Is my age going to be a limiting application factor?

[christopherbobby]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I was introduced to this website by a counselor at my college. I will complete my undergraduate degree in a few weeks, planning a mid-June MCAT, and hoping to apply for a Fall 2017 enrollment.

I progressed through my early educational years very quickly and began taking college courses at 12. I am 15 at the moment and will hopefully begin my medical education at 16. I have been given mixed advice from my family and academic advisors at my undergraduate institution. I've been told to consider research, a second degree, among other options. The truth is, I've known I've wanted to be a physician since I was very young and I'd like to move forward with that goal.

I'm quite vexed by the possibility my young age may hamper my opportunities. I thought I would ask for opinions here as this is a forum for pre-medical students and medical students alike. Thank you very much for your kind assistance.

 

[md-2020]

Unfortunately, yes it will. But that is to not to say you cannot get in somewhere. If your stats are high enough (think rockstar GPA+MCAT+ECs) there will be schools interested.

Classic case is Dr. Sho Yano, who matriculated to Pritzker at age 13. However, he had a 4.0 c/sGPA and 37 MCAT. He was summarily rejected at all other mid-high tiers that he applied to, with age being the obvious consideration.

tldr: you need a stellar app, a very very wide application range, and some luck. It's not that adcoms are discriminating against young applicants. It's that there's a pretty serious amount of maturity and life experience necessary to deal with the unbelievable stress/anxiety/messed up **** that you see in medicine.

 

[JPA178]

Take a couple years and travel the world, do some volunteer work abroad, learn a bit more about yourself. Maybe do some research for a year. You've got the time, why not? Wait until you're 18-19 to apply. If not for the additional life experience, do it so you'll at least be within the same age range as your classmates. You'll have a better med school experience that way. And you'll be more well-rounded to boot.

 

[Hospitalized]

Please do research, we need minds like yours coming up with the next cures... Let the dumb ones like me do clinic work

 

[christopherbobby]

Unfortunately, yes it will. But that is to not to say you cannot get in somewhere. If your stats are high enough (think rockstar GPA+MCAT+ECs) there will be schools interested.

Classic case is Dr. Sho Yano, who matriculated to Pritzker at age 13. However, he had a 4.0 c/sGPA and 37 MCAT. He was summarily rejected at all other mid-high tiers that he applied to, with age being the obvious consideration.

tldr: you need a stellar app, a very very wide application range, and some luck. It's not that adcoms are discriminating against young applicants. It's that there's a pretty serious amount of maturity and life experience necessary to deal with the unbelievable stress/anxiety/messed up **** that you see in medicine.

Thank you for the honest assessment, as well as that example. I will have to look more into Dr. Yano, I hadn't heard the name before. My GPA is quite strong; 3.91. I have taken several practice MCAT examinations and am expecting to do well. I will have to keep studying until June and hope for the best. Thanks again for your opinions.

 

[christopherbobby]

Please do research, we need minds like yours coming up with the next cures... Let the dumb ones like me do clinic work

Nonsense. I've seen some very brilliant classmates earn acceptances to medical school this past year. I have great admiration for those people getting into medical school - all of you included! I do appreciate your compliment though, so thank you.

 

[eteshoe]

Thank you for the honest assessment, as well as that example. I will have to look more into Dr. Yano, I hadn't heard the name before. My GPA is quite strong; 3.91. I have taken several practice MCAT examinations and am expecting to do well. I will have to keep studying until June and hope for the best. Thanks again for your opinions.

Have you considered the MD/PhD route? Just saying if your MCAT is very solid, you'd actually be able to finish the training route and still be relatively young when your finished.

 

[El-Rami]

You are too young. You should spend at least a few years growing up/learning about the real world. At your age, I only really cared about getting a girlfriend...

Anyway, you sound like a really intelligent person. You'll go far in life, but you should also live a little.

 

[yeasureyoubetcha]

Why would you even consider starting med school before you can legally buy booze?


You're going to miss out on so many experiences.

 

[Lucca]

I would also say go out and get more life experience. Most of us wasted many formative years of our lives going through the education pipeline and now that we're almost finished with it are acutely aware of the many life experiences we have no had, or avoided by going through the pipeline.

