upper age limit for MD schools??

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aspiring20

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are there MD schools that will not accept applicants over a certain age? I'll be 24-25 when I apply, I don't want my age to rule me out of any MD program.

most MD schools have average age around 24 (with lower median), so I hope i'll be fine.
 
are there MD schools that will not accept applicants over a certain age? I'll be 24-25 when I apply, I don't want my age to rule me out of any MD program.

most MD schools have average age around 24 (with lower median), so I hope i'll be fine.

You're fine.
 
Age discrimination is illegal. I've had outstanding students who were in their 40s. our all-time oldest matriculent was 53.

So quit fussing.



are there MD schools that will not accept applicants over a certain age? I'll be 24-25 when I apply, I don't want my age to rule me out of any MD program.

most MD schools have average age around 24 (with lower median), so I hope i'll be fine.
 
You'll have no issues and no one cares; I'd estimate at least 1/4 of my class was 26+ at the time of matriculation. If it helps any, I go to a school that's top 15 per USNews
 
Age discrimination is illegal. I've had outstanding students who were in their 40s. our all-time oldest matriculent was 53.

So quit fussing.

i know but sometimes, i can't stop freaking out about stuff. things like age, how most of my peers get 36+, etc...
 
are there MD schools that will not accept applicants over a certain age? I'll be 24-25 when I apply, I don't want my age to rule me out of any MD program.

most MD schools have average age around 24 (with lower median), so I hope i'll be fine.

Don't be silly. Average age to start US med school is 23-24. Every med school these days has someone over thirty starting. Many have more than one 30+ year olds. A good number even have someone 40. The oldest I've heard to start was early 50s. Personally I think it should be less about age an more about conditioning. Like cars -- the 1990 model which was kept in a garage with low mileage is now more reliable than the 2010 model that was driven 60 miles a day and kept out on the street. Similarly, the 40 year old iron man competitor who eats right and works out every day is going to endure the rigors of the clinical years and residency better than the obese 22 year old who smokes. The age is less important.
 
i know but sometimes, i can't stop freaking out about stuff. things like age, how most of my peers get 36+, etc...

I can guaranty there are lot of more important things in medicine to freak out about.

The sooner you learn to stop comparing yourself to "peers" the better off you will be. Med school isn't one size fits all - you'll have to focus on what works for you and keep blinders on as to what everyone else is doing or you are hopeless.
 
are there MD schools that will not accept applicants over a certain age? I'll be 24-25 when I apply, I don't want my age to rule me out of any MD program.

most MD schools have average age around 24 (with lower median), so I hope i'll be fine.

You'll definitely be fine and probably on the young(ish) side of things at any school. Plenty of folks start med school in their 30s and 40s. I know of at least two folks in their 40s starting in my cohort.
 
I can guaranty there are lot of more important things in medicine to freak out about.

The sooner you learn to stop comparing yourself to "peers" the better off you will be. Med school isn't one size fits all - you'll have to focus on what works for you and keep blinders on as to what everyone else is doing or you are hopeless.

this is 100 percent true and i agree with it entirely. however, it is just so hard...

people around me cruises into med school like it's no body's business.
 
As others have stated, it is illegal to discriminate based on age and if they were going to it certainly would not be the age of 24! We had a 60 year old in our class and you could certainly get into some philosophical conversations about whether or not this person should be "Taking" a spot when their time spent practicing is likely to be short... but we will leave that one alone for now.

Survivor DO
 
As others have stated, it is illegal to discriminate based on age and if they were going to it certainly would not be the age of 24! We had a 60 year old in our class and you could certainly get into some philosophical conversations about whether or not this person should be "Taking" a spot when their time spent practicing is likely to be short... but we will leave that one alone for now.

Survivor DO

i've heard students in their 30s and 40s...but 60??????????????

well kudos to him/her
 
You're not that old you big baby. Would you be happier if I told you some of those 22 year olds might die decades before you? In a sense, they're already used up more percentage of their life than you have.
 
