Applying at a young age and its effect on med admission..

[vickpick]

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I will be 19 in may of the summer when I apply...
Would that affect my chances?
Anyone know somebody who got in at 19 or anyone here on SDn got in at 19?

Any thoughts appreciated!

 

[Bollywood Junkie]

In my experience, it can't help. While you can certainly get in as long as your app is up to par, I think that being young isn't attractive to adcoms. I can relate, too.

 

[vickpick]

In my experience, it can't help. While you can certainly get in as long as your app is up to par, I think that being young isn't attractive to adcoms. I can relate, too.

I was talking abt would it affect me negatively..

 

[Bollywood Junkie]

yes, I think so. When you are sitting at your interview and the interviewer sees a "little kid" in front of him, you will not be taken as seriously as people who appear "more experienced". That is why you must make your application the best you can, and show them that you are experienced.

 

[vickpick]

yes, I think so. When you are sitting at your interview and the interviewer sees a "little kid" in front of him, you will not be taken as seriously as people who appear "more experienced". That is why you must make your application the best you can, and show them that you are experienced.

lol.. yea thats what I was thinkign..

maybe I should not shave for the next year... and eat a lot and get fatter.. so I look big ..hehe.. I'm small lol..

maybe I should develop more wrinkles on my forehead and yea... work hard to get that perfect resume..

would it be wise to take extra.. useless classes just to waste like 20 or so credits hours... and stay in college for an extra year.... as in apply in Summer '11 instead of summer '10....

I mean I've worked very hard to get done w/ BS as fast as I can.. and now i hear in some forums that young applicants have harder time getting acceptances..

 

[Stratego]

Age discrimination is not legal. You will be judged based on your maturity, whether you are 19 or 50. The experiences you list, the responsibilities you've taken, how you've responded to challenges will all help to reflect this. Your behavior, appearance, and bearing at the interview will clinch the impression.

 

[zidrem]

And maybe you should learn to write well; that certainly merits the delay of your application.

 

[Bollywood Junkie]

you are exactly right. I didn't really like undergrad that much and completed it in 3.5 years. Also, it saved me a lot of tuition. I wouldn't recommend taking useless courses while wasting money just to waste time. You should still apply if you can afford it knowing that it may require another shot. Also, partake in some meaningful and "looks-good-on-the-resume" type experiences (publish, save African babies, patent something...etc.). Easier said, but yea, that will help a lot.

Edit: Also helps: being an URM

 

[Bollywood Junkie]

Age discrimination is not legal. You will be judged based on your maturity, whether you are 19 or 50. The experiences you list, the responsibilities you've taken, how you've responded to challenges will all help to reflect this. Your behavior, appearance, and bearing at the interview will clinch the impression.

yes, ideally, that is the way admissions works on paper. However, I think we can all attest to the subjectivity of this process and I guarantee you that being that young will not be disregarded.

 

[vickpick]

you are exactly right. I didn't really like undergrad that much and completed it in 3.5 years. Also, it saved me a lot of tuition. I wouldn't recommend taking useless courses while wasting money just to waste time. You should still apply if you can afford it knowing that it may require another shot. Also, partake in some meaningful and "looks-good-on-the-resume" type experiences (publish, save African babies, patent something...etc.). Easier said, but yea, that will help a lot.

lol at the bold face..

Yea, I was thinking If I didn't get in first time around, I'll just apply in my last year before which I'll do a lot of EC's. That'll help me better my resume, but during that period I would grow into a more mature person.

But, I don't see why they need maturity when the first 2 years students don't even have much of patient contact...

I mean these people are good at science... Scientifically young brains pick up things faster that older people...

O well, I'll see what I can do..

 

[vickpick]

Age discrimination is not legal. You will be judged based on your maturity, whether you are 19 or 50. The experiences you list, the responsibilities you've taken, how you've responded to challenges will all help to reflect this. Your behavior, appearance, and bearing at the interview will clinch the impression.

everything illegal on paper.. - me typing that is illegal too.. its libel i guess...

but it is obvious that they do take into consideration race and so on...

