Start medical school (M.D.) after at "high school" age 18?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Status
Not open for further replies.
It's exactly what a lot of black people in the US wanted at the time. Do you think they came to the US by choice?

did this thread get derailed much?...:shrug:

Members don't see this ad.
 
It doesn't take too much maturity to take one class per semester online. The OP lives at home, we don't know how dependent he is on his parents etc.

Also, taking classes online says absolutely nothing about how socially mature a person is.

The OP said that he/she is taking one course per semester of home schooling and is concurrently enrolled in Harvard's extension program. Where are you getting this one class per semester online nonsense?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
The OP said that he/she is taking one course per semester of home schooling and is concurrently enrolled in Harvard's extension program. Where are you getting this one class per semester online nonsense?

The Harvard Extension Program is online. I guess I read it wrong about how many. I can't tell if it is one high school class or one Harvard Online class per semester from the OPs post, but regardless my point remains.
 
It's exactly what a lot of black people in the US wanted at the time. Do you think they came to the US by choice?


LOL. So you're saying that because some blacks wanted to return to Africa, it would be OK for Honest Abe to round ALL of them up, forcibly put them on ships, and return them to Africa?
 
The Harvard Extension Program is online. I guess I read it wrong about how many. I can't tell if it is one high school class or one Harvard Online class per semester from the OPs post, but regardless my point remains.

Well, it's hard to imagine someone being ready for medical school at age 18 by only taking 1 course per semester, don't you think?
 
LOL. So you're saying that because some blacks wanted to return to Africa, it would be OK for Honest Abe to round ALL of them up, forcibly put them on ships, and return them to Africa?

Since this discussion isn't about blacks and slavery, I'm going to go ahead and not respond to any more of these posts...
 
Abraham Lincoln had 18 months of formal education. How did he manage to become mature without high school and college?

By the time he was about the age that someone would start medical school, he had buried his mother, been up-rooted and moved due to family difficulties, taken a long-distance trip alone in a canoe and been hired to take goods down river from Illinois to New Orleans. Maturity isn't about schooling. It is about having had the life experiences that help to develop compassion and empathy, the development of increasing levels of responsibility for one's self and others, and the development of social skills including self-confidence and self-reliance.
 
By the time he was about the age that someone would start medical school, he had buried his mother, been up-rooted and moved due to family difficulties, taken a long-distance trip alone in a canoe and been hired to take goods down river from Illinois to New Orleans. Maturity isn't about schooling. It is about having had the life experiences that help to develop compassion and empathy, the development of increasing levels of responsibility for one's self and others, and the development of social skills including self-confidence and self-reliance.

I totally agree. And since the OP has given us nothing concerning his/her personal life other than the fact that he/she has been home-schooled, we can say absolutely nothing about how mature this person is. That's really the only point I'm trying to make here.
 
OP: yes, you can do it. There are several schools that will take younger students. UIC and UIndiana are 2 that I know that have taken much younger students than you will be.

If it were me, I'd probably do it.
 
I am home schooled in one course per semester and also enrolled (at a tutition of $1,000 per full time semester) at Harvard University Extension School (HES hereafter).

So how many classes are you taking a semester? One home school, one HES? If so, that's not an impressive load. One home school class and 2 HES, may be acceptable because of your age, but in college most students take 5 classes a semester (I think, I went to a school on the quarter system where the norm is 4 classes).

I've researched several medical school websites and have yet to find any age restrictions. The only restriction common to all medical schools seems to be an undergraduate degree prior to matriculation.

I'm probably missing something, but do you actually get a degree from the Harvard thing? The website said 'Diploma in Premedical Studies.' A diploma is something you get at the high school level, a degree is something at the college level. It also said you need 8 classes for 32 credits. I cannot fathom a university that would grant an individual a bachelor's degree upon completion of 32 credits. I think the number at my school was 170 or something.

In any event, almost every school I applied to had a college math requirement, and some form of humanities requirement. The Premed thing does not include those. And like someone else said, you do need 90 credits, and although a BS/BA is not required, not having one is a huge disadvantage.

I just don't see the point of going to college again for another undergraduate degree.

Part of the college experience is learning what it is to be an adult. If you are away from home, you don't report to mommy and daddy anymore. If you get evicted cause you didn't pay your rent, or didn't write your history paper cause you were partying the night before,it's all on you. College is filled with temptations to be stupid, and you need to decide what to do. Drinking is fun, until someone gets behind the wheel, and something bad happens. Sex is an enjoyable experience, until you get a phone call and hear "I'm pregnant." Now you got a kid to support for the next 18 years. More than earning a degree, one learns to approach decisions by considering the negative outcomes. The biggest thing one gains from college is learning from the mistakes (s)he made while there.

