Older Fogey (sp?) Schools - Which Ones?

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mimistud

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Hello all future doctors,

I am in a quest for information! I get the sense that some schools are friendlier to applicants over 30 (like me) than others. Can I do like a status check against the message board? Please tell me if I'm wrong about any of this ~

Older students O.K:
Western U (D.O.)
Jefferson
George Washington
Temple
Tulane

Forget about it:
Any UC-school
Any top-top-top school (Johns Hopkins, etc...)

Additions? Deletions?

******
Basically, I've got to get my strategy together. Yes, I'm older but I did really well in undergrad and graduate school (both business degrees). GPA is 3.6-ish. I'm very confident in my ability to do the same during pre-med and I think my MCATs will turn out okay too. But if some of the really good schools are hostile to 30+ I need to know where they are.

A local post bacc program has linkage to Western U's D.O. program. I'm also kinda wondering if I should go for the "surer" thing -- link to Western U -- or take a risk and aim for more competitive med schools.

Question of the day: Assuming (BIG ASSUMPTION) I'm a 3.5-er in post bacc with above average MCATs & over 30 years old, which schools will be interested in me? Which won't give me a second look?
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Dartmouth as well is friendly to non-trads
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Rush in Chicago prides itself on non-trads. One of the guys I talked to at an admissions seminar said "We put non-trads on the map a few years ago". Not sure about that, but . . .
 
I got the feeling from Case Western's website that they also like non-trads... I've read that Cornell also has a relatively large proportion of students who are non-trad.

As far as schools that don't have a significant non-trad proportion - it seems like the classes at places like Johns Hopkins and Duke are pretty young (average age of entering class ~22), but I'm sure even they take some "old fogeys".
 
I've heard that Case is very non-trad friendly. I can definately second Jefferson, I'm 27 and met many others around the same age at second look day. :thumbup:

edit: I have a friend who's the same age I am who will be going to GW this year... of course thats just 1 person...
 
Vermont, Albany, NYMC, Drexel, Finch,
 
mimistud said:
I am in a quest for information! I get the sense that some schools are friendlier to applicants over 30 (like me) than others. Can I do like a status check against the message board? Please tell me if I'm wrong about any of this ~

Question of the day: Assuming (BIG ASSUMPTION) I'm a 3.5-er in post bacc with above average MCATs & over 30 years old, which schools will be interested in me? Which won't give me a second look?
Click to expand...

Technically, i dont think schools are allowed to discriminate based on age, (race, sex, etc). People apply to med school all the time after spending years already in a 1st (or 2nd) career. IMHO, i dont think 30-ish will raise any eyebrows in the admissions committees if your app is solid. Average starting age in my MS1 class was 25, i believe. We had at least 3 that were 40+ yrs old.
 
debvz said:
Technically, i dont think schools are allowed to discriminate based on age, (race, sex, etc). People apply to med school all the time after spending years already in a 1st (or 2nd) career. IMHO, i dont think 30-ish will raise any eyebrows in the admissions committees if your app is solid. Average starting age in my MS1 class was 25, i believe. We had at least 3 that were 40+ yrs old.
Click to expand...

Where is that?
 
mimistud said:
Forget about it:
Any UC-school
Any top-top-top school (Johns Hopkins, etc...)
Click to expand...

I disagree with this. UCSF has a history of taking older non-trads--obviously being a CA resident helps. I'm 31 (soon to be 32) and was accepted at Columbia and UMich, which are both top 10. I also got waitlisted at Hopkins and Yale. Efex was accepted at Mayo (not top 10 but really competitive and a very good school). Hopkins seems to love non-trads. Just apply to a wide range of schools.
 
I'll be starting at almost 28 and out of my 20 applications I heard from Jefferson, Drexel, Temple, and GW right away. I interviewed and was accepted at Jeff, Drexel and GW right away, and waitlisted at Temple.

Nothing at all from any other school...until I got my rejection from Wake Forest telling me that I was in the interview category but they just didn't get to me!

So yes, to echo others...Jefferson, Temple, Drexel, and GW were very fogey friendly in my case.
 
On my trail the friendliest were: Albany, Case, Drexel, Pitt and Jeff.

Of the top tier I think it might be Yale but you gotta have something really unique.

If you are under 35, age is not really a big factor as long as you have something to bring to the table like a previous career that might contribute to your success.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
lyragrl said:
Hopkins seems to love non-trads. Just apply to a wide range of schools.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Hopkins LOVES nontrads for every grad/prof. program EXCEPT medicine. :thumbdown:
 
Definitely Drexel. Those folks love a good story and do a great job.
 
