3.16 GPA, 38 MCAT, 47 years old

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[Catalystik]

Nice MCAT score. What is your year-by-year GPA trend? If you did a postbac, how many hours and what was the GPA for that?

Also, can you summarize your activities?

 

[J ROD]

That GPA is a killer....Did you already do a postbac to relearn things? If not, then I would think about it to raise that GPA to a 3.3 at least.

 

[DrReo]

How are my chances for good MD school ("allopathic") admissions, say U of Wash?

How old is a lot of the GPA?

You can always say the good old family circumstances because your MCAT definitely, or at least I hope, picks up some slack.

Best of luck.

 

[pianoman511]

I know you are leaning towards allopathic, but osteopathic schools may take into account "other things". Also, what's your BCPM vs. overall GPA ?

 

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[Catalystik]

In light of your nontraditional status, that your most recent academic work is excellent, and the high MCAT score, though your cGPA may be below many school's cutoffs, I think your application will trigger a closer look to see the whole story. I don't know UWashington's approach to application like yours, but I think you have a decent chance at an allopathic acceptance somewhere, assuming typical ECs, intriguing Personal Staement, supportive Letters of Recommendation, and good interview skills. I'd encourage you to be sure that prerequisite coursework doesn't expire wherever you apply. I also think applying to some DO schools too is a good idea, as they traditionally are better at looking at the whole application. A new one is opening in Oregon next fall (branch campus of Western).

I'd suggest you look through SDN's Nontraditional Forum, as you'll find more folks there with issues similiar to your own.

 

[anfleisch]

I big part of it will be writing a good personal statement about why you have chosen to go into medicine so late and to prove they you will be a working doctor at some point. Not trying to be a downer, but with four years of medical school and a residency, you probably will raise some questions as to whether it is worth investing the resources for training to practice for a short time. Then again, you could explain it well and a school will really want you. I know my grandfather still practices medicine in his 80s.

 

[J ROD]

I think the recovery after the poor start with the second BA and it being so long ago will give you a decent chance somewhere.

Hell, I am impressed you got a 38 without having taken classes in a long time.

I would call some schools and see what kind of love they are giving you...

 

[JimmyShakerDay]

If you have any doubts about your age, you can read this:

49-Year-Old Future Physician is a True Renaissance Man

Madison, Wisconsin - What else can a former carpenter, landscaper, magazine editor, beekeeper and chicken farmer possibly do with his life?

How about becoming a plastic surgeon?

Such is the case with 49-year-old Vincent Laurence, a soon-to-be graduate of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

During the school's Match Day ceremony last week, Laurence found out he would be serving a six-year residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of California-Irvine. It was a thrilling moment for Laurence, whose life has been filled with a number of interesting journeys.

Laurence grew up in Massachusetts and, after a stint in the Marines, studied English at Vassar College. He also worked 60 to 70 hours a week in carpentry during summer breaks to pay for his tuition.

He was on the road to becoming a teacher, but then he had a change of heart.

"At some point, I decided I didn't want to be an academic," he says. "I kept on doing my carpentry because it was satisfying and manually dexterous."




Unfortunately, Laurence made his decision before an economic recession hit the country, and carpentry jobs suddenly became scarce.

It was about this time that Fine Homebuilding magazine, published by the Taunton Press in Connecticut, was looking for an editor who understood carpentry and had a command of English.

"I was basically their guy," says Laurence.

He would also work at Taunton's other magazines, Fine Woodworking and Fine Gardening, and eventually take up beekeeping, serving a term as vice-president of the Backyard Beekeepers Association of Connecticut. And he raised chickens for 10 years.

With several years at Taunton under his belt, Laurence decided he needed a job where he could work with his hands and began his own garden-design installation business.

After building a successful clientele, he says he had an epiphany on where his life was heading.

"I was just finishing a job, the client loved it and it was the end of a perfect day," says Laurence. "And I kept saying 'Is this it? Is this what I'm going to do for the rest of my life?'"

A career aptitude test determined he could enter a number of different careers. But only one appealed to him: surgery.

However, Laurence was past 40 years old and thought it was too late to study medicine.

"At first, I kicked myself, thinking I had missed out on an incredible perfect blending of cerebral stimulation where what you are doing everyday is manually dexterous," he says. "I would have been working with my hands, and performing a craft while accomplishing a greater good."

Laurence decided to take the plunge. First, he had to take three years of science courses before entering the School of Medicine and Public Health. By that time, he was 45. Laurence says going to Wisconsin was the best decision he could have made.

"Everybody has been nice and everybody has been positive," he says. "The facilities are fantastic."

He has never felt out of place, even though most of his classmates were much younger.

"I feel younger than my age, almost ageless," he says. "People can be 20 years old and have a 60-year-old mindset, or they can be my age and just roll with things."

He still falls back on his carpentry and landscaping work to relieve the stress of his studies. Some of his woodworking has been displayed at the annual art show at Ebling Library in the medical school. He also landscaped two plots at the Eagle Heights Community Garden in Madison.

"There are a lot of things I know and come back to for comfort," he says. "Carpentry and landscaping are definitely stress relievers."

