What's the average age of a first year med student?

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Before I visited SDN, I really only thought that as a first year med school student, you'd be surrounded by people in their early twenties.. I never realized that so many non-trads actually apply to med school... I thought it was just the next step for only premeds during undergrad.

Wow.. so are there a lot of people of different ages? What's it like.. is it pretty interesting and cool to be surrounded by older people as well.. or can it be intimidating/weird? I've normally had friends around my age my whole life.. do you find yourself befriending people 10 years older than you?

It's school dependent so it's hard to generalize. At U Rochester, according to a current M2, the range is 21-35 with a mean of 24 but a median of like 22.

The older folk are married and you won't see them a lot, so it's not like you'll be joined at the hip with them, but older people are generally more polite and more mature Our generation was raised "manners-optional"

Most people in my class were in their early twenties; I think the class average at orientation was 23.5 years. And that's even at a state school where there tended to be more non-traditional students.

The older folks typically add a lot academically. Socially, OTOH, they tend to be married with families, which means you hardly ever seen them outside of school activities.

In my class, the average age was cited to be 24, though I expect the median to be more around 22-23

Originally Posted by danierrr

It's school dependent so it's hard to generalize. At U Rochester, according to a current M2, the range is 21-35 with a mean of 24 but a median of like 22.

Those numbers are pretty consistent with the national average -- mean of about 24 in allo, 26-27 in DO; median a bit lower because the oldest students tend to be further from the mean than the youngest, and less plentiful. The majority of people will have come directly from college, with the second largest group coming from postbacs right after college, so yes, most med students will be in their early twenties. But if you watch the trends, the ages are actually creeping up, as more nontrads enter the mix, postbacs and graduate work before applying are becoming more popular, and more schools are even shying away from the youngest (esp under 20) applicants and phasing out BS/MD accellerated programs.

when i joined medical school in december of 2005 i was 19.people there range from 18 to 20 may be 21...so average age in my class was 19.ours is a MBBS programe that take students after high school and also its a graduate degree.people start postgraduation for any speciality after that or take usmle and go usa at age of 26 and start residency.......

my school's mean age for our M1 class this year is 22. very few nontrads.

Originally Posted by axp107

Before I visited SDN, I really only thought that as a first year med school student, you'd be surrounded by people in their early twenties.. I never realized that so many non-trads actually apply to med school... I thought it was just the next step for only premeds during undergrad.

Wow.. so are there a lot of people of different ages? What's it like.. is it pretty interesting and cool to be surrounded by older people as well.. or can it be intimidating/weird? I've normally had friends around my age my whole life.. do you find yourself befriending people 10 years older than you?

Do you want the average age of my class before I was accepted at age 44, or after? I think I bumped the median up quite a bit.

Do be nice to the non-trads. No, we don't see the world exactly as you do and we don't even have exactly the same vocabulary as you. But, we want to fit in and be accepted, too. Yes, you will make friends with the old folks - we're all medical students and we have more in common than differences. If you were mature enough to be accepted to medical school, you'll find that communicating with the older students is easier than you think. I'm surprised at how close my friendships have become with kids in their twenties.

As far as 'intimidating/weird' - well, if you piss me off once too often, I'll send you to bed early with no dessert (hehehehe..... ).

Originally Posted by Non-TradTulsa

Do you want the average age of my class before I was accepted at age 44, or after? I think I bumped the median up quite a bit.

Not to be a statistics stickler, but you probably changed the mean much more than you changed the median. Medians aren't that affected by single data points.

Originally Posted by DickyV

Not to be a statistics stickler, but you probably changed the mean much more than you changed the median. Medians aren't that affected by single data points.

OMG, and I'm a CPA. See, it's the last week before classes start and I stayed up late and was sleeping in and some kid from across the street bangs on the door, screaming and crying about how his brother locked him out of the house and he couldn't get his contacts and he borrowed my cell phone and spent 30 minutes blubbering to someone (mommy?) while sitting on my front porch - while I am trying to hold my bathrobe closed because *my* contacts aren't in, either, and I can't find the robe tie - and I am also trying to make sure my German Shepherd doesn't manage to open the bedroom door to eat this stupid kid. I couldn't go back to sleep so I got on SDN.

