smart schools for older applicants

[lil'trooper]

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Hi All-

What's the word on schools more likely to accept older applicants? How about schools that might be considered a better fit for older applicants (for me-and probably most students- in terms of flexibilty, treating students like grown-ups, early clinical opportunities etc.)

I've heard Case Western and Drexel... I'm 30 and applying this year, interested in primary care, OB/GYN, and Psychiatry...

Thanks!

 

[lil'trooper]

oh, and also, I was a comparative literature major back in college (the first time around..)

 

[njbmd]

There are no schools that are are "better fit" for older applicants versus younger applicants. Any school that interests you and where you are competitive is a good "fit". You can consult websites in terms of time in class, curriculum etc. but there is little "flexibility" in terms of an older student versus a younger student.

Any medical school in this country can prepare you for residency in any speciality. You may be interested in one specialty when you start and totally change your mind when you actually rotate through that specialty during third or fourth year so attempting to choose a school based on what you "think" you are interested in is not very high yield. (I started out interested in pediatrics and now I am a surgeon).

Every medical student at every medical school feels at one time or another that they are not "treated like grown-ups". These feelings are quite subjective. While Case Western and Drexel are good schools, you may find that you hate Philadelphia (expensive) and Cleveland ("Mistake on the Lake").

 

[lil'trooper]

Thanks for your input! I agree with everything you just said and of course I'm going to apply to schools that appear to be a good fit... In terms of location- it's not a deal-breaker. I currently live in one of the most expensive regions in the country (s.f. bay area.) However, I would love to be in

1. a more liberal area
2. that is relatively cheap to fly in and out of
3. in a larger city with some culture

And in terms of specialty... well... my internal egg timer tells me to stick with a short(er) residency and my clinical experience tells me that the more patient contact and sustained dr-patient relationships, the better!

 

[Tired Pigeon]

At 30 you're pretty much going to blend in with your class at most places. The folks who stand out as 'non-traditional' are generally late 30's to 40's or older.

 

[Law2Doc]

Thanks for your input! I agree with everything you just said and of course I'm going to apply to schools that appear to be a good fit... In terms of location- it's not a deal-breaker. I currently live in one of the most expensive regions in the country (s.f. bay area.) However, I would love to be in

1. a more liberal area
2. that is relatively cheap to fly in and out of
3. in a larger city with some culture

And in terms of specialty... well... my internal egg timer tells me to stick with a short(er) residency and my clinical experience tells me that the more patient contact and sustained dr-patient relationships, the better!

Agree with njbmd. Also there were several very recent threads asking your same question which you can find if you scroll down a bit. Bottom line is every school is nontrad friendly if you have the stats. In fact, my theory continues to be that the 5 or 6 schools that get praised on here for having lots of nontrads tend to get the most applications from nontrads and thus are probably more competitive for nontrads to get into than most of the rest. (as they cannot give out too many nontrad acceptances without defeating the age/experience diversity value).
I seriously doubt you are going to find a school in an area more liberal than SF though...

 

[thewendster]

Thanks for your input! I agree with everything you just said and of course I'm going to apply to schools that appear to be a good fit... In terms of location- it's not a deal-breaker. I currently live in one of the most expensive regions in the country (s.f. bay area.) However, I would love to be in

1. a more liberal area
2. that is relatively cheap to fly in and out of
3. in a larger city with some culture

And in terms of specialty... well... my internal egg timer tells me to stick with a short(er) residency and my clinical experience tells me that the more patient contact and sustained dr-patient relationships, the better!

I also reside in SF. I think you will be hard-pressed to find a more liberal area. Maybe Amsterdam?

 

[swissmiss]

At 30 you're pretty much going to blend in with your class at most places. The folks who stand out as 'non-traditional' are generally late 30's to 40's or older.

Tired Pigeon is right, but I did have the same concerns as the OP when I was applying. OP, you heard correctly about Case and Drexel. I'll add Einstein, Albany and UConn.

 

[Flopotomist]

Don't know about other places, but consider Chicago. I too am from the bay area, and am at Loyola at 32 y/o and LOVE it here. Chicago is amazing, and this school is amazing as well. There are probably 10 or so of us who are ~30.. so you won't be alone. Feel free to PM me if you like.

 

[1Path]

The folks who stand out as 'non-traditional' are generally late 30's to 40's or older.

Blah! The ONLY reason my 20something classmates KNOW I'm 40 is because I told them. Otherwise, they all thought I was 20 something too!😉

 

[Haemulon]

While there may be no true "non-trad" schools. I do believe thta there are schools more sympathetic or accepting of non-trad applicants (and also schools a little more predjudiced against non-trad applicants). As you mentioned, Case and Drexel are definitely non-trad friendly, but that does not necessarily give you any edge. Because the majority of the class is still traditional age. However, you can feel assured that your non going to have points against you just because of being older (I know schools can't discriminate based on age directly, but I suspect that there are still ways of bias creeping in, depending on who is making the decisions). But then again, maybe i'm totally wrong. Its just a suspicion.

 

[MJB]

More liberal than SF?

Hmm.....

You might also look DO..they tend to look favorably on older applicants, and tend to focus on primary care...so it might be right up your alley.

 

[EvoDevo]

Don't know about other places, but consider Chicago. I too am from the bay area, and am at Loyola at 32 y/o and LOVE it here. Chicago is amazing, and this school is amazing as well. There are probably 10 or so of us who are ~30.. so you won't be alone. Feel free to PM me if you like.

Even with the snow????



OP, agree with what everyone else has said. 👍

 

[lil'trooper]

More liberal than SF?

Hmm.....

You might also look DO..they tend to look favorably on older applicants, and tend to focus on primary care...so it might be right up your alley.

DO schools: yes, will be applying

For the record, I meant "more" colloquially, as in "on the more liberal side."

INteresting about UConn.. I'd never heard that. Unfortunately, Connecticut is my least favorite state in the union and I think UConn is down the street from a prison in the middle of NOWHERE. On the other hand, nowhere in CT is too far from somewhere...