I mean affirmative action is a clear example of it.. accepting an URM pver a non URM with same stats is discrimination against the non URM....

but that does happen a lot!

but yes, I'll try my best to appear mature and so on - not saying I'm not mature... I just don't look mature.. maybe I'm not as mature as other applicants but I will certainly be competent by the time I apply..


and @ zidram - yes, my writing skills aren't that good, but I'm working on it 🙂, I've been a lot of books lately and have been practicing writing essays every now and then..

 

[rx515]

Raryn is 18 and was accepted but he has some pretty great stats.

 

[stayclassy]

how are you going to hit the bar after a rough MS1 batch of tests....

 

[AdmiralChz]

Age discrimination is illegal, yes, but there is a subliminal aspect to this. This has been debated before, and it seems that most adcoms place some emphasis on "life experiences" of the applicant so far. Strictly speaking, you have had less of these formative experiences as a 19 year old than as the typical 22 or 21 year old applicant straight out of college - 4 years of undergraduate work are very important here not on the academic side, but on the individual side. It's not about "looking" mature, it's about coming across as mature.

That being said, I can look back 3 years and say that I cannot underestimate how much I have changed. I have learned quite a bit about maturity and life over the past 3 years, and these were essential to my applications (3 years ago I wasn't interested in medicine at all, really).

No, cramming in classes (20 credits) will not make you look more mature - if anything, it'll make you look like a pre-med robot focused only on academic work. The other, intangible side of your apps - ECs - are extremely important. Do you have any? Have you been doing clinical/volunteer work? Are these substantial and lasted over a significant period of time?

The VAST majority of people use all 4 years to complete college. Why? Because it's COLLEGE - it's fun, and you (should) be enjoying yourself. Reconsider your situation if you are not - you won't get a chance to revisit this time. None of my friends who planned to graduate early and head to medical school after 3 years followed through with the plan. Actually, 2 of them burnt out second year and are following other career paths. Maybe anecdotal, but definitely worth noting. At any rate, good luck.

 

[fahimaz7]

There's a 12 year old at RFSM and I also hear that we have a 16 year old matriculating to my school this fall.

 

[AdmiralChz]

There's a 12 year old at RFSM and I also hear that we have a 16 year old matriculating to my school this fall.

Good thing I don't live around there, I wouldn't want to have to worry about seeing my doctor because he or she might be grounded

 

[mtnman12]

When I was at Colorado there was a 17 year old who they were pretty proud of...

 

[MrBurns10]

We had* a 17 year old and two 19 year olds matriculate in my class. I guess it couldn't have hurt them that badly.

*I say had because we're 3rd years now. Oh, to be turning 21 as a 4th year med student...


OP, just be mature and well-spoken and you won't have a problem.

 

[quiltlady]

Why don't you take advantage of your free time and travel? Pick up some "useless" credits in a study abroad program. Learn another language, live in another culture. There's no rush to get to medical school, and it will be years before you have so much time to experience life again.

 

[sarahg]

would it be wise to take extra.. useless classes just to waste like 20 or so credits hours... and stay in college for an extra year.... as in apply in Summer '11 instead of summer '10....

I mean I've worked very hard to get done w/ BS as fast as I can.. and now i hear in some forums that young applicants have harder time getting acceptances..

Get some actual non-college life experience if you're going to delay applying. Go get a job and save some money. Travel. Join the peace corps. If you do stay in college, spend the year abroad and pick up a language that you'll use in medicine. There are so many things you could do I can't imagine that staying in school and killing time would be the best option.

To join the discussion on admission of young med students...I wonder if schools have had issues in the past with young students during clinical years on the patient side. I know that I would be much more comfortable letting a 35 year old med student "practice" on me than an 18 year old. Fair or not, I wouldn't consent to a pelvic exam from a teenage boy. I imagine the true child prodigies probably lead pretty sheltered lives and might have trouble relating to patients and seeming mature enough to inspire confidence. I'm not sure if this relates to you, OP, because you'll be 20 when you start compared to the typical 22-23, so it's not that big of a difference. But I can see some valid reasons for discriminating against the very young.