I heard from one of the UC Davis med students that quite a few of their fellow students were non-trads with spouses, kids etc.
 
mimistud said:
Hello all future doctors,

I am in a quest for information! I get the sense that some schools are friendlier to applicants over 30 (like me) than others. Can I do like a status check against the message board? Please tell me if I'm wrong about any of this ~

Older students O.K:
Western U (D.O.)
Jefferson
George Washington
Temple
Tulane

Forget about it:
Any UC-school
Any top-top-top school (Johns Hopkins, etc...)

Additions? Deletions?

******
Basically, I've got to get my strategy together. Yes, I'm older but I did really well in undergrad and graduate school (both business degrees). GPA is 3.6-ish. I'm very confident in my ability to do the same during pre-med and I think my MCATs will turn out okay too. But if some of the really good schools are hostile to 30+ I need to know where they are.

A local post bacc program has linkage to Western U's D.O. program. I'm also kinda wondering if I should go for the "surer" thing -- link to Western U -- or take a risk and aim for more competitive med schools.

Question of the day: Assuming (BIG ASSUMPTION) I'm a 3.5-er in post bacc with above average MCATs & over 30 years old, which schools will be interested in me? Which won't give me a second look?
Click to expand...
haha he said fogey...god i have nothing to contribute...hey why dont you come down to miami ..apply to univ of miami.
 
GWU does indeed like the older student - in fact, I got a year supply of geritol with my acceptance! :rolleyes:
 
pathdr2b said:
Yeah, Hopkins LOVES nontrads for every grad/prof. program EXCEPT medicine. :thumbdown:
Click to expand...

There were several non-trads I met and/or heard about when I interviewed for the med school, including a 10-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, so non-trads exist in the med school too.
 
UC Davis is deffinitely non-trad friendly and if you have kids, Davis is one of the best public school districts in California and a great little town to live in
 
lyragrl said:
There were several non-trads I met and/or heard about when I interviewed for the med school, including a 10-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, so non-trads exist in the med school too.
Click to expand...

Yes, nontrads under 35 only :(
 
We've got a really nice non-trad group at NJMS. They, too, seem to love a story. And they are also friendly towards non-resident applicants!

(Hey to everyone who remembers me. Just finished first year, but now I'm too busy planning my wedding to be hanging out... :( )
 
ankitovich said:
Definitely Drexel. Those folks love a good story and do a great job.
Click to expand...

Yup...but they will only look at you if your MCAT scores are at or above 75th percentile.
 
I applied to 32 received 30 interview invites which I posted somewhere here on SDN at some point off the top of my head...
Mayo, Pritzker, Vandy, Yale, U of KY, U of Louisville, Jefferson, Temple, Drexel, U of Penn, U of MI, Meharry, Creighton, U of Wis, MCW, SLU, Wash U, ETSU, UT Memphis...
 
flighterdoc said:
Where is that?
Click to expand...


In the class of 2005 here at LSU Shreveport we had a 46-year-old guy (who didn't make it). Currently there are three of us over the age of 40. And a couple or three pushing hard on 40.
 
Northwestern makes a point of non-traditionals...the oldest guy in my class is 33, but there are seemingly quite a few in the 28-33 range
 
What about in Texas? Anybody?

My guess is TCOM, but any allo schools?
 
To the OP, what's your state school?

In my experience, the 2 state schools I applied at were very open to non-trads.

Good luck!
 
Non-trads check out the new non-traditionals forum down near the lounge (at the bottom of your radio-dial) :D
 
UNTlabrat said:
What about in Texas? Anybody?

My guess is TCOM, but any allo schools?
Click to expand...
San Antonio and Tech are what I've heard about.
 
Wow, lots of us got into Drexel. Interesting. Well that makes them definitely a good non-trad school.

EVMS has taken a lot of the nontrads I know and they like it there.

For those going the DO route, I would NOT suggest KCOM. Even the DO that graduated from there and who wrote my LOR,told me point blank... "Don't waste your money. They do not have a very good track record when it comes to admitting older applicants." Sure enough they were the fastest rejection I got right after they took my secondary money.

VCOM has been nothing but delightful when dealing with older and/or non-trads. That is why I chose them over Drexel. It is going to be a fantastic school.

VCOM, LECOM, WVSOM, PCOM are all good ones to apply to.
 
