…when I see people on this forum calling themselves old and they’re 27. What is a 40 yr old to do?
Well some people got accepted at 50 or so. There is a saying: “I cried because I had no shoes till I saw someone with no feet”.
What matters is wherever what you do makes you happy. Your age is irrelevant.
take it easy rmiranda
You are whatever chronological age you are. What really matters is your biological age, and that is often determined to some serious degree by wellness practices that you incorporate into your life.
I have an autoimmune disorder. You know when it affected me the worst? It was when I was in my young to mid twenties.
By learning certain things and getting the right people involved, my status has improved remarkedly and for the last several years, I’ve only seen my rheumatologist like I see the OB-GYN, for yearly check-ups.
Chronological age is more relative than a lot of people want to acknowledge.
It’s kind of like genetics–Genetics may load the gone but lifestyle and wellness practices (really lack of wellness practices) quite often pulls the trigger.
Besides no one is promised tomorrow–whether they be 27 or 40.
I am 27-turning 28 the day after Christmas- and I have been encouraged to pursue medicine by the many members who are significantly older than I embarking on this journey. You have to understand that whether you’re 27 or 57, non-traditional is non-traditional. This whole decision has been made even more overwhelming for me because I have yet to begin my first four years. So by the time it’s all said and done, I will be finished around the same time as say, someone who started medical school when they were in their 40’s.
For everyone out there who is running around saying ,“Oh my God I’m gonna be 30, 40, 50… when I graduate” as I have done, just remember what my mom keeps saying, “hey, you’ll be 30, 40, 50… anyway.”
I am 27 working fulltime as a software engineer and taking premed courses. I’ll be the first to admit that if I was older it may be more difficult to go back to school. Right now I live with my parents, and my job is basically my only responsibility. There are a few others older in my postbac program then me…I was surprised to see the majority of my classmates are 22-23 years old…thats why i felt old i guess.
I’m 40 and when I hear the 27 year olds complain about being ‘old’ I sigh and say “isn’t that cute?”.
You know I remember thinking when I was 20 that by the time I graduated and made it through med school I would be 30 before I would practice!!! Oh crap 30!! That’s old! So I chose another route. Well guess what… I am now 36 thinking “What the &%^% was I thinking!” I wish I would have done it at 21. So you see age is relative. Actually I think I make a better student now than back then. There is something to be said about being older. My advice even though you didn’t ask for it is stop worrying about how old you are and how old other people are and start focusing your energy on getting to where you want to be in life. 
- campkel Said:
I'm 40 and when I hear the 27 year olds complain about being 'old' I sigh and say "isn't that cute?".
Kind of makes you wanna ruffle the hair on their heads, pat their chins saying, "It's gonna be alright. You'll be okay."
The only people who have ever considered me "old" are ... umm the 26 year olds working at the local gas station wondering why someone "so close to being done" would want to pursue medicine.
Hard to explain the drive, the need, the want, the desire to someone who doesn't have it.
And on some days, I AM discouraged by this process and this path.
That makes me want to hurt them
Well that kind of thinking was my downfall. I completed a masters in science in my mid 20s and thought about what to do with the “rest of my life” (I would have rather poked my eyes out than pursued a phd). I thought about medicine at the time and was totally discouraged by the thought of how much commitment the profession took. SO I did an MBA, and boy was that the wrong choice. So yes I did have more personal time/money earlier than I would have with med school, but the work is intensely disatisfying.