Is 30 too old to start medical school?

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PhysioMD

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Short answer: no. I'm currently a first year and there are plenty of people in my class who are 30+. You're obviously going to be outnumbered by kids freshly out of undergrad but as long as you put in the work, you'll be fine. Good luck.
 
no-1.jpg

Just no.
 
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If you're well qualified in the traditional sense (GPA, MCAT, activities, letters) then you'll be fine. Older students count as "diversity" in med school. We're expected to raise the maturity level and bring real-world perspective.
 
Plastic surgeon in Southern California at age 49? It doesn't get better than that in terms of inspiration.

He looks a lot younger than his age, not a day over 39. I wonder if that was an unconscious selection factor.
 
PhysioMD said:
Just wondering what the thoughts are on this?
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Here are some thoughts on this:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/too-old-too-late.1005566/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...-surgeon-if-i-start-medical-school-at.950100/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/how-old-is-too-old-to-go-to-medical-school.893943/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...oo-later-or-you-are-never-too-old-but.865479/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/45-yr-old-pharmacist-to-med-school-too-old.856976/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/how-old-is-too-old.856828/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/will-i-be-too-old-opinions-mcat-prep.800838/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/how-old-is-too-old.784261/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/am-i-too-old-for-med-school.754002/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/worried-about-being-too-old.749459/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/am-i-too-old-financial-aid-question.743737/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/i-am-too-old-for-this.714033/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/am-i-too-old-for-this.669827/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/34-too-old.661543/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/newbie-asks-am-i-too-old.650924/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...at-45-too-late-too-old-whats-required.617082/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/how-old-is-too-old.611815/
 
If medical schools were worried about you being a "poor investment" because you have fewer years of career ahead of you, then medical schools would also have to stop accepting women.
 
Age discrimination is illegal.

Some of my all-time best students have been in their 30s and 40s; our oldest student ever matriculated was 53.

PhysioMD said:
Just wondering what the thoughts are on this?
When (hopefully) accepted, I will be 29 years of age starting school. I know there are always a couple of much older students in a class, but I'm wondering if medical schools will look on this unfavourably?

Will they think I'm too old to invest the time into training me, I won't graduate until 33-34, then depending on residency / specialty etc, I might not be an independent doctor until 40.


What do you guys think? Is there "ageism" in the admission process? Is it a big factor of consideration. Should I focus more on shorter residency? Would it be stupid to mention interest in surgery at my age, they might think I won't be an independent surgeon until 40.
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[quote="PhysioMD, post: 14893710, member: 581771" I will be 29 years of age starting school. -
Will they think I'm too old to invest the time into training me,

What do you guys think? Is there "ageism" in the admission process? Is it a big factor of consideration. Should I focus more on shorter residency? Would it be stupid to mention interest in surgery at my age, they might think I won't be an independent surgeon until 40.[/quote]


I''m the same age. I was accepted with a colorful and rich background in business, humanitarian aid, enthusiam to study medicine and a heart to serve people. My age (which is young for a non trad) was not an issue.

You have a background that adds maturity and depth to who you are. You have had a roughy 5+ years of additional experience in the workplace and done things you can add to your overall resume - not simply a narrow audition of grades, shadowing and medically-related path as many of the traditional students will have.

Bring that to the table with solid grades, MCAT, etc. and you are as good a candidate as an admission committee will see.
 
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PhysioMD said:
Just wondering what the thoughts are on this?
When (hopefully) accepted, I will be 29 years of age starting school. I know there are always a couple of much older students in a class, but I'm wondering if medical schools will look on this unfavourably?

Will they think I'm too old to invest the time into training me, I won't graduate until 33-34, then depending on residency / specialty etc, I might not be an independent doctor until 40.


What do you guys think? Is there "ageism" in the admission process? Is it a big factor of consideration. Should I focus more on shorter residency? Would it be stupid to mention interest in surgery at my age, they might think I won't be an independent surgeon until 40.
Click to expand...


hmmm.............. So I will be stating this year and will be 42 years of age when I start. Obviously didn't seem old to me. Relax, you are going to be fine. Just take one step at a time and do what you like to do and not because its short or long. God bless you.
 
Indianarn said:
hmmm.............. So I will be stating this year and will be 42 years of age when I start. Obviously didn't seem old to me. Relax, you are going to be fine. Just take one step at a time and do what you like to do and not because its short or long. God bless you.
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edit
 
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QuentinT88 said:
Wow Indianarn, that is inspiring. Congrats! If all goes well I will be starting at 29.

If you don't mind me asking, what was your previous career? What was you motivation for switching career paths?
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Done a lot of things. But I am a registered nurse for more than 3 years now.
 
Thank for all the popcorn.

My point is that the argument for not investing in older students because of their limited career years in medicine is a very slippery slope... women on average also have fewer career years in medicine. It's a fact. And there is nothing wrong with this fact.

There may be some reasons for prohibiting older students from getting medical training (and I doubt this), but limited career years is not one of them.
 
sazerac said:
Thank for all the popcorn.