HMMMM
I didn't apply to Temple although I was thinking about it before I sent off my AMCAS. Now I wonder if I should reconsider???? What do you guys think?
 
adorible23 said:
UC Davis is deffinitely non-trad friendly and if you have kids, Davis is one of the best public school districts in California and a great little town to live in
Click to expand...

I definitely agree with this. I'm going to Davis in the fall and I'll be turning 30 on the first day of class! I also got accepted to UC Irvine, so I wouldn't assume that UCs are unfriendly to non-traditional students.

I found that Northwestern and University of Pittsburgh were also very non-trad friendly too.
 
I've heard OHSU likes non-trads, too.
 
UNTlabrat said:
What about in Texas? Anybody?

My guess is TCOM, but any allo schools?
Click to expand...
I heard UTSA
 
lyragrl, quick question for you: why did you decide not to apply within cali? We are looking into San Diego... Just wondering if there was a specific reason you weren't going there :) thanks!!!
 
Amy B said:
For those going the DO route, I would NOT suggest KCOM. Even the DO that graduated from there and who wrote my LOR,told me point blank... "Don't waste your money. They do not have a very good track record when it comes to admitting older applicants." Sure enough they were the fastest rejection I got right after they took my secondary money.

VCOM has been nothing but delightful when dealing with older and/or non-trads.

VCOM, LECOM, WVSOM, PCOM are all good ones to apply to.
Click to expand...

I'm going to add OU-COM and PCSOM to the list of osteo schools that are non-trad friendly. In fact, avg age at PCSOM is around 27.

I'm going out on a limb here and saying Indiana...not so much so. Nearly 300 students and avg age is still around 24 or 25. They *say* they like the non-trads, but....they only seem to take a token few.

As far as the non-discrimination thing...well, since there is a huge portion of the decision riding on an interview, it's hard to prove that anyone was discriminated against. If you have an interviewer who just doesn't like you for *whatever* reason, they can really make things difficult for you.

Ok...I *really* need to go dose my kid with Motrin and then get some sleep!

Willow
 
I did my research and applied to the majority of the schools listed on this thread! :D
 
efex101 said:
I applied to 32 received 30 interview invites which I posted somewhere here on SDN at some point off the top of my head...
Mayo, Pritzker, Vandy, Yale, U of KY, U of Louisville, Jefferson, Temple, Drexel, U of Penn, U of MI, Meharry, Creighton, U of Wis, MCW, SLU, Wash U, ETSU, UT Memphis...
Click to expand...

How strong was your application? What were your numbers like? ECs? Work experience?
 
I think that you guys are putting way too much emphasis on your ages. The bottom line is that if you have the GPA, and the MCAT score, you have just as good a chance as anyone. Like every other applicant, just apply to a wide range of schools.

I think that you guys are in search of the evil, old people hating school, and these days it just doesn't exist. In my med school class, we had an age range of 19 to 46, average age 24.something. The one thing we all had in common? High GPA, and high MCAT.

Good luck all.
 
Celiac Plexus,

I just responded to an earlier question of yours in the 'How old is too old' thread. Unless you're a non traditional student dealing with hostile premed advisors, doubtful professors and sometimes unsupportive networks of family and friends, you wouldn't think that nontrads are 'putting too much emphasis on your ages'. I agree that a strong GPA/MCAT combo is a bonus for every student. However, very few nontrads are paranoid and in search of 'evil, old people hating school', and I must voice my strong objection to the use of the word 'old' ;). You may not see it, age discrimination is alive and well in our times and one of the few ways you could experience it is to be...well...aged.

The average age of the school you site gives those of us who are wanting to maximize our entry chances little information. Many schools post the ranges but not the median age or the proportion of applied/accepted people in different age groups. There ARE schools that accept mainly the 20-24 crowd which is fine. I just wouldn't want to waste my $75 or $100 applying or filling out a secondary for them, especially if I would prefer a school that would take into account my varied life experience and commitment to medicine.

You're obviously curious about nontrads and the path they're taking, but please don't sound so worried in your posts. Droves of whining, paranoid 'old' people aren't competing with young traditionals (whom I must state are a diverse group with varying backgounds and life experiences).

Good luck.



Celiac Plexus said:
I think that you guys are putting way too much emphasis on your ages. The bottom line is that if you have the GPA, and the MCAT score, you have just as good a chance as anyone. Like every other applicant, just apply to a wide range of schools.

I think that you guys are in search of the evil, old people hating school, and these days it just doesn't exist. In my med school class, we had an age range of 19 to 46, average age 24.something. The one thing we all had in common? High GPA, and high MCAT.

