old school?

[aspirationMD]

I'm starting the whole pre-med stuff late in life, I'm 24 and a freshman.

Anyone else out there in my 24 year old shoes? In your opinion, will that be used against me when it comes time to being accepted? See, the way I see it is that I am now completely (give or take a little here) responsible, and know what I want. Is that so bad?

Sometimes I feel like I am so behind that I may never catch up, especially when I see a 19-20 year old who plans on entering med school by the time they are 20-21! omg.

... almost forgot, am I the only who stresses about every detail? It's just that I feel like if I make a mistake academically during the pre-med time, I will have lost the ultimate opportunity, which would be slightly depressing! lol

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[DropkickMurphy]

I'm starting the whole pre-med stuff late in life, I'm 24 and a freshman.

Anyone else out there in my 24 year old shoes? In your opinion, will that be used against me when it comes time to being accepted? See, the way I see it is that I am now completely (give or take a little here) responsible, and know what I want. Is that so bad?

Sometimes I feel like I am so behind that I may never catch up, especially when I see a 19-20 year old who plans on entering med school by the time they are 20-21! omg.

... almost forgot, am I the only who stresses about every detail? It's just that I feel like if I make a mistake academically during the pre-med time, I will have lost the ultimate opportunity, which would be slightly depressing! lol

I'm 26 (and still 2-3 years off from applying). There is a whole forum dedicated to we "non-trads". We aren't that uncommon.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=110

My advice: relax and enjoy the show here. The kids here freak out over some really stupid crap and it's amusing to watch.

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm starting the whole pre-med stuff late in life, I'm 24 and a freshman.

Anyone else out there in my 24 year old shoes? In your opinion, will that be used against me when it comes time to being accepted? See, the way I see it is that I am now completely (give or take a little here) responsible, and know what I want. Is that so bad?

Sometimes I feel like I am so behind that I may never catch up, especially when I see a 19-20 year old who plans on entering med school by the time they are 20-21! omg.

... almost forgot, am I the only who stresses about every detail? It's just that I feel like if I make a mistake academically during the pre-med time, I will have lost the ultimate opportunity, which would be slightly depressing! lol

Agree with DKM -- go check out the nontrad board on SDN, you will see that at 24 (or 27 when applying), you are still very early to this game. There are people starting their med school education at 30s-50s these days. You will very likely not be close to the oldest in whatever med school you get into in a few years.

 

[greytmedic]

I am 27 right now and will 28 in a month or so and I am currently in the application phase right now. All my interviews so far have made positive comments about my "life experience." Being able to show that you have maturity and know for sure you want to be a physician will give you an advantage in the application process.

At the school I just interviewed at last week, the admissions director showed the age statistics for last years class. The oldest M1 student was 47 years old, so even though it may seem like everyone else is younger, in the big picture a couple of years is nothing.

 

[lsumedgirl]

You are by no means too old! I'll be 28 when I start school, and I know plenty of people much older than I am who are starting this game. Don't sweat it! Best of luck!

 

[Depakote]

I'm starting the whole pre-med stuff late in life, I'm 24 and a freshman.

Anyone else out there in my 24 year old shoes? In your opinion, will that be used against me when it comes time to being accepted? See, the way I see it is that I am now completely (give or take a little here) responsible, and know what I want. Is that so bad?

Sometimes I feel like I am so behind that I may never catch up, especially when I see a 19-20 year old who plans on entering med school by the time they are 20-21! omg.

... almost forgot, am I the only who stresses about every detail? It's just that I feel like if I make a mistake academically during the pre-med time, I will have lost the ultimate opportunity, which would be slightly depressing! lol

I'll be 25 when I start med school, you'll be ~28-29. I've come to see these extra years as a blessing. I'm a hell of a lot more mature than I was at 21. Use it to your advantage...

 

[Critical Mass]

24 isn't even nontrad. I think that it is about the median for entering med students. You have nothing to worry about.

 

[CTtarheel]

I saw lots of people in their later 20's at interviews. I really don't think it starts to count against you at all until you get well into your 30's.

 

[sunnyjohn]

24 is not old.


I'm 34 and with the news I got this week, I'm 2-3 years off from applying.

Oldman Dave is one of my heroes and he is in is 40's

njbmd, a mod on this board is about to enter a Vascular surgical fellowhip and she is a very young 40ish.

Besides the sex doesn't get good until you hit 30....

*Off to the DR loung to post a thread on over 30 "relations"*

 

[Law2Doc]

I really don't think it starts to count against you at all until you get well into your 30's.

Far beyond 30s I suspect.

 

[njbmd]

Moving to non-trad as the OP is several years out from applying to medical school and will definitely meet the "non-trad" category at that time.