The truth is that to be a good clinician you will need to relate to your patients. You will need to be a leader to your team of fellow clinicians and other healthcare staff. You will need to negotiate with administrators and insurance providers. You will need to advocate for your own career and on the behalf of your patients. The fact is that leadership is built on trust and mutual understanding. At your age, your colleagues will not trust you implicitly (you will have to work very hard for it) or might even be jealous of you (which undermines trust). They and your patients will assume that you are just a kid (and they are not wrong in many respects, albeit you are not a child intellectually) and this will weigh down your ability to connect with them and therefore be an effective physician. Insurance providers, employers, administrators and other bureaucrats will not trust you for a second and will most likely actively try to deceive and use you.

You are very fortunate to be done with the obligate part of your education early. I advise that you take some years to travel and see the world, especially taking opportunities to help out the neediest, poorest, and sickest. Alternatively, you could pursue research training if science interests you (don't do it if it doesn't) and be at the distinct advantage of having the training finished early which is always a plus in science (Stephen Wolfram earned his PhD in Physics at 20 and he is doing very well for himself with so many productive years under his belt).

Tl;dr if you want to be an effective leader and clinician you should consider deepening your life experience and seize this as an opportunity and a boon - which it is - which very few other people get to have without SACRIFICING valuable productive years. 18-19 apply

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

i personally wouldn't recommend starting school so early (at least take 1 year to do something meaningful), but hey, it's your call and if this is really what you want go for it.

I would say though, don't a good portion of med schools have a formal age cutoff at 18? I imagine there'd be legal hell to pay if you (a minor!) got needle stuck and contracted some disease in the ED or something. Or if you messed something up in the OR and a patient was hurt or endangered?


Also if you apply be sure to focus on city schools with good public transit. I'd imagine not being old enough to drive in med school could be annoying lol.

Best of luck in whatever you do

 

[LizzyM]

Let's get down to the nitty-gritty... beyond coursework, how much bench research have you done? how many hours of volunteer service have you offered to the needy and over what time period? how many hours of clinical exposure have you had (I have to figure volunteer and shadowing only, no employment given your age) and over how many months? What leadership and teamwork experiences have you had with other college students?

GPA and MCAT are important but if you haven't had solid research, service, clinical and leadership experiences and have outside interests and ways to cope with stress, you will not be admitted and it won't be due to the date on your birth certificate but for the lack of life experience.

You have the time... why not a solid year or two of research experience and then a PhD before medical school, or full-time service program in an underserved community or full-time employment as a caregiver to a profoundly disabled teen. You will learn a ton of stuff that isn't in a book and that will greatly help you once you get to medical school. One real limit here is that you are too young to be employed and most likely too young to have a drivers license.

 

[Med Ed]

I'm quite vexed by the possibility my young age may hamper my opportunities. I thought I would ask for opinions here as this is a forum for pre-medical students and medical students alike.

I am one of the adcoms in this forum, meaning I sit on an admissions committee at a medical school. The youngest person we have admitted during my tenure was 19. I believe you will have a very, very hard time convincing any medical school to admit you on anything other than a decelerated (read MD/PhD) track. You clearly have exceptional intelligence if you were taking college classes at 12, but becoming a physician requires a level of emotional maturity that most people don't get until their early 20's, regardless of IQ. I would point to your seeming impatience about not being able to start at 16 as evidence that you would benefit from sitting out for a couple of years. Medical school isn't going anywhere.

 

[claduva94]

You also have to consider that at many schools you will see patients during your first year. The reality is a lot of patients just won't be comfortable with a 16 year old, regardless of your ability. I am the youngest person in my class at 21 (accepted at 20) and that is very apparent. At 16, your ability to make meaningful relationships with your classmates will be limit, and that is not something to be overlooked as important. In my case, although I appreciate my opportunity, I do half wish I had taken some time off to work/travel. So ultimately I think it is best for all parties involved if you wait. Medical school will still be there in a few years.

 

[NotASerialKiller]

At 16, your ability to make meaningful relationships with your classmates will be limit, and that is not something to be overlooked as important.

Keep in mind that a guy who completed undergrad during partially pre-pubescent years probably already made the decision that he's comfortable not being on the same social level as his classmates. That aspect of it I'm sure he's used to. Sounds bizarre to me, but as long as he doesn't regret it, whatever floats your boat.

