Hello! I`am 32 years old and I`m freshman at idaho state univer. I moved to The US 5 years ago and gained residency. I dont have much clinical experience, may be only when i worked for about 6 months as CNA in a hospital back in my country. Most of time i worked as a server in the bars and restaurants because i needed to support myself and my parents. I couldnt afford any college and now in The US i have a chance to get a degree. I always had a dream to be a doctor-surgeon. I`m taking English(basic writing) class right now at ISU and i have B, but i`m trying to get higher grade. I used to be really good in high school and i still remember chemistry, physic and math well. I know i have to take all those classes and get a bachelor degree before i can apply to US medical school. Also i know that MCAT is extremely hard especially verbal part for non-native english speaker. I`m willing to work hard to learn English, but i`m worried that i`ll not able to impress an admission committee. They will probably ask me what i did 10 years and my answer is i worked as a server in restaurants because i had to take care of my sick mom. I didnt have any degree to work somewhere else. I couldnt afford any college. I need some advice. What should i do? I`m going to volunteer at local hospital and try to get letter of recommendation. How do you guys think what else i can do to improve my application ? Please help with some advice. Am i too old to be a doctor-surgeon?
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32 old non-trad from foreign country
- Thread starter aizhanmen
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Take it one step at a time. Get a decent BS degree that you can use even if your MD plans don't work out. Make it a useful degree that can get you a job, not some easy major that is useless on its own. If anything a "struggling immigrant sob story" may make a great personal statement. Keep your options open and don't plan too far ahead.
There are people on this board who matched into surgical residencies at 40+, so anything is possible. But like I said most will tell you that you are planning waay too far ahead.
Get a better command of English, finish your (practical) degree with strong grades then if you still want to be a doctor worry about MCAT.
There are people on this board who matched into surgical residencies at 40+, so anything is possible. But like I said most will tell you that you are planning waay too far ahead.
Get a better command of English, finish your (practical) degree with strong grades then if you still want to be a doctor worry about MCAT.
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No, you are not too old. Like the poster above me said take it one step at a time, get a degree. Do a lot or reading and volunteering. The reading will make your command of English stronger. Preferably non- fiction. Gets you a bit used to the boring topics on the MCAT. Good luckHello! I`am 32 years old and I`m freshman at idaho state univer. I moved to The US 5 years ago and gained residency. I dont have much clinical experience, may be only when i worked for about 6 months as CNA in a hospital back in my country. Most of time i worked as a server in the bars and restaurants because i needed to support myself and my parents. I couldnt afford any college and now in The US i have a chance to get a degree. I always had a dream to be a doctor-surgeon. I`m taking English(basic writing) class right now at ISU and i have B, but i`m trying to get higher grade. I used to be really good in high school and i still remember chemistry, physic and math well. I know i have to take all those classes and get a bachelor degree before i can apply to US medical school. Also i know that MCAT is extremely hard especially verbal part for non-native english speaker. I`m willing to work hard to learn English, but i`m worried that i`ll not able to impress an admission committee. They will probably ask me what i did 10 years and my answer is i worked as a server in restaurants because i had to take care of my sick mom. I didnt have any degree to work somewhere else. I couldnt afford any college. I need some advice. What should i do? I`m going to volunteer at local hospital and try to get letter of recommendation. How do you guys think what else i can do to improve my application ? Please help with some advice. Am i too old to be a doctor-surgeon?
Hello! I`am 32 years old and I`m freshman at idaho state univer. I moved to The US 5 years ago and gained residency. I dont have much clinical experience, may be only when i worked for about 6 months as CNA in a hospital back in my country. Most of time i worked as a server in the bars and restaurants because i needed to support myself and my parents. I couldnt afford any college and now in The US i have a chance to get a degree. I always had a dream to be a doctor-surgeon. I`m taking English(basic writing) class right now at ISU and i have B, but i`m trying to get higher grade. I used to be really good in high school and i still remember chemistry, physic and math well. I know i have to take all those classes and get a bachelor degree before i can apply to US medical school. Also i know that MCAT is extremely hard especially verbal part for non-native english speaker. I`m willing to work hard to learn English, but i`m worried that i`ll not able to impress an admission committee. They will probably ask me what i did 10 years and my answer is i worked as a server in restaurants because i had to take care of my sick mom. I didnt have any degree to work somewhere else. I couldnt afford any college. I need some advice. What should i do? I`m going to volunteer at local hospital and try to get letter of recommendation. How do you guys think what else i can do to improve my application ? Please help with some advice. Am i too old to be a doctor-surgeon?
Don't stress about things that happened in the past. Like one poster said, working hard to support yourself and your parents is a good thing and something most people (and adcoms) will respect, if you decide you still want to go the medicine route down the line. Otherwise, just focus on one step at a time--do well in your classes, learn as much as you can, and then if you decide the path is not ideal, you'll have a backup.