In other countries, medical school does indeed begin around age 18/19 anyways.

In other countries, they limit the number of children you can have, they have mandatory service requirements, they will kill you if you speak up against the government. You're in this counrty, you play by its rules and traditions.

You are also free to try to get into medical school in one of those countries. I would imagine it would be difficult as lots of other countries cover med tuition, and as such, I would imagine there is some residency requirements. If there are not, be aware that finding a US residency for a FMG is much harder than if one was an American med grad.
 
I'm probably missing something, but do you actually get a degree from the Harvard thing? The website said 'Diploma in Premedical Studies.' A diploma is something you get at the high school level, a degree is something at the college level. It also said you need 8 classes for 32 credits. I cannot fathom a university that would grant an individual a bachelor's degree upon completion of 32 credits. I think the number at my school was 170 or something.

OP mentioned they are getting the ALB degree...which appears to require 128 credits

http://www.extension.harvard.edu/2009-10/programs/undergrad/requirements/
 
By the time he was about the age that someone would start medical school, he had buried his mother, been up-rooted and moved due to family difficulties, taken a long-distance trip alone in a canoe and been hired to take goods down river from Illinois to New Orleans. Maturity isn't about schooling. It is about having had the life experiences that help to develop compassion and empathy, the development of increasing levels of responsibility for one's self and others, and the development of social skills including self-confidence and self-reliance.

And Lincoln is the greatest writer ever to be President of the United States. Every time I read the Gettysburg Address, my heart stops. Lincoln was a genius with words. Jefferson was wonderful, but Lincoln, incomparable.
 
Hello, I would appreciate some advice from current MD students.

I am 16, and could be classified as a sophomore in high school living in Boston, Massachusetts. As an alternative to public or private high school, I am home schooled in one course per semester and also enrolled (at a tutition of $1,000 per full time semester) at Harvard University Extension School (HES hereafter). HES is one of the (13?) degree granting schools of Harvard University. It does grant undergraduate degrees, mostly geared towards "non traditional students." And, as I'm sure many of you know, there is something called the Health Careers Program by which non-science majors can complete MD prereqs. The undergraduate degree tha HES offers is abbreviated ALB, and those from Harvard College (the traditional more selective undergraduate day program) grants AB. So as an alternative to a high school diploma, I will graduate with an ALB in Extension Studies with a concentration in History from HES, with all pre-med courses completed this (my sophomore) year.

I have already completed general chemistry and physics during my freshman year and the an 8 credit biology course this past summer.
I completed them with all A grades, and the lowest cut off for an A grade so far was 87%.

I am currently in organic chemistry and doing very well.

Here are links from the Extension School website detailing the undergraduate program I am in:

http://www.extension.harvard.edu/undergrad/default.jsp

(admission to the ALB program requires certain grades in three courses as a pre-degree student)

http://www.extension.harvard.edu/2009-10/programs/hcp/diploma/

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Since I will have completed an undergraduate degree and all pre-med courses at age 18, is it possible to begin MD school thereafter? I plan to take the MCAT this summer, in lieu of the SAT or ACT.

I've researched several medical school websites and have yet to find any age restrictions. The only restriction common to all medical schools seems to be an undergraduate degree prior to matriculation.

There are four medical schools in my state (Harvard, BU,Tufts, UMass) and I would be happy to go to any of them immediately after "high school."

As for clinical experience, I volunteer at Massachusetts General Hospital 4 hours a week in the day care and as a pianist in the oncology ward.
When I am 17 I plan to work as a pharmacy assistant.

I just don't see the point of going to college again for another undergraduate degree. In other countries, medical school does indeed begin around age 18/19 anyways. Meanwhile, I am the youngest person in all of my pre med courses...and some students already have bachelor degrees and are just now starting pre med between the ages of 24-32.

I'm also unusually young and recently got into a medical school; similar to you, I did concurrent enrollment (homeschool/college) for a few years, which is why I got through so fast. My age was never brought up in conversation at my interviews, but I did address it in my personal statement. If you can demonstrate that you are responsible and have some life experiences behind you, then you can pull it off. Best of luck. :)
 
As a non-trad planning to go to med schooL, here's my take. Age and maturity are two different things. I know some extremely mature 18 year olds and some extremely immature 28 year olds. There are different types of maturity too. There's social maturity, emotional maturity, and intellectual maturity to name a few. Some people a very mature in one type, and not so much in others.

