Comparing Medical School and Law School

[rabbott1971]

Greetings, severely non-trad prospective med school applicant here, curious if anyone else has practiced law, then switched to medicine. I found law school to be quite doable, although my motivation to excel was not high, and I ranked around top 35%. I'm expecting med school to be substantially harder, like, a lot harder. Also curious about any med students in their mid-forties, which is where I will be. I'll graduate med school over 50, apparently there are a few dozen crazies like me across the country each year.

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[eteshoe]

@Law2Doc (I know there are a few others but he's the one I always remember right off the bat)

 

[Law2Doc]

Med school is a lot harder than law school. But it also rewards very different skills -rote memorization and multiple choice test taking skills are more prized and you can't ever BS or reason your way to a few extra points on a med school test like you sometimes can in law. Without essay tests it's often harder to at least show you know some stuff if you don't know the exact answer. And your classmates will on average be far more impressive in credentials and motivation than in law.

 

[rabbott1971]

Med school is a lot harder than law school. But it also rewards very different skills -rote memorization and multiple choice test taking skills are more prized and you can't ever BS or reason your way to a few extra points on a med school test like you sometimes can in law. Without essay tests it's often harder to at least show you know some stuff if you don't know the exact answer. And your classmates will on average be far more impressive in credentials and motivation than in law.

Sounds about right, kind of what I was expecting. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Goro]

Some of my all time best students have been in their 40s. I graduated a stellar one at 50 last year.

Greetings, severely non-trad prospective med school applicant here, curious if anyone else has practiced law, then switched to medicine. I found law school to be quite doable, although my motivation to excel was not high, and I ranked around top 35%. I'm expecting med school to be substantially harder, like, a lot harder. Also curious about any med students in their mid-forties, which is where I will be. I'll graduate med school over 50, apparently there are a few dozen crazies like me across the country each year.

 

[Ad2b]

I'll graduate med school over 50, apparently there are a few dozen crazies like me across the country each year.

Checking in. Turn 52 next week. Applied 6/7/16. Friend is an MS+ at age 55+... another just finished PGY-3 at 59; another is 57 and finished PGY-3 last year.

Stamina is key. Being fit and having healthy habits is critical. I will never regret trying to do this. Ever.

 

[it'sabeautifullife]

I'll graduate med school over 50, apparently there are a few dozen crazies like me across the country each year.

Hi there! One of the crazies here about whom you are curious...

I am an infrequent poster, always hesitant to put my story out there and imply that it is one that is easily duplicated or even a good idea for others my age. It might be. Depends on the individual. Several of my most recent posts could be helpful. In a nutshell, I'm an MS2, 55 years old, and absolutely love medical school.

Regarding your other question, one of my friends just got her law degree before joining our med school class . She agrees with the previous post-- also says med school is much more difficult than law school ever was.

 

[rabbott1971]

Hi there! One of the crazies here about whom you are curious...

I am an infrequent poster, always hesitant to put my story out there and imply that it is one that is easily duplicated or even a good idea for others my age. It might be. Depends on the individual. Several of my most recent posts could be helpful. In a nutshell, I'm an MS2, 55 years old, and absolutely love medical school.

Regarding your other question, one of my friends just got her law degree before joining our med school class . She agrees with the previous post-- also says med school is much more difficult than law school ever was.

Thanks! Glad you're enjoying it. I'm about to start some more serious prerequisites (ochem, physics, adv. anat.) having recently gotten A's in gen Chem I, II, and bio. So this semester will tell a lot, but I think I, up for it. Don't tell anyone but I think law school is kind of not nearly as hard as people probably think. I'm expecting much harder time with med school. But after 18 years of law practice, the change already feels really good. I will look at your other posts, nice hearing from you.

 

[prochronism]

Thanks! Glad you're enjoying it. I'm about to start some more serious prerequisites (ochem, physics, adv. anat.) having recently gotten A's in gen Chem I, II, and bio. So this semester will tell a lot, but I think I, up for it. Don't tell anyone but I think law school is kind of not nearly as hard as people probably think. I'm expecting much harder time with med school. But after 18 years of law practice, the change already feels really good. I will look at your other posts, nice hearing from you.

I asked a few people I know if their MD or JD was more challenging and it seems to vary by individual and what their interests were at the time. Some people started young and less experienced with hard working employment environments, possibly affecting their perception on the workload and others were able to enter the medical field when it was less debt-ridden and finish their MD from high school in 5 years, saying the law degree was more difficult. Most people said that although law and med both can have very long working hours, law came with more tedious and writing intensive work but medicine had more stress of patients relying on you and peers competing with you. They were in in med before the copious paperwork and working hour caps however, and completed the law degrees after med school.

It sounds like you are genuinely interested to continue learning, and working hard for it. I think that is always an excellent trait for success.