Being taken seriously by patients however, as you mentioned, could definitely be a struggle. I know someone who started at 21 and looked young for his age on top of it... a lot of patients thought he was following his dad around at work or something. Didn't seriously compromise his ability to learn/practice, but it definitely frustrated him.

 

[Lucca]

Keep in mind that a guy who completed undergrad during partially pre-pubescent years probably already made the decision that he's comfortable not being on the same social level as his classmates. That aspect of it I'm sure he's used to. Sounds bizarre to me, but as long as he doesn't regret it, whatever floats your boat.

Being taken seriously by patients however, as you mentioned, could definitely be a struggle. I know someone who started at 21 and looked young for his age on top of it... a lot of patients thought he was following his dad around at work or something. Didn't seriously compromise his ability to learn/practice, but it definitely frustrated him.

I shadowed a resident surgeon who was female, young for her position, and looked very young as well because of her size and frame. She was a 3rd year ENT resident at 25 and clearly very bright but she must have looked about 16-17. This hospital required premeds shadowing to wear a shirt and tie so when we walked into the patient's room many patients assumed I was the physician and not her (and I don't look particularly old to begin with, I was just taller and have facial hair). I'm sure she was an excellent surgical resident, but I can't imagine that being young and looking young didn't affect her credibility with patients, colleagues, and administrators/managers.

 

[Doudline]

I'd be wary about the discourse in this thread pushing the OP into research.

They have, from the own words, considered research as a career and decided otherwise. We can question whether that choice was enlightened, but ultimately christopherbobby's precociousness is merely an accident of nature - they do not owe society a career that they do not desire for the purported "common good".

 

[NotASerialKiller]

I'd be wary about the discourse in this thread pushing the OP into research.

They have, from the own words, considered research as a career and decided otherwise. We can question whether that choice was enlightened, but ultimately christopherbobby's precociousness is merely an accident of nature - they do not owe society a career that they do not desire for the purported "common good".

Was it for the common good? I thought they just suggested that as a way of doing something interesting as he ripens for medicine. He definitely doesn't owe anybody anything, and it's not like anyone is suggesting that he be captured so that we can extract and study his brain in order to better understand his intellect. Although...

 

[christopherbobby]

I am one of the adcoms in this forum, meaning I sit on an admissions committee at a medical school. The youngest person we have admitted during my tenure was 19. I believe you will have a very, very hard time convincing any medical school to admit you on anything other than a decelerated (read MD/PhD) track. You clearly have exceptional intelligence if you were taking college classes at 12, but becoming a physician requires a level of emotional maturity that most people don't get until their early 20's, regardless of IQ. I would point to your seeming impatience about not being able to start at 16 as evidence that you would benefit from sitting out for a couple of years. Medical school isn't going anywhere.

Thank you so much for your enlightened opinion.

I can comprehend your point of view, and will concede I did perhaps give the impression as over-anxious and impatient. Nonetheless, I've got to politely disagree about your assessment. I believe there is a difference between impatience and the pursuit of challenge. I'm self-aware enough to know that I am not like most people my age. I enjoy academic pursuit and am bored easily. While some may extract pleasure from traveling, living life, etc. I find the most pleasure from achieving goals and mentally challenging myself.

I do feel the PhD/MD route is worth exploring, but anything that doesn't directly get me to the finish line is unsatisfying, in my opinion. Again, I think you for your thoughtful reply and valuable opinion.

 

[christopherbobby]

Let's get down to the nitty-gritty... beyond coursework, how much bench research have you done? how many hours of volunteer service have you offered to the needy and over what time period? how many hours of clinical exposure have you had (I have to figure volunteer and shadowing only, no employment given your age) and over how many months? What leadership and teamwork experiences have you had with other college students?

GPA and MCAT are important but if you haven't had solid research, service, clinical and leadership experiences and have outside interests and ways to cope with stress, you will not be admitted and it won't be due to the date on your birth certificate but for the lack of life experience.

You have the time... why not a solid year or two of research experience and then a PhD before medical school, or full-time service program in an underserved community or full-time employment as a caregiver to a profoundly disabled teen. You will learn a ton of stuff that isn't in a book and that will greatly help you once you get to medical school. One real limit here is that you are too young to be employed and most likely too young to have a drivers license.

