How old is "too old" for medical school?

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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How old is "too old" to apply to medical school?

  • 30+

    Votes: 27 6.9%

  • 35+

    Votes: 43 11.0%

  • 40+

    Votes: 70 17.9%

  • 45+

    Votes: 57 14.6%

  • 50+

    Votes: 58 14.9%

  • 55+

    Votes: 17 4.4%

  • 60+

    Votes: 16 4.1%

  • 65+

    Votes: 4 1.0%

  • 70+

    Votes: 11 2.8%

  • Never too old to go back to school and/or follow your dreams

    Votes: 87 22.3%
  • Total voters
    390
Revenant said:
*sets bag of poo aflame on Quix's doorstep*

*rings doorbell*
Click to expand...

*Leaps out of bushes*

*Uses hickey stick to splatter Revenant with his bag of flaming poo*

*Yells "Youth and enthusiasm are no match for old age and trickery!"

*Releases the hounds*

monty_burns.png
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Quix said:
*Leaps out of bushes*

*Uses hickey stick to splatter Revenant with his bag of flaming poo*

*Yells "Youth and enthusiasm are no match for old age and trickery!"

*Releases the hounds*
Click to expand...


*air dodges poop particles in dramatic slow motion manner*

*roundhouse kicks hounds*

*beats Quix with poopy stick*
 
what I want to know is, who is the one person who thinks 65+ is too old?! lol
 
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Age really isn't the point here, but physical and emotional fitness. To say a 50 year old can take the same beating as a 25 year old is crazy. There are more hoops to jump through the older you are (30+), but I don't see any reason why not as long as it has value to you.

What I think people are afraid of is if you are starting at 45, don't finish training until 55, practice for 10 years, retire, and expect to have all loans paid off if they didn't save up money in their previous career. I don't really know how that works. Though, if you've got the cash on hand, can I borrow some? :D
 
The upside to being a LITTLE older (35) than average is having a house that has craploads of equity in it. With a working spouse (aka sugar momma), this allows us to finish up four years with relatively little debt once the home has been sold.

Also...30's who take care of themselves have man strength. I had a 20 y/o staff member tell me that the other day and I felt pretty good about it. He followed up by saying I had a cute ass, but I just let that one go.

:)
 
Quix said:
*Leaps out of bushes*

*Uses hickey stick to splatter Revenant with his bag of flaming poo*

*Yells "Youth and enthusiasm are no match for old age and trickery!"

*Releases the hounds*

monty_burns.png
Click to expand...

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! . . . trickery . . . I love it! HAHAHA!
 
I don't think anyone has brought this up yet. As a fresh bachelor's graduate you don't stand to lose a ton of salary the first four years out of college. I would assume that a non-trad considering going to medical school would be more intelligent and successful than the average person and that taking 4 years off from their job would hurt even more. They might also have to take out more in loans as I would assume that they have more responsibility in the form of children.
 
TRAMD said:
I don't think anyone has brought this up yet. As a fresh bachelor's graduate you don't stand to lose a ton of salary the first four years out of college. I would assume that a non-trad considering going to medical school would be more intelligent and successful than the average person and that taking 4 years off from their job would hurt even more. They might also have to take out more in loans as I would assume that they have more responsibility in the form of children.
Click to expand...

That's a very astute observation. Especially when you consider that a LOT of people aren't coming from flipping burgers at McDonalds: they were former accountants, small business owners, nurses, pharmacists, etc. Guy in my class left a six year salary to go to med school. Crazy stuff.
 
The pursuit of medicine is generally a decade long process that involves enormous sacrifices on both time and money. If you don't care about that stuff, then it is never too late. However, for a sane person I'd say 40ish is about the latest to make this endeavor a worthy one. Star medschool at 45, start practicing at 55, you still get a good 10 years of practice. However, do you really want to be working that hard when you're in the golden years?
 
My interviewer at TCOM was 54 when she entered medical school. Follow your dreams, it's never ever too late!!
 