I don't think the OP needs to waste money going back for another undergrand to "build maturity" with the college experience. I do think you can build it there, but some people don't. It doesn't seem like a good investment in the OP's case. I'm going to second LizzyM's idea to do other things.

Having spent the better part of my life busting my tail in school, I think the OP should take at least a year to just live, do Americorps, explore research, work at a free clinic, or something you find meaningful to you before you get tied down with a residency or a career, or kids and a family. Meet interesting people, see new places, explore new things and open other parts of your mind. I think those will be a far better investment in life experience than jumping straight to school again for either the MD or another B.S. degree. It'll make you a more solid candidate too.
 
i wouldn't do PeaceCorps or AmeriCorps, its getting kinda late for that anyway. do something normal like working a regular job and interacting with the everyday man/woman and learning to pay bills while getting further healthcare exposure to make sure that you will be happy being in the field of medicine for the rest of your life
 
i wouldn't do PeaceCorps or AmeriCorps, its getting kinda late for that anyway. do something normal like working a regular job and interacting with the everyday man/woman and learning to pay bills while getting further healthcare exposure to make sure that you will be happy being in the field of medicine for the rest of your life

The OP is 16 now and planning to apply to med school at age 18. Peace Corps take applicants as young as 18 so that is an option and it seems like there is time (almost 2 yrs) to get an application lined up for 2012.

Doing that is a 27 mo commitment and it is hard to interview during one's tour. Plus, the MCATs taken at the end of sophomore year would have expired by then. Better to work for a year & apply the following year.
 
When we're 18 we know it all and then you hit college and realize you know less and less every year.

And the realization that you know less and less, and that you have an entire world open to you to drink knowledge from is the most exhilarating feeling in the entire world. I remember when I realized that I didn't know nearly as much as I thought I did when I graduated high school. I remember realizing how smart my parents were. And even now, 5 years later, I still am happily learning more and more what I know, and importantly, what I don't know!

I really wasn't a big fan of the "college experience" in the typical sense, and really kept to myself until the last semester or two... but the experience of seeing the world open up around you like a flower blossoming in Spring is the most powerful feeling in the world.

Take some time to feel that rush that comes only by recognizing what you don't know, and what you still get to learn in this wide, wide world.

P.S. - :banana:

:laugh:
 
Hey OP. Like others say, whether it's a good option or not to apply straight to med school is dependent on you're maturity and personality. You might be more mature than I am at 25, or not--I really don't know you.

I can only say that I have grown a lot since age 18. Everyone grows in different ways, so what's right for one person isn't right or even necessarily recommended for others. And we really don't have a right to tell you what's best for, because we really don't know.

So, with that in mind here are my three recommendations; hopefully they'll help you out, but if not, that's OK!

First is I'd encourage you to either get a full-time job or some other full-time like activity (like a volunteer/service program, etc.) You really don't know yourself until you've been out in the "real world." I can't tell you how glad I am that I didn't go straight from undergrad to medical school. But again, that's the past I lived, and well, I like thinking I did things the right way!

The other thing I'd ask you to consider is whether you're really sure you want to be a doctor. When I went into my freshman year of undergrad, I was 100% sure I was going to be an architect, but now I'm in medical school. It's funny how as we grow we adopt different values, interests, and passions. I think it's important to find your own and to understand them. And then pursue them with conviction.

Lastly, think about whether you'd enjoy medical school at such a young age. Medical school is very stressful and you don't have a ton of free time. Because of this, you really want a support group, including people you can relate to in the program. If you are really socially adept, this isn't a problem. But if you're not, then I'd encourage you to go to college, if for no other reason, to just develop social skills. Medicine is half science and half interpersonal connections. You have to be both smart (which it sounds like you are) and social.

...unless you want to be a pathologist or radiologist--but in my mind looking at slides/biopsies or radiographs all day sounds boring. (But others would disagree!!)

It really all comes down to understanding yourself, and going from there.

I wish you the best of luck and am sure whatever decision you come to will be the right one :). And if it isn't, just remember that it's never, ever, too late to change your mind--I did when I left architecture for medicine, and I couldn't be happier :) Pursue happiness, and let the chips fall where they may.
 
In other countries, they limit the number of children you can have, they have mandatory service requirements, they will kill you if you speak up against the government. You're in this counrty, you play by its rules and traditions.

Best line of this thread. I hate when other people compare other countries to the U.S, Different countries = different point of views and different idealogy.

Life experiences is important. I doubt a 16 year old kid who is being home schooled have experience that much. That is one form of Maturity!!! I wouldnt trade me college year for medschool that early. I wasn't prepare to handle the stresses, but now I think I can.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top