I've done almost two years of research as it related to my undergraduate degree. I majored in electrical engineering and did research for a company called Dexcom which is focused on diabetes/glucose monitoring. This work was a combined pursuit which encompassed tech development and diabetic research trials.

I am of course aware of the non-academic requirements of a successful medical school applicant. I've volunteered at a local children's hospital, specifically spending time in the oncology ward. I've shadowed Heme/Onc physicians and spent time chatting with and organizing events for their young patients. I've seen first had what patient care is about, and despite my young age, feel I am able to make an informed decision about this career. Thanks so much for your feed and suggestions, I will review them and consider all options.

 

[Affiche]

Thank you so much for your enlightened opinion.

I can comprehend your point of view, and will concede I did perhaps give the impression as over-anxious and impatient. Nonetheless, I've got to politely disagree about your assessment. I believe there is a difference between impatience and the pursuit of challenge. I'm self-aware enough to know that I am not like most people my age. I enjoy academic pursuit and am bored easily. While some may extract pleasure from traveling, living life, etc. I find the most pleasure from achieving goals and mentally challenging myself.

I do feel the PhD/MD route is worth exploring, but anything that doesn't directly get me to the finish line is unsatisfying, in my opinion. Again, I think you for your thoughtful reply and valuable opinion.

Why do you want to go into clinic work? I can't imagine someone who is so young, with limited life experience, and so focused on academia has really grasped what being a physician entails. It is much more than being more cerebral than your peers and enjoying mental challenges.

 

[occams_razor]

When I was interviewing I met a guy who graduated college very young and started a phd, finished his phd by 22 and then applied to med school. If I were in your shoes I'd consider doing something like that.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[LizzyM]

I've done almost two years of research as it related to my undergraduate degree. I majored in electrical engineering and did research for a company called Dexcom which is focused on diabetes/glucose monitoring. This work was a combined pursuit which encompassed tech development and diabetic research trials.

I am of course aware of the non-academic requirements of a successful medical school applicant. I've volunteered at a local children's hospital, specifically spending time in the oncology ward. I've shadowed Heme/Onc physicians and spent time chatting with and organizing events for their young patients. I've seen first had what patient care is about, and despite my young age, feel I am able to make an informed decision about this career. Thanks so much for your feed and suggestions, I will review them and consider all options.

I don't doubt your ability to make an informed decision but I think that you need more hands-on life experience. Being a full-time volunteer for a year and then working (as soon as you are of legal age) in a clinical setting at the bottom rung of the ladder will give you an opportunity for growth. Providing day-to-day care for someone in a high tech environment (someone who is vent dependent, and/or in a high tech wheelchair) might provide you with a different lens through which to see the lives of people with disabilities and chronic illnesses and how engineering might provide them with a better quality of life.

 

[Doudline]

Was it for the common good? I thought they just suggested that as a way of doing something interesting as he ripens for medicine. He definitely doesn't owe anybody anything, and it's not like anyone is suggesting that he be captured so that we can extract and study his brain in order to better understand his intellect. Although...

I'm referring to posts like this one:

Please do research, we need minds like yours coming up with the next cures... Let the dumb ones like me do clinic work

There's a seeping sentiment in educated circles that highly gifted people have a duty to head into academia. LizzyM suggested -among other things, to her credit- OP might want to do a PhD in the meantime. If anyone else came here stating they were questioning their readiness for medical school, I think the advice would be to take a few years off to volunteer and so on -which has also been suggested by users-, not to put aside their clinical medicine leanings and dive into a research career! A PhD isn't a casual venture, even for someone with a high IQ. That time could be spent doing things closer to OP's heart (join a circus, pierce on Broadway, who knows).

 

[JustAPhD]

First of all, I'm thoroughly impressed.
Secondly, you said you shadowed Heme/Onc doctors, is that what you're interested in? If so, a PhD in cancer/tumor cell biology wouldn't be a bad idea. It would give you great insight into that field of study and allow you to mature and develop for med school (not saying you aren't now, but in the minds of the adcoms).

That being said though, if you aren't a fan of research you will be miserable in a full-length PhD program.