After graduation, Laurence looks forward to starting his new career in plastic surgery, which he says replicates the challenges he encountered as a woodworker and landscaper.

"There's a lot of creative problem-solving involved," he says. "If you have a person who has lost a portion of their face due to cancer, or injured their arm and no longer has bicep function, a plastic surgeon can assess the problem and determine how to solve it.

"No amount of classes, books, magazines or videos will ever teach you the fundamentals of woodworking," he adds. "You have to have the tools and set your mind toward making something. There's a feedback one gets with tools that also applies toward surgery. You're working with tissue and becoming comfortable and familiar with the physical world. That's an experience a lot of people don't have if they have never worked with their hands."


http://www.med.wisc.edu/news-events...ure-physician-is-a-true-renaissance-man/26862

 

[FIUCOMzDrSnyper]

My GPA is old -- first BS in 1990. Basically flunked out of grad school (GPA < 3), changed programs and did very well (around 3.8 GPA), worked for a year, got a 2nd BS (3.93 GPA -- finally figured out how to be a good student), worked for 13 years. Ironically, my science GPA is quite good. No postbacc. I am in the process of shadowing. Wife + lots of kids + professional job = busy life.

Don't you think you should have had your priorities STRAIGHT BEFORE you decided to pop kids out, flunk school, and BEFORE you hit your thirties???

Seriously, why do old people like you even bother to apply to med school only to realize you will retire in the middle of residency? Even if you do manage to "make it", you STEAL another young person's dreams of becoming a doctor. Don't be selfish & go back to your old job. You had 40+ years to get you head straight...too little too late! Let YOUNG people become doctors! People like you had the chance were you were young & never took it. That shouldn't be our problem, b/c it was YOUR responsibility to finish school at a YOUNG age! Med school is competitive enough w/o you grandparents ruining it for others... There's got be be an age CAP to this nonsense....max of 30 years!

Your horrible lack of priorities shows.... if you were trully serious about medicine, you would have finished school FIRST & had kids LAST! Common sense! How "busy" your life is shows what little time & dedication you have for medicine. Patients DONT want to hear how you have to leave early to take care of your kids!

1- give up your medicine dreams. you're too old
2- be considerate for the generations below you. Remember, we ARE the ones going to be taking care of YOU in nursing home. So be nice.
3- your "busy" life is too much for medicine. Goodbye.

 

[FIUCOMzDrSnyper]

If you have any doubts about your age, you can read this:

Funny how old people want to become doctors when they get laid off & suddenly they don't have the $$$ to pay the bills.... hmm... sounds like extrinsic motivation here... tsk tsk.

People should want to become doctors BECAUSE they want to help others medically, NOT to see their next paycheck!!!

 

[loveoforganic]

:troll:

 

[Stixman28]

Don't you think you should have had your priorities STRAIGHT BEFORE you decided to pop kids out, flunk school, and BEFORE you hit your thirties???

Seriously, why do old people like you even bother to apply to med school only to realize you will retire in the middle of residency? Even if you do manage to "make it", you STEAL another young person's dreams of becoming a doctor. Don't be selfish & go back to your old job. You had 40+ years to get you head straight...too little too late! Let YOUNG people become doctors! People like you had the chance were you were young & never took it. That shouldn't be our problem, b/c it was YOUR responsibility to finish school at a YOUNG age! Med school is competitive enough w/o you grandparents ruining it for others... There's got be be an age CAP to this nonsense....max of 30 years!

Your horrible lack of priorities shows.... if you were trully serious about medicine, you would have finished school FIRST & had kids LAST! Common sense! How "busy" your life is shows what little time & dedication you have for medicine. Patients DONT want to hear how you have to leave early to take care of your kids!

1- give up your medicine dreams. you're too old
2- be considerate for the generations below you. Remember, we ARE the ones going to be taking care of YOU in nursing home. So be nice.
3- your "busy" life is too much for medicine. Goodbye.

This better be a joke, cause if not, you're a f*ck. hopefully just a troll having fun on a saturday. There is no rule to life that says have your **** straight when your 18, finish school, do your residency, and then have kids. Do you have any idea how ridiculous this post sounds to anyone older than you.

How could a post like this have brought you out of lurkville?

 

[RunningDiva]

Don't you think you should have had your priorities STRAIGHT BEFORE you decided to pop kids out, flunk school, and BEFORE you hit your thirties???

Seriously, why do old people like you even bother to apply to med school only to realize you will retire in the middle of residency? Even if you do manage to "make it", you STEAL another young person's dreams of becoming a doctor. Don't be selfish & go back to your old job. You had 40+ years to get you head straight...too little too late! Let YOUNG people become doctors! People like you had the chance were you were young & never took it. That shouldn't be our problem, b/c it was YOUR responsibility to finish school at a YOUNG age! Med school is competitive enough w/o you grandparents ruining it for others... There's got be be an age CAP to this nonsense....max of 30 years!

Your horrible lack of priorities shows.... if you were trully serious about medicine, you would have finished school FIRST & had kids LAST! Common sense! How "busy" your life is shows what little time & dedication you have for medicine. Patients DONT want to hear how you have to leave early to take care of your kids!

