Is 40 too old to start a premed post bacc program?

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You are as young (or old) as you feel.

So tell me, is 40 too late for you?
 
md52381 said:
Hi
Just wondering if 40 was too late to study premed.
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So 2 years of prereqs you would probably be applying for the 2020 cycle. Then 4 years of medical school (graduate 2024) and ~4 years of residency (finish 2028). So you would be an attending physician by 51 give or take 1 year.
 
I honestly don't think its too late for you OP. There are Medical students of varying ages out there...you are giving me inspiration to finish my Pre-Med track.
 
Second career? Well, 40 is to old in some ways, but the world can always use another doctor.
 
Goro said:
Some of my all time best students have been in their 30s and 40s. One is now ~52 and is a resident in Southern CA.
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Do MD schools, especially top 20s, practice age discrimination in admissions? At what age does it kick in? I suspect that Harvard Medical School might be reluctant to accept a 60-year-old with a 3.9, 526 MCAT, and Nature paper to his name...or perhaps that stellar performance outweighs worries about his age?
 
Walter Raleigh said:
Do MD schools, especially top 20s, practice age discrimination in admissions? At what age does it kick in? I suspect that Harvard Medical School might be reluctant to accept a 60-year-old with a 3.9, 526 MCAT, and Nature paper to his name...or perhaps that stellar performance outweighs worries about his age?
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Go to MSAR and check out acceptance data for each school. For example, Albany has two students 30-39, but none of 40.

It's illegal to practice age discrimination. My notion as to why you don't see many 40 years in med school classes is that so few of such people ever apply to begin with. However, schools do have an obligation to turn out people who will practice medicine for a reasonable amount of time, and med school is also not the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
 
40-42 post-bacc, 42-46 med school, 46-50 residency. 10 years are gonna pass anyways, is there something else stopping you from pursuing medicine? Family, finances, etc.?


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Walter Raleigh said:
Never seen anyone over 50 admitted to med school, but maybe very few people that old actually apply.
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Our oldest was 53. I had one stellar student who matriculated at 46. It happens.

The problem we see with the oldest applicants (or SDN posters inquiring about going to med school at these ages) is that they're all either unqualified or doing it for the wrong reasons (mostly the "grass is greener" phenomenon, seasoned with a large dose of ignorance about what it actually takes to be a doctor).
 
Goro said:
Our oldest was 53. I had one stellar student who matriculated at 46. It happens.

The problem we see with the oldest applicants (or SDN posters inquiring about going to med school at these ages) is that they're all either unqualified or doing it for the wrong reasons (mostly the "grass is greener" phenomenon, seasoned with a large dose of ignorance about what it actually takes to be a doctor).
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I guess it is something more to do with tiny sample sizes, then. If a person was 50 years old and had thirty years as a volunteer EMT, a *Nature* paper, a 520 MCAT and 3.8 GPA they might be able to get into Harvard.
 
Walter Raleigh said:
I guess it is something more to do with tiny sample sizes, then. If a person was 50 years old and had thirty years as a volunteer EMT, a *Nature* paper, a 520 MCAT and 3.8 GPA they might be able to get into Harvard.
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Dude, how do you come up with this extreme hypothetical scenario?
 
I know a well-established engineer who decided to become a doctor at age 39. He went on to become a fine neurosurgeon (with fellowship) and is practicing at a major academic center in California right now! They wrote an article on his story - it's pretty inspiring 🙂
 
Shotapp said:
Dude, how do you come up with this extreme hypothetical scenario?
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I suppose it might have happened, once or twice in Harvard's history. I thought of a stellar applicant who would be a great choice for Harvard and had a bit of a passion for healthcare, but chose to pursue research in his youth. Now, he's having a midlife crisis, and wants a more hands-on role.
 
Goro said:
Evidence???
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I’m a 42 yr old 4th yr medical student and I’m interviewing for an anesthesiology residency right now. I applied to 50+ programs- got 16 interview invites. Some of my younger classmates got interviews at programs that I applied to and didn’t get. Every program has a “type” they are looking for. I look at it like dating- some women are into older men and some aren’t. I don’t let it bother me... 😉
 
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md52381 said:
Hi
Just wondering if 40 was too late to study premed.
Click to expand...




Everyone has their own timeline to follow. If you know this is what you want then f#@king do it and don’t ask what others might think. I turned 40 during my first year of medical school and was the 2nd oldest in my class behind a retired 48 yr old school teacher.
 
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flightnurse2MD said:
do it and don’t ask what others might think
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The problem is that what adcoms think does matter. I've had more than one tell me to my face that my age will be an issue, and there are plenty of stories on the nontrad threads about interviewers who were openly hostile to older applicants. I'm applying anyway, but I get where OP is coming from: it's a legit what-are-my-chances question (vs. a can-I-handle-this question). For whatever it's worth, I have pretty decent stats, a very solid postbac and some stellar and unique ECs, but no IIs yet. I'm still hoping to join your ranks later this cycle, though!

I heard that UCSF just graduated a 65-yr-old - anyone else hear that?
 
jazzmetal said:
The problem is that what adcoms think does matter. I've had more than one tell me to my face that my age will be an issue, and there are plenty of stories on the nontrad threads about interviewers who were openly hostile to older applicants. I'm applying anyway, but I get where OP is coming from: it's a legit what-are-my-chances question (vs. a can-I-handle-this question). For whatever it's worth, I have pretty decent stats, a very solid postbac and some stellar and unique ECs, but no IIs yet. I'm still hoping to join your ranks later this cycle, though!

I heard that UCSF just graduated a 65-yr-old - anyone else hear that?
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I wasnt referring to adcoms but what classmates, friends, and family may think. I did my research and only applied to nontrad/military friendly programs and DO schools. I find the larger DO programs dont care who you are as long as you are willing to pay the tuition. Where there is a will there is definitely a way. I personally met a 65 year-old psych resident so there are indeed outliers out there.
 
flightnurse2MD said:
I wasnt referring to adcoms but what classmates, friends, and family may think. I did my research and only applied to nontrad/military friendly programs and DO schools. I find the larger DO programs dont care who you are as long as you are willing to pay the tuition. Where there is a will there is definitely a way. I personally met a 65 year-old psych resident so there are indeed outliers out there.
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Oh yeah, all good - I'm quite used to not caring that other people think I'm nuts! lol. And I realize that you weren't talking about adcoms, it's just that theirs are the only opinions that really matter, once you decide to apply. Not unreasonable for OP to want to size up the likelihood of success before putting all the time and energy into applying.
 
Wow. That is unusual, admitting someone that is sixty years old to medical school. I wonder what kind of achievements that person had! Good on him.
 
md52381 said:
Hi
Just wondering if 40 was too late to study premed.
Click to expand...

I started my post-bacc at 41. I spent the entire year before that trying to talk myself out of medical school. I'm applying this cycle. It still feels a bit surreal that everything I put into motion a few years ago is coming to fruition. No part of it has been easy and I'm pretty sure med school itself is going to make post-bacc look like a picnic...but I am as sure as I can be that this was the right road for me. I would put an A-line in today if someone would just let me. 🙂
 
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