Applying as a 19 yr old>> AGE a factor?

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When I went on mdapplicant.com... I saw that you were able to categorize applicants by age as well... is age that important?

I hear medical schools want more mature applicants.. how true is that?

I'm currently a soph.. will be applying to med school at the end of junior year. I will be 19 then. Could my age work against me?

Any other young'uns whove gotten in?

ur fine, read about the 12 year old hehe.

I was 19 when I applied. It wasn't much of an issue, though I thought some interviewers probed to test my maturity a little.

Other than the fact that other applicants have more years for research and extracurriculars.... ??

Originally Posted by Lyricist

I was 19 when I applied. It wasn't much of an issue, though I thought some interviewers probed to test my maturity a little.

Probed to test your maturity!? How so..

I have a friend who applied when he was 20. He had decent stats, an average MCAT (28) and only received 1 interview. . .no acceptance. He, himself, told me that he thought his age was a major factor.

I was faced with a similar dilemma a couple of years ago. I started college when I was 16 with the goal to apply as an 18 year old and be in by the time I was 19. As I went through college, though, I realized that it would be stupid to graduate in 2 1/2 years and that I'd be missing out on a lot. So then I decided to apply when I was 19 and start med school when I was 20. As I progressed through college, I kept this idea in mind but didn't pursue it heavily. I applied to 2 schools last year just to "test the waters" when I was 19 and got accepted into one of them. When I graduated from college last spring, I decided that I didn't want to start medical school so soon since the average age of newly matriculated med students is mid 20's in most schools. I asked for a 2 year deferral, but it was denied. I now plan on reapplying within the next 2 years.

So technically I guess it is possible to successfully apply to med school when you're 19, but do you really want to start when you're so young? The youngest person other than myself who applied that I know of is 20 at the time. Honestly, I do think that the application process is a numbers game, regardless of your age. My extracurriculars were average - slightly above average, but when I spoke to the dean about an extended deferral I asked him what got me into the school, and he said it was mainly my gpa that got me my interview, and then at the interview I wasn't a "moron" or a "boring repetitive bookworm." If you want to start medical school at 19 go for it, but remember that you may regret going straight from college into medical school without having some "free time" between the two. I got a job after college, and that sucks too, but if you don't do it you may never know how it is to have lots of free time .

I am 20, and I am having trouble. In one of my interviews, my interviewer said "you are great... but you just turned 20." so I went on saying how this and that life experience made me very mature. After a few minutes explaining why I feel I am ready to start medical school and why a year or two off would not be beneficial my interviewer said, "yeah... but you are 20"
At another interview, my interviewer went on and on about what I should do on my year off, being that I am 4 years younger than the average M1, assuming of course that I didnt get in anywhere else.
I dont know why the schools that rejected me did, but age might be a factor.

This is just my experience, though, so I dont think it counts for much... Good luck to you when you do apply!

Originally Posted by axp107

Probed to test your maturity!? How so..

Nothing too much beyond the standard questions, but I thought I got asked more of them and many interviewers were more in-depth in questioning me about my motivation to enter medicine.

Nothing to be scared about.

At my interview I was only asked about the circumstances that caused me to start college when I was so young, followed by a question on why medicine appeals to me. The other interviewer that day asked me if I believe I have a firm grip on the realities of practicing medicine, then went on to ask me a bunch of healthcare related issues.

Originally Posted by mh2002ny

At my interview I was only asked about the circumstances that caused me to start college when I was so young, followed by a question on why medicine appeals to me. The other interviewer that day asked me if I believe I have a firm grip on the realities of practicing medicine, then went on to ask me a bunch of healthcare related issues.

Isn't it going to be really difficult getting into med school after having declined an acceptance?

Originally Posted by natusss

I am 20, and I am having trouble. In one of my interviews, my interviewer said "you are great... but you just turned 20." so I went on saying how this and that life experience made me very mature. After a few minutes explaining why I feel I am ready to start medical school and why a year or two off would not be beneficial my interviewer said, "yeah... but you are 20"
At another interview, my interviewer went on and on about what I should do on my year off, being that I am 4 years younger than the average M1, assuming of course that I didnt get in anywhere else.
I dont know why the schools that rejected me did, but age might be a factor.

This is just my experience, though, so I dont think it counts for much... Good luck to you when you do apply!

Wow, thats crazy.. well in my case I was born in a diff. country and moving to the U.S with diff. academic years and all.. thats the reason why I will be 19 when applying. Thats ridiculous though.. I mean your stats are amazing. I don't get why the stupid interviewers have to deter you from applying...

- Also, health care questions? What are these interviews like :-O
do you need to have a lot of outside knowledge on medicine?

- More indepth questions on motivation to enter med school?
Wow.. honestly I can mainly think of the generic reasons why you would want to go into med school. I could see myself stuttering the same thing over and over lol.. aah I'd freak out

Originally Posted by mh2002ny

I was faced with a similar dilemma a couple of years ago. I started college when I was 16 with the goal to apply as an 18 year old and be in by the time I was 19. As I went through college, though, I realized that it would be stupid to graduate in 2 1/2 years and that I'd be missing out on a lot. So then I decided to apply when I was 19 and start med school when I was 20. As I progressed through college, I kept this idea in mind but didn't pursue it heavily. I applied to 2 schools last year just to "test the waters" when I was 19 and got accepted into one of them. When I graduated from college last spring, I decided that I didn't want to start medical school so soon since the average age of newly matriculated med students is mid 20's in most schools. I asked for a 2 year deferral, but it was denied. I now plan on reapplying within the next 2 years.