LOL... you nailed me fair and square. I love my somewhat questionable, medical-student-affordable neighborhood. There's just no end to the drama!

@ my school:

range = 19-52
average = 23.5

Should I dye my recently and patchy graying goatee, or should I go for the older look?

Originally Posted by LifetimeDoc

Should I dye my recently and patchy graying goatee, or should I go for the older look?

Well, to me, the great thing about being a student again and being unemployed is that you can do whatever the heck you want. My mustache and Van**** have a fair amount of grey in them but I don't dye my whiskers. Yet. On the other hand, blond hair looks gross with grey and white mixed in so I started coloring it sometime right after 40. Last Spring, I figured - what the heck - and went for a summertime suicide blond I haven't had since I was about five years old. I think I look like Anna Nicole with a beard, but I've gotten a lot of compliments. Boy, were they shocked in the office when I came back to work for the summer!

We had a pretty young entering class...I think the average age was around 24 or 25.

Originally Posted by peace zealot

when i joined medical school in december of 2005 i was 19.people there range from 18 to 20 may be 21...so average age in my class was 19.ours is a MBBS programe that take students after high school and also its a graduate degree.people start postgraduation for any speciality after that or take usmle and go usa at age of 26 and start residency.......

Pretty sure he was asking about U.S. medical students there chief.

I think that our youngest was 22, our oldest 31. I was 25; if I had to guess our mean age at matric, I would say 24.

Originally Posted by Northerner

Pretty sure he was asking about U.S. medical students there chief.

So?


My school is undergrad, half of the year is under 20 (mainly just 19), the other half between 20-45. The average of the second half is probably about 25-26.

The average of my study group is 30. I'm 21.

Originally Posted by Hayden2102

So?


My school is undergrad, half of the year is under 20 (mainly just 19), the other half between 20-45. The average of the second half is probably about 25-26.

The average of my study group is 30. I'm 21.

What in the world does this have to do with the original post???

well there was not any notice that "FOREIGNERS ARE STRICTLY PROHIBITED" it was a general thread not specified for americans anywhere............if you felt hard by foreigner's post i must apologize......

Originally Posted by axp107

Wow.. so are there a lot of people of different ages? What's it like.. is it pretty interesting and cool to be surrounded by older people as well.. or can it be intimidating/weird? I've normally had friends around my age my whole life.. do you find yourself befriending people 10 years older than you?

it wont be like Out of this world. Im in grad school now and the average age is about 24-25.. We all hit happy hour,etc and the age thing isnt and issue, unless they act <22 all the time. Otherwise, people quickly forget age..

ps. you've never had friends older than you??? hahaha...! you need to get out more

Originally Posted by peace zealot

well there was not any notice that "FOREIGNERS ARE STRICTLY PROHIBITED" it was a general thread not specified for americans anywhere............if you felt hard by foreigner's post i must apologize......

Everyone is welcome to participate. Just be aware that the majority of folks on the allo/osteo boards are US allo/US osteo, so I think most people are taking it for granted that when people (like the OP, who lists himself as hailing from Pheonix, Arizona) ask questions like the above, it is aimed at the US schools, unless otherwise indicated.

(The notion of nontrad (significantly older) medical students/career changers isn't very common in most countries.)

werd!

Last year of approx. 125 M1's, 30 were 20-22, 72 were 23-25... only 2 were over 30. I don't have an average/median age available.

Wow. I always thought the general American dislike towards IMGs started *after* medical school... I guess I was wrong.

...am I alone in being interested in other countries' medical education programs, too?

Originally Posted by danierrr

...am I alone in being interested in other countries' medical education programs, too?

Not at all, but as I mentioned above, the OP, located in the US, pretty clearly wanted to know about average ages in the med school system he was entering, ie the US allo schools. I don't think anyone actually expressed dislike of IMG's in this thread.

Additionally, the question about what it's like having older nontrads as classmates is only meaningful in the small handful of systems that actually have them in significant number.

Originally Posted by funkless

What in the world does this have to do with the original post???

Er... the OP was asking about average ages in medical school, and I was answering about the average ages in my medical school? That ring a bell?