My point is that the argument for not investing in older students because of their limited career years in medicine is a very slippery slope... women on average also have fewer career years in medicine. It's a fact. And there is nothing wrong with this fact.

There may be some reasons for prohibiting older students from getting medical training (and I doubt this), but limited career years is not one of them.
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Actually it doesn't even turn on age but health. If you want to use the actuarial view, a twenty year old who is obese and smokes and maybe takes other risks (sex drugs and rock n roll lifestyle) will almost surely have a shorter career than a forty year old who frequents the gym. Point is this is a losers argument -- it can always be tailored to keep out whoever you don't want. (but let's start with the young smokers 🙂).
 
In regards to the topic of women, I think the issue that some women will serve fewer years due to the possibility of pregnancy and child rearing. It's nice to see med schools don't count that against women. Unfortunately, some residency programs do.

To OP: started med school at 33. Currently a Derm resident at 40, soon to go on to dermpath fellowship. No problem.
 
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It IS valid. You think it shouldn't happen and I agree with you. However, you are just starting medical school now, but you will be applying to residency and it does come up...whether you like it or not. A woman in my program was told point blank by a residency interviewer that he does not like to rank women because they get pregnant and 'check out'. I know of a surgery resident at my medical school who lied about having kids to get her spot. It is real, it happens, and thus it is valid to consider.

As a side note, newbie, you need to check your little attitude at the door. You're about to embark on a path of getting beat down by nurses, attendings, administrators...getting yelled at by surgeons, etc. You are now the piece of algae on the medical food chain. Adjust attitude accordingly if you want to survive...whether you think it's 'valid' or right isn't an issue, it's the culture.

I didn't make the rules, I just play by them...don't kill the messenger, blah blah blah.

ps, your feminist attitude is quite boring as well. *snore* and YOU'RE the one who admitted you were biting on the women in medicine issue in this thread.
 
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Why do so many of these threads turn into pointless arguments on SDN? Jesus....
 
I apologize if I came off as harsh, but that should be expected when a serious post of mine is responded to in such a flippant sarcastic way. I try my best to help and contribute on this forum...and yes, some new person coming in and responding to me in that way does not sit well with me.

I stand behind what I say. Medicine is harsh. Do I agree with how it works? Not necessarily, but it's what we have to expect when we sign up for it.

Back to relevant conversation. A woman's age will be important down the road. If she is applying to a residency at age 36, I'm willing to bet there is a good chance that at a residency interview she'll encounter something to the effect of "Sooo, you're 36 years old. Are you planning on having kids some day? The biological clock is ticking." It's not necessarily illegal to ask that iirc. However, it IS illegal to deny someone a spot because of an answer they give...but how does one prove that? There is a current thread somewhere that addresses this...the topic is something about how residencies have the upper hand in the interview process.

The best way to battle this in the short term is to think ahead and have a well thought out response if it is something that comes up.

And for the record, I'm stating that this is a valid topic...NOT that any practice of denying an individual a spot based on personal life is valid.
 
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As the person who originally deflected the thread from age towards gender, it was only my intention to point out the parallels in concern about potential years of career beyond education. Any argument against one group could easily be applied to the other for the same reasons.

I go to medical school in the south, and there are some backwards attitudes here about women. I am an older male medical student. I was once preceptoring a very old male physician, alongside one of my young female classmates. Out of the blue the physician went on a huge tirade about how women do not belong in medical school because they have fewer career years ahead of them, versus male medical students. It made both of us uncomfortable.

Being the smart-ass that I am, I asked the physician whether or not older men should be allowed to go to medical school then, since they will also have fewer career years. He said that's different, it's okay for older men to go to medical school.

I didn't press the issue, but it seemed very inconsistent to me.
 
Niemi said:
My signature is cute, thanx. I like it because I am excited I was accepted to medical school and it conveys that sentiment.

& you ARE boring because you insist on bringing up a tired old topic that is just used to piss people off. And NO is not a valid topic unless you are a pathetic person who always has to pry into other peoples lives and judge, live your own life and try not to harm other people with your misogynistic baggage.
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Why is it not a valid issue? You know it happens, and I think (I hope) we all agree that it should change. I'm not entirely sure what this reaction is about. What specifically is it about the initial statement that you find invalid? He wasn't making a judgement on female physicians. He was stating an observation (discrimination against female resident applicant exists) and followed it up with an opinion (the fact this type of discrimination exists is unfortunate). Presumably, he hopes the culture will change as it is apparent that he does not agree with discriminating against female applicants due to the possibility that they will contribute fewer years to the profession because babies. He was relating this to the possibility of discrimination against older applicants who also will probably contribute fewer years to the profession due to their personal circumstances, which he also would be against. It seems like you both are in general agreement. Lashing out at someone that agrees with you is counterproductive.

Maybe I'm missing something, and I could be totally wrong, but you haven't really articulated why you found his statement to be so offensive/disagreeable. Your reaction seems (to me) disproportionate to what he said.
 
NO. I had a medical school tell me that they preferred older students because they brought more maturity and experience into the class. The interviewer saw it as an advantage instead of a disadvantage.
 