 

[236056]

.

 

[Brent8927]

I'll second traveling abroad (see the world!) or doing something like the Peace Corps. If you want to work in the US, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps are great. Both are like the CCC-- hard work, low pay, miserable conditions. But you'll learn something that very few others will, and I think anyone who is returning from the Peace Corps has a very strong edge in their application. Though, I'm a bit biased since I went to a Jesuit university where social justice was respected and encouraged.

I think getting a full-time job also shows a lot of maturity--a lot of the pre-meds applying have never held a "real" (one that wasn't for just the summer) full-time job. You really don't know yourself completely until you start fully supporting yourself, working and holding a steady job, paying off loans, bills, etc. etc.

However, if I had the option to study abroad or work, well it's pretty easy--how often do you get to be 19 and see the world?

Good luck with your application, and have fun doing whatever you decide to do,

-Brent

 

[alex8712]

Many years ago, I entered med school at age 18. I was admitted to a top 10 school, did an MD/PhD, and am just matched into a top radiology residency. Just make sure you have the MCAT and GPA and some place will take you.

Academically, my experience obviously turned out alright. I wonder sometimes if I did the right thing though. I missed out on a lot of experiences and have been pretty socially isolated since med school started where I wasn't before.

Was it worth it? Hard to say really. I suppose I'll meditate on it a bit and post back when it's not 2:30 in the morning. I've had a lot of second guessing as of late, but I question the sanity of any med student who hasn't. What would I say to myself if I had were to speak to me back in time just applying to med school...

 

[vickpick]

thanx for positive and constructive responses guyz!!!

I have a job - though part time... and yes, I'm volunteering right now though not in a clinical situation. I start in hospital once I'm eighteen because youngling only get to work in the gift shop at Carolinas med center...lol..

I also just started shadowing a physician...

I have also volunteered at couple of other places in the last five months... ~ 50 hrs each..

 

[thoffen]

Age is irrelevant. Maturity and experience are relevant.

 

[Raryn]

Raryn is 18 and was accepted but he has some pretty great stats.

I'm 19 now (birthday was last November), but even though I was accepted, I can't say being younger helped me. I honestly feel that if I had wasted 2 years doing something irrelevant and applied at 20/21, I would have had better results with CA schools and various top 20s. I don't think there was a problem with my LOR or personal statement, otherwise I would not have gotten the interviews that I did, but not a *single* UC interviewed me. At this point, I'm happy to have the acceptances I do have, and if I end up 2000 miles from home because of my age, at least I didn't spend two years of my life doing something totally random.

My advice to the OP: If you have your heart set on it, apply young. But don't be surprised if the cycle doesn't work out exactly how you expect it to. Apply broadly, even more broadly than average. I might have had luck but OnlyNeedOneYes is (iirc) younger with amazing stats as well and has no acceptances so far. His mistake (as I'm sure hes tired of hearing) was not applying to enough schools... If I had applyed to 15 schools instead of 34, neither of the schools I've been accepted to would have been on my list, and I would be tearing my hair out right now. The process is a crapshoot, and I think that its an even worse crapshoot if you're young.

 

[AdmiralChz]

Who says that medical school is the *only* relevant thing you can do with your life? Just because you take a year or two off doesn't mean it has to be "irrelevant" - it's all in what YOU make it out to be.

And again, I would have serious issues with someone examining me that's not even legally allowed to drink.

 

[NiCad089]

If everything else is in order, it won't affect you negatively. Good luck!

 

[starfishprime]

At this point, I'm happy to have the acceptances I do have, and if I end up 2000 miles from home because of my age, at least I didn't spend two years of my life doing something totally random.

Dude, where's the spark of genius?

I finished high school just before my 16th birthday. Sure, I could have gone straight to college and been literally in your shoes come application time, but I didn't. I spent one year of my life doing something totally random. I ended up with 3 patents and a pulp detective novel before my 17th birthday.