So technically I guess it is possible to successfully apply to med school when you're 19, but do you really want to start when you're so young? The youngest person other than myself who applied that I know of is 20 at the time. Honestly, I do think that the application process is a numbers game, regardless of your age. My extracurriculars were average - slightly above average, but when I spoke to the dean about an extended deferral I asked him what got me into the school, and he said it was mainly my gpa that got me my interview, and then at the interview I wasn't a "moron" or a "boring repetitive bookworm." If you want to start medical school at 19 go for it, but remember that you may regret going straight from college into medical school without having some "free time" between the two. I got a job after college, and that sucks too, but if you don't do it you may never know how it is to have lots of free time .

If you don't slow down, chase some girls, and drink some brewskis, you probable will be a boring repetitive bookworm. Not a good thing to be.

Originally Posted by axp107

Wow, thats crazy.. well in my case I was born in a diff. country and moving to the U.S with diff. academic years and all.. thats the reason why I will be 19 when applying. Thats ridiculous though.. I mean your stats are amazing. I don't get why the stupid interviewers have to deter you from applying...

They still interviewed me, so I dont know... If age was that big of a factor, they wouldnt wait their time interviewing me I guess.

Originally Posted by Lyricist

Isn't it going to be really difficult getting into med school after having declined an acceptance?

Not if you have a good reason for it.

Maybe the interviewers want to know why ur applying so early for their personal reasons or curiosity... I dunno
Maturity doesn't depend on age alone.. but on external circumstances as well .. plus ur (nautuss) a girl lol .. so you're pretty mature

I intially applied when i was 19 and started interviewing when i was 20. I have 5 interviews and 2 acceptances and my age has not been brought up as of yet. I think if you have a mature application and don't act like a moron at the interviews you will be fine. GPA and MCAT trumps everything else.

Originally Posted by bhattnea

I intially applied when i was 19 and started interviewing when i was 20. I have 5 interviews and 2 acceptances and my age has not been brought up as of yet. I think if you have a mature application and don't act like a moron at the interviews you will be fine. GPA and MCAT trumps everything else.

Originally Posted by szhao

ur fine, read about the 12 year old hehe.

You read about such people because they are so unique, like a unicorn. In fact, the average age of med schools has slowly risen over the last few decades, especially as more nontrads have been added to the mix. The number of med students aged 20 and below is fairly low. Maturity is a big deal. While not all older students are more mature than their 19 year old counterparts, the subject matters in medicine are pretty heavy (disease and death), the patient base is getting significantly older, and the field of medicine and healthcare is changing (making it more important to have spent adequate time researching this decision). There is some notion that the longer you have been on the planet the better the odds you have learned to deal with people and emotional issues. Not a hard and fast rule, but it provides a presumption you will need to overcome. I'd suggest you use your teen years to have fun, find yourself, explore options. There will be more than enough time to become a doctor during your 20s. And not that much time during med school for such other things.

Originally Posted by natusss

I am 20, and I am having trouble. In one of my interviews, my interviewer said "you are great... but you just turned 20." so I went on saying how this and that life experience made me very mature. After a few minutes explaining why I feel I am ready to start medical school and why a year or two off would not be beneficial my interviewer said, "yeah... but you are 20"
At another interview, my interviewer went on and on about what I should do on my year off, being that I am 4 years younger than the average M1, assuming of course that I didnt get in anywhere else.
I dont know why the schools that rejected me did, but age might be a factor.

This is just my experience, though, so I dont think it counts for much... Good luck to you when you do apply!

Out of 4 interviews, no one asked me about my age or said anything similar to what they said to the above poster. I had just turned 20 as well.

However, like someone else already said, I think it's important to write a concise and mature personal statement (make sure it looks like an adult wrote it, I've seen some that could have been written by a 15 year old) and a solid application.

Don't be afraid to take suggestions about your personal statement into consideration.

During interviews when it comes up, make sure you convey that you understand exactly what you are getting yourself into, that medicine isn't an always pink and happy field where you'll get to "save" patients, and that you know the business and political implications in today's medicine.

Good Luck.

Originally Posted by bhattnea

I think if you have a mature application and don't act like a moron at the interviews you will be fine. GPA and MCAT trumps everything else.

Very true. I think med schools discriminate less based on age than the young and old think.

If you're unusually young, you need to make sure that your personal statement demonstrates you're mature. You need to do everything you can to get an adequate amount of volunteer and clinical experience (something many young go-getters lack).

If you're unusually old, you need to demonstrate that you're still able to handle heavy class load responsibilities and have a very compelling answer to the questions "Why medicine? Why now? How do we know you won't want another career later?"

I'm 20 and age hasn't been as much of an issue, though my reason to graduate in 3 years has been questioned. So, you have to have a good answer for that question more than anything.

Originally Posted by gmsquid

I'm 20 and age hasn't been as much of an issue, though my reason to graduate in 3 years has been questioned. So, you have to have a good answer for that question more than anything.

And what's your reason? Just curious.

Well I came in with a lot of credits, and a personal/family situation.

In one interview, the interviewer said, "I'm looking at your birthdate; is that a typo?" His funny way of asking why I am 20 and applying, I guess. But I got in, I think your maturity matters a lot more than your DOB!

I also am graduating in 3 years, and I agree, the interviewers will probably be more interested in your reasoning behind that kind of thing than how old you are.

Good luck!