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littlealex said:
The pursuit of medicine is generally a decade long process that involves enormous sacrifices on both time and money. If you don't care about that stuff, then it is never too late. However, for a sane person I'd say 40ish is about the latest to make this endeavor a worthy one. Star medschool at 45, start practicing at 55, you still get a good 10 years of practice. However, do you really want to be working that hard when you're in the golden years?
Click to expand...

LOL!! Y'all are under the misapprehension that (1) every older applicant is coming from a position of money, and therefore (2) will be ABLE to retire at said current job should they continue in it, and (3) that age 65 is the age every doctor will retire regardless when they start practicing.

I'll be 52 when I apply next year. I live paycheck to paycheck in my current job. We have no savings, certainly nothing set aside for retirement, which means that, unless we win the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, I'll NEVER be able to retire from my current job. Since I'll be working till I drop ANYWAY, why not be working at something I love and am passionate about? AND I'll feel rich, even if I'm on the low-rung of the financial ladder like in pediatrics.
 
It's all relative. My answer for myself is I wish I could have started at 18 just to get it over with and have more years to practice. However, many people don't realize that medicine is their passion until they are stuck in a job that doesn't do it for them, and thus the non-trad. As for me, I'm itching to get the ball rolling, but I would never tell anyone else they are too old as long as they are physically and mentally capable and able to deal with the financial obligations.
 
I am currently seeking to get in touch with current medical students who are 40+. I am doing a research paper to present defending the position of persons wishing to attend medical school post 40. I would appreciate any and all assistance on this.
Thanks.....
BTW, with that said, it should be obvious where I stand on this matter. You are never too old to follow your dream and money should never be a factor if it truly is your dream. Those of you who continually refer to loan repayment as a factor should revisit the purpose of one attending medical school. We attend medical school to be trained as healers, not money making machines. Therein lies the dilemma that gets many of us twisted, we forget out main purpose...to heal. We are among those intelligent enough to absorb and process the material, having the stamina and drive to complete the course requiired to finally become a doctor. We have declared this passion for the science of medicine, therefore we have chosen this vocation to pursue. Stay focused and don't lose sight on the bigger picture.

All the best!
Gal Girl
 
wouldn't you want to have a gloria (from scrubs :)) in your med school class?
 
Mid-thirties is definitely too old. And early forties is too old to do a residency, especially as the current system is set up for twenty-something conformabots who have no clue how things work in the normal working world and don't even realize they are being abused.

But the more non-traditional students enter the profession the less abuse the rest of you are going to have to put up with. Many of the old school attendings who long for the good old days when residents were their chattel slaves detest the older residents who don't buy into the status quo and are slowly dragging the medical training system out of the Dark Ages.

The current system was designed for young, unmarried white men with no responsibilities or commitments outside of the hospital.
 
A friend of mine started med school at 50, her 6 children were raised and she had inherited some money. Her husband worked/kept house, but was able to relocate to the rotation sites. She has always wanted to do family practice, having done it for 30 years, and has a job set up on a reservation, which suits her lifestyle just fine.
 
galgirl said:
I am currently seeking to get in touch with current medical students who are 40+. I am doing a research paper to present defending the position of persons wishing to attend medical school post 40. I would appreciate any and all assistance on this.
Thanks.....
BTW, with that said, it should be obvious where I stand on this matter. You are never too old to follow your dream and money should never be a factor if it truly is your dream. Those of you who continually refer to loan repayment as a factor should revisit the purpose of one attending medical school. We attend medical school to be trained as healers, not money making machines. Therein lies the dilemma that gets many of us twisted, we forget out main purpose...to heal. We are among those intelligent enough to absorb and process the material, having the stamina and drive to complete the course requiired to finally become a doctor. We have declared this passion for the science of medicine, therefore we have chosen this vocation to pursue. Stay focused and don't lose sight on the bigger picture.

