Advantages of being a non-traditional student?

[Jpc984]

Is there an advantage to being a non-traditional student, i.e. worked for a couple of years. Or are the young folks straight out of college (like me) advantaged.

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[Hexanol]

Is there an advantage to being a non-traditional student, i.e. worked for a couple of years. Or are the young folks straight out of college (like me) advantaged.

i don't know if there's an advantage or disadvantage to it persay. It's all about how you used your time. If you're a non-trad student who used the time wisely and used that time to emphasize your drive and motivation in the health care also then i think it'll be a positive thing working in your favor.

An ADCOM will not judge you soley on the fact that you're a non-trad student, IMO.

 

[MJB]

I'm not sure if it's an advantage or not, but I certainly feel a LOT more mentally prepared for medical school than I was 8 years ago...Let's just say that "living life" for the last 8 years has taught me a lot about myself and what I can take (live through).

The biggest advantage I feel personally is that at this time, I have ZERO doubt about what I want to do with my future, whereas the only thing on my mind when I graduated from Baker was to get a job and start making some money to pay those student loans that were looming.

 

[harrypotter]

Not sure if it's an advantage to be older because isn't the mean age of students in the late 20's vs the young things in MD schools?

 

[scpod]

Is there an advantage to being a non-traditional student, i.e. worked for a couple of years. Or are the young folks straight out of college (like me) advantaged.

This is a question without a real answer because there are advantages and disadvantages for each. If you are asking are your chances better at getting accepted as a non-trad, then you could argue equally either way. If you are asking is it easier once you get in as a non-trad, then you could still argue either way. I would give you my opinion, but I'm 42 years old, so I am inherently biased. It's a great topic for debate, but I'm afraid that there will never be a "winner."