Good luck all.
Click to expand...
 
Nora said:
Celiac Plexus,

I just responded to an earlier question of yours in the 'How old is too old' thread. Unless you're a non traditional student dealing with hostile premed advisors, doubtful professors and sometimes unsupportive networks of family and friends, you wouldn't think that nontrads are 'putting too much emphasis on your ages'. I agree that a strong GPA/MCAT combo is a bonus for every student. However, very few nontrads are paranoid and in search of 'evil, old people hating school', and I must voice my strong objection to the use of the word 'old' ;). You may not see it, age discrimination is alive and well in our times and one of the few ways you could experience it is to be...well...aged.

The average age of the school you site gives those of us who are wanting to maximize our entry chances little information. Many schools post the ranges but not the median age or the proportion of applied/accepted people in different age groups. There ARE schools that accept mainly the 20-24 crowd which is fine. I just wouldn't want to waste my $75 or $100 applying or filling out a secondary for them, especially if I would prefer a school that would take into account my varied life experience and commitment to medicine.

You're obviously curious about nontrads and the path they're taking, but please don't sound so worried in your posts. Droves of whining, paranoid 'old' people aren't competing with young traditionals (whom I must state are a diverse group with varying backgounds and life experiences).

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Nora,

First, I meant my post to be encouraging. I believe in live and let live. I also think it's rad that older types want to be doctors. More power to you. I seriously hope that y'all get what you want.

I do feel that a lot of the fear of age descrimination on the adcoms is exagerrated. Every med school has older students... The 2 numbers that are wayyyy more important than your age are GPA and MCAT score. I served on the adcom of my med school and we screened not on age, but GPA and MCAT. If anything, we were more impressed by an older applicant who had achieved the benchmark scores while juggling a lot of other things. We never saw it as a liability. Quite the opposite.

And I don't think that there was anything about my post that could be construed as "worrying" about older applicants competing against younger applicants. I graduated medical school in 2003, and am in the 2nd year of residency now. I wish you nothing but the best.

I just think that you do yourself a disservice if you carry a chip around on your shouulder about how it's so much harder for you because you're older. Remember that even if you have a lot of other things to deal with that the 20 year old college junior does not, you should also consider that your added years have given you wisdom and experience to handle all of your obligations. That 20 year-old also has pressures, and obligations, albeit different from the ones that you may have. Or have you forgotten what it's like?

I sincerely wish you the best, and I hope that you get what you want.
 
Celiac Plexus,

I didn't think you were discouraging. I felt that life paths are wide and plentiful, something the average 'young' person may not appreciate with all the competition and the often linear manner in which educational and professional training occurs. 'Older types' can be an asset to medical schools and practice.

I understand your experience on an adcom gave you a glimpse of the wide range of applicants (it is certainly true that age is not the only thing that makes us unique or who we are) but I'm afraid that may not give a person insight into the 'older' applicant's struggles and experiences on the other side of the interview process. Congrats on your graduation and residency, we can all aspire to reach our goals like you did.

I just think that you do yourself a disservice if you carry a chip around on your shouulder about how it's so much harder for you because you're older. Remember that even if you have a lot of other things to deal with that the 20 year old college junior does not, you should also consider that your added years have given you wisdom and experience to handle all of your obligations. That 20 year-old also has pressures, and obligations, albeit different from the ones that you may have. Or have you forgotten what it's like?

Not everyone who is nontrad has a chip on their shoulders and asking about nontrad friendly schools is not an indication of a person who is self-pitying. There are schools which are more forgiving of earlier ugrad results, something many nontrads struggle with. Your school, if it indeed screened on the GPA/MCAT combo, may have eliminated many nontrads with weaker earlier performances. Of course, you wouldn't screen based on age, that would be illegal :( .

I would be the last person to minimize the trials and tribulations of the average 20 year old, I was there myself a few years ago. As I have stated earlier, you can no more group traditional applicants as a monolithic entity than you can the older ones.

Best of luck to you as well.
 
Forget about it:
Any UC-school
Any top-top-top school (Johns Hopkins, etc...)
Click to expand...

Harvard Med school had a student begin at age 35 recently. While it seems that some schools favor "younger" students...anyone with a strong academic record/MCAT score should apply to all schools that interest them.
 
I'd like to mention

UPenn
Pitt
Michigan

very open and supportive of non traditionals

*ditto* the above post--my husband is non traditional and he interviewed at Harvard
 
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