I realize how important age and experience is now...

[229141]

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A friend of mine with a 4.0 and a 32 mcat got rejected from his IN state school. EC's? Great...150 hrs volunteering in hospital, 100 hrs shadowing, plenty of other clinical on top of that, research, etc. Denied before they even finished interviews..yet at the same time a guy who was 30 got in with a 3.4 and a 28...

At first I was pissed off...I mean ouch! But the truth is my friends age killed him (21). Some programs just don't want young kids unless they're the absolute top, perhaps older applicants are less likely to change their mind.

So as I prepare to apply in June I sure hope I will get in despite being older (I'll be 21) or an URM. I understand why they favor older people with experience...its just scary being 21 going up against people in their 30s who get welcomed in with sub 3.5's and sub 30 scores.

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

A friend of mine with a 4.0 and a 32 mcat got rejected from his IN state school. EC's? Great...150 hrs volunteering in hospital, 100 hrs shadowing, plenty of other clinical on top of that, research, etc. Denied before they even finished interviews..yet at the same time a guy who was 30 got in with a 3.4 and a 28...

At first I was pissed off...I mean ouch! But the truth is my friends age killed him (21). Some programs just don't want young kids unless they're the absolute top, perhaps older applicants are less likely to change their mind.

So as I prepare to apply in June I sure hope I will get in despite being older (I'll be 21) or an URM. I understand why they favor older people with experience...its just scary being 21 going up against people in their 30s who get welcomed in with sub 3.5's and sub 30 scores.

i don't think age, in the strict sense of "being older", is a selection factor or even the basis for such instances. there are plenty of other factors that you don't fully know about (LORs, PS, interview skills, ALL of their ECs/jobs) that could adequately explain the situation you described.

i think you are correct to feel disadvantaged compared to older applicants because they may have more ECs/jobs/etc, but it means that their leverage is their ECs/jobs/etc...not simply their age. these older applicants (with less-than-ideal stats) are probably selected based on their ECs/personal story/experiences, but because they have these stories, they are older.

i mean, if you want to apply as an older applicant because you think it will make you more attractive to schools, you need to be doing something productive and meaningful (not necessarily med-related) with your time. you can't just sit around and age.

but yes, without knowing the WHOLE story, that seems unfair. i would have pretty low hopes if i were applying with a 3.4 and a 28.

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

well, i thought about this a bit more...

maybe these older/non-trad applicants are considered in a separate pool, so that normal applicants don't really compete with them for admission. for example, a school could say, "X% of each admitted class will be made up of non-trads" and so in reality, they are vying amongst themselves....
this is mere speculation.

does anyone know how ADCOMS compare younger/older applicants?

 

[229141]

i don't think age, in the strict sense of "being older", is a selection factor or even the basis for such instances. there are plenty of other factors that you don't fully know about (LORs, PS, interview skills, ALL of their ECs/jobs) that could adequately explain the situation you described.

i think you are correct to feel disadvantaged compared to older applicants because they may have more ECs/jobs/etc, but it means that their leverage is their ECs/jobs/etc...not simply their age. these older applicants (with less-than-ideal stats) are probably selected based on their ECs/personal story/experiences, but because they have these stories, they are older.

i mean, if you want to apply as an older applicant because you think it will make you more attractive to schools, you need to be doing something productive and meaningful (not necessarily med-related) with your time. you can't just sit around and age.

but yes, without knowing the WHOLE story, that seems unfair. i would have pretty low hopes if i were applying with a 3.4 and a 28.

Yeah- all schools are a little different. The program here has an average freshman age of like 27-28 so.. they obviously want older people. Then you have programs that could care less about experiences and just want numbers. I initially was very bitter about this even though it was my friend and not me, but I know there are enough schools out there that take 21 yr olds with great stats.

 

[229141]

well, i thought about this a bit more...

maybe these older/non-trad applicants are considered in a separate pool, so that normal applicants don't really compete with them for admission. for example, a school could say, "X% of each admitted class will be made up of non-trads" and so in reality, they are vying amongst themselves....
this is mere speculation.

does anyone know how ADCOMS compare younger/older applicants?

