Good Morning All,
After a daunting first 3 days of the new semester I seem to have settled down somewhat. Although the age thing still grabs me by the hand from time to time it is becoming less over-whelming. Thank you for all the responses. Helps to know this happens to other people as well.
Have a GREAT day,
Kim B.
Glad to hear that you’re doing better. Hang in there! I think we all get our share of the bad days in this process, but in the end the good days definitely make up for it.
Happy to read you are doing better. I don’t see why your age is such a big deal. A student is a student and an aspiring MD/DO is an aspiring MD/DO. I would just forget about and enjoy the ride. Every day that goes by gets you closer to your wishes.
Forget about your age. You will get older no matter what. You may as well get older being a doc!
kbeeson1,
As a word of encouragement, there are several things to keep in mind when you’re ready to start medical school. The age thing will still grab you by the hand, but I think it will be less overwhelming. Here’s why.
Undergraduate curricula are like snowflakes; no two people seem to have the exact same schedule or combination of classes for all 4 years even if they’re in the same major and started at the same time. Career interests vary widely and may change often. In contrast, everyone in a medical school class is there for the same reason, will start at the same, will have the same schedule, will share the same experiences (highs and lows) at the same times, etc. As an example, I met some nice people on my first day of undergrad orientation many, many years ago, but never saw them again after orientation week. The same was not true of my medical school experience.
Medical schools have a knack for selecting a diverse student body of all ages that demonstrate maturity and academic prowess. Attrition rates are very low at American medical schools for this reason. So the people you start with are likely to be with you throughout medical school. This experience will bring you and your classmates together in ways that you never thought possible before med school. The same is not true of undergrad settings where you have 1000 different people heading in 1000 different directions at different times. Also for this reason I’ve found that there is a big difference in maturity level between a 22-year old undergrad & a 22-year old med student. The two are not always equivalent. So you may find yourself pleasantly surprised down the road – though that may seem a long way off for you now.
You’re also more likely to find other non-trads in med school than in an undergraduate setting, all of whom will be on the same path as you. This will immediately give you something in common. As an aside, one of the incoming trad M1’s I met the other day said when he interviewed at St. Louis University last year, it seemed like most of the people he met on interview day were in their 30’s. Just peruse the forums here on OPM. I’m not sure what the actual numbers are, but it seems to me like more OPM’ers started medical school this year than in any other year (could just be that there are more of us now).
The definition of “older†student in med school = early 30’s so if you start in your early 40’s you’ll still likely feel like the old man or woman. But there is far less of a maturity/life experience gap say between age 32 and 42 as there is between age 22 and 32 despite the 10-year age difference either way. You will probably find at least a few people to fit in with.
Finally, as I mentioned in response to your other post, if you are married and/or a parent, there are usually student groups consisting of married students or students with children that are specifically geared towards supporting each other through med school. To my recollection, there were no such student organizations in undergrad.
Good luck with your classes and keep moving forward towards medical school.
P.S. I completely agree with redo-it-all’s post above.