Hey All! Just finished my first day of full time school…I took a leave of absence from my biotech job to take classes full time to prove that I'm not the same person on my transcripts from two lifetimes ago…
Oh my!!! They're so young!!! My science classes weren't so bad but I'm also taking a Sociobiology course that's offered jointly between the psych and zoology departments…yikes! I saw one guy my age walk in so I was psyched until he started lecturing…this is bizarre but I'm looking forward to showing my stuff!
Greg, have fun with it. Some of those kids will be great to know. At least you weren't in classes with kids the same age as your own kid, which is what i've been contending with!!!
At first it bothered me, being the older student. I’ve gotten used to it. Funny thing, I make better grades than most of my fellow students. Chemisrty is not something I enjoy, but the kids don’t seem to understand that one dosen’t have to enjoy everything they study. We older students have the ability to help them in a study group, and that helps us as well. 
SusanB
when I took my first post-bacc class last year (chem I) I walked in, saw the room full of 18 year olds, and thought “Oh my god, are these kids actually old enough to drive?” Then the 13 year old walked in. It was a summer class and we had this 13 year old boy who was home schooled & was taking our class. He was in no way mature enough to be in college courses and he flunked the class. After that I didn’t mind the 18 year olds so much. ; )
Well, Age is only relative…
I don’t consider myself old enough to be “old”. I still think I probably look like maybe I’m 21, 22…so maybe a slightly older student…I’m probably deluding myself. 
At 29, many of the students in my classes have been MUCH older-some in their later 40s and possibly 50s. I’ve had one class where I wondered if I was older than the prof (probably not). I find that some “kids” either avoid you like the plague and others gravitate towards you because you think about things differently than they do…it’s a different perspective.
I met with a prof for one of my classes a couple months ago and talked to her…she is probably 50 something…and the topic came up and she said to me…you have to remember that these kids don’t really know anything. they don’t have the life experience that either you or I have…you have to start from the bottom up with them…don’t assume anything.
I think sometimes we’ll have a major advantage…and sometimes we won’t…but age, is only relative…after all, last time I checked, I was 4…god only knows how I managed to get myself married, and have 2 kids…I still think that’s all a horrible lie that my parents told me and I’ll wake up from my sunday afternoon nap and have some grilled cheese and some chicken noodle soup. But then again…
Andrea
Hey,
I’m 31 and took general biology 1 last semester. It’s been great for me going back to school knowing now what I didn’t know (or at least chose to ignore) back then. The atttitudes of the traditional 18 year old students taking the class never ceased to amaze me. Two memorable quotes from last semesters students were; “I don’t got time to be readin’ the book” and “none of this class is important for me to be a doctor”. In many respects I wish that I would have had my act together as an undergraduate (or even a grad student) but I really believe that the experiences I have accumulated over the past 10 years will make me a much better doctor than I would have been had I went to med school straight out of undergrad. I’ll bet this holds true for everybody out there on this site and all other older pre-med and med students.
I may have posted this before but at 33 I feel pretty old in class. The first day of class last semester I started talking to the girl next to me – she was a freshman and from the same town I grew up in on Long Island – and we went to the same high school. When she heard that she said, “I thought Kaitlyn was the only other student coming here from there this year.” I was all – I didn’t just graduate. Then someone asked me if I was a freshman myself and I was starting to feel like I looked pretty young.
My favorite quote from bio I was, "Just as people complain doctors have no people skills they start to talk about not using cadavers."
I don’t mind being a little older. Not all the time anyway.
I enjoy out doing those young whippersnappers 
Lets them know they gotta study.
I actually think that I’m getting younger now that I’m in med school 
Seriously, I felt the age difference last semester, but this semester either I’m more comfortable with my classmates, or they are more comfortable with me, but either way, I don’t think about the age difference hardly at all any more (I’m 37, class age average 24-25).
I gotta relate this story to ya’ll (yes, I’m a Texan!).
I was waiting for OChem to start the other day and I overheard these 2 girls talking about their boyfriends. One of them was saying that she wanted to go to Michigan over the weekend to visit her boyfriend. Her friend said, “will your parents let you do that???”