The average age at my school is usually 27. And I don't think I skew the curve entirely by myself! ;-)
 
You're not that old you big baby. Would you be happier if I told you some of those 22 year olds might die decades before you? In a sense, they're already used up more percentage of their life than you have.

hey, that's uncalled for. but i get your point.
 
are there MD schools that will not accept applicants over a certain age? I'll be 24-25 when I apply, I don't want my age to rule me out of any MD program.

most MD schools have average age around 24 (with lower median), so I hope i'll be fine.

I remember years ago the average age at a med school was 35. You're good bro/broette.
 
Is this thread a joke of some sort? Is 24 too old?

The OP is one of those obnoxious insecure types who already knows the answer but is a weirdo.

Anyway, I remember seeing an episode of Trauma: Life in the ER when they shadowed a doctor in his late 40's...super energetic...and he stopped being a trucker - yeah...a trucker - at the age of 40 and started medical school. I was like...that's...not...even...a brain-utilizing occupation? wow!
 
The OP is one of those obnoxious insecure types who already knows the answer but is a weirdo.

Anyway, I remember seeing an episode of Trauma: Life in the ER when they shadowed a doctor in his late 40's...super energetic...and he stopped being a trucker - yeah...a trucker - at the age of 40 and started medical school. I was like...that's...not...even...a brain-utilizing occupation? wow!

OP has been a member since 2011; 1k+ post. Not new to the Rodeo. While I like to stay positive and give everyone the benefit of the doubt, I second this notion.

Edit: I think trolling is more appropriate than weirdo in this situation.


Trolling - "The most essential part of trolling is convincing your victim that either a) truly believe in what you are saying, no matter how outrageous, or b) give your victim malicious instructions, under the guise of help.
Trolling requires decieving; any trolling that doesn't involve decieving someone isn't trolling at all; it's just stupid. As such, your victim must not know that you are trolling; if he does, you are an unsuccesful troll."
 
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OP has been a member since 2011; 1k+ post. Not new to the Rodeo. While I like to stay positive and give everyone the benefit of the doubt, I second this notion.

Edit: I think trolling is more appropriate than weirdo in this situation.


Trolling - "The most essential part of trolling is convincing your victim that either a) truly believe in what you are saying, no matter how outrageous, or b) give your victim malicious instructions, under the guise of help.
Trolling requires decieving; any trolling that doesn't involve decieving someone isn't trolling at all; it's just stupid. As such, your victim must not know that you are trolling; if he does, you are an unsuccesful troll."


lol I've had op blocked for months, but sometimes it's worth visiting her posts every once in a while for the comedic value. my favorite of hers is the claim that everyone from her ug gets a 36 on their mcat, on average. lol troll or sad/neurotic/misinformed/sky-is-falling op.
 
Age discrimination is illegal. I've had outstanding students who were in their 40s. our all-time oldest matriculent was 53.

So quit fussing.

It's nice to have someone say so. I was concerned that age discrimination didn't really apply to doctors or that it wasn't enforced. For example, the website www.healthgrades.com lists doctor's ages. (Maybe they need to be reported.) I saw that after going to a career seminar about age discrimination. I was shocked. It was like doctors have no rights.

My understanding or misunderstanding is that when job searching or handling career-related stuff it's advisable to keep your age to yourself/private. This is because people don't come right out and say they are discriminating, they just do something discriminatory. Of course if asked about it there must be a million excuses handy like, "Age had nothing to do with (fill in the blank). We just didn't like the candidate." Just saying.
 
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lol I've had op blocked for months, but sometimes it's worth visiting her posts every once in a while for the comedic value. my favorite of hers is the claim that everyone from her ug gets a 36 on their mcat, on average. lol troll or sad/neurotic/misinformed/sky-is-falling op.

good for you.

i mean, my premed advisers only showed us a chart depicting the MCAT scores of all the applicants from our school, and the chart also had the average MCAT of those ACCEPTED to med schools. and 2-3 years ago, the average was just under a 36.

i understand it's hard to believe, but why would i lie about it?

and regarding this thread. i had a friend who told me that 2 of the MD schools he spoke to told him that they do not consider "older" applicants. the schools never gave him a precise age cut off, but they did say something alone the lines of "the most competitive and ideal applicants will be similar in age to our school's median, which is around 23"
 
good for you.

i mean, my premed advisers only showed us a chart depicting the MCAT scores of all the applicants from our school, and the chart also had the average MCAT of those ACCEPTED to med schools. and 2-3 years ago, the average was just under a 36.

i understand it's hard to believe, but why would i lie about it?

and regarding this thread. i had a friend who told me that 2 of the MD schools he spoke to told him that they do not consider "older" applicants. the schools never gave him a precise age cut off, but they did say something alone the lines of "the most competitive and ideal applicants will be similar in age to our school's median, which is around 23"

Trying to use that chart for who is going to get in is just plain wrong.