Great point this is right on the money- a 21 yr old who DID get in had a 3.95 and a 35 mcat...so it was like my friend was competing against the other 21 yr old white males or however you want to categorize them. So they did indeed take the top student out of that category...thats just how things are these days, can't complain much. You really are competing against your "category" these days at a lot of schools.

 

[Catalystik]

It wouldn't surprise me if some adcomms include age among the diverse elements they prefer each class to have. Any med school that doesn't have a strict ranking system on its waitlist can replace a declined acceptance with another person with similiar characteristics, so they can keep a preferred balance of ages, city/rural, race, regional origin, etc. This means a younger person would indeed be competing with other young people, and that the one with the best over-all application would be asked first.

 

[229141]

It wouldn't surprise me if some adcomms include age among the diverse elements they prefer each class to have. Any med school that doesn't have a strict ranking system on its waitlist can replace a declined acceptance with another person with similiar characteristics, so they can keep a preferred balance of ages, city/rural, race, regional origin, etc. This means a younger person would indeed be competing with other young people, and that the one with the best over-all application would be asked first.

Yeah- I totally agree. Sure kind of makes all those acceptance numbers more confusing...when the avg may be a 3.7 and 30, the avg for a 21-23 yr old applicant might be more. That's why you just have to do your best 🙂

 

[Wiingy]

Try not to knock us "older applicants" too much... I'll be 24 by the time that I apply after taking 3 years off due to a sub-par GPA (right now in my first year off)... completely unplanned... but... it's been great. I can't recommend taking a year off highly enough. So far I've gotten to live and work in Germany, getting lab experience and perfecting my German, travel a bit around Europe, and then I'm planning to do an MPH in International Health/Epidemiology... where one of the requirements will be completing an internship in a developing country. As a result, I have matured considerably and my life goals are much clearer. I know what I like, I know that healthcare is the right career for me, and I'll have a wide variety of experiences to draw from for a personal statement to make a compelling arguement. Also, the longer you are out of undergrad the easier it is to show that you've matured and can handle higher-level coursework - provided that this is in fact true. A friend of mine applied with very competitive stats to his in-state (GPA was 0.2 above average, MCAT 4 over) and was told that if he had taken a year off he would have been admitted directly instead of placed on the wait list. So I think there is something to be said for applicants that aren't perfect from a numbers perspective but can bring diversity of experiences to the table. Note that I'm not saying that older applicants are better, just that I could see why older applicants might be more likely to get an interview - it might just be that we have more things to talk about.

To close, I imagine that most people reading these threads and this board are young (<21). I strongly advise you to take a year off while you're at a point in your life where it is still a possibility. Med school will still be there when you come back.

 

[funkydrmonkey]

Not necessarily... I was 20 when I applied, and I have had pretty good success this cycle. Now if you are under 19, then it may be a factor, but a lot of 20 and 21 year olds apply... and get in...

 

[229141]

Not necessarily... I was 20 when I applied, and I have had pretty good success this cycle. Now if you are under 19, then it may be a factor, but a lot of 20 and 21 year olds apply... and get in...

IF they are exceptional- which you are my friend. 3.9+ and 35 MCAT is so far above most of the youngsters that most schools will gladly welcome you in. This is why I am trying so hard to crack 35 on my exam in may LOL!

 

[Signaq]

As someone who will have their 50's looming in the horizion when all is done, keep in mind that us old folks have grades on our transcripts potentially older than our applicant competition that we have to justify.... In exchange for having to explain a C+ in Chemistry in 1987, I'll snag a few bonus points for "age and experience".

Also, age and experience doesn't make it any easier today for me to wait for my first exam grade to come back on Saturday.....it's never a free ride, I guess 🙂

 

[Disambiguation]

They have more experience and things to talk about besides cramming for exams and thesis statements about PCR primers or their study on Nucleotide Sequencing.