when do you become non-traditional?

[scdocusc]

Does anyone know what the official definition of non-traditional student is? I'm 24 and have had a 2 year career as a chemist and in healthcare. Would they consider me a non-traditional? or do I have to be 26 with 4 kids and balding? No offense to anyone who fits the previous description. Just wondering because I heard they like non-trad's and I didnt know if I was one.

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[Buckeye4life]

My understanding of a non-traditional is anyone who doesn't go four straight years of college, taking the prerequisities your first two years and the MCAT after your sophmore year, and applying and matriculating directly after undergrad. I think you're probably on the cutoff for what a nontrad is considering you're only 24.

 

[toothless rufus]

When you realize there is no spoon.

 

[janjanbureh]

My understanding of non-traditional is someone who did not have any academic interruption from undergraduate to med-school. For e.g instead of going from four year college to med-school u take some graduate courses or classes before med-school. This is how it was vividly explained to me by one of an admission staff.

 

[Vix206]

i think you generally fit that description. though you don't have any kids and you have all your hair, you did pursue a career for two years, rather than going straight to medical school.

 

[Kateb4]

I really doubt that you will stand out from the traditional med school applicant much, with the exception of a little life experience. If you consider 26 old, then you probably would feel a little out of place in most non-trad circles. Most of us on the non-trad forum here are in our 30s and up, have families and have taken an indirect route of some sort to medical school.

I'm not sure who you are concerned about thinking you are trad or not, but adcoms don't distinguish for application purposes, and I wouldn't worry about it at all if I were you.

 

[bigdog8829]

i always thought it was pretty much anyone who didnt go 4 years of college and then str8 to med school.
even those who get their masters for a year and still reapply are non-trad.
bc the traditional path is simply college--->med school. no breaks.

 

[lrobin15]

I really doubt that you will stand out from the traditional med school applicant much, with the exception of a little life experience. If you consider 26 old, then you probably would feel a little out of place in most non-trad circles. Most of us on the non-trad forum here are in our 30s and up, have families and have taken an indirect route of some sort to medical school.

I'm not sure who you are concerned about thinking you are trad or not, but adcoms don't distinguish for application purposes, and I wouldn't worry about it at all if I were you.

I don't believe the above is true. There are schools that are specifically inclined to non-trad students and they advertise this -PCOM for instance.

I do think that they will consider you non-trad because you have an established career. I know that they really focus on maturity and experience.

Kateb4 is right though about the majority of non-trads being 30s with families -that certainly is my case.

 

[Nombre Falso]

There is no strict definition for a "non-traditional" student. There is plenty of grey area. I do think that the time you spent between college and applying to med school will be looked upon favorably by adcoms. Sometimes maturity is a factor and working for a few years is usually a sign of a more mature, responsible individual.

Good luck!

 

[Kateb4]

I don't believe the above is true. There are schools that are specifically inclined to non-trad students and they advertise this -PCOM for instance.

I do think that they will consider you non-trad because you have an established career. I know that they really focus on maturity and experience.

Kateb4 is right though about the majority of non-trads being 30s with families -that certainly is my case.

What I was trying to say is that there's not a check box on your application that says non-trad. They will look at your app and see that yes you do bring more to the table than someone directly out of college.

People have alot of opinions as to schools that favor or discriminate against non-trads. I just think that the best thing that you can do is present the strongest application that you can to the schools that you want to go to.

 

[Bemeren]

When you realize there is no spoon.

Best reply to any thread ever.

 

[OldManDave]

Does anyone know what the official definition of non-traditional student is? I'm 24 and have had a 2 year career as a chemist and in healthcare. Would they consider me a non-traditional? or do I have to be 26 with 4 kids and balding? No offense to anyone who fits the previous description. Just wondering because I heard they like non-trad's and I didnt know if I was one.

I do not think that there is a formal definition. At OldPreMeds - an organization for nontrads who seek to become physicians - we consider someone nontraditional if they have deviated from the traditional path: HS > 4 or 5yrs college > med school. You would certainly be considered nontrad in my eyes.

Of course, OPM has a significant minority of members who are traditional too. We do not exclude trads &, in fact, we welcome them in the organization & at our annual conferences. SDN is one of our sponsors for this year's conference in Chicago.

 

[Krisss17]

Pretty much a traditional student is one that goes from HS to college (undergrad) to medical school, while a non-trad usually has a period of time either right after high school (like me) or after college and starting a career in another area. If you have to put a number to it, if you are 25 (or older) and are currently applying to med school, you are a nontrad.

 

[scdocusc]

evidently non-trad is in the eye of the beholder! so I think I'm going to consider myself non-trad. It doesnt really matter that much anyway so I'm not too worried. Thanks for all your help!

 

[MaximusD]

Wow, a thread with closure. I don't even know what to do now. This is a rarity on SDN.

 

[madscientist50]

You become "non-traditional" when if you are the man, you stay at home cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and raising the kids, while if you are a woman you are out being the primary income earner... er wait... wrong topic, sorry... Ive been living off of my wife's income for a year, and I am "nontrad" soon to be med student, so all kinds of non traditional. Hooray!

Dont worry too much about being non traditional, like a lot of people said, many schools like that you have shown that you can handle a career or advanced degree program. It just makes you a stronger candidate. Good luck.