who is a non-traditional?

[LifeTake2]

Just curious people's thoughts on this as I feel like I almost have to describe myself as a traditional non-traditional student

Currently at the several schools I looked at (I couldn't find summary data) it appears the median age at matriculation is around 23-24 for most schools.

So how do YOU define non-trad?

Is is merely age, and if so what # as I've seen people as young as 24 call themselves non-trads?

Or maybe life experiences?

Or that you had a job/career first?

I know I fit (34yrs, post-graduate degree, 10+ year career, married w/8 kids); but what is the definition you use?

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[azerkail]

I always thought if you weren't originally going in to undergrad as a Pre-med, you were a non-trad.

I think I am, sorta. I went to work and school for something else, and now I'm changing paths. Scary lol.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

i personally think non trad is anyone who did 2+ years of unrelated work before pursuing medicine. this could be after a degree or in leiu of a degree. so basically a 22 year old could be a non trad if they worked right out of high school and then went back to college. this is also different than the professional student that has been in college for 10 years and doesn't know what they want. if they haven't worked in the real world and had a real life, it isn't a non trad. this is my opinion.

 

[TheRookieYear]

I would consider a non-trad someone who had a prior full-time career before trying to pursue medicine. I would include people with degrees in non-med-school-friendly majors (such as english or business).

 

[ejw5075]

I think of myself as non-trad and I'll be starting med school 1 month after my 21st birthday. I've also been a parent Since my junior year of high school, for me it's not age but the journey.

Did I read that correctly, father of 8?!? WOW.

 

[mauberley]

I tend to think of "traditional" applicants as doing pre-med in undergrad with a chem or bio major and matriculating either right after graduation or with a year or two off, never really straying from the beaten path. "Non-traditionals" are everyone else.

But in practice, I distinguish between "degree-having" vs. "non-degree-having."

 

[LifeTake2]

Did I read that correctly, father of 8?!? WOW.

Yep, I just checked and there are still 8 of them (14, 11, 10, 9, 8, 8, 4, 2) but no more coming!

 

[ejw5075]

Yep, I just checked and there are still 8 of them (14, 11, 10, 9, 8, 8, 4, 2) but no more coming!

I worked as a nanny to a family with 6, props to you for getting anything done!!

 

[vc7777]

Hmmm...please review the stickie Q posted just a few days ago re: this forum.

Not sent from my cell phone

 

[vc7777]

oh! And welcome!

My bad OP - and good luck.

FYI: if you search this forum, you will know where I stand on this issue.

Not sent from my cell phone

 

[phltz]

At my UPenn interview they claimed sixty-something percent of their class is non-traditional. I was super impressed, until they said that they define non-traditional to mean students who didn't come straight out of college.

In my mind, a traditional med student is one who was pre-med in college (which they did more or less straightaway after high school). They possibly spent one or two glide years doing research/EMT/a religious mission/the Peace Corps/hiking the Appalachian Trail, knowing from the start that it was just a detour on the way to med school. They then applied to med school, probably matriculating at an age of 22-24.

A non-traditional med student is one who is not traditional. They're probably, although not necessarily, older when they start. They probably, although not necessarily, had another career somewhere along the way.

When you interview, it will be clear that most of the kids there are coming from the same place. There will be a few outliers. Those are the non-trads.

 

[teddy bear doc]

Nontraditional students, IMO, could be older (late 20s - whenever). They could also be someone in their early 20s who had a child as a teen, like an earlier poster. Or someone coming from another career field.

Basically, a traditional med student in my mind is much as the earlier poster described. High school ----> college (premed) ----> maybe a gap year or even 2 for applications/research/americorps/application-boosting EC ----> med school, without any major bumps in the road. A nontraditional is anyone who didn't do THAT. We take the curvy road, not the interstate.

PS. Father of 8???? Holy hell. I'm dying over here with 2. You, sir, are my hero. Cheers!

 

[pinkzebra]

I think of myself as non-trad and I'll be starting med school 1 month after my 21st birthday. I've also been a parent Since my junior year of high school, for me it's not age but the journey.

you and i are in almost identical situations! i have a 6 year old and will be 24 in march - i had her during what would have been my senior year of high school, but i graduated a year early, took a little time off to care for her, and began college with my graduating class. where are you going to school? congrats on getting accepted, i wish u the best of luck!