What's it like to have older students in your classes?

[ur2l8]

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As someone in their early 20s (very early 20s), I am wondering what it's like to be in medical school (basically an even playing field) with classmates who are potentially decades older than me. Some may be married and others may even have kids nearly as old as me from what I've read.

Is it awkward? I can't imagine I'd share too many interests (other than medicine) with someone a lot older than me with kids. Heck, I can't even imagine having kids-I've only ever had one significant other in my life haha.

Is it also awkward if you do better in classes than significantly older students? Do older students look down on younger students with less of a maturity level? I'd imagine everyone would have decent maturity levels in medical school though...even if it's 4 years away from freshman year undergrad.

So, everyone--Thoughts?

 

[Verum]

Follow up question: Are they at an advantage or disadvantage academic wise? Life experience VS years away from a college/academic setting or do they jump right back on the horse and perform as well as or even better than the fresh out of undergrad college kids?

 

[NickNaylor]

They are segregated and no one talks to them because they're no fun. All they want to do is hang out with their spouse and kids. They consider us traditional students to be "kids" not worth wasting a breath over.

...in case you missed the sarcasm, no one cares. For the most part you have largely matured by the time you enter med school. The stark contrasts you see between older and younger students in high school and college largely disappear for the most part.

 

[drizzt3117]

I would say for the most part non-trads tend to do slightly worse than trad students in my experience with some notable exceptions (myself included, although I consider myself more trad)

 

[Verum]

Figured as much.

 

[NickNaylor]

Follow up question: Are they at an advantage or disadvantage academic wise? Life experience VS years away from a college/academic setting or do they jump right back on the horse and perform as well as or even better than the fresh out of undergrad college kids?

Maybe, but with the exception of the initial transition I don't think any of the non-trad students I know have done poorly.

 

[PanicMoon]

X

 

[ccrone]

I would say for the most part non-trads tend to do slightly worse than trad students in my experience with some notable exceptions (myself included, although I consider myself more trad)

It depends on how you segment out the non-traditional students. Some studies have shown that non-trads are far better post-secondary students. Others show they struggle. Others say it's a wash. A lot of it depends on where they've pulled the non-trads they're studying (ie, Harvard/other top-tier schools vs. state schools vs. community colleges, etc.) and how the non-trads in question are financing their education.

What the studies *do* agree on, is that if you get a non-trad who is highly motivated, has a strong rationale behind getting an education, and has specific goals in mind, it's no contest. The non-trad does better (nearly) every time. Though I haven't seen validation of it yet, the theory is that non-traditional students who go back to school are balancing school, work, marriage/family, AND paying for it. In light of all of those factors, you generally don't go back as a non-trad unless you know what you want and you want it *bad*.

 

[drizzt3117]

Maybe, but with the exception of the initial transition I don't think any of the non-trad students I know have done poorly.

You go to a P/F school.

Non-trads are far more likely to extend or drop out in my experience.

 

[drizzt3117]

It depends on how you segment out the non-traditional students. Some studies have shown that non-trads are far better post-secondary students. Others show they struggle. Others say it's a wash. A lot of it depends on where they've pulled the non-trads they're studying (ie, Harvard/other top-tier schools vs. state schools vs. community colleges, etc.) and how the non-trads in question are financing their education.

What the studies *do* agree on, is that if you get a non-trad who is highly motivated, has a strong rationale behind getting an education, and has specific goals in mind, it's no contest. The non-trad does better (nearly) every time. Though I haven't seen validation of it yet, the theory is that non-traditional students who go back to school are balancing school, work, marriage/family, AND paying for it. In light of all of those factors, you generally don't go back as a non-trad unless you know what you want and you want it *bad*.

Hasn't been my experience. I did a career changer postbac, so I know the non-trad community very well. Of my entering class, all of whom matriculated in med school (exc one dental student) I would say 1/3 did very well, 1/3 did ok/average, and 1/3 are no longer in medicine. That's far higher than the average attrition rate. In my entering med school class, there were about 20 non-trads. Four dropped out and six or so extended. Of the ones graduating with me, only one other girl and myself were near the top of our class. I consider myself more of a trad student because I was a hard science major and worked in a quantitative field before starting med school.

 

[Tipsy McStagger]

I think it really is all about the individual. Age is not undeniably correlated with emotional maturity. Some people mature at a very young age, some are late bloomers and some I dare say do not really mature at all. I think a person's success in medical school, or any profession for that matter, is more a reflection of their work ethic, attitude and maturity level than their age.