Source: https://www.aamc.org/download/321494/data/2012factstable17.pdf

The average for accepted students was 31.2 in 2012 and lower than that in years past. STD was 4, so 36 is within STD, but not the average. Maybe there's something weird going on with your school, but 36 is ridiculous. Are people not applying that have fine MCAT scores or what? Not representative of the actual process at all.
 
are there MD schools that will not accept applicants over a certain age? I'll be 24-25 when I apply, I don't want my age to rule me out of any MD program.

most MD schools have average age around 24 (with lower median), so I hope i'll be fine.

You are in your 20's, you probably are not ruled out of anything in life. (including medical school)
 
Trying to use that chart for who is going to get in is just plain wrong.

Source: https://www.aamc.org/download/321494/data/2012factstable17.pdf

The average for accepted students was 31.2 in 2012 and lower than that in years past. STD was 4, so 36 is within STD, but not the average. Maybe there's something weird going on with your school, but 36 is ridiculous. Are people not applying that have fine MCAT scores or what? Not representative of the actual process at all.


See here for original definition of trolling.

Please do not feed to trolls. It only encourages them.
 
See here for original definition of trolling.

Please do not feed to trolls. It only encourages them.

Bored at work >>> troll screening ability. Damn. Got me. Can't wait till I quit and can forget about SDN until 1st year starts.
 
OP has been a member since 2011; 1k+ post. Not new to the Rodeo. While I like to stay positive and give everyone the benefit of the doubt, I second this notion.

Edit: I think trolling is more appropriate than weirdo in this situation.


Trolling - "The most essential part of trolling is convincing your victim that either a) truly believe in what you are saying, no matter how outrageous, or b) give your victim malicious instructions, under the guise of help.
Trolling requires decieving; any trolling that doesn't involve decieving someone isn't trolling at all; it's just stupid. As such, your victim must not know that you are trolling; if he does, you are an unsuccesful troll."

lol I've had op blocked for months, but sometimes it's worth visiting her posts every once in a while for the comedic value. my favorite of hers is the claim that everyone from her ug gets a 36 on their mcat, on average. lol troll or sad/neurotic/misinformed/sky-is-falling op.

Actually I don't think it's a troll. More what Captain Sisko said...neurotic chicken little type stuff. I think it's one of those people with emotional issues looking for validation for something as pathetic as being 24, but fronts it as a question proposing a fear of being "too old" while knowing full well it's a borderline *****ic suggestion. It feeds some sick little insect inside each time he/she hears that 24 is "sooo young" and "the world is your oyster".
Hm...maybe I should reconsider my distaste for psychiatry. These people may need my help. 😛
 
Actually I don't think it's a troll. More what Captain Sisko said...neurotic chicken little type stuff. I think it's one of those people with emotional issues looking for validation for something as pathetic as being 24, but fronts it as a question proposing a fear of being "too old" while knowing full well it's a borderline *****ic suggestion. It feeds some sick little insect inside each time he/she hears that 24 is "sooo young" and "the world is your oyster".
Hm...maybe I should reconsider my distaste for psychiatry. These people may need my help. 😛

Yeah, OP isn't a troll. Been around a while, not the first thread like this. In fact, a quick perusal of their threads started list is pretty instructive/insightful. Histrionic/Dependent PD-type stuff, not troll-for-trolls-sake.
 
Yeah, OP isn't a troll. Been around a while, not the first thread like this. In fact, a quick perusal of their threads started list is pretty instructive/insightful. Histrionic/Dependent PD-type stuff, not troll-for-trolls-sake.

thanks for your diagnosis

all i did was state some facts i've heard from a friend. not sure what you are trying to get at here...
 
are there MD schools that will not accept applicants over a certain age? I'll be 24-25 when I apply, I don't want my age to rule me out of any MD program.

most MD schools have average age around 24 (with lower median), so I hope i'll be fine.

