Age of students entering med school?

[nick661806]

Hey everyone,
I am a junior in college and I am 20 years old. I will turn 21 in november and I was just wondering if 21 is a really young age to enter med school? I will probably take a year off anyways but I am just sort of curious. Thanks.

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[Without Wax]

Hey everyone,
I am a junior in college and I am 20 years old. I will turn 21 in november and I was just wondering if 21 is a really young age to enter med school? I will probably take a year off anyways but I am just sort of curious. Thanks.

well 21 is not a young age I do not think, but yeah it is really up to you.
I think 24.5 is the average age of first year med students.

Taking a year off and traveling would be nice, discover yourself,

 

[vtucci]

It depends on the school. Some schools the average is 22, others 26. Look at the schools you are interested in (AAMC handbook would be a good place to start).

I definitely recommend that you take some time off. Travel, work- make sure medicine is for you (medical missions, EMT experience). It is amazing how much difference a year or two makes in terms of maturity and life experience (I have eight years- I will start med school when I am 29). Don't just bum around though. Have a plan that you can show ADCOMS makes you stand out and productive.

Good luck- if you need suggestions on how to spend your time, PM me.

 

[Mateodaspy]

my friend will be 19 when he enters med school.

Pretty young, but certainly not completely unheard of -- though I must admit it will be sort of strange to call some of the non-trad 30+ med students 'peers'.....

 

[Blake]

I entered it at 19. No big deal so far. Med school is quite do-able and not as bad as people make it out to be. I also have a friend who entered at 18, and one of my friend's dad got in med school at 17. Oh, and it's a 4 years MD program.

 

[DianaLynne]

my friend will be 19 when he enters med school.

Pretty young, but certainly not completely unheard of -- though I must admit it will be sort of strange to call some of the non-trad 30+ med students 'peers'.....

I'll be 35 when I matriculate. And I've been hanging around 19 year olds for years, so I'm pretty used to it. There's a pretty wide range of ages, I think that makes it pretty cool. There's a realm of experiences to learn from and it makes the class fun.

I do want to agree with the poster about taking some time to explore and be sure medicine is the path for you. I've done plenty of experimenting: acting, activism, corporate work, research. All that experience helped me decide that I'm on the right track. I'd advise to try to avoid feeling in a hurry. Be sure that you've tried some things, then you can be sure what it means for you to follow your bliss. Good Luck!

 

[lulubean]

take time off! not to lay around and play couch commando of course, but to do something meaningful that will help you grow as a person.

for me, i definitely:
1. know better what i want out of medicine and a career
2. understand the health care system, the world, and most importantly patients, after gaining real life/work experience
3. looked like a better and more well-rounded applicant

 

[abraxas20]

I wanna learn to play couch commando.

I will be 28 on the second day of classes as an M1 and I know that at 21 I would not have be capable of doing this. However, I have met so many people who are much more mature at 21 than I was (I was a senior at 20.) I am really glad I have done other things, though I couldn't call any of them "time off". I got a master's and have been teaching college for five years. I think I have learned a lot in this time, maybe more that will be useful to me, than in my undergrad years.

PM if you have questions.

 

[nick661806]

thanks for all your advice

 

[drguy22]

ill be 20 when im in med skool...21 in december

 

[LVDoc]

It'll pretty much be the same for me as it's going to be for drguy22.

I'll be 20 when I'm in medical school, and 21 in November.

Don't worry about your age so much. Just show them that you're a qualified candidate as any other one would be, that you're mature, and that you can handle the rigors of your future training. My advice to is if you're entering at that age, to get a lot of experience (extracurriculars) in during college, because you need something to show that you've been doing other things with your time besides just studying. Seriously though, the age won't make a difference as long as you have confidence in yourself and you're able to leave a good impression with them at the interview.

 

[Benzo4every1]

Well, the average age for my class is 25. The youngest of the bunch was 19 and the oldest was 37.
Im somewhere in between

 

[leverp2000]

I'll be 20 when starting med school, and 21 during the following summer. My only concern is getting my hands on a fake ID (don't wanna miss out on the drinking ).

 

[NIQ]

Entered into a 6 year accelerated program at 18. Its very doable. I'm now 21 in my 4th year

 

[Ambs]

take time off! not to lay around and play couch commando of course, but to do something meaningful that will help you grow as a person.

for me, i definitely:
1. know better what i want out of medicine and a career
2. understand the health care system, the world, and most importantly patients, after gaining real life/work experience
3. looked like a better and more well-rounded applicant

I completely agree with this. I was 20 when I graduated undergrad, so I took time off to travel, work, etc. I've definitely grown as a person in addition to the three thing mentioned above. I'm 22 now and more ready than ever to begin medical school this fall!

 

[JimmyMallo]

I'll be 32 when I matriculate and I must tell you age doesn't mean crap. It's all about how you feel about it and whether YOU think you are ready. Personally I wasn't ready at 19, but several of my friends did it just like you and excelled. My advice would be to jump right in, the longer you think about it the more daunting it seems. Besides, when you finish undergrad you may be a little burn't but your in a groove. The hardest thing I have gone through was getting used to studying after laying the books down for several years. Either way, good luck to you

 

[pakidoc]

ill be 22 when i start medschool this fall... will be graduating from undergrad this may... out of the fryin pan into the fire!

 

[Blake]

ill be 22 when i start medschool this fall... will be graduating from undergrad this may... out of the fryin pan into the fire!

One of the best analogies I've ever heard .....

 

[JAMMAN]

I was 21 when I started med school.