While most people utterly waste their 'gap years,' a boy genius as yourself certainly needn't. There's something to be said for childhood. You know, catch frogs in your back yard, chloroform them, and try your hand at cloning using an $80 second-hand microscope and a micromanipulator cobbled together from scrap transmission parts. It's good fun (and entirely unpatentable 🙁).

[Project update: all the frogs are dead.]

 

[Jtrenier]

I honestly feel that if I had wasted 2 years doing something irrelevant and applied at 20/21, I would have had better results with CA schools and various top 20s.

I think you're missing something here. Taking time off from school is not time wasted. You have the whole rest of your life to be a doctor and work busy 60hr weeks. Your early twenties is the peak of your youth; so why not enjoy it? I'm 27 and entering med school, and I have absolutely no regrets. I graduated at 21 and went back for my masters at age 23. During my four years off from school I've done many fun things, traveling to over 15 countries, living in 2 countries, social activities with friends, great work experiences, doing karate, salsa, hiking, yoga etc., owning my own condo, etc. Being in the real world does help you mature and relate to other people. I'm glad I gave myself time to enjoy my youth before going down the long road of medical school and residency. I'm not implying that everyone has to go down the same road as me, but please understand that taking a year off from school is not the end of the world. It's what you make of it.

 

[Raryn]

Dude, where's the spark of genius?

I finished high school just before my 16th birthday. Sure, I could have gone straight to college and been literally in your shoes come application time, but I didn't. I spent one year of my life doing something totally random. I ended up with 3 patents and a pulp detective novel before my 17th birthday.

While most people utterly waste their 'gap years,' a boy genius as yourself certainly needn't. There's something to be said for childhood. You know, catch frogs in your back yard, chloroform them, and try your hand at cloning using an $80 second-hand microscope and a micromanipulator cobbled together from scrap transmission parts. It's good fun (and entirely unpatentable 🙁).

[Project update: all the frogs are dead.]

I don't *want* to write a detective novel or invent something. I have never had any desire to do so. I want to be a physician, and its a long enough path that I don't see why I would want to delay myself any more on it.

I could spend a year backpacking around Europe, and it would even be fun. I could work for a year or two. But you know what? I know what I want to do with my life. I would be *bored* after spending a year working or even travelling. My backup plan if I didn't get in this year would have been a masters degree in chemistry. Why would I want to commit myself to working my ass off four two years with that? Because I find it interesting. But you know what I find even more interesting? Medical school. Thats why its my first choice. Two extra years working as a physician (or hell, being a retired physician) will trump me potentially spending two years in a lab trying to synthesize novel new catalysts.

Maybe the OP is the same way. He could just be a driven individual that knows what he wants, and plans on doing his best to do it. He asked advice specifically regarding getting into med school, not about what else he could be doing with his life.

 

[starfishprime]

I don't *want* to write a detective novel or invent something. I have never had any desire to do so. I want to be a physician, and its a long enough path that I don't see why I would want to delay myself any more on it.

I could spend a year backpacking around Europe, and it would even be fun. I could work for a year or two. But you know what? I know what I want to do with my life. I would be *bored* after spending a year working or even travelling. My backup plan if I didn't get in this year would have been a masters degree in chemistry. Why would I want to commit myself to working my ass off four two years with that? Because I find it interesting. But you know what I find even more interesting? Medical school. Thats why its my first choice. Two extra years working as a physician (or hell, being a retired physician) will trump me potentially spending two years in a lab trying to synthesize novel new catalysts.

Maybe the OP is the same way. He could just be a driven individual that knows what he wants, and plans on doing his best to do it. He asked advice specifically regarding getting into med school, not about what else he could be doing with his life.

Fail (at understanding the point).

 

[Bollywood Junkie]

I don't *want* to write a detective novel or invent something. I have never had any desire to do so. I want to be a physician, and its a long enough path that I don't see why I would want to delay myself any more on it.