Cousin knows someone who started medical school at 37.
 
Actually I don't think it's a troll. More what Captain Sisko said...neurotic chicken little type stuff. I think it's one of those people with emotional issues looking for validation for something as pathetic as being 24, but fronts it as a question proposing a fear of being "too old" while knowing full well it's a borderline *****ic suggestion. It feeds some sick little insect inside each time he/she hears that 24 is "sooo young" and "the world is your oyster".
Hm...maybe I should reconsider my distaste for psychiatry. These people may need my help. 😛

i am not trying to judge you or anything, but shouldn't medical students have more respect/sensitive towards people with "mental illnesses", assuming that they aren't wrongly diagnosed to begin with.

it's just that i have a thing against medical students and residents/attendings joke/make sarcastic statements regarding their patients, even just amongst themselves.

for about a year, i shadowed a physician at a nearby academic hospital. the physician is a great doctor and very nice/helpful. but often times when talking to his residents/fellows regarding patients he just saw, he would say some very questionable things openly with earshots of everyone around him, including me and the other nurses.

once again, i am not judging you, just pointing something out.
 
aspiring20, you are neither my patient nor am I a psychiatrist. I will, however, person to person advise you to employ some common sense in the future. If you genuinely just want to interact - join in other threads and feel free to throw in your thoughts.

I might do as Pons said and have a look at what sort of threads you do start. You might actually do the same and see if there is something you're not realizing about yourself. Or we could be off. 🙂 At any rate, good luck with your future ambition...hope you figure out what medical schools actually do care about.
 
This thread is a joke. OP is either really really dumb or just plain taking everyone here for stupid. Please close this nonsense! What a waste of time clicking into here.
 
This thread is a joke. OP is either really really dumb or just plain taking everyone here for stupid. Please close this nonsense! What a waste of time clicking into here.

I agree with you on this. Even when the sign says "Please don't feed the pigeons"; people still keep feeding them. OP has been indulged enough. This thread is so dumb it makes me want to vomit. Someone please close.
 
Don't be silly. Average age to start US med school is 23-24. Every med school these days has someone over thirty starting. Many have more than one 30+ year olds. A good number even have someone 40. The oldest I've heard to start was early 50s. Personally I think it should be less about age an more about conditioning. Like cars -- the 1990 model which was kept in a garage with low mileage is now more reliable than the 2010 model that was driven 60 miles a day and kept out on the street. Similarly, the 40 year old iron man competitor who eats right and works out every day is going to endure the rigors of the clinical years and residency better than the obese 22 year old who smokes. The age is less important.

Lol, just one 30+? We have at least 5-6 in my class. And ironically, the three of the 30+ guys are probably some of the fittest guys in my class. (One is a previous IronMan Competitor, another is a serious rock climber (like El Capitan in Yosemite), and the last is a CrossFit junkie.), and our oldest in my class at least is 46ish.
 
In my undergrad, we had this lady who was literally 66 I believe and was doing pre med. She was a retired chemical engineer. It was hilarious because during GChem 1 and GChem 2, she would raise her hand and discuss real world applications of what we were covering.

I think she eventually dropped it, as she dropped out of a course I was in with her and I never seen here again.
 
thanks for your diagnosis

all i did was state some facts i've heard from a friend. not sure what you are trying to get at here...

You are welcome.

I'm getting at the fact that most of your posts/threads have a layer or two you need to strip away before you can actually see what point you are trying to make. The sooner you do the stripping away for everyone, the sooner you'll get useful responses to your questions. Asking a general question such as "Is 24 too old for MD?" in the forum specifically designed for applicants all older than 24 or so is guaranteed to get you a bunch of derp. Don't be derp. At least not here. Pre allo is always sitting right over there.
 
OP, You are done dude. 24 is way too old to be striving for medical school. You should hang your hat and grab yourself a lazy chair and enjoy the ride. :meanie:
 
it's just that i have a thing against medical students and residents/attendings joke/make sarcastic statements regarding their patients, even just amongst themselves.
It's a survival mechanism. If and when you reach the point in your medical training where you have to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous human stupidity, you will mock it along with the rest of us.

