What age qualifies as non-traditional for med school applicant?

[WrightMD]

The title asks it all.

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[shiftingmirage]

Don't think there's necessarily an age but more a life history. You graduate college, work for a few years, and decide to go back to school.

 

[moe_4eva]

I'd say anywhere above 80 would be non traditional in my book.

 

[Samus Aran]

it's not the age that makes a non-trad a non-trad. non-trad's are applicants that choose, for whatever reason, not to apply for entrance into med school straight out of graduating college. that being said, i could also see an applicant being defined as a non-trad who spent years working, etc., before getting a college degree and applying and attending med school right after graduation. so really a non-trad is what the title implies, i.e., someone who deviates from the "traditional" applicant (straight from high school=>college=>med school).

 

[Depakote]

there's no set definition for non-trad applicants, partially b/c med schools don't specifically aim to accept X number of "non-trad" applicants each cycle.

They might have specific demographics they're aiming to fill, but nothing so broad as non-traditional.

Generally, I don't consider a non-traditional applicant as defined by age but as an applicant that took time to do something else (work, have kids, etc) before applying to school.

 

[Law2Doc]

The title asks it all.

Moving to nontrad board.


Nontrad is technically anyone who doesn't go directly from high school to college to med school. However some around here tend to describe a true nontrad as someone over 25 when they apply to med school, because folks in their early 20s tend to blend in with the trads and not really share as many of the same experiences of the older nontrads in this route.

 

[WrightMD]

Ok so assuming I do not get into med school this year, and I reapply for next year (I'll be 24 during the whole process) I won't be labeled as non-traditional by any of the schools?

 

[DrMidlife]

Ok so assuming I do not get into med school this year, and I reapply for next year (I'll be 24 during the whole process) I won't be labeled as non-traditional by any of the schools?

Assume you'll be asked what you've done since college, just like all the other 24 year olds. If you're looking to avoid stigma, 24 isn't stigma-bait.

 

[Law2Doc]

Ok so assuming I do not get into med school this year, and I reapply for next year (I'll be 24 during the whole process) I won't be labeled as non-traditional by any of the schools?

Huh? What labeled? Nontrad is how folks describe "themselves", more a state of mind than an application category. To a 50 year old adcom member, anyone in their 20s is still young. Schools don't "label" folks nontrads, though individuals might. An interviewer will ask what experiences you've had, why you are changing careers (if that's the case), why medicine and why now (as opposed to at 21 like everyone else in the applicant pool). And you may be expected to be better thought out in your decisions than someone a few years younger. But it's not like there is a special pile or category of applications for nontrads, and no box for you to check off in any application about it. Some nontrads get a lot of benefit having a lot of interesting experiences, as schools are trying to put together a diverse class (of folks who otherwise meet the numerical requirements). So to the extent someone sees you as having a background that adds diversity to a class of otherwise straight from college folks, that is a very good thing, not a label. Quite a few of us probably wouldn't have gotten into med school based solely on our undergrad experiences, so nontrad living was a huge positive.

However, if you reapply, you will be looked at as a reapplicant. That can be looked at differently than a first time applicant, depending on the school, and may require you to check off a box on certain secondaries. They generally expect reapplicants to have made substantial improvements to their application since the previous time they applied -- to fix the things that caused them not to be accepted in the first round. Frequently, these are things that aren't quick fixes, so it might pay to burn a cycle or two and make sure all your ducks are in a row and that you are a truly improved and competitive applicant-- you don't want to keep flinging substantially the same application up against a wall and hoping it sticks. That, IMHO, is where you start to see the labels. So you may be getting hung up on terminology -- what folks describe themselves as versus what schools use/or not. There is also a reapplicant board on SDN too where you might be able to get some second round input.

 

[RxnMan]

...However, if you reapply, you will be looked at as a reapplicant. That can be looked at differently than a first time applicant, depending on the school, and may require you to check off a box on certain secondaries. They generally expect reapplicants to have made substantial improvements to their application since the previous time they applied -- to fix the things that caused them not to be accepted in the first round...There is also a reapplicant board on SDN too where you might be able to get some second round input.

Did someone call me?

OP, if you end up re-applying, check out the FAQ (link in my signature).

 

[WannaBeDerm]

I have been trying to figure out exactly what would make me quote "non-traditional".
I would have never considered myself as going to become a non-traditional student until someone mentioned it to me.

I am graduating in the Spring with my Biology degree and I plan to take the MCAT in April.
I would have a year off between college and medical school, if not 2 if I don't make it in immediately and have to reapply.

But say if I was to take MCAT in my last month of college and apply then...
would I be nontraditional?

 

[Pons Asinorum]

But say if I was to take MCAT in my last month of college and apply then...
would I be nontraditional?

No.

 

[Helen Wheels]

Yes, it seems there is no standardized definition about what makes someone a "nontrad." The general gist, as others have said, is that you took some time off to work or do other things and did not go straight from college to med school.

Honestly, in this day and age, with admissions as competitive as it is, most people have taken at least a year or two off after college to get some clinical or research experience. It is just my personal opinion, but people up to say, 26 or so, really don't seem like nontrads to me. I mean, the average age listed for just about every incoming class at every med school is 24 or 25. If you are average you aren't nontrad. Now, if someone is 30+, now we are definitely talking nontrad.

Really, I don't know why people are concerned about whether they are nontrad or not. I don't think it is an advantage, per se. Probably even hurts you a little.

 

[QofQuimica]

You are nontrad if you self-identify as nontrad. Often this has to do with being out of school for a while and being several years older than the stereotypical college-aged applicant. However, you can be nontraditional in other ways beyond age, such as becoming a parent as a teenager, coming to the US as a refugee from another country, dropping out of high school and earning a GED, and many more examples along these lines. I would also argue that younger applicants (under age 20) are nontrads as well.

 

[CecilJacobson]

Everybody who's posted on this site is right. If you want a quote from a dean:

VCU Medical School (formerly MCV) Dean of Admissions (Dean WH): "I would consider a non-trad applicant for VCU as any individual who spent more than six months out of college before applying to medical school.

That is likely because VCU has a predominately traditional applicant pool.

At first I thought I'd prefer to be considered a traditional applicant, but every month that I spend in "the real world" helps me gain perspective on just how young I am.

-C.J.