 

[claduva94]

Keep in mind that a guy who completed undergrad during partially pre-pubescent years probably already made the decision that he's comfortable not being on the same social level as his classmates. That aspect of it I'm sure he's used to. Sounds bizarre to me, but as long as he doesn't regret it, whatever floats your boat.

I mean just because OP doesn't regret it doesn't mean OP won't eventually do so. Even if OP doesn't care/realize it now, I still think it is important to consider that it very well may be relevant to their future. I agree with your point currently but mindset can change a lot and that regret isn't something you want to have.

 

[christopherbobby]

Love all the suggestions. I admit I haven't considered some of these aspects. I am extremely interested in technology, particularly the development of new and emerging fields. While I respect the nature of clinical research, I feel I would be better suited for some sort of program with a strong technological aspect. I particularly like innovation and creation, and I have found many biotech programs to be a bit limited in this regard.

Ultimately, I feel the pursuit of medicine is something that calls me. I very much like the idea of directly and positively influencing the lives and outcomes of individuals in their times of need. I want to provide care, and if I could find a niche which allows me to work upon nanotechnologies and their impact on global health, I'd be in heaven.

 

[christopherbobby]

First of all, I'm thoroughly impressed.
Secondly, you said you shadowed Heme/Onc doctors, is that what you're interested in? If so, a PhD in cancer/tumor cell biology wouldn't be a bad idea. It would give you great insight into that field of study and allow you to mature and develop for med school (not saying you aren't now, but in the minds of the adcoms).

That being said though, if you aren't a fan of research you will be miserable in a full-length PhD program.

Heme/Onc is an incredibly fascinating field. There has been a surprisingly frequent occurrence of cancer in my own family, so perhaps that's where my biases lie. That said, I don't believe I am suited for years of bench research. I have a strong interest in technology (particularly nanotechnology) and feel oncology has tremendous potential for this emerging field in the decades ahead.

 

[JustAPhD]

Love all the suggestions. I admit I haven't considered some of these aspects. I am extremely interested in technology, particularly the development of new and emerging fields. While I respect the nature of clinical research, I feel I would be better suited for some sort of program with a strong technological aspect. I particularly like innovation and creation, and I have found many biotech programs to be a bit limited in this regard.

Ultimately, I feel the pursuit of medicine is something that calls me. I very much like the idea of directly and positively influencing the lives and outcomes of individuals in their times of need. I want to provide care, and if I could find a niche which allows me to work upon nanotechnologies and their impact on global health, I'd be in heaven.

I believe Hopkins and Harvard both have Nanomedicine departments, or at least labs in that field. Something to keep in mind.

 

[claduva94]

Love all the suggestions. I admit I haven't considered some of these aspects. I am extremely interested in technology, particularly the development of new and emerging fields. While I respect the nature of clinical research, I feel I would be better suited for some sort of program with a strong technological aspect. I particularly like innovation and creation, and I have found many biotech programs to be a bit limited in this regard.

Ultimately, I feel the pursuit of medicine is something that calls me. I very much like the idea of directly and positively influencing the lives and outcomes of individuals in their times of need. I want to provide care, and if I could find a niche which allows me to work upon nanotechnologies and their impact on global health, I'd be in heaven.

I think that is great. Just don't forget to stop and smell the roses because at the end of the day it will be a job and you will want something to come home to after be it family, hobbies, etc. You have shown you will be successful academically and professionally. But just realize that won't change if you slow down for a few years. I would also look into seeing if there is some enrichment program like a Fulbright or Americorps that can meet your interests.

 

[eteshoe]

Heme/Onc is an incredibly fascinating field. There has been a surprisingly frequent occurrence of cancer in my own family, so perhaps that's where my biases lie. That said, I don't believe I am suited for years of bench research. I have a strong interest in technology (particularly nanotechnology) and feel oncology has tremendous potential for this emerging field in the decades ahead.

You may also want to look in BME departments in conjunction to nanomed ones. There's some pretty cool hybrid projects going on that aren't strictly just bench research.

 

[stemingen]

Most times I try to persuade students away from MD/PhD track. But you are a perfect candidate for this. You should talk to adcoms in your interested programs and explore the option of a MD/PhD training.

 

[Petrichor1]

MD/PhD is where you should be applying.

If that doesn't work, first do your PhD and then apply for an MD during post-doc years.

