What's it like for NT students in vet school?

[Psorophoraferox]

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NT here, not married, no kids. The only times I think about the ~10 year age gap between myself and many of my classmates:

- When discussing childhood experiences/toys/nostalgia. I was starting high school when some of them were toddlers.
- Early first year, when I invited someone to go to a bar and she wasn't 21 yet. Oops.
- Realizing that some of my classmates have never lived away from home/held a full-time job/paid all of their own bills/done their own taxes. (That could be true of any age, of course, but it's much more common for people in their early 20s.)
- When I was their age I had to walk uphill in the snow both ways these darn kids today don't know how good they have it *shakes cane*

For the most part it's been a non-issue.

 

[DVMDream]

- When I was their age I had to walk uphill in the snow both ways these darn kids today don't know how good they have it *shakes cane*

My dad used to say this to us when we were little. He grew up in Arizona....

 

[Gemgrrrl]

There are people whose parents do those things for them and the kids/recipients are really graceful about it and not pretentious and snotty .... those are some pretty cool people. It's the ones who act like "well, duh, of COURSE my parents should do that for me... I deserve it" that you just wanna punch.

So true. There are also 40-something year old people who got a leg up in life, and who look down on the rest of us who have taken a bit longer because we had to find a way to pay for it all first. Like I said earlier, being an asshat doesn't seem to be age related.

 

[LetItSnow]

So true. There are also 40-something year old people who got a leg up in life, and who look down on the rest of us who have taken a bit longer because we had to find a way to pay for it all first. Like I said earlier, being an asshat doesn't seem to be age related.

I'm way more of an asshat in my 40s than my 20s. 🙂

 

[Gemgrrrl]

I'm way more of an asshat in my 40s than my 20s. 🙂

Me too. In my 20's, I would crumple if someone looked at me sideways. One of the many reasons I wouldn't have made it through vet school back then.

 

[lailanni]

I really enjoyed getting to know the non-trad students in my class. I always thought they were a step above class drama and usually kept out of silly things like that. (Which made them extra cool to me). One classmate I'd study with sometimes was in her 40s and we seemed to get things at the same pace. So maybe it's not an age thing but a learning style thing.

We frequently had group work activities and I never detected any kind of negative attitude towards older students. If anything, I think we appreciated the extra perspective they brought. I know I did!

 

[Squeaksmom]

I'm in my late 30's, married with a kid, and a first year vet student. I'm the eldest in my class. Hubby and son are 3.5 hours away when I'm at school, but we talk every day. We're trying to get them moved down to where I am. My relationship with hubby is rock solid, and the only thing that's been really stressful was son breaking his foot and possibly needing surgery (situation is still ongoing...). Getting updates by voicemail and not being able to do anything was... not fun! I pretty much stress ate my way through midterms 😛

Relations with my classmates are fine. There are people I'm better friends with and people I'm not, but there's nobody I want to push off a bridge. Our class is super collaborative (small class, so I'm sure that helps) and if one person has a problem the rest really pull together to help, which is great! I haven't noticed any age discrimination, and I certainly don't feel any.

I can definitely related to the comment about processing speed sometimes! It doesn't help that straight up memorization has never been my strength. I need to understand the why and the how and logic my way through stuff if I want it to stick, which sometimes works to my detriment (anatomy), but I'm not dissatisfied with my grades so far. It may take me a bit longer to get where I'm going sometimes, but I get there....

 

[CalliopeDVM]

I was a "non-traditional" student - when I graduated I was almost 39. I didn't have a husband or children, though, so that wasn't an issue. I certainly didn't notice any bias among any of my classmates because of my age, though I was occasionally heard to say "I'm old enough to be your mother" when something would come up regarding age (like discussing LP records or something). I remember that I thought many of the "traditional" students (who'd gone straight through academia without years off in between) were faster at memorizing, but I was faster at seeing patterns and connections -- ultimately, it all worked out for all ages. I admit I was pleased to discover I was not the oldest in my class, LOL.

 

[SocialStigma]

I am a traditional student and as others have said, I never really noticed the difference between traditional vs. non-traditional classmates except when a non-trad student would reference something from before I was born or they talked about their kids.

 

[Coquette22]

I can't say that I pay much attention to age. I'm really bad for figuring out how old people are to begin with. We have people that got other degrees, worked at other jobs, had kids, etc and it never seems to make any difference. The oldest in our class is in his forties and he's basically just another classmate. Though I think his pre-vet-school business experience definitely gives him a leg up over some of us. Really, the only time I've noticed age is with some of the youngest in our class, who are only a few years younger than me, but sometimes, their age shows.... But there's some younger ones who are just fine and their age never crosses my mind. I really do think it's a very individual thing.

 

[StartingoverVet]

I'm way more of an asshat in my 40s than my 20s. 🙂

again we are opposites.
i thought i was a big swinging dick in my 20s. unbelievably cocky.

I am still an asshat, just toned down a bit. (believe it or not)