49-year-old going to take the MCAT

[wsrefj]

I'm new to the forum. What chance do I have if I achieve a super-good
MCAT score if I apply to Med School at, oh, say...50 or 51 years old?

My undergrad was from a top 10 U.S. school in Computer Science and I graduated in the top 2% of my class there, so my undergrad is strong.
I'm currently re-taking Chem/Physics/Bio because I took them so long ago.

It's one thing to score high on the MCAT+strong undergrad GPA.

Is it, say, only a 10% chance I'll find a school willing to accept me at age 51 or so, and how many schools should I apply to? A friend of mine said
'apply to all of them, you'll need those odds in your favor.'

In my career I worked in High Tech and Real Estate, and taught college-level tech courses for 5 years.

Any thoughts on my chances of getting in at 51? Which schools have 'set-asides' for mature entering students?

Thanks, I'm nervous about my chances!

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[Non-TradTulsa]

Happy to give you whatever advice I can. Welcome to the world of the non-traditional non-traditional applicant - or, as I call it, non-trad squared.

I decided to go to medical school at age 41, applied at 43, was accepted at 44, and turned 45 a week after I started. I was a CPA with a masters-level accounting degree - I had an excellent undergrad GPA and managed to get a very competitive MCAT score. I had always worked in healthcare and had many years of volunteer activities connected with the hospital where I worked.

Now, there will be those who read this post who disagree with me - but, age discrimination does still exist. Is it legal? No. But it still happens. I had plenty of rejections from out-of-state schools where I know my application was quite competitive other than my age. Your best bet may be your in-state schools - for my own reasons, I wanted an allopathic education and was warmly welcomed by the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine (who are quite open to older non-trads, by the way).

It is also true that the osteopathic schools tend to be more open to non-traditional applicants so I would certainly look at going the osteopathic route.

My advice - study hard, do extremely well on the MCAT. Apply broadly, but don't be upset if you hear a lot of deafening silence - attitudes about age are changing, but we're not where we need to be yet - and you can't change the system overnight. Court your in-state school(s) hard - see if they have an applicant forum or if someone is willing to talk to you about how to strengthen your app as an older applicant. Consider the osteopathic route.

And take whatever advice you get with a grain of salt. You'll get plenty of well-meaning advice, but I'd listen most carefully to the folks over-40 who have actually gotten in - we know what we're talking about. And develop a thick hide, because you'll talk to many - even practicing physicians - who will try to politely discourage you, because they don't know how much medical school admissions have changed in recent years.

Good luck!

 

[McSnappy]

Had a friend of mine @ another school who was a retired Colonel in the Army, who went back @ 50ish and is now an intern!

Went to a D.O. School in Kansas City. KCUMB.

Good luck!

 

[DrMidlife]

Here's a guy in Maine who started at 55: http://www.une.edu/com/spotlight/spotlight.asp?SID=2

 

[njbmd]

Any thoughts on my chances of getting in at 51? Which schools have 'set-asides' for mature entering students?

Thanks, I'm nervous about my chances!

There are no "set asides" for any age, sex, religion, race etc in medical school admissions. Make your application as competitive as possible and apply. You won't get any points for being older and you won't specifically be shut out because of your age but you are competing against the entire pool of applicants to those schools that you are applying to. You are either not as competitive, on equal footing or more competitive period. The one thing for sure is that if you don't apply, you stand zero change of getting in. If this is what you want, then live your life according to your rules. You can always sue if you think you are being discriminated against.

 

[Helen Wheels]

I can't really answer your specific questions but I think you are in a similar situation to mine. I am in my late 30's and I am worried I will be perceived as "too old" for medicine when I apply this year. The way I look at it, we just have to try and give it our best or we will always regret it. I forget who said it, but better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all. Best of luck to you.

 

[glamqueen]

There's a girl in my classes at my undergrad right now whose dad is a first-year at our state school. She's accepted for this fall, so she and her dad will be a year apart. I think it is really cool. She said he was planning on peds or family medicine, so he can be done with residency asap. Good luck - you will definitely not be the only one doing this.

 

[foggier apple]

hello, my friends!
Wine, cheese and few other things get better with aging...
I'm also hoping to get into dental school ...when I'm 38. We'll see.
Good luck to all!!!