All the best!
Gal Girl
Click to expand...

Nothing to defend. If you are in a career that limits your income to the fifty thousand dollar range it makes good sense to switch to medicine, even given the opportunity cost and debt, to make at a minimum of three times your terminal pre-medicine salary. I was probably limited to the $60,000-$70,000 range in engineering as a salary (assuming I didn't work for myself which not everybody has the talent or drive to do) and should be able to make close to three times that amount after "only" eight years of training. Even with my debt and the massive opportunity cost, assuming I only work until 65 I'll come out way ahead.

And sister, you are going to be so disappointed once you see what medicine is really all about. It is a good job, and I'm enjoying my field (Emergency Medicine) but words like "dream," "passion," and "healer" are going to mean very little to you in about ten years. You will see that money is important and that what's a good job for $240,000 a year is not so good for $100,000 and a real drag for $70,000. Much as I like my job, I like not doing it better,that is, I prefer a three-day weekend to three days of shifts.

You will also see how little healing you are actually going to do and how few people with really major problems you are going to cure. We just sort of manage them along, playing a shell-game with the reaper.

As long as you folks are willing to sell your mothers for the privelge of going to medical school The Man is always going to have you by the gonads. Can't we all play a little more "hard to get?"
 
Lokhtar said:
Haha, aren't you a non-trad engineer?
Click to expand...

dead·pan [ded-pan] adjective, adverb, verb, -panned, -pan·ning, noun

–adjective
1. marked by or accomplished with a careful pretense of seriousness or calm detachment; impassive or expressionless: deadpan humor.
2. displaying no emotional or personal involvement: a deadpan style.
–adverb
3. in a deadpan manner: He spoke his lines utterly deadpan.
–verb (used without object), verb (used with object)
4. to behave or perform in a deadpan manner.
–noun Also, dead pan.
5. a face showing no expression.
6. a style of comedy that relies on the comedian's maintaining such a face.

:)
 
Lokhtar said:
Haha, aren't you a non-trad engineer?

Love your blog, by the way.
Click to expand...

Well, yeah. But forty is too old to put up with a lot of the crap of residency and the various asinine people you will encounter in medical school. Some of the people who you will encounter (attendings, residents) would get their asses kicked (literally) if they acted like they act in any other career. Medical school does indeed select for dinguses and, although there is a great deal of personal growth in medical training, these people grow as dinguses.
 
Panda Bear said:
Well, yeah. But forty is too old to put up with a lot of the crap of residency and the various asinine people you will encounter in medical school. Some of the people who you will encounter (attendings, residents) would get their asses kicked (literally) if they acted like they act in any other career. Medical school does indeed select for dinguses and, although there is a great deal of personal growth in medical training, these people grow as dinguses.
Click to expand...

I'll be curious to see how that goes. I'm sure it will be a interesting experience having superiors several years younger than me. Oh well, only one way to find out...
 
Law2Doc said:
Well, you are assuming that if you admitted someone younger in that slot they would work more than 15 years post residency. There is no such requirement, and some young people do leave the industry or otherwise retire from practice. With an older applicant, I would think they are more likely to utilize every minute they have got.
Click to expand...

I agree with this, there are doctors who after residency and practicing for a few years decide they need a change or that seeing patients all day just isn't for them ANYMORE, they might go into pharmaceuticals (Rep), Research Scientist, 10% Practicing and 90% Academics or 100% Academics and etc...

It all depends on the "older" person who went into med school later than usual, left residency later than usual and started practicing at a much later time than the average doctor, this person WILL most likely (an assumption) take use of every single minute they can to practice, simply because they know their days are numbered. I know I would, if i were in a similar position.

Point being if you want to truly become a physician no matter the age you should atleast try, however I would suggest to acknowledge and analyze your current situation so that you may come up with a reasonable conclusion (Whether you want to continue or stay were your at) because the challenges that med school, residency, and post residency entail aren't (doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out..:rolleyes:) easy and if you have NO financial stability, NO emotional support, NO commitment and dedication at 50+ then you're in for a real hard time.

