Does age affect whether you get into medical school or not?

[imsotired]

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I met my premed advisor today and she said that adcomms will not look at my age as a good thing. The story is, I graduated high school when I was 16 and went straight into pharmacy. Then I switched majors. I am going to be a senior in the coming fall and I will be 20 in August. I won't be applying until 2005 though. So basically, when I start the admissions process, I will be 20. I never thought that my age would be a negative factor in getting into med school. Does anyone know anything about this? Thanks.

 

[NDESTRUKT]

if ur grades are good, and your MCAT score is good, and ur EC's are good, and you saved the world once, and you have a key to the city, you'll be fine.

in all seriousness though, age shouldn't matter too much. i think you have to be over 21 when you enter med school - most of the time.

 

[BananaSplit]

I met my premed advisor today and she said that adcomms will not look at my age as a good thing. The story is, I graduated high school when I was 16 and went straight into pharmacy. Then I switched majors. I am going to be a senior in the coming fall and I will be 20 in August. I won't be applying until 2005 though. So basically, when I start the admissions process, I will be 20. I never thought that my age would be a negative factor in getting into med school. Does anyone know anything about this? Thanks.

No, it is not a factor if you demonstrate an adequate level of maturity. I applied at 19 and it wasn't a problem. Most medical schools have a written policy that prevents them from discriminating based on age. Although I'm sure interviewers may have biases. I know that one of my rec letters emphasized certain qualities that equate maturity (reliability, ability to handle oneself around diverse people etc.) Good luck.

 

[chintu]

I agree. I too applied at 20 and got accepted to med school. Good luck.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

What's with twenty? People whose birthdays are after june and are applying after junior year are all about twenty.

 

[Twitch]

What I'm concerned about is the OP's nick - why are you so tired?

And as other posters have mentioned, you have little to worry wrt age. Think of it this way - the older you get the more stories (experience) you accumulate and the more interesting things you have to say in your interview/PS.



Good Luck,

-Y_Marker

 

[debvz]

in all seriousness though, age shouldn't matter too much. i think you have to be over 21 when you enter med school - most of the time.

huh? i know of a girl who completed most of college concurrently with high school, and she started med school (after grad from college) at 17. although i personally wouldnt want a 17 yr old to be my physician (even tho she'll be 19 by the time 3rd yr clerkships roll around), it's considered discrimination to use age for or against someone in the admissions process.

 

[docmemi]

well i dont think youll be that young by the time you go for interviews. im 19 now and i got in. i know of at least one school that waitlisted me post-interview due to age...basically the interviewer admitted that i was one of the most impressive students he has ever seen but that since the life of a doc is so stressful that i should wait to start later. so it could be a problem on interviews, but like i said i dont think youll really be that young.

 

[NDESTRUKT]

huh? i know of a girl who completed most of college concurrently with high school, and she started med school (after grad from college) at 17. although i personally wouldnt want a 17 yr old to be my physician (even tho she'll be 19 by the time 3rd yr clerkships roll around), it's considered discrimination to use age for or against someone in the admissions process.

it was my understanding (or perhaps misunderstanding) and i thought i read it somewhere but i thought people had to be 21 by the time they were 3rd years on rotations. it's not a discrimination thing, it's more of a legal thing - like presence of alcohol or drugs or whatever, i'm not sure.

 

[imsotired]

What I'm concerned about is the OP's nick - why are you so tired?

And as other posters have mentioned, you have little to worry wrt age. Think of it this way - the older you get the more stories (experience) you accumulate and the more interesting things you have to say in your interview/PS.



Good Luck,

-Y_Marker

Haha. When I registered for a username it was really late at night and I couldn't think of anything. Stupid I know, but that's what happens after studying for long periods of time.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Maybe it's because of the fact that I'm from Texas? My advisor said the average age is 23 so the medical schools tend to like older people with more "life experiences." But it's good to know that many of you have been accepted to med school at a much younger age.

 

[10minutes]

huh? i know of a girl who completed most of college concurrently with high school, and she started med school (after grad from college) at 17. although i personally wouldnt want a 17 yr old to be my physician (even tho she'll be 19 by the time 3rd yr clerkships roll around), it's considered discrimination to use age for or against someone in the admissions process.

Yeah, I know someone who's doing her 2nd year of residency. She's only 22. 🙂

 

[principessa]

it was my understanding (or perhaps misunderstanding) and i thought i read it somewhere but i thought people had to be 21 by the time they were 3rd years on rotations. it's not a discrimination thing, it's more of a legal thing - like presence of alcohol or drugs or whatever, i'm not sure.

What? Like some patient is going to offer the rest of his bottle of Jim Beam to the student doctor? This really doesn't make sense. If you're old enough to be in the Army, I'm pretty sure you're old enough to do clinical rotations.