 

[Bleurberry]

Do it. If I see you at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine I'll be sure to buy you a beer.
Good luck.

-31 in June (still a spring chicken), DO Class of 2013

 

[mdofn14]

I will be 34 when I start med schools. Even when I was 27 yrs old, I was given the advice that I was too old. Last year, I spoke to a very successful physician who told me to go for it!!! Meaningful honest advice is never condescending.

 

[mdofn14]

Message Deleted.

 

[dragonfly99]

I think my advice is just to apply very broadly.
But I have to say, if you start at 51 and finish at 55, then you won't be done with residency until age 57-62. Are you sure you want to do residency? Mine involved every 3rd or 4th night 30 hour straight call, often with no sleep and little down time during the 30 hours. That much sleep deprivation is not fun, I promise. 3rd year of med school can be much like that also. You could do something in health care that won't be as painful as med school + residency but would still involve lots of patient care. I'm just sayin' ....
But if you still want to do it you can likely get in somewhere if you have the clinical volunteer hours and your numbers are strong (MCAT and grades).

There aren't really any set-asides for people above a certain age. If anything, your age will hurt you with some adcoms, but if this is something you want to do, you'll ignore that and get acceptance from somewhere else.

Have to think about the financial costs too...I think it will be tough to pay back your loans in a reasonable amount of time. I hope you have money saved up to pay for med school + retirement, b/c med school at your age is not a smart financial move. I'm sure you probably know this.

 

[futureboy]

You can always sue if you think you are being discriminated against.

Easier said than done. Despite popular depictions in the media, it's difficult to prove, and win/settle, a discrimination case, particularly in the admissions context. Unless you get them on a recording saying they didn't admit you because you're too old, it's better to apply until you get in somewhere else.

 

[gman33]

With good stats and enough applications, you should be able to get in somewhere. A bigger question is why do you want to do this? 7-8 years of hard work and lost income is a lot to put up with. Also, don't underestimate the physical and emotional strain you will be under.

Is it worth it? No one can answer that question and you probably won't have your answer until you finish. I'd probably say it wouldn't be worth it, but that's up to you. I'd think about PA school or something along those lines. I never seriously considered that path, but now there are times when I wish I did. I'd be done now, instead of having another 6 years to go.

 

[wsrefj]

As a child I studied my Dad's Human Anatomy lecture notes and his annotated drawings of anatomy. I learned to copy his drawings and his very intelligent annotations describing the parts of the body. I knew the names of all the human bones by the time I was 8. I put together the model kits known as The Visible Man and the Visible Woman (although Mom told me "That's vulgar").

At first my love of bones, bodies and dinosaurs had me dreaming of a career as a Paleontologist. Then my parents divorced and my life at age 10 onward was a small disaster.

At age 25 I said "I want to go to Med School" and stuck with High Tech instead.

So I've always had that *affinity* for the underpinnings of the career: a natural love for the understanding of bodies and bones, and a real love for people and pets. That's a good sign for me in the career.

And the main thing is that my family members tend to have very long life spans, into the 90s with very many of them. I picture myself in my 70s, 80s, 90s bored silly (I retired at age 40 for about 4 years and went crazy with boredom).

So for me, having a satisfying career and an opportunity to contribute in my 60s, 70s, and 80s is VERY important. Despite the long haul and the expense, the chance to continue to contribute combined with doing something I pretty much wanted to do since childhood are the 2 driving factors for my desire to become a Doctor.

 

[dragonfly99]

OK, but don't say we didn't warn you 😳

And don't go to med school to avoid boredom...there are much simpler ways to not become bored.

 

[wsrefj]

OK, but don't say we didn't warn you 😳

And don't go to med school to avoid boredom...there are much simpler ways to not become bored.

Thanks, I'm not even there yet, I'm just re-doing bio/chem/physics because I finished those courses a while back and I'll need them fresh for the MCAT. Who knows, I might change my mind. It's funny though -- the few times I've been in the hospital in my life, to visit someone or for a personal visit, I always remember this deep ache, a longing that spoke to me "I should be here." Really strange. Of course there are tons of other things to avoid boredom. However, it is a very important life lesson to try and notice things you seem to have an affinity for and if possible, make those things a part of your life -- it can add to your happiness. As I've gotten older I've leaned on that and I avoid things and people who don't seem to work out for me. One's personal preferences and inclinations rule the day when it comes to planning and living one's life. And of course we change our mind about things, so who knows -- I might take the MCAT and ace it, get accepted to more than one school then find something else that is a more compelling opportunity. I don't think that will happen! But who knows.