Originally Posted by axp107

What's the average age of a first year med student?

Approximately one year less than the average age of a second year.

Originally Posted by LifetimeDoc

One year less than the average age of a second year.

Not necessarilly -- some people drop out, some have to retake first year. And the trend of accepting nontrads tends to increase year to year.

Originally Posted by gujuDoc

I agree with L2D that no one is discriminating on the IMGs, however the relevance of their answers to someone applying solely in the US is non existent as it bares no effect on someone applying in the US what the avg ages are abroad.

Well, when you think about it, average US medical school age bares no effect on the original poster either... so 'relevance' is a bit moot too.

Originally Posted by Hayden2102

Well, when you think about it, average US medical school age bares no effect on the original poster either... so 'relevance' is a bit moot too.

What the hell are you talking about?

Originally Posted by Hayden2102

Well, when you think about it, average US medical school age bares no effect on the original poster either... so 'relevance' is a bit moot too.

The OP was asking about the likely number of nontrads he would see in his class when he started, and about issues involving interrelating with/befriending them. As such, since he is apparently a US resident based on his listed location, it seems that he is likely inquiring about US schools...

There is no problem with you giving foreign school age correlations, though, if you so desire.

Originally Posted by axp107

Wow.. so are there a lot of people of different ages? What's it like.. is it pretty interesting and cool to be surrounded by older people as well.. or can it be intimidating/weird? I've normally had friends around my age my whole life.. do you find yourself befriending people 10 years older than you?

I'm sorry, but I'm finding this post really amusing. We nontrads are pretty much just like you, just a little older. Just like the trads, some of us will be annoying and some will be cool. Admittedly, it's a little self-serving, but I'd vote that it's "interesting and cool" to have us around. But then I thought the nontrads were cool when I was a trad in law school, so maybe there's some truth there. The big thing that you'll find is that they'll be just as clueless as you about school because you all come in at the same place.

As for the social stuff, it doesn't seem like the nontrads at our school are any more likely to be married than the trads. Actually, most of the nontrads here seem to be single, and lots of the younger students are married or engaged. Of course I'm in a part of the country where people marry young -- if you're not hitched by 22, you're an old maid. Generally we don't seem to take part in all the drunken hooking up stuff that goes on.

Originally Posted by Hayden2102

Er... the OP was asking about average ages in medical school, and I was answering about the average ages in my medical school? That ring a bell?

If you were talking about your medical school class, then why did you refer to it as an "undergrad" school?

Babble much?

Originally Posted by Northerner

What the hell are you talking about?

ANGRY MAN...............

Originally Posted by Northerner

What the hell are you talking about?

Guja was talking about the 'relevance' of age having a bearing on the OP going to medical school, I was saying that it wasn't really relevant at all... never mind.

Originally Posted by Law2Doc

The OP was asking about the likely number of nontrads he would see in his class when he started, and about issues involving interrelating with/befriending them. As such, since he is apparently a US resident based on his listed location, it seems that he is likely inquiring about US schools...

There is no problem with you giving foreign school age correlations, though, if you so desire.

Well, yeah, he was asking about the experience with older people wasn't he? I'm sure plenty of the issues around non-trads that exist in US schools exist elsewhere too... I thought it was perhaps interesting that even though my school is undergrad, it has a lot of non-trads and older people in it.

Originally Posted by funkless

If you were talking about your medical school class, then why did you refer to it as an "undergrad" school?

Babble much?

No, I don't babble. My medical is undergraduate. Not everyone in the world has the same system as you guys.

Originally Posted by Hayden2102

No, I don't babble. My medical is undergraduate. Not everyone in the world has the same system as you guys.

They should if they want to practice here. There's a reason it's hard for IMGs to return to the U.S. to practice.

Originally Posted by Northerner

They should if they want to practice here. There's a reason it's hard for IMGs to return to the U.S. to practice.

Northerner, the undergraduate curriculum Hayden mentions is basically a med school which is 6 yrs long and which students enter straight out of high school. Just add 3 years to Hayden's median to compare it with US's age.

