52 year old nontrad w. foreign bachelor's/masters, US coursework

[Doctoscope]

I'm posting this on behalf of a mentor who is going to be applying in the 2021-2022 cycle, and is seeking advice on his foreign bachelor's/masters situation, and which schools to apply/not apply to.

I know 52 years old is quite a rare and unique age to be applying to med schools in, and I've had conversations with him about going to PA/NP route to potentially himself some from grueling academics and residency, but he's dead set on applying in 2021. So, I'm looking for the advice for him in his situation under the assumption he will be applying. He is skipping 2020-2021 for personal reasons. He is a US citizen.

Degree Situation:

1. Bachelor's and Masters degree from a highly ranked Asian university, completed in his early 20s.
2. Had a ~3.3 in B.A., but from what I understand foreign coursework is not counted in AMCAS/AACOMAS, so I doubt his GPA matters from this institution?

US Coursework: began around 2016-2017

1. Completed 101 units in the United States, including prereqs (first-time taker).
2. 49 units are from a community college, and include some courses such as trigonometry, college algebra, etc. (i.e. nonrigorous classes), and other science/math classes, like Anatomy/Physiology, Calculus, Stats
3. 52 units are from a UC EXTENSION SCHOOL POSTBACC PROGRAM, not a degree-granting 4-year institution.
4. All science prereqs and 17 units of upper level sciences taken at this Extension school.
5. US GPA: 3.93

MCAT:

1. 507 (123 CARS)

EC:

1. 55 hours of PCP shadowing (DO)
2. 300 hours of clinical experience
3. 300 hours of nonclinical experience
4. Unique life experiences that lead him to apply to med schools in his 50s
5. LoR requirements fulfilled (but most likely very generic/average)

Main Questions:

1. Many schools have a bachelor's requirement from a "regionally accredited institution." Does his B.A./M.A. from Asia and 101 units at the US fulfill this requirement?
2. Some schools like ATSU require 30 units to be from a 4-year degree-granting institution. Since a UC Extension school does not grant degrees, does that mean he is not eligible to apply to these schools?
3. Are there any schools he's DOA due to his age/degree situation? He would like to save money and trouble by not applying to those schools.

The part where he's confused about is when a school requires a regionally accredited bachelor's, and doesn't mention anything on US unit requirements (like CCOM, which takes international students). Does this simply mean "don't apply if you don't have a US degree?"

Any application advice on his age/degree situation, and potential school list would be greatly appreciated.

@Goro @LizzyM @Catalystik @Angus Avagadro @gonnif @Faha

Tentative List:

AZCOM, CCOM, DMU, KCUMB, NYITCOM, PacNW, Touro CA, TUNCOM, VCOM, Western both campuses, PCOM, ARCOM, BCOM, CHSUCOM

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[Mr.Smile12]

So has he talked with admissions staff at the schools located closest to him? Has he talked with their financial aid staff? How about the nontrad forum here on SDN?

 

[Doctoscope]

So has he talked with admissions staff at the schools located closest to him? Has he talked with their financial aid staff? How about the nontrad forum here on SDN?

I'm assuming he spoke with some schools, since he brought up specific schools who said they require 4-year degree institution units. I showed him previous posts on SDN and Quora about applying to med school in 50s, and presented PA as an option, but he's pretty dead set on appyling to med school first. I'm just making this post so I can relay the information to him/show him this post (he doesn't know what SDN is).

 

[Goro]

The regionally accredited school business sounds like a requirement for a US school not a foreign one.

I think he would be DOA at my school, and it sounds like that this is just something he's going to have to get out of his system.

 

[Doctoscope]

The regionally accredited school business sounds like a requirement for a US school not a foreign one.

I think he would be DOA at my school, and it sounds like that this is just something he's going to have to get out of his system.

Would you recommend he just shotgun it and apply to almost every DO program just to see if he sticks? His justification for applying is the AACOM matriculant data, where it seems there are a single digit number of matriculants over the age of 46 every year.

 

[LizzyM]

Frankly, I'd see the CARS 123 as causing his dream to be DOA.

The "extentions" are assocated with University of California schools that do grant degrees (Berkeley, San Diego, etc) so I don't see that as an impediment. 100+ credits is enough to satisfy that requirement.

I see attending medical school at 52 like having a baby at 45. It is not that it is so difficult to do that but it's running after a 2 year old at 47 that will wear you out. Likewise, the "80 hour week" (which can be more like 90+) during residency at 56 will be rough.

 

[Goro]

Frankly, I'd see the CARS 123 as causing his dream to be DOA.

The "extentions" are assocated with University of California schools that do grant degrees (Berkeley, San Diego, etc) so I don't see that as an impediment. 100+ credits is enough to satisfy that requirement.

I see attending medical school 52 like having a baby at 45. It is not that it is so difficult to do that but it's running after a 2 year old at 47 that will wear you out. Likewise, the "80 hour week" (which can be more like 90+) during residency at 56 will be rough.

And residency programs may view him in exactly the same light...he may get the medical degree, but go unmatched.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I think many of the nuanced questions surrounding admission requirements are school specific. He should contact them.His MCAT is in the target range for our school, but CARS is low. I believe he is DOA at my school. A few years back we admitted a similar non trad student. They had numerous academic issues, failures, remediations, board failures and repeated a year. Took 5 yrs to graduate. Regarding OP, after 7 yrs of med school plus residency, and applying in 2021, he will be 60 yrs old. His time has past IMO. I always wanted to own a home on the water with a boat docked in the back. Looks like that is not gonna happen either. Some dreams should just stay dreams.