As for your question, the answer depends on the trajectory of your personal evolution into a mature human being. Never mind physical fitness; the real question is where you are at in terms of your ability to cope with all the messiness of the human condition. I was 31 when I went to med school, and I was definitely too high strung as a 24-year-old to have been able to handle medical training. In your case, OP, I'd argue that 24 is probably too young also. A few more years to live life a little might help settle you down and gain some perspective concerning the things that really matter.
 
It's a survival mechanism. If and when you reach the point in your medical training where you have to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous human stupidity, you will mock it along with the rest of us.

As for your question, the answer depends on the trajectory of your personal evolution into a mature human being. Never mind physical fitness; the real question is where you are at in terms of your ability to cope with all the messiness of the human condition. I was 31 when I went to med school, and I was definitely too high strung as a 24-year-old to have been able to handle medical training. In your case, OP, I'd argue that 24 is probably too young also. A few more years to live life a little might help settle you down and gain some perspective concerning the things that really matter.

Yeah I tend to agree. The notion that the OP would ask than 24 is too old on the nontrad board is either naive or demanding too much validation. The fact that OP thinks everyone who gets into med school has a 36 despite having been around on SDN long enough to know better, and the fact that OP gets upset with the gallows humor that gets many physicians through the day makes me also wonder whether OP might be a few years light on seasoning.

OP, you may want to read "house of god" and watch a few episodes of MASH and hopefully you will start to understand why doctors have the need to joke around. It's a hard job if you take everything too seriously and to heart. You'd go insane or be crying all the time in some specialties if you didn't find some humor and enjoyment in the abyss. Much of medicine is really amusing in a dark sort if way if you can step outside of yourself.
 
Yeah I tend to agree. The notion that the OP would ask than 24 is too old on the nontrad board is either naive or demanding too much validation. The fact that OP thinks everyone who gets into med school has a 36 despite having been around on SDN long enough to know better, and the fact that OP gets upset with the gallows humor that gets many physicians through the day makes me also wonder whether OP might be a few years light on seasoning.

OP, you may want to read "house of god" and watch a few episodes of MASH and hopefully you will start to understand why doctors have the need to joke around. It's a hard job if you take everything too seriously and to heart. You'd go insane or be crying all the time in some specialties if you didn't find some humor and enjoyment in the abyss. Much of medicine is really amusing in a dark sort if way if you can step outside of yourself.

i've NEVER made or implied that statement. all i am saying is that most of the people in my alma mater (in the northeast) that got in received at least a 35, if not higher. this is a fact with stats to back it up. now i can't link you to the stats page for obvious reasons. now, if most applicants in my alma mater have high MCAT scores and i don;t, i am afraid that that will be a disadvantage. it's like applicant A applies with a 31 from an undergrad with a 27 average versus applicant B applies with a 34 from an undergrad with a 35 average. don't medical schools evaluate you against your peers?

and i agree with the second bold part. however, you have to know that adopting this attitude while on the interview trial is not a smart idea. i would imagine interviewers would be wary of applicants that find that "medicine is really amusing in a dark sort of way".
 
and regarding MCAT...

i am fully aware that 31-32 is the matriculant average, and people get in with lower scores all the time. but i am an ORM from CA, and 31-32 cannot be my average. i want it to be my average as well, but i am not naive enough to actually believe that that's the case.
 
i've NEVER made or implied that statement. all i am saying is that most of the people in my alma mater (in the northeast) that got in received at least a 35, if not higher. this is a fact with stats to back it up. now i can't link you to the stats page for obvious reasons. now, if most applicants in my alma mater have high MCAT scores and i don;t, i am afraid that that will be a disadvantage. it's like applicant A applies with a 31 from an undergrad with a 27 average versus applicant B applies with a 34 from an undergrad with a 35 average. don't medical schools evaluate you against your peers?

and i agree with the second bold part. however, you have to know that adopting this attitude while on the interview trial is not a smart idea. i would imagine interviewers would be wary of applicants that find that "medicine is really amusing in a dark sort of way".