If you're going to pursue it then go ahead, just remember that at age 45+ you have NO time what so ever to deal with procrastination.....:scared:
 
TRAMD said:
I think you should be able to work for twice as long as your training took to complete and retire at 65. The average med school and residency will take about 8 years so 65 - 24 = 41. I guess I would say 40+.
Click to expand...

Interesting.

65 - (3*14) = 23 for me. :eek:

Uh... :(
 
Panda Bear said:
Nothing to defend. If you are in a career that limits your income to the fifty thousand dollar range it makes good sense to switch to medicine, even given the opportunity cost and debt, to make at a minimum of three times your terminal pre-medicine salary. I was probably limited to the $60,000-$70,000 range in engineering as a salary (assuming I didn't work for myself which not everybody has the talent or drive to do) and should be able to make close to three times that amount after "only" eight years of training. Even with my debt and the massive opportunity cost, assuming I only work until 65 I'll come out way ahead.

And sister, you are going to be so disappointed once you see what medicine is really all about. It is a good job, and I'm enjoying my field (Emergency Medicine) but words like "dream," "passion," and "healer" are going to mean very little to you in about ten years. You will see that money is important and that what's a good job for $240,000 a year is not so good for $100,000 and a real drag for $70,000. Much as I like my job, I like not doing it better,that is, I prefer a three-day weekend to three days of shifts.

You will also see how little healing you are actually going to do and how few people with really major problems you are going to cure. We just sort of manage them along, playing a shell-game with the reaper.

As long as you folks are willing to sell your mothers for the privelge of going to medical school The Man is always going to have you by the gonads. Can't we all play a little more "hard to get?"
Click to expand...

Yeah sorry Panda, that's probably not going to be possible for another minimum 6 generations after us..lol Yeah when the "Man" see's pre-meds he sees MONEY and a legal reason to literally abuse, overwork, and make money off of SLAVES......:laugh:
 
Panda Bear said:
Nothing to defend. If you are in a career that limits your income to the fifty thousand dollar range it makes good sense to switch to medicine, even given the opportunity cost and debt, to make at a minimum of three times your terminal pre-medicine salary. I was probably limited to the $60,000-$70,000 range in engineering as a salary (assuming I didn't work for myself which not everybody has the talent or drive to do) and should be able to make close to three times that amount after "only" eight years of training. Even with my debt and the massive opportunity cost, assuming I only work until 65 I'll come out way ahead.

And sister, you are going to be so disappointed once you see what medicine is really all about. It is a good job, and I'm enjoying my field (Emergency Medicine) but words like "dream," "passion," and "healer" are going to mean very little to you in about ten years. You will see that money is important and that what's a good job for $240,000 a year is not so good for $100,000 and a real drag for $70,000. Much as I like my job, I like not doing it better,that is, I prefer a three-day weekend to three days of shifts.

You will also see how little healing you are actually going to do and how few people with really major problems you are going to cure. We just sort of manage them along, playing a shell-game with the reaper.

As long as you folks are willing to sell your mothers for the privelge of going to medical school The Man is always going to have you by the gonads. Can't we all play a little more "hard to get?"
Click to expand...

I tell people this all the time.

The rest of your post is awesome, just awesome.
 
Blade28 said:
Interesting.

65 - (3*14) = 23 for me. :eek:

Uh... :(
Click to expand...

Are you becoming a cosmetic CT surgeon? What god-awful residency takes 10 years?
 
Panda Bear said:
Mid-thirties is definitely too old. And early forties is too old to do a residency, especially as the current system is set up for twenty-something conformabots who have no clue how things work in the normal working world and don't even realize they are being abused.

But the more non-traditional students enter the profession the less abuse the rest of you are going to have to put up with. Many of the old school attendings who long for the good old days when residents were their chattel slaves detest the older residents who don't buy into the status quo and are slowly dragging the medical training system out of the Dark Ages.