 

[christopherbobby]

Can anyone recommend any particularly excellent MD/PhD programs (aside from the ones listed above, thank you btw)?

 

[JPA178]

Can anyone recommend any particularly excellent MD/PhD programs (aside from the ones listed above, thank you btw)?

Any of the MSTP programs for MD PhD will give you a fantastic education. Given your background and depending on your interests, you can probably focus on top institutions with good research funding such as Harvard, Stanford, Hopkins, UCSF, Pritzker, WashU, Michigan, Penn, etc. With your interest in technology, Stanford would be a very good institution to consider.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Harvard/MIT would be an obvious first choice.

Also, I don't know if Stanford or ucsf offer MDPHD but if you're heart is in biotech that's the place to be.

 

[tantacles]

I was introduced to this website by a counselor at my college. I will complete my undergraduate degree in a few weeks, planning a mid-June MCAT, and hoping to apply for a Fall 2017 enrollment.

I progressed through my early educational years very quickly and began taking college courses at 12. I am 15 at the moment and will hopefully begin my medical education at 16. I have been given mixed advice from my family and academic advisors at my undergraduate institution. I've been told to consider research, a second degree, among other options. The truth is, I've known I've wanted to be a physician since I was very young and I'd like to move forward with that goal.

I'm quite vexed by the possibility my young age may hamper my opportunities. I thought I would ask for opinions here as this is a forum for pre-medical students and medical students alike. Thank you very much for your kind assistance.

Here's my take on it. It is awesome that you've been able to make it through college with a high gpa, and assuming your mcat goes well, you'll be in an extremely unique position. With regard to some of your comments about "anything that doesn't get me to the finish line is unsatisfying," think about this: there is no finish line. You will be expected to improve throughout your medical career.

That being said, I do know a medical student who began at my medical school at age 19, so it is definitely possible to be accepted at least that early. If you set yourself up properly, you even have a chance of getting into a top school.

Any clinical work or research, whether paid or not, that you do right now will absolutely contribute to the medical school you'll be able to get into, particularly if you're able to do productive research. If you have the patience to complete a Ph.D. In the sciences, you can put yourself even farther ahead of where many of your colleagues will be. Note that I'm not suggesting you do a Ph.D., but I'm just suggesting that doing one would put you in a fantastic position to get into a great medical school as it represents a great commitment to research and would put you in a position to publish much more frequently and prolifically than a lab tech position.

I'm of the opinion that I can not judge your development by your age. If you've been able to make it through college at age 16, then you've clearly been able to perform academically at a level that is similar to your peers. That being said, there are some experiences that are literally impossible for you to have at age 16 that you may need as you proceed: driving a car, being independent from your parents, and holding some sort of job are all pieces of the puzzle that might help you better understand your patients and your classmates. Yes, many coming right out of college without these experiences get accepted to medical school, but I and many of my classmates find that these students treat medical school as if they're still in college. You, though, at age 19 (assuming you take three years to strengthen your application), may be able to give yourself more life experience than some of your older peers, and that may serve you well not only in terms of applying to medical school, but also in terms of your performance in medical school.

My suggestion, then, is this. Take a few years off, and work hard to strengthen your application as much as possible so that you: A. Avoid any possible stigma from being younger that might hamper your ability to get into an amazing school. B. Become as prepared as possible to get into the best medical school possible given your credentials. And C. Become as prepared as possible to perform well in not only the academic but also the social and service-oriented parts of medical school.

If you are as put-together as you come off in your posts, you'll do very well. Just give yourself the best chance possible of only applying ONE TIME. That means waiting a bit.


Large dogs

 

[stemingen]

Please make sure you don't apply the PhD alone program, which could easily drag for 5-6 years to complete. But if you are in the MD/PhD program, you could accomplish the PhD training part within relatively less time, like 4 years or less. Also when you apply Med schools afterwards, Adcoms look into your credentials in the most recent years, which means you have to shadow, volunteer as a PhD student. But you won't have much free time a PhD student, thus it will be much challenging to present a complete list of extracurricular activities.

To increase your chance as a MD/PhD applicant, you may want to take a few gap years to do research or work. Check into the scholarships opportunities at places such as NIH or Amgen. You will be a mega star applicant after a few years training in such an environment. And age will not be an issue by then as you have shown maturity.