The girl replies, "No, I don’t think I’m gonna tell them 'cus they’ll just freak out. I mean, it’s my life and they don’t have to know where I am all the time. Besides, they’ll kill me for leaving town to see him. My boyfriend’s going to pay for the ticket so they don’t find out. I just hope the weather stays nice so I can get back in time for class on Monday."
I wanted to turn around and tell her that she should never leave town without letting a family member know about it. What if she got stuck in Michigan and they didn’t know where she was? What if something went wrong and she needed help? What if she was lying in a ditch somewhere and non one knew??? 
I think I might have been showing my age 
… and the fact that I have a daughter!
I refrained from telling her what I thought, but I was happy to see her in class the next week!
Oh where have all the carefree days gone when the most important thing was when you would see your boyfriend again??? ( married 11 years now!)
And I’m not even old yet! (32 is not old!)
Theresa
Hi Greg! Thanks for starting this thread. I’m enjoying everyone’s stories about the young 'uns. I hope you kick some serious butt in your classes. I’m sure you will, and I hope it works!
So, I guess you decided not to move to Texas after all? Too bad for us in the Lone Star state…
I look younger than I am - but still older than the other students. It doesn’t bother me though. I’ve met some really nice “kids”. I really felt my age when my husband’s cousin, who is just 22, was applying for med school the same year as me. Well, he didn’t get in and it made me realize how much more focused I am than he is. He was more concerned with drinking beer with his frat buddies than doing his secondaries. Ah well, maybe he can be an OPM in a few years!
Pam
| QUOTE (TheresaW @ Jan 23 2003, 01:16 PM) |
| I wanted to turn around and tell her that she should never leave town without letting a family member know about it. What if she got stuck in Michigan and they didn't know where she was? What if something went wrong and she needed help? What if she was lying in a ditch somewhere and non one knew??? |
and not being a mom - but being an adult
- I'm thinking - what if Dad had a heart attack or Grandma fell and broke a hip or brother got in a car wreck or (fill in something terrible) and no one could find her to tell her what had happened and to come to the hospital. I guess you hope she has a cell ph. with roaming -
Lisa
I don’t generally feel “old” but an experience the other day gave me pause. I am fortunate to work at Vanderbilt’s medical center where they are constantly giving seminars and talks. So, this past Wednesday I went to a talk on disparities in health care given by David Satcher. I was sitting there in my isle seat excited to hear what the former surgeon general had to say, and this medical student (whom I swear looked like she should’ve been in highschool rather than medschool) taps me on the shoulder and says "I’m very sorry to bother you sir but may sit in that seat ". (the seat next to me and toward the center of the seats.) A couple of times as she is sqeezing by and once after she sits down she keeps saying “I’m really sorry sir!”. Now I know that she was being polite and respectful and I appreciate that but I’m only 31 for crying out loud.
| QUOTE (dmaes @ Jan 24 2003, 10:30 AM) |
| "I'm really sorry sir!". |
Was she southern? Maybe it's just that "Yes, sir" and "Yes, ma'am" politeness. When I was teaching typing at a proprietary school, these nice ladies older than my mother called me "ma'am" all the time. I couldn't stand to be called Mrs. Sivori (my name then) by all these nice older ladies, so I told them I was Denise. They called me Miss Denise from then on out, even after they graduated.
It's very disconcerting, but I guess we shouldn't complain about manners whenever we find them, even if they're different from ours. They're so rare these days.
Hi there,
Since I am “older than dirt” and older than my residency director (by one year), I usually make fun of the age difference between me and my colleagues. My latest spin on the age thing is that I remind one of my favorite chief residents that I graduated from college six weeks before he was born! He is a PGY-7 and about to start a Cardio-thoracic fellowship next year at UVa. This comment usually makes for some raised eyebrows since Josh and I are starting to look the same age. He’s looking older these days and I am looking younger!
If you really want to stop aging completely, do anesthesia. There is something about hanging around all those different gases that keeps “ya lookin young”. Just ask Dave in a couple of years.
Natalie
Yep, Nat is correct – you simply must be suave, debonaire & quite attractive before they will even consider your application to an anesthesia program…and I have a bridge in Brooklyn up for sale at a deeply discounted price!!!
