Ok,
So I'm a pre-med student and I'm looking at a lot of options right now.
Currently I'm looking at MD/PhD programs. USU has captured my attention, as I was born and raised in a military family. But studying at another school is an alternative for me as well. Either way, it is likely that I will be a career military physician/researcher.
In that light, how similar is USU's student community to other military academic institutions such as Annapolis or West Point? Academically, I understand USU gets the whole gamut of students, but is curriculum structured around medical education (therefore, study, study, study) or does it have a greater emphasis on physical development, leadership skills, etc (go run for an hour even though you have a neuropharmacology test in the morning)?
How does a GMO position during the time you would normally be in residency affect your service repayment, how are you considered in the medical community if you are in a GMO post during your residency (are you considered a fully qualified and learned physician, or still a resident)?
What kind of competition is there for military residencies, especially compared to civilian residency competition?
Also if anyone knows: with the MD/PhD program, I know for the first few years you work on completing the research for the PhD as a civilian and then when you finish your research and transfer to the medical program you are then assigned appropriate military rank alongside other medical students. But how does the time as a civilian factor in to working at USU? Do you still receive the pay benefits, does it add service commitment? And if anyone has further information, I would enjoy hearing it.
Also, as you might guess by the desire to go for an MD/PhD, I get a little competitive/ambitious, and with that program I'll be in school until I'm past 30, quite a few of the people I know will be out in the ranks by the time I get out. I know that, at least with the Navy, once you graduate from USU's MD program you are step promoted to an O-3, does the additional work on a PhD factor into promotions/fit reps/etc?