Best of luck!

 

[Lucca]

Harvard/MIT would be an obvious first choice.

Also, I don't know if Stanford or ucsf offer MDPHD but if you're heart is in biotech that's the place to be.

They do and are both top notch programs. UCSF's BME program is at Berkeley

 

[Lucca]

I think OP is a perfect candidate for the MD/PhD path provided they want to do research throughout the rest of their career. I really appreciate your drive OP, but wanting to get to the finish line as directly as possible is something you will regret when you are even a little older, have to trust us on this one. Those of us who are 22-23 hoping to go into MD/PhD programs do it even though it is absolutely not a direct path to either side of the dual career but that is a very personal decision. If you are unsure, take time to figure this out because you have the luxury of doing so.

If I graduated at your age and didn't want to do the MD/PhD (which I do, incidentally), I would've tried to join a theatre troupe and would've worked on my writing for a couple of years while keeping up with clinical volunteering. Eventually I would have taken the MCAT around when I was 20 or so and I would've then and only then gone to medical school.

 

[Law2Doc]

The academic stuff I am sure OP would be fine at. But medicine is not so much a pure academic endeavor. The emotional stuff? Not such a good idea. Do you guys really think as a teen you'd want to be the one telling people they have cancer, telling families that despite doing everything you could, their loved one didn't survive the operation, suggesting to families that they should make a family member DNR, or having to shake off your own costly medical errors (that we all make along the way)? And long months of overnight call in residency are much easier if you have already spent the time and found yourself, created a big support network, rather than someone still groping for where they fit it. Passing the classes and tests is the easy part. The emotional parts of medicine are the ones that require the maturity. I'm not sure I'd want to do a lot of this stuff so early in life. OP should go have some life experiences for a few years. It doesn't have to be research. Med school will always be there.

 

[jqueb29]

Thoroughly agreed with what pretty much everybody else here has said. From an academic standpoint, it sounds like you could definitely handle things. But a 16 year old simply doesn't have the maturity necessary for the human aspect of medicine. Let life make you an adult for a few years, then come back to medicine when you're at least 21.

 

[Afp0731]

Thank you so much for your enlightened opinion.

I can comprehend your point of view, and will concede I did perhaps give the impression as over-anxious and impatient. Nonetheless, I've got to politely disagree about your assessment. I believe there is a difference between impatience and the pursuit of challenge. I'm self-aware enough to know that I am not like most people my age. I enjoy academic pursuit and am bored easily. While some may extract pleasure from traveling, living life, etc. I find the most pleasure from achieving goals and mentally challenging myself.

I do feel the PhD/MD route is worth exploring, but anything that doesn't directly get me to the finish line is unsatisfying, in my opinion. Again, I think you for your thoughtful reply and valuable opinion.

A kind bit of constructive criticism : Your attitude towards medicine in this post seems almost entirely to reflect ambition but little else (exactly how you should be at your age). Medical students and doctors are usually very challenge-driven people but it's imperative that their ambition is anchored within more outward, interpersonal motivators like compassion/empathy, etc. Have you had any medically relevant experiences that attracted you to the medical field and why medicine rather than other challenging fields? More specifically, where does patient care fit into your motivations? Also, you say you are not impatient and then sentences later, you say anything that doesn't get me to the finish line is unsatisfying - this reads as impatience. There is a type of wisdom that only comes with age and part of it is realizing the value of being well-rounded and having life experience. With age, you will also realize that the essential substance of life is not just pure ambition.

You are obviously a brilliant person with boundless potential. If you really want to see your potential fulfilled, balance your academic accomplishments with more social/human ones. Invest some time into giving yourself to others without any sort of tangible goal in mind. If your personal accomplishments can match your academic ones, you will be an absolutely formidable medical school candidate and future physician. Best of luck to you!

 

[Med Ed]

Heme/Onc is an incredibly fascinating field. There has been a surprisingly frequent occurrence of cancer in my own family, so perhaps that's where my biases lie.

It is one thing to study cancer. It is another to treat cancer. It is another to have a 28-year-old cancer patient grab the lapels of your white coat and beg you to not let her die. And it is yet another to have her die anyways and then face her family.

Being deliberate now will give you better odds of having a long and impactful career down the road. Put another way, don't settle for the short con. Play the long con. It's way more satisfying in the end.

