interested in med school?

[t2j2]

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Hi I am a single mom who recently went back to school. My current pursuing degree is a Bachelors in Public health/ Pre- Med track. Initially my goal was to become a NP or PA, but one morning I woke up with the idea of going to medical school. I guess I am here to ask if it is do-able, if anyone else has seen anyone survive it in the same shoes as me? To give you a background about me, I am a veteran, toured in Iraq, worked as a surgical tech for over 10yrs in both civilian and government hospitals. I am not young, 33 and estimate applying for Graduate school in 2-3 years. Are there older students in med school, and is there an age limit to apply ? I don't have much support with my son, but have been getting through my semesters and passing all my classes. My professors have been great and he sits with me in class at times.
Does anyone know what they look for in an applicant for med school ? Any feedback would be great!

 

[claduva94]

Definitely possible! People your age get in all the time. But you do have to think about if it is worth it. You will train into your 40s and pay back debt into your 50s (although you are a vet so would you qualify for the GI bill?). Only you can say if it is worth it. PAs and NPs can do a lot of what doctors in certain specialties can do you you should make sure what you want to do warrants the difference in training.

 

[aalamruad]

Hi I am a single mom who recently went back to school. My current pursuing degree is a Bachelors in Public health/ Pre- Med track. Initially my goal was to become a NP or PA, but one morning I woke up with the idea of going to medical school. I guess I am here to ask if it is do-able, if anyone else has seen anyone survive it in the same shoes as me? To give you a background about me, I am a veteran, toured in Iraq, worked as a surgical tech for over 10yrs in both civilian and government hospitals. I am not young, 33 and estimate applying for Graduate school in 2-3 years. Are there older students in med school, and is there an age limit to apply ? I don't have much support with my son, but have been getting through my semesters and passing all my classes. My professors have been great and he sits with me in class at times.
Does anyone know what they look for in an applicant for med school ? Any feedback would be great!

1) You're not too old. Schools have accepted much older applicants before, and there's no age limit for applying.

2) Other single moms have pulled it off before. Sounds like it would be incredibly hard, but I get the impression that you're not the type to back away from difficult things.

3) If you have a solid GPA and MCAT, I bet you'd get accepted. Med schools love veterans, and I'm sure you'd have a great shot.

4) The main thing I'm concerned about is you saying "one morning I woke up with the idea of going to medical school." You shouldn't make such an enormous decision so impulsively, and I think you should probably do some shadowing of various specialties to make sure this is the field you want to go into. Look into the debt involved, and make sure it's something you can handle. Talk to other women who were single moms in med school and take advice from them; just because people have pulled it off before doesn't necessarily mean it's the right decision for everyone. If you do all the necessary research and end up deciding that you still want to become a doctor, I'll be rooting for you! Good luck.

 

[SnowyMoon]

My grandfather and uncle went through med school in their late 30s (gpa) and late 40s (uncle) with children. My grandpa did it after serving in the reserves (but never deployed). However, they also had help with the kids (I don't know if you have help, but still.) If it's something you really want to do, then it is doable.

You've got a lot of great stuff to talk about on your app, for sure. GPA and MCAT should probably be your biggest concern. I mean, you could probably volunteer, but your tour already shows that you have a "giving" spirit. It takes a lot of guts to go to a war overseas in the military. There will also be some time you need to sacrifice for studying and maybe paying of some debts (if GI bill and such won't cover it) that should be considered.

Tl;dr, you can do it, but you gotta decide if that's what you want.


Thank you for your service.

 

[Ad2b]

I am 51, applying this cycle and also a single mom. My son's father was never involved in his life (in any aspect: financial, physical or anything else). The father is now deceased.

BUT, and I strongly emphasize this, I did have the "village" to help me. My parents helped me when I needed a weekend to study, friends of mine stepped up to help when I had a class to attend by day-care fell through; or he had to be picked up from basketball practice and I was running late from lab.

If you do not have that "village", then yes, I can see where it would be a struggle. However... if you're already handling school and being a single mom now, then it will be no issue.

 

[Goro]

First off, many thanks for your service to our country!
I am a veteran, toured in Iraq, worked as a surgical tech for over 10yrs in both civilian and government hospitals. I am not young, 33 and estimate applying for Graduate school in 2-3 years.



Yes.
Are there older students in med school, and

No, age discrimination is illegal. Some of my all time best students have been in their 30s and 40s, and I graduated one last year at 50.

is there an age limit to apply ?

 

[t2j2]

ha ha ... no its been my career path since I was little, I hit a lot of detours, so the consesus was to do NP/PA. but after reading these posts, my idea is not crazy ! lol thank you!