 

[sirus_virus]

I had an opportunity to enter medschool at 23. I pushed it back and enjoyed the hell out of life(also made some bank). Now I am about to hit 26, and matriculating this fall. Sometimes I get tempted to defer for another year. This is not a race, enjoy yourself.

 

[Nasem]

You got nothing to worry about...
I am 25 years old and currently taking my pre-dental requirements.... I'll be ready to apply in 2008 (for 2009 cycle)

Believe me bro, pre-med / pre-dental are the best years of our lives, why? Because medicine schools are hell (so I hear), I have a few doctors in the family and a few high school friends who now are in med school and they have no life.... by no life I mean litterally no life.

They go to class from 8 to 4, study from 5 to 8-9 ish then go to bed and the cycle starts off again the following day. and over the weekends ? same thing except, they wake up at 8-9 am and study for 6-8 hrs a day (on BOTH SATURDAY AND SUNDAY).....

Yeh I know, medical schools are tough but the finall result is a dream come true

 

[spicedmanna]

I'm starting the whole pre-med stuff late in life, I'm 24 and a freshman.

Anyone else out there in my 24 year old shoes? In your opinion, will that be used against me when it comes time to being accepted? See, the way I see it is that I am now completely (give or take a little here) responsible, and know what I want. Is that so bad?

Sometimes I feel like I am so behind that I may never catch up, especially when I see a 19-20 year old who plans on entering med school by the time they are 20-21! omg.

You are not old in my eyes, sheesh. I'll be 34 when I matriculate this Fall. Chillax. I don't think your current age will work against you in the process. I think the average age at many schools is around 24. Regardless, I doubt there is much ageism, although surely it exists. In reality, I think if your numbers are competitive and you are otherwise rocking, then you will be competitive in the admissions process. Indeed, I think the older folks actually have an advantage in terms of the interview; there's more stuff to talk about and it probably won't be your first time interviewing.

... almost forgot, am I the only who stresses about every detail? It's just that I feel like if I make a mistake academically during the pre-med time, I will have lost the ultimate opportunity, which would be slightly depressing! lol

I think this a condition that can be observed among pre-meds in general. Just do your best where you can and learn to let go of things you can't change, or control. You'll be happier.

 

[kronickm]

I am another 24 y/o in a post-bac. I will be applying (well hopefully linking) into the c/o 2012, meaning I will be a 30 y/o intern. So what. I see, at my job taking blood from ppl at a university hospital, among other things, 19 year olds beginning MS1(through link program between penn state and my hosp). Let me tell you these people, as well as the patients they will eventually be treating, are in for one rude awakening. The fact that a 23 year old can actually be a doctor is quite frightening to me. Maturity, to me, is one of the most important factors in being a doctor, and hardly anyone can be considered mature at 23.

I can tell you one thing, during the 3 years between my undergrad and my hopeful matriculation into med school, I have picked up a great deal invaluable experience as far a being a doctor is concerned. Not just a better grasp of the medical world as a whole, but life in general. I am far more prepared now to go into medicine then I was as a 22 year old.

The only issue I see with a late start in medicine is that I, personally, don't want kids till I am making at least some money, and I don't think my girlfriend will wait till she's 40.

 

[NonTradMed]

I'm 28 and a first year. Many, many people start their careers in their 30's. In fact, how many college grads end up doing what they had planned on doing in college? Premeds who come out of college and go straight to med school, then come out to become doctors without ever having worked in any other field are a rare breed in the work world where most people don't end up doing what they studied in college. Are you old for med school? You'll be above the national mean. Are you too old to come into a career? Hardly.

 

[RAD11]

24 is not old school!

 

[Ben26TPA]

You're not old at all. The more I look around the more I realize that there are way more people out there getting the process started around their mid - late 20's.

I am 26 and I'm finishing up my sophomore year in college. I traveled around a bit when I worked for an airline and now I am ready to focus on my education.

Good luck to you and I wish you luck!

 

[menaniac]

I'm starting the whole pre-med stuff late in life, I'm 24 and a freshman.

Ha ha ha hahahaha!!!! Oh grasshopper, that's cute...I'll be starting in August...at age 37! That's OLD SCHOOL! I don't think I can even remember what I was doing at age 24. You are just fine...don't sweat it! If you want it, and are willing to work for it, you'll be fine.

PS You've got to chill out and relax! You'll give yourself an ulcer by the time you're 25 the way you're stressing! Enjoy the journey and the process. You'll be much happier and more productive in the long run (and this journey IS a LONG run, so pace yourself)

 

[Critical Mass]

I thought he was talking about being a frosh in med school.

OP, you gotta lot more to worry about in front of you right now than how old you'll be when you start. Focus on the present.