 

[deleted158872]

no, it isn't. but i think that after a certain age (>50), it is.

 

[Dr.Sticks]

I'm pretty young myself, I'll just say I'm ending my freshman year of college an am still a minor.. won't be an adult until midterm of sophomore year first semester
anyways
I don't really face many issues since I have very thick facial hair, and get asked if I'm my sisters father often.. (wth?)

Anyways my point here is, I was basically in a hurry to get it done myself.. But then I realized I don't even know what it's like to tell someone their loved one has died, or heck how to even handle a medical emergency.(I think getting some form of medical experience is a good idea, need to be able to work under pressure and not zone out)
So I slowed my pace down.. I'll probably end up taking a gap year, and get a master's degree
work a real man's job, save enough for an app cycle, buy a car.. don't really care much about alcohol, but I think it'll help

If I was as you as you, I'd get a PhD it'd make one a solid candidate for med school.

 

[aalamruad]

Thoroughly agreed with what pretty much everybody else here has said. From an academic standpoint, it sounds like you could definitely handle things. But a 16 year old simply doesn't have the maturity necessary for the human aspect of medicine. Let life make you an adult for a few years, then come back to medicine when you're at least 21.

There are about a gazillion 20 year old juniors in college applying to med school every cycle, do you really think that they're all too young and immature for the human aspect of medicine? 21 just seems like an odd and arbitrary cutoff. I know a ton of 20 year olds who are infinitely more mature than their 21+ year old counterparts.

I agree with the main part of your post though.

 

[Affiche]

A kind bit of constructive criticism : Your attitude towards medicine in this post seems almost entirely to reflect ambition but little else (exactly how you should be at your age). Medical students and doctors are usually very challenge-driven people but it's imperative that their ambition is anchored within more outward, interpersonal motivators like compassion/empathy, etc. Have you had any medically relevant experiences that attracted you to the medical field and why medicine rather than other challenging fields? More specifically, where does patient care fit into your motivations? Also, you say you are not impatient and then sentences later, you say anything that doesn't get me to the finish line is unsatisfying - this reads as impatience. There is a type of wisdom that only comes with age and part of it is realizing the value of being well-rounded and having life experience. With age, you will also realize that the essential substance of life is not just pure ambition.

You are obviously a brilliant person with boundless potential. If you really want to see your potential fulfilled, balance your academic accomplishments with more social/human ones. Invest some time into giving yourself to others without any sort of tangible goal in mind. If your personal accomplishments can match your academic ones, you will be an absolutely formidable medical school candidate and future physician. Best of luck to you!

THIS. I fail to see how someone who is bright and loves technology and research makes the jump to conclude medicine is the ideal career. The amount of clinical exposure that a teenager can have is inherently limited, so the ability to make an informed decision about whether or not to pursue a clinical career will also be inherently limited. OPs posts point to plenty of other careers that would likely be a better fit than being a physician.

Get some life experience, figure out what being a doctor actually is, explore other careers (!!!!), then come back when you can convince someone in medicine that bring a physician is the best career choice for you (otherwise you haven't done your due diligence).

 

[Affiche]

There are about a gazillion 20 year old juniors in college applying to med school every cycle, do you really think that they're all too young and immature for the human aspect of medicine? 21 just seems like an odd and arbitrary cutoff. I know a ton of 20 year olds who are infinitely more mature than their 21+ year old counterparts.

I agree with the main part of your post though.

After dabbling in the allo forum I have to say that yes, 21 can even be too young for med school. On the interview trail there are still kids who don't know how to dress professionally for an interview, are too nervous to talk, and/or still have their parents walking them up to the medical school and arranging their travel for them. Fast forward to med school and you have kids who are lonely and struggling to form a support group (which will be hella harder as a teenager among 20-somethings) and idiots desecrating cadavers. No need to take a short cut around maturing. Med school will always be there.

 

[Espressso]

This thread made me think about the students who - after HS - start a dual BS/MD program. Many of those students are 19-21 yo when they make the commitment to go into a BS/MD program.

While I completely agree with those above me saying you should do the PhD first and gain more clinical experience prior to applying... it makes me wonder. The arguments we use now for the OP, can be applied to those accepted into BS/MD programs.