 

[MeowMix]

to add: lots of people ask, am I competitive IF I get a fantastic score on MCAT

just want to say that this is one of the most difficult parts of your application to excel at. You need good prep and good luck. Do not underestimate, even if you are normally a great test-taker. It is very difficult to predictably score over 35. Over 40 requires excellent knowledge and thinking, zero test errors, and very good luck. Do not count on a fantastic score.

re: "I should be here" - it is lovely to have a sort of longing for medicine when you are not doing it 80 hrs/week and getting paid crap for it while dealing with some of the nastiest people (and most pleasant) you will ever encounter in your life. It's kind of like looking at a cute baby and thinking, I'd like to have one of those.

 

[dragonfly99]

to add: lots of people ask, am I competitive IF I get a fantastic score on MCAT

just want to say that this is one of the most difficult parts of your application to excel at. You need good prep and good luck. Do not underestimate, even if you are normally a great test-taker. It is very difficult to predictably score over 35. Over 40 requires excellent knowledge and thinking, zero test errors, and very good luck. Do not count on a fantastic score.

re: "I should be here" - it is lovely to have a sort of longing for medicine when you are not doing it 80 hrs/week and getting paid crap for it while dealing with some of the nastiest people (and most pleasant) you will ever encounter in your life. It's kind of like looking at a cute baby and thinking, I'd like to have one of those.

I agree with all of this.

 

[atomi]

-

 

[DeeJay2728]

As a child I studied my Dad's Human Anatomy lecture notes and his annotated drawings of anatomy. I learned to copy his drawings and his very intelligent annotations describing the parts of the body. I knew the names of all the human bones by the time I was 8. I put together the model kits known as The Visible Man and the Visible Woman (although Mom told me "That's vulgar").

At first my love of bones, bodies and dinosaurs had me dreaming of a career as a Paleontologist. Then my parents divorced and my life at age 10 onward was a small disaster.

At age 25 I said "I want to go to Med School" and stuck with High Tech instead.

So I've always had that *affinity* for the underpinnings of the career: a natural love for the understanding of bodies and bones, and a real love for people and pets. That's a good sign for me in the career.

And the main thing is that my family members tend to have very long life spans, into the 90s with very many of them. I picture myself in my 70s, 80s, 90s bored silly (I retired at age 40 for about 4 years and went crazy with boredom).

So for me, having a satisfying career and an opportunity to contribute in my 60s, 70s, and 80s is VERY important. Despite the long haul and the expense, the chance to continue to contribute combined with doing something I pretty much wanted to do since childhood are the 2 driving factors for my desire to become a Doctor.

GO FOR IT!!! If you really want something, it doesn't matter what you have to go through to get it. I'm 30, and I just got accepted into a medical school in Mexico, UAG (they accept anyone!!). Their motto is, they'll give anyone a chance, it's up to you to make it out. It just feels good to have a seat in a med school with my name on it!! IMO I feel like I will get a great education, along with many wonderful experiences. We read the same text books and take the same board exams as US students. I know many MD's that have graduated from there.

The reason I applied so late is because I'm changing careers. I've been a Paramedic for six years. I didn't think, back then, that I had it in me to become an MD. But there's no stopping me now. I could've gotten into a school in the states, but I'd have to wait until 2010. I don't want to sit around and do nothing for a year.

If this is it for you... if this is the one thing that will complete you... then DO IT. Don't bother with DO or PA, if MD is what you want, go get it!!! There are many options out there.

I might not be as old as you are, but I was also concerned about my age. I'm a female with no children. I'd like to have a family one day, and going to medical school now will most likely make that really difficult. But I can't let the "idea" of family life get in my way. If God wants me to have both, I will.

Good luck with everything!!!
Remember, you can always come to Mexico!!!

 

[GH253]

i'm all for it