I don't know if this is a path I should try to follow.

[Jellyphant]

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Hello everyone. I hope I'm posting in the appropiate section, although I think perhaps this might be better suited for the "non-traditional students" subforum; I'm sorry if that's the case. Here it goes.
I am Mexican, and here in my country the path to becoming a doctor is a bit different compared to that of the US (and countries that follow a similar system); you go straight into medical school, right after HS.
My ambition has always been to enter the academic field of neuroscience (be it medical or more "basic"/theoretical neuroscience).
So, when I was 18, I enrolled into a quite expensive private medical school. I was only there for a year, unfortunately, since my parents no longer had the resources to pay for my tuition. I did really well academically; even though I disliked anatomy class, I found it to be not so hard. I did love physiology class, and still love the subject. However, I realized that most medical schools here don't "give" much room for research, and are more focused toward the clinical world, because well, it's med school after all. I also realized I'm not too keen on clinical practice, the whole thing about it, really, and that reaffirmed my desire to get into the academic world.

So, considering all of that, I looked for a program similar to that of a MD/PhD, here in Mexico, and I found that UNAM (a pretty big public university in here) has something like that. However, I'm having my doubts about applying:

1. I am already 20; if I want to get into academia, wouldn't that be a little bit late?
2. Should I even go forward with this, considering I'm totally not into clinical practice? Or is it basically too different of a "world"?
3. I'm considering also a Computer Science/Biomed Engineering degree, however, considering my age and the quality of the colleges here, do you think I'd stand a chance of getting into a decent PhD program in another country?

I realize I probably went out of the scope of these forums with the third question, but I figured maybe some of you have some knowledge on that.

I really, really desire to get into the academic world. I love science. However, all of this is dragging me down, especially my age. These last couple of years have been so rocky, I just want to get going into whatever I have to do in life. I'd deeply appreciate your help. Thank you.

 

[DesertPT]

I don't know a lot about the specifics of your questions, but I will say I don't see why you should be worrying about your age. 99% of people in the US are not able to start pursuing a doctoral level education at all until they are at least 22. And yes, I think you would definitely stand a decent chance of getting into a PhD program in another country if that is what you really wanted to do. It would probably be a lot of work, but international students come to the US for PhDs all the time. However, you don't have any college degree at this point I assume? I don't know how that would play into things as typically you have to have at least a bachelor's degree to begin a PhD program.

 

[Jellyphant]

I don't know a lot about the specifics of your questions, but I will say I don't see why you should be worrying about your age. 99% of people in the US are not able to start pursuing a doctoral level education at all until they are at least 22. And yes, I think you would definitely stand a decent chance of getting into a PhD program in another country if that is what you really wanted to do. It would probably be a lot of work, but international students come to the US for PhDs all the time. However, you don't have any college degree at this point I assume? I don't know how that would play into things as typically you have to have at least a bachelor's degree to begin a PhD program.

I don't have any college degree, if I decided to pursue neuroscience from a non-medical angle, then I'd end up getting my degree at around 24 years of age, and then I'd try to get into a PhD program elsewhere (since there isn't really much research being done in here, from what I've gathered from some people in the field). Then, there's the medical angle. The equivalent of what would be an MD/PhD degree in here, is an eight year program, and the whole thing is done in the same institution (assuming you pass all the requirements), first you go to medical school, and in the last years of the 8 year period, you work towards your doctorate, so in either case I'd be starting doctoral level education when I'm about 24-26.
So regardless of the college I go to, assuming I do a degree in something non-medical (or not purely medical, like Biomed Engineering) and as long as every other requirement is fulfilled, I wouldn't have any issues because of my 2 year age difference? I'm not aiming really at a very prestigious institution for a PhD, since that's probably out of my reach. Thank you for your time, and I'm sorry if I seem a bit redundant, especially since you already stated that I'd stand a decent chance, I just want to get this as clear as possible.

 

[DesertPT]

I wouldn't have any issues because of my 2 year age difference?

I'm not sure that I really understand the question, but no your age has no effect on whether or not you get accepted by a university, if that's what you mean.

 

[Jellyphant]

I'm not sure that I really understand the question, but no your age has no effect on whether or not you get accepted by a university, if that's what you mean.

Yes, that's what I mean. 2 year difference as compared to someone who would be 22 when applying. I had the impression that maybe these programs only accept "ideal" candidates (ideal age, well-known college, etc).

 

[DesertPT]

There's not really an ideal age in graduate school admissions.

As for your other questions, you might want to try some of the other forums as well...I'm not sure how helpful hSDN is going to be.

 

[Jellyphant]

There's not really an ideal age in graduate school admissions.

As for your other questions, you might want to try some of the other forums as well...I'm not sure how helpful hSDN is going to be.

That's comforting. Alright, I'll check out other places as well. Thanks, sorry if my english was confusing at times.

 

[DesertPT]

That's comforting. Alright, I'll check out other places as well. Thanks, sorry if my english was confusing at times.

No your English is almost perfect actually. I'm impressed 👍

 

[Stagg737]

I was actually wondering if you were from the U.S. and moved to Mexico or something, your English is pretty fantastic as a second language. I agree with knj completely. Your age is by no means an issue here, the lack of a college degree definitely could be. I'd call some places and try and get in contact with admissions departments to see what it would take to get into a PhD program. I'd also try to see if there are places where you can get a college degree that will allow you entry into a PhD program immediately after you finish. I know in the U.S. a lot of places would probably be impressed that you have some med school under your belt, especially if you did well and had to leave because of finances. I don't know if it would be the same in Mexico, but from the sounds of it, your intelligence and abilities won't be a problem for you.