I do not discount the opinion of somebody younger than me, nor do I blindly accept the wisdom of those older than me. People are people; I think when I start med school I'll hang out and befriend people whose interests and personality are compatible with mine. Will I be offended if I am surpassed on every exam by a 23 year old? Of course not. I'd be more inclined to ask them for advice.

 

[catzzz88]

IDK if this helps answer your question, but I went to Bryn Mawr as an undergrad which, as you know, has pretty much one of the best post-bac programs in the US. Well, we took many of our pre-rec classes with post-docs... some of them were only a few years older, some were like 10 years - 20 years older. As far as the advantages go, it seemed that it was a bit of a dynamic.

Here is what I found from that population:

As for intellectual advantages: Based on my assessment, most of them were not as "naturally smart" or "quick" as us top undergrad kids. Especially the older ones seemed to struggle a little bit more than us--more questions, more fawning over minutia, more confusion here and there. Yet, what they were lacking compared to my youthful brain, they more than made up for with sheer determination. It seems that at their age and with their goals, they had the time and effort to put in maybe twice as much effort as us young-uns. Thank god those post-bacs were not part of the undergrad curve at Bryn Mawr because they all did really well grade wise. They most certainly had an advantage on anything that needed to be written up; their command of the English language was uncanny and labs always received top marks. This is also probably due to age/experience. So, yeah I would say that the older ones do have a bit of an advantage as they are self motivated and driven to do more than you might want to put in effort to do. Not sure if this translates into medical school or beyond, but I bet that it does.

As for the social aspect: I loved the post-bacs in our program; they were funny and they had a drive about them that was infectious. One of my best friends in Organic Chemistry over the summer was this awesome 37 year old lesbian who was trying to have a baby with her partner. I went to her dinner parties and even accidentally flushed my cell phone down her toilet once (haha oops). She was really awesome and she (like most post-bacs) ended up doing really well in the program. Sure, some of the post-bacs got a little annoying when they held up class or TA sessions with their seemingly unending questions... but in the end, their questions always helped me realize that I sometimes hadn't understood everything perfectly anyways. The key is that they are people too and they might have families and lives outside of school and they might not be interested in going out to get drunk with you and the rest of the young-uns, but they can definitely still be your friend if you let them. 🙂

So there ya go!

I hope this helps!

Best,
C

 

[JESSFALLING]

I think it's more awkward being the older student in a room filled with <25 y/os than the opposite.

 

[wolfie77]

I can't speak for what it will be like in med school, but there are often returning post-bacs in some of my undergrad classes....They're overwhelmingly nice and sweet, although the WORST premed doucher I ever met happened to be an early 30s postbac. Anyway, I feel like most people have superficial contact with these older students, but the postbacs have the unfortunate aura of being seen as "old" and somehow different/unrelatable.

 

[drizzt3117]

Btw my comments on non-trads are specifically referring to medical school.

 

[Tatiana3325]

It depends on how you segment out the non-traditional students. Some studies have shown that non-trads are far better post-secondary students. Others show they struggle. Others say it's a wash. A lot of it depends on where they've pulled the non-trads they're studying (ie, Harvard/other top-tier schools vs. state schools vs. community colleges, etc.) and how the non-trads in question are financing their education.

What the studies *do* agree on, is that if you get a non-trad who is highly motivated, has a strong rationale behind getting an education, and has specific goals in mind, it's no contest. The non-trad does better (nearly) every time. Though I haven't seen validation of it yet, the theory is that non-traditional students who go back to school are balancing school, work, marriage/family, AND paying for it. In light of all of those factors, you generally don't go back as a non-trad unless you know what you want and you want it *bad*.

What studies. I'm interested..., do u have links by chance?

 

[jsp132]

Im one of the older students being 36 in a room of mostly 20ish year olds

I mainly gravitated towards the more older people with labs but when I had no choice I did go with the younger people........I guess it felt more awkward with me being out of place

no one seemed to mention it, seems weird to when your the same age as the professor or older

I guess like other people mentioned, I have more determination then some of the other students and understanding of what to do.........so that gave me kind of an advantage

other then that I was a little nervous about grasping the material as well as the younger students

I think it's all a wash either way

 

[werd]

yeah, for the most part no one really cares or keeps track of who's what age and who's doing how well. most of your classmates will either go to med school straight from college or go within 2-4 years of college... whether you're 23 or 27, or even... 29(!), no one can really tell the difference anyway. there are a few in every class, perhaps more at some schools vs. others, who are 35 or 40+. these folks are more likely to have a different social scene, either due to age or bc they have kids. either way, it doesn't make a big difference in the med school experience.

 

[armybound]

older people are boring and they smell funny

I hope I never get older