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Apologies if this has already been answered elsewhere, I was unable to find anything on it.
I did 7 years in the Army I started doing online coursework after my first tour in 2012. I have three tours and I'm a purple heart recipient. When I started college I had no idea what I wanted to do. I was just told "start college for better career advancement" so I did. For those who are unaware, military posts have education centers with schools from all over the country. This is so soldiers can go where ever they want on "in-state" tuition using Army Tuition Assistance. There is absolutely no guidance on careers or programs or there wasn't back then.
I started at Central Texas College, at the time they only offered a handful of programs for active duty and they didn't work as well with military transcripts. I transferred to Barton community college and stayed with them for a couple of years almost finishing my AS (as I deployed off and on I was never able to attend traditionally by taking courses year-round). It was around this time that I was reminded I once wanted to be more than a soldier. I did my research and found that majority of medical schools require seated courses for prereqs and this that and the other. So I started at a local university where I was stationed until I could get out of the Army and move back home. After getting out and moving home I started at a local university and did two years having to move again to obtain custody of my then 12-year-old son. I am graduating with my BS this year from this final University.
I am not looking for criticism on how many schools I have attended. It was never academic or punitive reasons that required a transfer. I have maintained a solid GPA of 3.7 with an extremely long list of extracurriculars, shadowing, volunteer work, and clinical hours.
My question is what is the best way to address why I have attended 5 schools? I have read I should mention something in the personal statement, not my first choice since it is already finally drafted and I feel it covers more important areas. I have read there's a spot on the application I can mention it. I was also told by my pre-health advisor "With your military background it is implied and you shouldn't need to address it." <-- doesn't seem like the right answer.
What is the recommended approach?
Thank you!
I did 7 years in the Army I started doing online coursework after my first tour in 2012. I have three tours and I'm a purple heart recipient. When I started college I had no idea what I wanted to do. I was just told "start college for better career advancement" so I did. For those who are unaware, military posts have education centers with schools from all over the country. This is so soldiers can go where ever they want on "in-state" tuition using Army Tuition Assistance. There is absolutely no guidance on careers or programs or there wasn't back then.
I started at Central Texas College, at the time they only offered a handful of programs for active duty and they didn't work as well with military transcripts. I transferred to Barton community college and stayed with them for a couple of years almost finishing my AS (as I deployed off and on I was never able to attend traditionally by taking courses year-round). It was around this time that I was reminded I once wanted to be more than a soldier. I did my research and found that majority of medical schools require seated courses for prereqs and this that and the other. So I started at a local university where I was stationed until I could get out of the Army and move back home. After getting out and moving home I started at a local university and did two years having to move again to obtain custody of my then 12-year-old son. I am graduating with my BS this year from this final University.
I am not looking for criticism on how many schools I have attended. It was never academic or punitive reasons that required a transfer. I have maintained a solid GPA of 3.7 with an extremely long list of extracurriculars, shadowing, volunteer work, and clinical hours.
My question is what is the best way to address why I have attended 5 schools? I have read I should mention something in the personal statement, not my first choice since it is already finally drafted and I feel it covers more important areas. I have read there's a spot on the application I can mention it. I was also told by my pre-health advisor "With your military background it is implied and you shouldn't need to address it." <-- doesn't seem like the right answer.
What is the recommended approach?
Thank you!