MedWonk said:
Why is it not a valid issue? You know it happens, and I think (I hope) we all agree that it should change. I'm not entirely sure what this reaction is about. What specifically is it about the initial statement that you find invalid? He wasn't making a judgement on female physicians. He was stating an observation (discrimination against female resident applicant exists) and followed it up with an opinion (the fact this type of discrimination exists is unfortunate). Presumably, he hopes the culture will change as it is apparent that he does not agree with discriminating against female applicants due to the possibility that they will contribute fewer years to the profession because babies. He was relating this to the possibility of discrimination against older applicants who also will probably contribute fewer years to the profession due to their personal circumstances, which he also would be against. It seems like you both are in general agreement. Lashing out at someone that agrees with you is counterproductive.

Maybe I'm missing something, and I could be totally wrong, but you haven't really articulated why you found his statement to be so offensive/disagreeable. Your reaction seems (to me) disproportionate to what he said.
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Your interpretation on all counts is spot on. I definitely do not agree with denying a spot to anyone due to their personal lives unless it affects their work directly (think EtOH abuse). Having a child is a normal part of life for most people and shouldn't be counted against them regardless of age.
 
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PhysioMD said:
Just wondering what the thoughts are on this?
When (hopefully) accepted, I will be 29 years of age starting school. I know there are always a couple of much older students in a class, but I'm wondering if medical schools will look on this unfavourably?

Will they think I'm too old to invest the time into training me, I won't graduate until 33-34, then depending on residency / specialty etc, I might not be an independent doctor until 40.


What do you guys think? Is there "ageism" in the admission process? Is it a big factor of consideration. Should I focus more on shorter residency? Would it be stupid to mention interest in surgery at my age, they might think I won't be an independent surgeon until 40.
Click to expand...

30 is NOT too old, and I think there's a pretty good consensus on here about that. In fact, 35 still isn't too old.

However, some things that should be on your radar:

Career changes can be easier earlier on. -- If you were to NOT go into medicine, most careers have sort of age groups associated with level. For example, in marketing most 20 somethings are entry to executive level and living with roommates or in their first real homes. Once you get into your 30s, 40s, etc. people start to assume you are on the level of a senior executive, vice president, etc. and are living a more mature/developed lifestyle. If you are still living with housemates college style, some people will find it odd or awkward. Just saying. This is a heads up....

Family life, kids, medical school, and timing: -- Many people have raised kids while going to medical school. It's not easy. I think most women hit menopause sometime in their early 40's.

When you will become an attending physician (non-resident/trainee): Medical school=4 years, plus residency, maybe a fellowship.

When you will start saving for retirement.

How long it will take you to get into medical school: How long to get an acceptable gpa/mcat combo if you don't have on already, to complete prerequisites courses, EC's, get appropriate LoRs, etc.
 
Goro said:
Age discrimination is illegal.

Some of my all-time best students have been in their 30s and 40s; our oldest student ever matriculated was 53.
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I wish that age was kept confidential in the medical profession, including on all applications, and on professional websites. It seems to be kept confidential in most other professions.... Maybe no one's raised the point yet to the right people.
 
Believe me, 21 year old interviewees can be a LOT different than 25 or 30 year old interviewees. I like knowing people ages so I can tailor questions to them.

Gauss44 said:
I wish that age was kept confidential in the medical profession, including on all applications, and on professional websites. It seems to be kept confidential in most other professions.... Maybe no one's raised the point yet to the right people.
Click to expand...
 
Goro said:
Believe me, 21 year old interviewees can be a LOT different than 25 or 30 year old interviewees. I like knowing people ages so I can tailor questions to them.
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Additionally, younger interviewers really need more training on how to interview older applicants. Age/experience can be an asset or a detriment in the interviewing process. Some of my most uncomfortable and lower quality interviews have been with 21 year old interviewers but my absolutely best interviews have been with older/seasoned interviewers. I do not mean this to be a knock on younger interviewers but I get the impression at some schools being an interviewer is no more than volunteering with no training or guidance if you have the free time, with no selection or training.
 
OP:

In case you still need yet one more opinion, 30 is definitely not too old to get started. I am 40 and starting med school this year.

IMHO, successful applicants have to demonstrate both energy and maturity. The older you get, the more work you have to show you have the energy to make it.
 
brownbaglunch said:
OP:

In case you still need yet one more opinion, 30 is definitely not too old to get started. I am 40 and starting med school this year.

IMHO, successful applicants have to demonstrate both energy and maturity. The older you get, the more work you have to show you have the energy to make it.
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Congrats on your acceptance! What sort of things do you think helped show you had energy & maturity? Is it just a general impression they got from how you presented yourself, or did you find yourself actually having to spell out why your age isn't an issue? I'll be 40 or 41 my first app cycle depending on how things go.
 
Gauss44 said:
30 is NOT too old, and I think there's a pretty good consensus on here about that. In fact, 35 still isn't too old.

Family life, kids, medical school, and timing: -- Many people have raised kids while going to medical school. It's not easy. I think most women hit menopause sometime in their early 40's.
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What!!!!! the average age for menopause in the US is 51!!!!
 
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