Yes, YOU can allow the lack of geezers about you to make your Ugrad & med school experiences less than fun. But, as with most things, I take the disposition of taking the bull by the horns and taking ownership in my experiences – they will NEVER be any better than what you put into them!!
My creed applied to the lack of older brethern takes the form of forging relations with your younger colleagues. No, I am not simply referring to trying to date your younger classmates…what I do intend is for you to choose to actively participate in their “reindeer games”. Join clubs, organizations that are related to your interests &/or areas of study. If you are intrigued by volunteerism, do so…on UTDallas’ campus, Habitat for Humanity was very active for example. Also, I applied for every honor society that I qualified for and I joined other student groups. Actually, I also founded the “Neuroscience Student Association” for NS & related majors.
By getting in there and rubbing elbows with the youngsters, you will learn how to interact with them. YOU have much to teach them, if you can only learn how to do so w/o putting them off by sounding like their father/mother. Plus, these are the folks with whom you will make your sojourn through medical school and residency training. You might learn how to interact with them as a peer. Yes, initially you will stick out like a sore thumb…you might even get asked, "hey Pop, whose your kid?"
As UTDallas is far from a nontraditional Mecca, I felt mighty alone for a while. But, after putting forth a substantial effort, I found that I valued my time with the younger folks. And, I forged several friendships that were very satisfying – it is wonderful affirmation of your journey for someone younger to look up to you for wisdom & counsel.
If you can master the nonauthoritative approach, you will be surprised at how the more insightful youngsters around you will come to think of you as a resource. You have many life-lessons at your disposal that they need & want to access. In turn, they possess skils that are of benefit to you. First & foremost, learning their subculture will make your life through med school & residency much richer & more enjoyable cause you will experience it from the inside vs being an outsider.
Second, a huge amount of what I know about computers came straight from the mouths of my younger classmates at UTD. Hell, I dropped $3k on a Gateway solitaire game before I started school – ALL I knew how to do is turn it on and play solitaire!!! After a few chuckles, my younger friends, who had literally grown up with 'puters, taught me a lot.
So, with significant effort on your part, you can massage your age-deficient environment into a enriched experience that will only add to the talents that you possess. Besides, there is nothing of value to come out of perpetuating the generation gap anyway. You were also once living inside this gap…take the time & expend the effort to broach it. The reward will more than offset the efforts.
Too many nontraditional students simply go to college and never interact with anyone other than their professors…and even then only when necessary. The few other nontrads at UTD largely kept their heads down and only attended night classes. This disposition will only serve to make a challenging task all the more difficult and potentially lose the “fun” aspect. Why rob yourself of the full collegiate experience? Go for broke and ENJOY!!! This is your dream…it should be a fun & rewarding journey…but it will be ONLY if you take ownership and MAKE IT THAT WAY!
The onus is on you!
| QUOTE (samenewme @ Jan 24 2003, 03:37 PM) | ||
Was she southern? Maybe it's just that "Yes, sir" and "Yes, ma'am" politeness. When I was teaching typing at a proprietary school, these nice ladies older than my mother called me "ma'am" all the time. I couldn't stand to be called Mrs. Sivori (my name then) by all these nice older ladies, so I told them I was Denise. They called me Miss Denise from then on out, even after they graduated. It's very disconcerting, but I guess we shouldn't complain about manners whenever we find them, even if they're different from ours. They're so rare these days. |
Hey Samenewme,
Being in Nashville she certainly could've been from the south although neither her accent nor the way she said it indicate that she was. She sounded more like one would after accidentally knocking a little old lady down. It's alright though. As Dave has suggested, I will simply embrace my geezerness (such as it is).
| QUOTE (dmaes @ Jan 24 2003, 03:09 PM) |
| Being in Nashville she certainly could've been from the south although neither her accent nor the way she said it indicate that she was. She sounded more like one would after accidentally knocking a little old lady down. It's alright though. As Dave has suggested, I will simply embrace my geezerness (such as it is). |
Darn! I loved my little theory.
Sorry! It was a good one though (theory that is).