On the other note, FYI, students in undergrad schools still have to sit an admission test, and the admission is highly competitive. The graduates can write USMLE and obtain a residency spot in US (another thing is, do they want to? Residency in Australia may be longer, but the hours are better and, generally, so is the salary )

Originally Posted by Hayden2102

I thought it was perhaps interesting that even though my school is undergrad, it has a lot of non-trads and older people in it.

Yes it is. I had no idea career changers were big outside the states. Most of the other countries I am familiar with have a "no turning back the clock" approach.

Class had a fair number of "nontrads" and our average was still only 26. And don't worry about getting along with them. I find nontrads fall into two groups: some associate almost exclusively with their family or non med school friends (not that they're unfriendly, but they have their own social networks they want to maintain) and the rest are 22 forever at heart and get along great with the early 20's crowd.

Originally Posted by Northerner

They should if they want to practice here. There's a reason it's hard for IMGs to return to the U.S. to practice.

Why? If we come out as equally qualified as you do, who cares what method or order we completed our medical education in?

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']I am also a non-traditional student. It is really not the age that makes me a non-traditional but the fact that I am married with two children. I was born and raised in Mexico, and have lived in California for almost four years. I am only 22 though. If everything goes well, I hope to be applying to med school by age 24.

Even though I am young, I can relate a lot more with older people. Maybe it is because I have children or because of life circumstances, but I truly enjoy the wisdom and experience older people can offer. Even as a young child I always cherish the advice from the older people.

I can be friends with teenagers or elders. You can find something great in everyone! Remember that age is just a number, and if we are lucky we will be that same age one day. The last 22 years have gone fast; I can just imagine the next 20 will go as fast. That is why a 32 yr old, 42, 52, don't seem old to me at all; they are just a person as I am. They were my age once, and if I am lucky I will be theirs. We won't be young forever lol

Brenda[/FONT]

Originally Posted by Hayden2102

Why? If we come out as equally qualified as you do, who cares what method or order we completed our medical education in?

yes i back you.......after all we also compete with americans after graduation and taking usmle for residencies and at a fairly early age, if age matters.

I was accepted at 22, and I'll be entering at 23.

mean at TCOM is 24/25. i think it is similar at most schools.

Originally Posted by Northerner

They should if they want to practice here. There's a reason it's hard for IMGs to return to the U.S. to practice.

Geez, Northerner, what's your beef with undergraduate medical students? They get the same education we do -- more of it, in fact, 5-6 years instead of 4 -- and are generally some of the brightest students in their home countries, much as medical students are in the United States.

Don't hold it against them that you had to take basket-weaving for beginners, capoiera, american history, and all the other non-medical classes you took as an non-medical undergrad student.

Foreigners coming into the US have it harder for political and cultural reasons (America, a nation once founded by immigrants, has sadly become xenophobic) and because America has to take care of its own first. Don't think for a second they are any less qualified than you are.

Originally Posted by axp107

Before I visited SDN, I really only thought that as a first year med school student, you'd be surrounded by people in their early twenties.. I never realized that so many non-trads actually apply to med school... I thought it was just the next step for only premeds during undergrad.

Wow.. so are there a lot of people of different ages? What's it like.. is it pretty interesting and cool to be surrounded by older people as well.. or can it be intimidating/weird? I've normally had friends around my age my whole life.. do you find yourself befriending people 10 years older than you?

Here's the original post by the original poster. If you have a comment related to this post or to the original question "What the average age of a first-year med student?" then feel free to post it in this thread.

Otherwise, start your own thread and discussion if you wish to discuss something that is NOT related to the original post instead of hijacking this thread. Thanks.

Originally Posted by danierrr

Geez, Northerner, what's your beef with undergraduate medical students? They get the same education we do -- more of it, in fact, 5-6 years instead of 4 -- and are generally some of the brightest students in their home countries, much as medical students are in the United States.

Don't hold it against them that you had to take basket-weaving for beginners, capoiera, american history, and all the other non-medical classes you took as an non-medical undergrad student.

Foreigners coming into the US have it harder for political and cultural reasons (America, a nation once founded by immigrants, has sadly become xenophobic) and because America has to take care of its own first. Don't think for a second they are any less qualified than you are.

Well, that's not what I was saying at all (and I'll ignore the personal attack). If you'd like me to elaborate, feel free to start another thread.