I could spend a year backpacking around Europe, and it would even be fun. I could work for a year or two. But you know what? I know what I want to do with my life. I would be *bored* after spending a year working or even travelling. My backup plan if I didn't get in this year would have been a masters degree in chemistry. Why would I want to commit myself to working my ass off four two years with that? Because I find it interesting. But you know what I find even more interesting? Medical school. Thats why its my first choice. Two extra years working as a physician (or hell, being a retired physician) will trump me potentially spending two years in a lab trying to synthesize novel new catalysts.

Maybe the OP is the same way. He could just be a driven individual that knows what he wants, and plans on doing his best to do it. He asked advice specifically regarding getting into med school, not about what else he could be doing with his life.

Win

 

[GeraldMonroe]

Question : how do you finish college by 18 or 17? Yes, you've got to be smart, but that means finishing high school at 14 or 15. How many grades do you have to skip to do that? Maybe just skip one grade and leave high school after sophmore year and passing the GRE? Although, how do you get into college with only 2 years of high school? I'm rather curious as to the how of getting that far ahead, never mind whether you should or not.

 

[simpleman]

Question : how do you finish college by 18 or 17? Yes, you've got to be smart, but that means finishing high school at 14 or 15. How many grades do you have to skip to do that? Maybe just skip one grade and leave high school after sophmore year and passing the GRE? Although, how do you get into college with only 2 years of high school? I'm rather curious as to the how of getting that far ahead, never mind whether you should or not.

its simple! you take all the available AP tests in High School, and starting taking college level courses during your junior and senior year of HS (talking full time 12 credits and up) ...you will be left approximately with 1-1.5 years of actual college attendance. Plus some students immigrate from another country and they take a placement test when they come here which allows them to skip a grade or two!

how do i know this? you figure that out buddy👍

 

[GeraldMonroe]

Oh, that works. Only catch is that if you're still in high school, it might be tough to take those college level courses at a credible 4-year university. Might have to take them in community college. I recall that the local community college would let you take courses if you had an SAT score above some nominal standard.

And, at least at my high school, it wasn't possible to take most of the AP courses until junior and senior year. I suppose I could have handled AP Bio without "intro" freshman year Bio, and I could maybe have handled AP chem and AP physics, but not AP Calculus. Unless I had taken the intermediate math courses in the summer or something.

It's still hard to figure out how to completely finish college by 17 or 18. Why am I interested? If I ever have a kid, I would give them the opportunity to do something like this, which my parents never offered me. I always resented all the time I wasted in the slow as molasses education system, and all the summers I wasted, and so forth.

Of course, pushing one's kid into medical or law or dental school by 17 or 18 does sound kind of cruel, since the route basically bypasses all the fun stuff of high school and college.

 

[Raryn]

Question : how do you finish college by 18 or 17? Yes, you've got to be smart, but that means finishing high school at 14 or 15. How many grades do you have to skip to do that? Maybe just skip one grade and leave high school after sophmore year and passing the GRE? Although, how do you get into college with only 2 years of high school? I'm rather curious as to the how of getting that far ahead, never mind whether you should or not.

In my case, an early november birthday meant I'd be graduating HS at 17 regardless. Combine that with skipping two grades for reasons that I'm not getting in to, means I graduated HS (with a full diploma) at 15. I'm finishing college in the full four years, leading to age 19 at matriculation.

 

[GeraldMonroe]

I'd kind of like to know how you skipped two grades, I don't need to know why. As in, did you take a test? How did the school system agree?

 

[starfishprime]

It's still hard to figure out how to completely finish college by 17 or 18. Why am I interested? If I ever have a kid, I would give them the opportunity to do something like this, which my parents never offered me. I always resented all the time I wasted in the slow as molasses education system, and all the summers I wasted, and so forth.

The objective of education is (sadly) not to teach people useful information, skills, and abilities, but merely to keep them out of the way for as long as possible. The optimal strategy is not to finish the man's education as quickly as possible (which gets you to the bigger pointlessness of adult life), but to do as much as possible in spite of it. Think of it as the low-impact janitorial job you have to pay the bills while you work out chemical syntheses on your windows.