 

[aspirationMD]

I'm starting the whole pre-med stuff late in life, I'm 24 and a freshman.

Ha ha ha hahahaha!!!! Oh grasshopper, that's cute...I'll be starting in August...at age 37! That's OLD SCHOOL! I don't think I can even remember what I was doing at age 24. You are just fine...don't sweat it! If you want it, and are willing to work for it, you'll be fine.

PS You've got to chill out and relax! You'll give yourself an ulcer by the time you're 25 the way you're stressing! Enjoy the journey and the process. You'll be much happier and more productive in the long run (and this journey IS a LONG run, so pace yourself)

haha good one, "give" myself an ulcer, I already have one, non premed related lol.

btw I wasn't implying I was OLD, just that it seems like so many are much younger. I think it's amazing that there are those out there like you (at 37) who are going the distance! I feel so much better about the situation now that I've seen some older (not old!) med students ... maybe now I can relax.

oh and I think someone wrote that I was a HE, I'm a she

 

[Think Big]

It's not how old you are. It's how old you act.

COME ON! WE'RE GOING STREAKING IN THE QUAD!!!!

 

[new_doc]

You're not old school unless you were a senior - IN COLLEGE - when Mac's first appeared.

 

[Law2Doc]

You're not old school unless you were a senior - IN COLLEGE - when Mac's first appeared.

You mean there was a time when we didn't have Macs?

 

[sunnyjohn]

You're not old school unless you were a senior - IN COLLEGE - when Mac's first appeared.

You mean there was a time when we didn't have Macs?

Yep, the Dark Ages.

 

[new_doc]

Yep, the Dark Ages.

Lectures in latin, and illuminating those term papers was a real drag.

 

[drlisa0318]

You mean there was a time when we didn't have Macs?

LOL...heavens, children! When I was in COLLEGE the first time 'round, PC's hadn't even been invented!!! When I was in elementary school, we had nuclear bomb drills (because of the Red Scare), Kennedy was assassinated, and Elvis was still years away from wearing anything with sequins on it.

Top that!

 

[sunnyjohn]

When I remember when this item first came out:

My rural Nebraska college got a grant from Apple and was ofered 300 new machines. We were in a pilot progam. The colleg had two huge Mac labs and they were all over campus (cafeteria, dorms, building corridors).


When I started college, it was stilla cceptable to hand write your assignment in English Comp (as long as you used a blue book, black ink and wrote only one one side of the paper).


Good times.

US OLD FOLKS RULE!

 

[new_doc]

... Elvis was still years away from wearing anything with sequins on it.

Top that!

No way *anyone* can top that, Dr. Lisa.

But... I can Maxam-Gilbert sequence, and my first posters were assembled with those DAMN rub-on letters.

JDA

 

[Haemulon]

24 is about the average age of a new med student. So I am having a had time understanding the concern here. Heck, I will be 31 this fall when I start and I am not worried.

 

[ShyRem]

Ok, I can't top Dr. Lisa, but how about you can't say you're old unless you know how to use a slide rule?

And yes, I can.

 

[Orthodoc40]

Ok, I can't top Dr. Lisa, but how about you can't say you're old unless you know how to use a slide rule?

And yes, I can.

Me too!
And BTW, Sunnyjohn, how'd you get a picture of my computer?

 

[aspirationMD]

24 is about the average age of a new med student. So I am having a had time understanding the concern here. Heck, I will be 31 this fall when I start and I am not worried.

I'm 24 and a freshman pre-med, not med student. Plus I wasn't aware that this is basically normal. I just assumed that all med student began in their early 20's.

Now I'm not so freaked out, because I thought I had to rush rush rush through everything just to apply before I turned 30, now I know if I want to I can take my time and make the most of it without automatically being denied based on my age. So thank you all non trads!!!!

 

[ShyRem]

Me too!
And BTW, Sunnyjohn, how'd you get a picture of my computer?

How outrageously AWESOME! I haven't met anyone else who could!!!!

 

[sunnyjohn]

Ok, I can't top Dr. Lisa, but how about you can't say you're old unless you know how to use a slide rule?

And yes, I can.

*Suuny raises hand*

We weren't allowed to use calculator in my school. We had to learn to use a slide rule.

 

[Orthodoc40]

*Suuny raises hand*

We weren't allowed to use calculator in my school. We had to learn to use a slide rule.

How outrageously AWESOME! I haven't met anyone else who could!!!!

We will start the SDN Slide Rule Users Club or something!!

I have been tutoring a friend's 9 year olds in math, and in the back of my mind, I keep thinking, "Don't they use those things we had when we were kids? They worked so WELL for me!!"