POSITIVE EXPERIENCE

I just wanted to share an encouraging experience I had recently. I am 34 and just entering my sophomore year in biochem at my state university. I met with the pre-med advisor at the school and was pleasantly surprised when she didn’t even flinch at my goals. I was put on the school’s pre-med listserv and was excited to see that the Dean of Admissions at the state medical school was coming to my school to provide info and field questions. Amongst the sea of young students, I mustered the courage to raise my hand and ask if they get many non-traditional applicants. The doctor laughingly said he was hoping I would ask the question since he noticed that I was the oldest student in the room (wow - maybe I should use more eye cream!) But the discussion that followed was very enlightening. He said that he wishes the school got more non-trad applicants, that in some ways we have a definite advantage, especially when it comes to the interview. He mentioned another school in the area that is apparently known for accepting non-trads and said he wishes some of those people would apply to his school. In fact, when I picked up the school’s brochure on my way out, there were 3 separate references to older students. He also told the younger people in attendance that many students opt to take at least a year off between college and medical school and that they encourage that. He said they recently had a 51-year-old woman graduate. After the session, I went to introduce myself and mentioned that I would be attending the Old PreMeds conference in Crystal City. He said he had been hearing more about the group and had considered attending last year but didn’t make it, so perhaps I would see him there this year. Also my pre-med advisor said she was interested in getting my feedback on the conference because she would like to attend in the future if there is information that could help other students.


I just wanted to pass the encouraging words along. I’m sure not all med schools are quite so open to non-trads, but as with most things, the more people work at breaking down the barriers, the more commonplace it will become.

That is really nice to hear. When you see stats on schools not taking non-trads one must wonder if any non trads applied (as was the case above)? If the ones that applied were truly qualified (competitive in gpa and mcat as well as volunteer/research work)? Or to be a fly on the wall in their interview and see if they didn’t say something that caused prejudism (ie. in some way not showing oneself to be humble or teachable). I think this is a great example of there being interest in the non-trads. When I tell my husband about people feeling there is a prejudism in regards to non-trads, he laughs. He says, “They aren’t you, most people are lazy or jerks. Keep moving forward and ignore that information.” Maybe he’s right, maybe he’s wrong. It works for me.


Now if you would only share the schools names that accepts non-trads and the school that wants more of us to apply. LOL. Thanks for sharing.

Yes, I guess the school’s name would have helped. I’m here in Maryland, so it’s University of Maryland School of Medicine. Actually I think I’ve seen someone on here who is now a doctor that graduated from there, so obviously she was a non-trad. I’ll have to look up her story.


I also agree with your husband! It’s funny, but even before I posed my question, the Dean was relating how some of the applicants they get behave during interviews. He seemed genuinely exasperated by the quality of some applicants and was giving words of admonition, such as “don’t swear during your interview,” “don’t take off your shoes during the interview.” Can you imagine?! I think regardless of whether a person is old or young (because we all know that just because someone is older doesn’t mean they are wiser or have more sense!), it really comes down to values and personality and grades (of course).

That is so encouraging to hear! my family is down in MD too - I grew up there. Is this UMBC? That’s also where my cousin went to med school.



I’m doing my undergrad at UMBC which is just outside Baltimore - the medical school is downtown Baltimore.

That is quite nice to hear…especially since I will be one of the older nontrads to apply (will apply at 45 and start hopefully at 46).


My thoughts of nontrad students have changed a little bit. I think one of the big things is that just like any applicant, one needs to be competitive, that means having the grades and a good MCAT. Medical schools are making an investment in their students…I believe that they want each of their students to succeed and graduate. When a medical student withdraws from medical schools…schools are losing money for the subsequent years because, rarely do students transfer from one med school to another filling in the space.


It isn’t enough to be a nontraditional student by itself. While a nontrad may have a plus in the interview stage because many of us have gone on various interviews during our adult lives, if the rest of the application is not strong enough, the interview may never happen.



Marianne,


I am the one you are referring to about Maryland. I was the fifth oldest in my graduating class at age 35. There were several others in their 30s also. The oldest graduated at 40. There were a handful of people that were held back after first year and graduated with the class behind ours, but none of them were non-trads.