 

[GeraldMonroe]

The objective of education is (sadly) not to teach people useful information, skills, and abilities, but merely to keep them out of the way for as long as possible. The optimal strategy is not to finish the man's education as quickly as possible (which gets you to the bigger pointlessness of adult life), but to do as much as possible in spite of it. Think of it as the low-impact janitorial job you have to pay the bills while you work out chemical syntheses on your windows.

But if you finish The Man's education system, you might get to do those chemical syntheses in a real lab.

On the other hand, The Man's system does offer all kind of distractions, like underage drinking and sex in the back of your parent's vehicles. Or marijuana and possibly a lot of sex if you are attractive in college. A lot of people say that college was the best time of their life pretty much because of this. (well, the adults I've talked to say that college was so great because of the lack of responsibility and the parent's paying the bills, but I think that was really because they didn't want to admit that all that sex with different partners, drinking, and those marijuana brownies were all pretty awesome. You may be able to tell from my tone that I did not get to enjoy much of that in college, but wish I had.)

 

[mmmcdowe]

I'd kind of like to know how you skipped two grades, I don't need to know why. As in, did you take a test? How did the school system agree?

From what I've heard you basically have to prove that you have learned the year worth of content that you are going to skip. I knew a lot of home schooled kids that do it, show up at like age 14 as a junior in high school.

 

[RSAgator]

I would apply later for the sake of both personal growth and a better chance at an acceptance. There is a negative stigma associated with younger students and there should be. Despite how mature every 18 year old thinks they are, someone who is 22 has a significant edge in life experience and such. There is something to be said about exploring life a bit, and I think that NOT applying shows a little more maturity and patience than rushing the process. It's better to "waste" a year doing something of your choosing than to spend thousands of dollars, not get in, and have wasted a year anyways.

 

[AdmiralChz]

I don't *want* to write a detective novel or invent something. I have never had any desire to do so. I want to be a physician, and its a long enough path that I don't see why I would want to delay myself any more on it.

I could spend a year backpacking around Europe, and it would even be fun. I could work for a year or two. But you know what? I know what I want to do with my life. I would be *bored* after spending a year working or even travelling. My backup plan if I didn't get in this year would have been a masters degree in chemistry. Why would I want to commit myself to working my ass off four two years with that? Because I find it interesting. But you know what I find even more interesting? Medical school. Thats why its my first choice. Two extra years working as a physician (or hell, being a retired physician) will trump me potentially spending two years in a lab trying to synthesize novel new catalysts.

Maybe the OP is the same way. He could just be a driven individual that knows what he wants, and plans on doing his best to do it. He asked advice specifically regarding getting into med school, not about what else he could be doing with his life.

Yikes... why the huge rush? The world is HUGE and there are so many amazing things and you've been given this incredible opportunity to do whatever you want for a year or two and yet you want to go straight to medical school?

Sounds like pre-med robot to me! I have to agree with starfish on this one.

I must assume that you went to college while living at home because you couldn't even drive when you started. I'm betting your social life was non-existent... sad!

 

[Raryn]

I must assume that you went to college while living at home because you couldn't even drive when you started. I'm betting your social life was non-existent... sad!

You know what they say about assuming... You would be quite a bit mistaken.

I've lived at the dorms since sophomore year, and my social life is quite existent, thank you very much.

Anyway, I'm going to go enjoy my spring break, so I'll leave you folks to this fascinating discussion.

 

[quirks]

Personally, I would never leave an 18-20 year old into medical school if I ever had the choice of making admission choices.

But what about all the countries where you go into med school straight out of high school?

I'm all for taking your time and doing things at your own pace. And for some people, that means speeding through. If I knew when I was 18 that I wanted to be a doctor, and I could get into med school at that age, I'd do it. Unfortunately, I didn't know until I was twenty and then I had to take pre-reqs and the MCAT.