The current system was designed for young, unmarried white men with no responsibilities or commitments outside of the hospital.
Click to expand...

Panda Bear, how old were you when you started med school?
 
the orthopaedic surgeons i have shadowed did lots of healing and saw cool cases...
 
Honestly, I don't see the point in admitting someone 50 or older... their spot could be given to someone younger, who will provide more years of service to the profession. I'd set early 40s as the upper limit, but that's just me.
 
Blade28 said:
General Surgery (5 years + 2 research years), Cardiothoracic Surgery (3 years).
Click to expand...

At OSU it is 6 yrs (5 yrs + 1 year research) plus 2 years for cardiothroacic surgery.

that seems really long - is the research required or elective?
 
Blade28 said:
General Surgery (5 years + 2 research years), Cardiothoracic Surgery (3 years).
Click to expand...

You are a glutton for punishment. Yikes...

How is it you continue to be nice and helpful to everyone, even though you are deep in the s***, whereas a med student like Misterioso (also future CT, so he says) is already acting as grizzled as all hell? :laugh:
 
smuwillobrien said:
Honestly, I don't see the point in admitting someone 50 or older... their spot could be given to someone younger, who will provide more years of service to the profession. I'd set early 40s as the upper limit, but that's just me.
Click to expand...

See, medical school is not a prize or something awarded to people who swear to commit their lives to public service. There are plenty of doctors who retire early, open exclusively "cosmetic" practices (botox, etc.) or quit in disgust. No one is "in service" to the profession.

37 when I started, by the way.
 
foreverLaur said:
At OSU it is 6 yrs (5 yrs + 1 year research) plus 2 years for cardiothroacic surgery.

that seems really long - is the research required or elective?
Click to expand...

Depending on whether or not you do research, residency is 5-7 years long. Most people who do basic science research tend to do it for 2 years. It's optional at my program, but required at some (the Brigham comes to mind).

And most CT Surg fellowships are 3 years - only a few are 2, IIRC. Not sure why.

Meatwad said:
How is it you continue to be nice and helpful to everyone, even though you are deep in the s***, whereas a med student like Misterioso (also future CT, so he says) is already acting as grizzled as all hell? :laugh:
Click to expand...

That's just my personality. :)
 
Blade28 said:
General Surgery (5 years + 2 research years), Cardiothoracic Surgery (3 years).
Click to expand...

Didn't know I was correct on the CT surgery part. Dang, that is a long time. Is the research required or is it to become more competitive for CT surgery?

[edit] Ignore this. I really need to read ahead before replying to posts.
 
Meatwad said:
You are a glutton for punishment. Yikes...

How is it you continue to be nice and helpful to everyone, even though you are deep in the s***, whereas a med student like Misterioso (also future CT, so he says) is already acting as grizzled as all hell? :laugh:
Click to expand...

Where has that guy been?
 
at OSU you can use that last year of research in the general surgery residency to get an MBA, MS or MPH. sounds good to me!
 
I wouldn't say CT surgery is dead but it is not nearly as competitive as it used to be what with all of the PCI going on. But I guess you guys already know that.
 
drlisa0318 said:
LOL!! Y'all are under the misapprehension that (1) every older applicant is coming from a position of money, and therefore (2) will be ABLE to retire at said current job should they continue in it, and (3) that age 65 is the age every doctor will retire regardless when they start practicing.

I'll be 52 when I apply next year. I live paycheck to paycheck in my current job. We have no savings, certainly nothing set aside for retirement, which means that, unless we win the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, I'll NEVER be able to retire from my current job. Since I'll be working till I drop ANYWAY, why not be working at something I love and am passionate about? AND I'll feel rich, even if I'm on the low-rung of the financial ladder like in pediatrics.
Click to expand...


Wow, you don't look your age!! :wow: Kudos to you! ! :bow:
 
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