Older Students!! How old were you (or will you be) in getting your degree?

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Xoetix

Xoetix

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Hello all! I am 38 years old, and am currently working through online college for a degree as a veterinary technician. I've recently been playing with the idea of fully going for a degree as a doctor though, but I'm unsure if it's worth it, or if I'm too old to even think about it. I would love some input from older students!

How old were you when you got your degree? Is there a "too old"?
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Hi! I was on track to head into Physical Therapy pre-COVID hitting, then life happened (married, moved from CA to OR, bought a house). I’m 34 now and I’ll be attending a post-bacc program at PSU this fall, pursuing either pre-PT or pre-med.

If I go PT, and I get in the first time around, I‘ll be done by the time I’m 39 years old. If I don’t get in the first time around, I’ll be done either around age 40 or 41.

Pre-medical is looking to be a much longer road to go down. If I want to do it right (get shadowing, ECs, research, good grades, volunteer and clinical hours done) and if I don’t get in the first time around and try again, AND if I include residency… I might not be 100% done with med school and residency until I am between the ages of 46-50. That’s the only thing that’s giving me hesitance right now about going 100% all in with pre-med.
 
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36...PGY-3 (almost done)...Guys, age is just a number! You all brilliant and hard working! It takes a lot of discipline, courage, sacrifice to do what we are doing and chase our dreams of being a Physician!
Two of the interns in my program are pushing late 40s (maybe early 50s) and they all have grown up teenagers lol sooooo it is not impossible! Continue working hard and dreams will come true!
 
I started med school at 37 and am now an MS3. I personally ruled out longer residencies and will stick to something that will make me an attending before I'm 45 but I have classmates who are older than I am and at least one of them is aiming for surgery.

Being an older medical student is the best. My classmates are still getting their lives together. I'm married, I've traveled, I've lived all over the world, and I have had a previous career. It all makes it so much easier to manage (and SO much easier to navigate the weird political BS that goes on in hospitals).
 
1) Doctor of Pharmacy - 33 years old
2) Currently in a PGY-1 with a possibility of pursuing a PGY-2: so ~ 35 years of age
**) I had classmates around my age as well as 43 to 48 years of age

As far as the "too old" question:
More times than not I'd say age is just a number: You'll either be an ## - year old doctor or not, time doesn't stop. On the other hand, I'd be cautious to those that are simply chasing a degree without understanding the opportunity cost and financial risk. Sooner or later, the age will come of which financial gain is a moot-point and not a valid reason to chase a career (of which, it'd be for the passion more so than anything else).

Of course, majority of non-trads have life experience which includes investments and sacrifice and thus, are willing to accept six-figures of loan-debt with little to no income. If the idea of 80+ hours of study time plus residency time while putting life on hold is a contract worth signing, then age will only be a number and nothing more.
 
Also will hopefully be 32 or 33 when I matriculate. I had some really unique life experiences in my 20s and it was pretty essential to the personal development that got me here and I expect will probably just help me stand out!
 
I’ll be 31 or 32 upon receiving my degree, depending on the exact grad date
 
Blue_sky_endo said:
I finished fellowship at 40. I had a good friend in med school with nearly 10 years on me, and a co-resident who appeared to be approaching retirement age - I did not ask. 🙂
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That's awesome! Was the co-resident in Internal Medicine? (Notice your user name says "endo")
 
I'm 27 and anticipate starting school anywhere between next year and a few years from now, so getting my MD at 32-35. I had a bad start in life and it's been extremely difficult getting to a place where I can afford to go to school again (mental + financial). I'll say the same thing people tell me, it's never too late. In terms of what's worth it, it's only worth it if you want to be a doctor. Question of what makes you the most happy.
 
College: 22
Post-Bacc: 26
Med School: 31
Residency: ????

Not going to lie, I feel a -smidgen- geriatric.

As for the "too old" question: If you know it's what you want, then go for it. The only "too old" parameter I can think of is when you cannot practice long enough to pay off the hefty debt that many (most?) of us graduate with while still putting away enough for retirement. Outside of that, I don't think an older age is reason enough to not pursue it if it's what you really want.
 
Xoetix said:
Hello all! I am 38 years old, and am currently working through online college for a degree as a veterinary technician. I've recently been playing with the idea of fully going for a degree as a doctor though, but I'm unsure if it's worth it, or if I'm too old to even think about it. I would love some input from older students!

How old were you when you got your degree? Is there a "too old"?
Click to expand...
There is no "too old." Students are selected based on ability to successfully complete a very complex, full time, medical curriculum. To discriminate based on age is illegal.
 
Plenty of people start medical school in their 30's and later. It's your life, and what's right for you will be different from what's right for anyone else. Some people "waste" their 20's in med school and then get out and regret not having had that time to do other things. Some people "waste" their 20's in unfulfilling careers and relationships and regret not making a change sooner. As the philosopher Kierkegaard famously said, "do it or don't do it, you'll regret it either way". 😉

The best advice I have for you is to not spend your life not doing what you want, banking on the imagined promise of some future happiness. If you'll enjoy the journey, do it. That time will only be wasted if you weren't enjoying what you were doing.

By the way, "too old" only exists if you think it does.
 
I don't ever think anyone is too old. I tutored someone my dad's age who was on track for nursing, he matriculated at like 50. What matters is how passionate you feel about the field. Every day I think to myself is this worth it? I take a breath and say hell yes. If you believe the time commitment will be worth it in the end, give it the best shot you can! Everyone has their own finish line and race.
 
I am 29 and will be 30 by the time I matriculate in July. When doubts come in, I always remember that it's usually never too late to change. And that time will pass regardless--I can either complete my goals or stay stagnant in that time.
 
newchallenges said:
I am a "much older" applicant, transitionning from NP to DO
(yes, I know)
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Same here but I think they will not accept me at any US MD/DO schools, thinking about going to a Carribean medical school. Are you at US MD school?
 
zenadoc2 said:
Same here but I think they will not accept me at any US MD/DO schools, thinking about going to a Carribean medical school. Are you at US MD school?
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Why do you think they won't accept you?
 
late 40's, after finishing the 2-year post-bac + mcat + application cycle; 4 years school, 3 years residency.

On the one hand, soooo excited for the challenge, the learning, and the feeling I know I'll have helping people navigate & improve the most consequential thing any of us will ever own (our bodies) ... On the other hand, it would be an outright lie to say that the prospect of being near 50 when i start, the risk I'm subjecting my family to (foregoing an engineering salary for 9 years), etc. I know it's going to be worth it, but yes, this may have been easier younger, at least before kids 🙂
 
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