UMBC is an excellent school that is well respected and will serve you well in the application process.


I’ll be at the conference in June. Feel free to ask me any questions you’d like about med school at Maryland, either at the conference or on here, or on any other topics for that matter :slight_smile:


Tara

You must have been talking to Dr. Foxwell. He is a fantastic person and physician as well as fantastic Dean of Admissions. If he tells you something, you can trust him; he is not one to lead you on falsely. They are very open to having people come spend a day with the students. Try going in August or September so you can go to the anatomy lab with them.


Again, any questions you have about Maryland, feel free to throw them my way.

  • marianne Said:
I just wanted to share an encouraging experience I had recently. I am 34 and just entering my sophomore year in biochem at my state university. I met with the pre-med advisor at the school and was pleasantly surprised when she didn't even flinch at my goals. I was put on the school's pre-med listserv and was excited to see that the Dean of Admissions at the state medical school was coming to my school to provide info and field questions. Amongst the sea of young students, I mustered the courage to raise my hand and ask if they get many non-traditional applicants. The doctor laughingly said he was hoping I would ask the question since he noticed that I was the oldest student in the room (wow - maybe I should use more eye cream!) But the discussion that followed was very enlightening. He said that he wishes the school got more non-trad applicants, that in some ways we have a definite advantage, especially when it comes to the interview. He mentioned another school in the area that is apparently known for accepting non-trads and said he wishes some of those people would apply to his school. In fact, when I picked up the school's brochure on my way out, there were 3 separate references to older students. He also told the younger people in attendance that many students opt to take at least a year off between college and medical school and that they encourage that. He said they recently had a 51-year-old woman graduate. After the session, I went to introduce myself and mentioned that I would be attending the Old PreMeds conference in Crystal City. He said he had been hearing more about the group and had considered attending last year but didn't make it, so perhaps I would see him there this year. Also my pre-med advisor said she was interested in getting my feedback on the conference because she would like to attend in the future if there is information that could help other students.

I just wanted to pass the encouraging words along. I'm sure not all med schools are quite so open to non-trads, but as with most things, the more people work at breaking down the barriers, the more commonplace it will become.



That is totally AWESOME! I am glad to hear that you rec'd an encouraging word. It would seem that those of the "Rah Rah" crew here on OPM are not simply blow smoke!

On another level, I find it extremely encouraging that OPM as an orgnization and as a message seem to be breaking through. Medicine is populated by very a ery conservative lot of folks and they are very hard to break into. It is this way for a reason - to protet the integrity of the profession and to maintain strict quality control in order to better assure the qualit of care provided to patients in the future.

But, this protectionist disposition makes it incredibly hard for an upstart society to earn the respect & credibility to become respected in the medical education & training world. This is why the senior members & formal leadership of OPM work so diligently to assure our website, forums and conferences support the mission of OPM.

I would love to know the names of the programs you mention in your story. If you would prefer to keep this info private, feel free to send it to me via a private message.

That sounds great. My institution recently changed their brochure and added a picture of my family and I to show non traditional students with families that we are very open to the non trads and older students.

  • OldManDave Said:
That is totally AWESOME! I am glad to hear that you rec'd an encouraging word. It would seem that those of the "Rah Rah" crew here on OPM are not simply blow smoke!

On another level, I find it extremely encouraging that OPM as an orgnization and as a message seem to be breaking through. Medicine is populated by very a ery conservative lot of folks and they are very hard to break into. It is this way for a reason - to protet the integrity of the profession and to maintain strict quality control in order to better assure the qualit of care provided to patients in the future.

But, this protectionist disposition makes it incredibly hard for an upstart society to earn the respect & credibility to become respected in the medical education & training world. This is why the senior members & formal leadership of OPM work so diligently to assure our website, forums and conferences support the mission of OPM.

I would love to know the names of the programs you mention in your story. If you would prefer to keep this info private, feel free to send it to me via a private message.



