, I want to go back to school for another 3 years to become a dentist. Is this at all possible? Or will I be required to work before going to dental school? I know it's thinking far ahead, but I just want people to bounce their opinions off of me. Also, is there an army roll that better suits someone who wants to become a dentist, other than a standard combat roll like combat engineer?
Update:Sorry, I meant enrolling in college next year to finish my degree, I have 1 year in college already, and was considering the army because I couldn't afford college.
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Verified answer
Forget all that. They yell at you in the army and the food is bad.
http://www.navy.com/careers/healthcare/dentist.htm...
Students can get dental school paid for. That means you could emerge from dental school debt-free. A Navy Dental Recruiter can help you choose the program that offers you the greatest advantage.
In the Navy Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP), you can receive 100% tuition coverage during dental school, PLUS:
A sign-on bonus of up to $20,000
Plus a monthly stipend of $2,122 to help cover living expenses for up to 48 months
In the Navy Health Services Collegiate Program (HSCP), you can receive anywhere from $157,000 to $269,000 while attending dental school. This includes:
A monthly military salary
A generous housing allowance*
A comprehensive health-care benefits package
To be fair, the army probably has similar programs. The key point though, is that if you enter the military as a line officer (what the army would call a combat arm), it's very hard to transfer from there to anywhere else. They do NOT like wasting all the money they spent training you. If you want to be a dentist, then focus on that.
Yes its possible, but there is a much easier way. After you get your degree in biology and get accepted into a dental school, your school will have military recruiters talk to you. You will still need to take out the loans for dental school, but if you sign up for the program, you will have to commit 6 years after you become a DDS and the military will pay 100% of your loans off.
you can forget getting permission to attend Dental school( and Med school which comes first). you will be required to complete your Army contract as a regular line officer first. at the end of your contract( as many as ten years depending on what you end up doing.. you could end up as an Aviator) then you will be free to resign your commission and attend the necessary schools.
How can you get a degree with 2 years in college? BS degrees are 4year degrees.