1- give up your medicine dreams. you're too old
2- be considerate for the generations below you. Remember, we ARE the ones going to be taking care of YOU in nursing home. So be nice.
3- your "busy" life is too much for medicine. Goodbye.

really? really? are you being serious? my sarcasm detector is usually pretty good and i'm not picking anything up.

age discrimination, anyone?

 

[RunningDiva]

:troll:

for realz. total troll.

 

[harvman11]

Don't you think you should have had your priorities STRAIGHT BEFORE you decided to pop kids out, flunk school, and BEFORE you hit your thirties???

Seriously, why do old people like you even bother to apply to med school only to realize you will retire in the middle of residency? Even if you do manage to "make it", you STEAL another young person's dreams of becoming a doctor. Don't be selfish & go back to your old job. You had 40+ years to get you head straight...too little too late! Let YOUNG people become doctors! People like you had the chance were you were young & never took it. That shouldn't be our problem, b/c it was YOUR responsibility to finish school at a YOUNG age! Med school is competitive enough w/o you grandparents ruining it for others... There's got be be an age CAP to this nonsense....max of 30 years!

Your horrible lack of priorities shows.... if you were trully serious about medicine, you would have finished school FIRST & had kids LAST! Common sense! How "busy" your life is shows what little time & dedication you have for medicine. Patients DONT want to hear how you have to leave early to take care of your kids!

1- give up your medicine dreams. you're too old
2- be considerate for the generations below you. Remember, we ARE the ones going to be taking care of YOU in nursing home. So be nice.
3- your "busy" life is too much for medicine. Goodbye.

Don't listen to this babbling nonsense. My personal guess is (s)he's been rejected everywhere they applied and is looking for others (URMs, nontrads like yourself, etc) to blame. Or they're just an angry person that doesn't understand that dreams/desires change, either one.

While I myself am not taking a year (or 10 or 20) off, I have no problem with training older doctors, and I think admission committees have shown they don't either. They would rather train a competent, caring doctor who will work for 10 years than train someone who is unqualified to work for 30 years, and that's the way I prefer it as well.

 

[MossPoh]

I think you have to look at each school individually and ask them what they think about non-traditional and older students. DO schools do tend to have older students.

I think the one troll-ish post does have some points right, albeit in a crude and callus way. At the current age of 47, that'd mean OP would be at least 48 when starting, if not older. That puts him or her at the age of 52 when graduating. Even the shortest residency would be 55 and surgery or subspecialities would put the person near 58. Now, factor in the money for the education or if saved already, the lost retirement funds. On top of that, you have to consider the average age that people die. 14-20 years of solid doctoring isn't that much, especially relative to the time investment and cost where many people pay off loans in 15-20 year spans. With current population growth the country really NEEDS doctors to stick around for a while. It takes time to put more people in the doctor pipeline.

I am by no means trying to be a dream crusher. If it is your dream then pursue it. You WILL meet people with that mentality though, so look into the schools and apply broadly.

 

[loveoforganic]

And ultimately that's the school's/future residency's decision, whether a candidate is worth the investment - not some whiny bi***er on SDN.

 

[Nyatete]

I am a 31 yr old post Grad student, i did my Bs 2005 MBA 2008, and is seriously considering doing a DMD or DO program, does anyone think I am too old for this?

nb: serious n honest replies only-PLEASE!!

 

[Catalystik]

I am a 31 yr old post Grad student, i did my Bs 2005 MBA 2008, and is seriously considering doing a DMD or DO program, does anyone think I am too old for this?

nb: serious n honest replies only-PLEASE!!

Of course you're not too old. I work with a guy who got into med school at the age of 53 who just finished residency a few years ago at the age of 60.

 

[jpatel]

Hey its really admiring that one can be that old and still be smart enough to do that well on test such as MCAT.

Some people can be 60 years old but can be more healthier than a 50 years old. Figure out where your at.

Are you fat? Do you exercise regularly? do you have healthy diet? Do you have any medical problems? if your already having back problems or leg problems then your body will probably fail by the time your 60.

If you really go to medical school at lets say 49 then you want to be practicing well into your 70s to get something out of it.

And yea you can kiss family life good bye for good 6 years after going into medical school. Have you talked to your wife, your kids about this? Also you ll have huge loans to pay.

 

[dingyibvs]

Don't listen to this babbling nonsense. My personal guess is (s)he's been rejected everywhere they applied and is looking for others (URMs, nontrads like yourself, etc) to blame. Or they're just an angry person that doesn't understand that dreams/desires change, either one.

While I myself am not taking a year (or 10 or 20) off, I have no problem with training older doctors, and I think admission committees have shown they don't either. They would rather train a competent, caring doctor who will work for 10 years than train someone who is unqualified to work for 30 years, and that's the way I prefer it as well.

No they don't. In fact, healthcare in this country would crumble if every physician only worked for 10 years, no matter how competent or caring they are.

 

[eedoctor]

nice mcat score. that'll definitely overweigh everything.

i'd apply to all of the top schools if i was you. just be sure to point out how you're you are unique, during your interview...