I've "wasted" two years of my life. I repeated ninth grade when I came to the US (I started first grade when I was five so I was young for my grade, and the school I went to was 13 years instead of the US 12, so I figured repeating ninth grade in the US just kept me on schedule) and now I'm doing a year of work in between undergrad and med school. But I'm not upset about it, even though in retrospect I would have chosen differently.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, some people enjoy backpacking and trying different things, and some people just want to do one thing with themselves. Either way is okay, especially if you've at least considered the other way. I feel sorry for those who don't realize there are other options, but if they've considered the options and don't want them, it's okay. There's no right or wrong way to do things, just ways that result in fewer regrets.

To the OP, I say apply if you really, really feel you're ready to start medical school, enough that you're willing to prove that your age is not a concern and you're willing to accept that you might not be given proper consideration because of your young age. However, if you are open to the idea of waiting, wait, and try some more things, do some new ECs, before applying.

 

[futureboy]

I would apply later for the sake of both personal growth and a better chance at an acceptance. There is a negative stigma associated with younger students and there should be. Despite how mature every 18 year old thinks they are, someone who is 22 has a significant edge in life experience and such. There is something to be said about exploring life a bit, and I think that NOT applying shows a little more maturity and patience than rushing the process. It's better to "waste" a year doing something of your choosing than to spend thousands of dollars, not get in, and have wasted a year anyways.

I agree 100 percent that there is a significant amount of personal growth and maturing that happens between 18 and 22, more so than in any other 4 year period in an adult's life. The 18 year olds reading this may not agree, but when you're 22 you'll realize it's true.

There is more to being a doctor or similar professional than simply knowing the academic material. You have to be able to relate to people, and know what questions to ask (and not to ask) and how to ask them. This comes with life experience.

I am a professional who has worked 50-60+ hour weeks for 15 years. OP, I wouldn't be in such a hurry to enter the grind. No matter how much you think you like the idea of practicing medicine, you will soon realize that being a doctor, lawyer, etc., is ultimately just a job. For most people, the college years are the best years of their lives. Once your college years are over, there really is no turning back.

OP, my advice would be to wait a few years before applying to medical school. Your chances of admission will be greater, and you'll be better equipped to handle it.

 

[DrYoda]

1: They likely have no real world experience. For example, can you really expect a person that started medical school at the age of 18 to understand the difficulties their patients are going through trying to drive those four hours to come and see you for a few minutes and they are on their way back home again on that four hour drive? There are other hundred of examples that I could share.....if anyone is able to get the point I made in that example knows how the real world works and knows what I'm getting at. Anyone who can't understand what the heck I'm talking about in that example doesn't understand the "real" struggles that most people have to deal with.

I think "real world experience" get used a buzz word on here alot. What it seems you're talking about is empathy. Which while probably more common in older individuals can be found in younger individuals as well.

2: They are likely not mature mentally. I'm not talking about being smart, I'm talking about being able to relate to things outside of their textbook. Our brains are not mature until roughly the age of 23.

Maturity I imagine would be a big thing adcoms look for with younger applicants. But the thing is maturity is not perfectly coorelated with age,there are 18 year olds more mature than 25 year olds.

3: They have likely never worked a real job before. I would prefer that a person actually worked a real job before the start to care for the life of others.

Applies to most pre-meds.


Note: I'm not saying that all or even most 18-20 year olds would at this point in their lives be good med-school material. I'm saying a very select few may be.

 

[futureboy]

I'd kind of like to know how you skipped two grades, I don't need to know why. As in, did you take a test? How did the school system agree?

When I was in the first grade, the school wanted to skip me to third grade. I don't remember the details, but I believe it was because they thought I was ready to handle third grade work. My parents decided against it, though, because I was already young for my grade.

It seems that it would be easier to skip two or more years in the earlier years where the material tends to advance more slowly than it does in the later years.

 

[futureboy]

Sorry--double post.

 

[futureboy]

Agreed. I can tell you are an experienced and mature person just by reading what you wrote. I hope you get into medical school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for your kind words. I hope I get in too. I still have to take the rest of my prerequisites, and take the MCAT. It's going to be challenging with a full time (plus) job.

There should not be a rush to apply to medical school, but it's not a good idea to wait too long, either. It's still possible with a spouse, kids, mortgage payment, car payment, etc., but it's much more difficult.