As far as programs, the Dean that came to my school was from University of Maryland School of Medicine. Unfortunately I didn't catch the name of the school that he said is known to accept nontrads. There are several other medical schools in Maryland, but I am not aware that any of them has this reputation. There is, however, a wonderful osteopathic school (or so I've heard) in West Virginia and I wonder if this is the school he referred to. But again, I must have been writing something else down and missed what he said, so don't quote me on that.

As to your comments re: the admissions process, I am completely in favor of it being rigorous and highly selective. I've been working in an industry where practically anyone can be accepted and the resulting output of work has suffered terribly. It has nothing to do with one person being "better" than another; it is simply that each person has talents best geared toward a certain career. (e.g. just because a person may WANT to be a singer doesn't mean they SHOULD be if they have a terrible voice!) Part of what draws me to medicine is that "integrity of the profession" and quality control you mentioned. I want to know that any doctor treating me is the best, not just in grades but in the scholarly and intuitive application of that knowledge.

Dr. Cook:


Thank you so much for the positive feedback about UMBC and UMSOM. I’m looking forward to your segment at the conference (as well as all the other sessions). I’ll be sure to have some good questions prepared to ask!


And yes, it was Dr. Foxwell - he’s the nicest person! Of course, he is just one member on the board and perhaps not all the members are as open as he is. But he did point out that gaining at least one advocate on the committee can work in your favor because that one person can rally enough of the rest to get your majority vote for admission.


You mentioned spending a day with the students - is that something I would be able to do once I’ve started the application process? Or can that be done sooner?


Thanks again for your response!

Marianne,


I think you would be able to spend a day with students either before you apply or once you have been accepted. I think they would limit a visit while your file is being considered, but I could be wrong. I applied about 2 weeks after AMCAS opened (Mine was the first year that applied online and there were several hiccups in the system). I interviewed early (late October) and had my acceptance about 6 weeks later if I remember correctly. So the admission committee functions efficiently.


Thanks for asking him the question about non-trads. You were able to provide valuable information to everyone else on the board.


To everyone else: Dr. Foxwell also makes it clear when speaking to the med school classes that he will take an out-of-state applicant if they are more qualified than an in-state applicant. He states that his mission is to build the best medical school class that he can from the applicants that apply. In my class we had several people from California, one from Canada, as well as several from a smattering of other states (that my frail aging mind cannot remember :-).


Tara

Marianne, he might have been referring to my alma mater, George Washington University in Washington, D.C. which does have a good reputation as being receptive to non-trads. I was the oldest in my class, starting at age 44. My “big sister” from the class above me started at age 51! There were LOTS of students in their 30s while I was there.


Mary

Thank you for sharing this with the board Marianne. I thrive off of any and all positive experiences that other non-trads have… keeps me going! I can’t wait to have an exceedingly positive experience of my own to be able to share!

Wow! After reading some of your posts here, I’m getting teary eyed. Mary, I would really like to talk to you sometime and get your advice. I have a similar background as yours, and want very much to complete my prereqs to apply to a medical school closer to “home”. I moved to Texas to teach nursing, while supporting my two kids in college. My husband is great… he says “do what you want…” But, the barriers are there… to start with, I am 46 right now. Please contact me if you are available to talk privately about your journey. Thanks!

  • PhDRNtoMD Said:
Please contact me if you are available to talk privately about your journey. Thanks!



LOL I don't know if I have anything to say privately because I am pretty verbose on these forums! Honestly there's not that much to say... and I encourage people to post their questions publicly because there is undoubtedly someone else wondering something similar. So fire away. .... just don't hijack Marianne's thread!

Thanks for this message. In what city and state are the schools you are referencing?

Actually, I had a pretty positive experience myself yesterday. I was at work and talking with one of the neonatalogists. She is actually a non-traditional student herself. She started medical school at 29. I had asked her what range of nontrad ages, and she had said that her med school (OUCOM)there was someone 50+. When I mentioned my plan, she seemed very positive. I’m hoping that next year when I have to start getting LORs together, she’ll write one for me. I was originally worried because you never know how doctor might feel about a nontrad returning to med school in her 40s. Some may be very open to it, some might still have that attitude that pursuing this is better if you are younger.


That definitely made me feel good when I spoke with her.