YzIa said:
At what point do you become a nontraditional student? Is it a cut and dry line of if you are not reentering school directly out of undergrad? Or more blurry, where after multiple years out of school you gain the almost mythical status?
Hi there,
Anyone who did not take the secondary school to undergraduate directly to medical school route may be classified as non-traditional. It is not actually a status in terms of admissions but rather a self-designation for people who didn't go straight from secondary school to undergraduate to medical school.
When I applied back in 1997, I was a distinct anomaly. Today, many people, especially those folks who dreamed of making millions in the IT field are applying to medical school in droves. There are loads of folks in allied health professions like nursing or PA who are attempting to get into medical school.
Rather than think of "non-traditional" as a status, think of "non-traditional" as a label that applies to anyone who did not take the traditional secondary school - undergraduate - medical school route with no skips in between.
If you didn't make it in on the first in on the first round and you took a job in between until you could re-apply, you are probably a re-applicant as opposed to non-traditional applicant.
Do any of these labels matter in terms of admission to medical school? Not really but many people who have been working or have a family, have issues(financial, child-care, health insurance) in common that are a bit different from the traditional applicant who his only lived under Mom and Dad's roof.
njbmd