Oh God, enough. You receive heartfelt honest advice from experienced Physicians (one who was a Mod and could have closed this thread) and you still persist. I'm projecting a bit as I will be at youngest 32 entering med school. Please get out of the Non traditional forums.You don't want to be a Doctor. Worrying about discrimination at 53 is one thing, now considering that most students go through a Gap year before going to Med school, you aren't realistic.

Many students won't enter Med school until they are 23 and some even later because they might need to do an SMP, gain more experience or retake certain classes or the MCAT. You're a joke plain and simple. Many of us are working our butt's off to get there. We share our experiences with others to help others along on their journey and maybe even pick something up that helps us along ours. We don't come here to argue with each other. Occasionally we debate but it isn't malicious nor is it forcing a single point down another's throat. You are wasting everyone's time. If you receive advice from a Resident or an Attending you treat it like gold. You on the other hand decide to keep debating. Pon pointed out that this is all leading somewhere and I agree; an abyss of nonsense. I'm one of the most non-judgmental people you will ever meet; I will often defend another's point even if I don't agree with it. In this case however, you aren't trying to make a point; instead you are disillusioned. You present yourself as naive but at your age and knowing the Med school process you can't be that naive. If it was validation that you were looking for, you received it, but still you persist. Bravo; you are one masterful troll. The troll that goes undetected. The troll that never breaks character. Reddit and 4chan would be proud.
 
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i've NEVER made or implied that statement. all i am saying is that most of the people in my alma mater (in the northeast) that got in received at least a 35, if not higher. this is a fact with stats to back it up. now i can't link you to the stats page for obvious reasons. now, if most applicants in my alma mater have high MCAT scores and i don;t, i am afraid that that will be a disadvantage. it's like applicant A applies with a 31 from an undergrad with a 27 average versus applicant B applies with a 34 from an undergrad with a 35 average. don't medical schools evaluate you against your peers?

and i agree with the second bold part. however, you have to know that adopting this attitude while on the interview trial is not a smart idea. i would imagine interviewers would be wary of applicants that find that "medicine is really amusing in a dark sort of way".

The peers that you get compared to are the 7000 other AMCAS applications sitting in the inbox at the institutions to which you apply, not the other undergraduates at your alma mater.

Per part 2, you're lecturing people who have been through the interview process multiple times about what is and isn't a "smart idea." You're making some strong straw men, stop for the sake of all.
 
Oh God, enough. You receive heartfelt honest advice from experienced Physicians (one who was a Mod and could have closed this thread) and you still persist. I'm projecting a bit as I will be at youngest 32 entering med school. Please get out of the Non traditional forums.You don't want to be a Doctor. Worrying about discrimination at 53 is one thing, now considering that most students go through a Gap year before going to Med school, you aren't realistic.

Many students won't enter Med school until they are 23 and some even later because they might need to do an SMP, gain more experience or retake certain classes or the MCAT. You're a joke plain and simple. Many of us are working our butt's off to get there. We share our experiences with others to help others along on their journey and maybe even pick something up that helps us along ours. We don't come here to argue with each other. Occasionally we debate but it isn't malicious nor is it forcing a single point down another's throat. You are wasting everyone's time. If you receive advice from a Resident or an Attending you treat it like gold. You on the other hand decide to keep debating. Pon pointed out that this is all leading somewhere and I agree; an abyss of nonsense. I'm one of the most non-judgmental people you will ever meet; I will often defend another's point even if I don't agree with it. In this case however, you aren't trying to make a point; instead you are disillusioned. You present yourself as naive but at your age and knowing the Med school process you can't be that naive. If it was validation that you were looking for, you received it, but still you persist. Bravo; you are one masterful troll. The troll that goes undetected. The troll that never breaks character. Reddit and 4chan would be proud.

Why are you letting an emotional invalid get to you? OP is too old and will have too low an MCAT. OP will never be a doctor. Next topic. 🙂
 
Applying to med school this year. 40 years old.
 
Why are you letting an emotional invalid get to you? OP is too old and will have too low an MCAT. OP will never be a doctor. Next topic. 🙂


Thanks for bringing me back to reality.
 
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