Med Schools Receptive to Non-traditional students?

[ExistentialistPhilosopher]

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Which particular medical schools are especially receptive to older, non-traditional students, and which are not? It seems there are some medical schools in which the average age of the class is rather young, so I would assume that those schools are not receptive to older students, even if they do accept the occasional older student. I am looking for schools who are especially supportive of older students who may have families. Are there any med schools with support networks in place for these non-trads?

 

[md03]

I'm a non-traditional student. Most state schools are probably very non-trad friendly (that's where I am). I think you are right to look at the average ages of schools to help you determine that. The average age at my school is 26, which may seem young but translates into a pretty diverse age range.

Good luck

 

[Reavill]

Wayne State prides itself on being receptive to non-traditional students. I don't know how much of a support network exists though.

If you have a family then I think that the best thing to do would be to apply to your state institutions first. Cost would be a big issue for me if I had a family.

 

[GuitarMan]

I'm non-traditional as well. The acceptance packet from Loyola included a response card asking if incoming married students would like to have a get together with other married students, and I have heard through other sources that Loyola is supportive of married students. The acceptance packet from University of Chicago included a response card to join the non-traditional med student society. From that, and the fact they accepted me, I infer that they are also accepting of non-trads. Similarly, U of Illinois accepted myself and three of my non-traditional friends.

 

[MedPuck]

I was a non-traditional applicant as well and I will be attending the University of Illinois at Chicago program this fall. I was told by a friend who is an M3 that the average age of her class (when they were M1s) was around 26. Seems like UIC likes non-trads but I wouldn't attend if I was out-of-state because of the $40K/yr tuition bill! Hope this helps.

 

[TulaneKid24]

Tulane is also very receptive to non-traditional students. The avg. age of my class was 25. There are a lot of people in the 30's who are career changers. Good luck!

 

[mophead]

Pitt, where I go, is pretty receptive, though the mean age in our class when we entered was pretty low (22.8). Case Western is known for liking nontrads. The rumor goes that UCLA disfavors us.

 

[atsai3]

CWRU encourages "non-traditional" (read: older than 27 years of age) students to apply. Approximately 10 percent of every class is non-traditionals -- they are affectionately termed "bent arrows" by the administration.

-a.

 

[ExistentialistPhilosopher]

Wow, thanks for all of the replies! I will definitely research these schools thoroughly. It is really gratifying to know that there are some med schools that value the life experience and maturity that many non-trads have to offer. Initially, I was worried about the potential for age bias in medical school admissions, even for relatively young non-traditional students, but from all of the replies, that doesn't seem to be the case for many med schools. Thank god for that.

 

[mamadoc]

EP, as a non-trad networking with a lot of other non-trads, I could probably add several schools to that list. But I would recommend instead that you research schools that appeal to you for whatever reason, without worrying about whether they are "friendly to non-traditionals." Why? Several reasons:

1. I think this is an outdated distinction - I've heard of very few schools that aren't receptive to the "non-trad" student.
2. The definition of "non-trad" is so amorphous that it's hard to know what it means when you hear a school is "friendly to non-trads." Many still use the term to denote anyone who's NOT fresh out of undergrad even if they just took a year off. Others only use it if the person is a career-changer. Most see it as something in between.
3. Just 'cause a school doesn't have a "non-trad friendly" rep doesn't mean they wouldn't like to see YOUR application. Maybe they've not had the opportunity to consider some good non-trad apps.
4. Don't go by numbers. My class's average age when we started was 22 but the range was 20-44 with LOTS of folks >28 y/o (arbitrary age distinction). But we have many 7-year BA/MD folks who bring the average down.

Bottom line: apply wherever you want, don't limit yourself to a "non-trad friendly" list. Good luck!

 

[VAGUS]

I will be in the class of 2006 at UAMS and am nontraditional.
I'm really excited about making it this far. The trend seems
to indicate that we are are looked at favorably because of
maturity and life experiences. Good luck!!

 

[Big Bill]

I would have to say that many schools are freindly to the 30+ crowd. I know that all Osteopathic schools are and that the Virginia schools EVMS,MCV,and UVA are. I think the sky is the limit.

 

[agent]

Originally posted by GuitarMan
I'm non-traditional as well. The acceptance packet from Loyola included a response card asking if incoming married students would like to have a get together with other married students, and I have heard through other sources that Loyola is supportive of married students. The acceptance packet from University of Chicago included a response card to join the non-traditional med student society. From that, and the fact they accepted me, I infer that they are also accepting of non-trads. Similarly, U of Illinois accepted myself and three of my non-traditional friends.

greta to know.. UIC and LOyola are my top choices.

 

[trout]

I am 28 and except for a couple of interview questions that came from I am going to guess just individuals points of views (because traditionally they are schools that take alot of non-trads (GW))...if I were you I would still investigate every school...the schools that I thought were non-trad friendly-SLU, Penn state, temple I didn't get interviews at; the schools that I was told basically didn't matter who you were...cornell, columbia, bu, of rochester I got interviews....

I think the biggest question you should be asking is not which schools are non-trad friendly (which btw I think they all claim they are) You need to talk to individuals who go there, and find out 1) if the school is flexible when family/outside concerns come up and protentially even more important 2) talk to the older students and find out who the interactions with the others are, even though I know when I went on tours they said they love older students, yada yada yada...when I emailed a student (4th year) he said that he had alot of trouble working with his classmates, they were not very accepting of him and his views....[again this could be just an individual's point of view]

I have to admit I think non-trad is almost going to become traditional soon