I’m trying to get some information on what med schools are the most friendly towards non-traditional applicants. If you know of any such schools, please post their names here along with any experiences you have with them.
I expect that most of the DO schools will get suggested, so what about the MD schools?
Kristopher
I think Caribbean schools are the most non-traditional ‘friendly’. Your suspicion is also correct - state side DO schools are also more ‘friendly’ than allopathic schools.
Maybe someone else can also speak to this with more conviction.
My only comment will be to not discount any school on the basis of whether or not you feel that they are “non-trad” friendly. DO schools are probably a little more non-trad friendly than allopathic schools, but don’t limit yourself to DO schools or caribbean. Most schools will give your application a fair shot irregardless of whether or not you are non-traditional.
I admit that when applying I thought that the school I am now at was not that friendly to non-trads. However, I was obviously accepted and there are a number of non-traditional students around. So, even if you hear that a school has a unfriendly rep towards non-trads, if the school really interests you, go ahead and apply there. You never know . . . they may not be opposed to non-trads at all.
edit: double post
I’d echo Amy’s thoughts - please try not to base too much of your thought process on how a school is generally perceived to treat non-trads.
That said, while I was looking, I did save a few comments the schools had about non-traditional students. Do you think there’d be interest in a thread, just saying…
The University of Wallamalloo says, in their FAQ, ‘We encourage non-trad applicants.’
Denial State University states that they don’t discriminate, but they rarely accept anyone over 19.
etc etc?
Thanks for all of your thoughts and ideas. You’re helping me clarify what I really mean and want to know.
I recently read that the MSAS publishes statistics on US MD schools that detail how many of each class are non-traditional or at least older students. I haven’t yet found the MSAS, so I thought I’d ask on here if any of you knew of particular schools for sure.
For example, if you know that Stanford accepted 10 non-trads last year out of a total class size of 150, thats a small percent. On the other hand if they accepted 50 non-trads out of 150, that’s more interesting to me as a potential choice.
I don’t want to turn this into a “what are my chances of getting into a US MD school” thread. I am just curious if any of you know specific US schools that accept and/or encourage more non-traditional applicants?
I’m already applying to 8 osteopathic schools and maybe SGU in Grenada, but I am trying to thin out my list of potential US MD schools from 25 to something like ten. I really have no idea how to reduce the list size other than by mean MCAT score. Hence I’m asking for other people’s opinions.
Thanks again,
Kristopher
I found the MSAR to be a great resource for that. I wasn’t just focusing on the GPA/MCAT though (does that give me a more holistic view? 
). I guess this is the flip side of the application coin, right? We want the schools to really figure out who we are, more than just our numbers. I was trying to do the same. Even though most mission statements say similar things, they tend to say them in different ways, focus on different things. Likewise, you can get a sense of the school’s priorities in their admissions criteria, which are also listed in the MSAR. And check out their websites as well, and…
Yeah, there’s a lot of information out there, and for me at least, there’s a lot that it’s prioritize before their non-trad states. IIRC, you don’t exactly see the number of non traditional matriculants, but you may get their median class age, and anything else they self-report. I’m not certain, though.
The MSAR (Medical School Admissions Requirements) doesn’t give data regarding age ranges of the matriculating class. The only way to even begin to parse this out is by reading the Mission Statement and Selection Factors (narrative) published for each medical school. And, this information is provided by the admissions offices themselves, not an outside party.
Another publication, Pre-Med Advisors Reference Manual does give the age range of matriculants for each medical school under the heading “Non-Traditional Students,” but the data were collected in 2003/04. (So…rather old.) And, this is a publication not available to applicants, unfortunately.
Cheers,
Judy
I would carve down a list of 25 M.D. schools to 10 by scrutinizing each school and determining which ones I would want to apply to, based on location, appeal, finances, etc.
Don’t choose a school because you think you’ll have a better chance at getting in. The admissions process is far too arbitrary for that.
Mary
Everyone knows my take on this…
The University of Kansas School of Medicine (MD)! Where at the “tender age” of 45 years of age, I am the FOURTH oldest graduate.
I felt the exact same way doing my undergrad work in Lawrence, while nothing “official” or “by policy”, I noticed again and again being encouraged in nearly all aspects; faculty, services administration and classmates…
Sometimes I felt like those around me were sort of “holding the door with their foot” for me with the armload of packages (older student issues) that I carried.
1 Like
- Emergency! Said:
My only comment will be to not discount any school on the basis of whether or not you feel that they are "non-trad" friendly. DO schools are probably a little more non-trad friendly than allopathic schools, but don't limit yourself to DO schools or caribbean. Most schools will give your application a fair shot irregardless of whether or not you are non-traditional.
I admit that when applying I thought that the school I am now at was not that friendly to non-trads. However, I was obviously accepted and there are a number of non-traditional students around. So, even if you hear that a school has a unfriendly rep towards non-trads, if the school really interests you, go ahead and apply there. You never know . . . they may not be opposed to non-trads at all.
I admit that when applying I thought that the school I am now at was not that friendly to non-trads. However, I was obviously accepted and there are a number of non-traditional students around. So, even if you hear that a school has a unfriendly rep towards non-trads, if the school really interests you, go ahead and apply there. You never know . . . they may not be opposed to non-trads at all.
I have a question? How much does it cost to apply per school?
I think limiting the application process to a school due to opinion of Nontrad friendly is not a good idea just because the ADCOM mind is hard to really know. But if a school has not or there is a known issue of not admitting older students then I would pass on them.
- DRFP Said:
I have a question? How much does it cost to apply per school?
Check this out
http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/fap /aboutfap...
The fee assistance program waves the $520 AMCAS fee which submits your app to 13 schools. Its $30 per school for every school beyond 13.
- DRFP Said:
I have a question? How much does it cost to apply per school?
I think limiting the application process to a school due to opinion of Nontrad friendly is not a good idea just because the ADCOM mind is hard to really know. But if a school has not or there is a known issue of not admitting older students then I would pass on them.
I think limiting the application process to a school due to opinion of Nontrad friendly is not a good idea just because the ADCOM mind is hard to really know. But if a school has not or there is a known issue of not admitting older students then I would pass on them.
How often do you KNOW factually that a school has an issue with older students. Most stories are just that - stories, or the personal experience of one or two people. I also think there is a tendency for some people to use certain aspects as an excuse for why they didn't get accepted: "Oh, I applied to X school, but they didn't accept me because I'm a non-trad and they don't like non-trads." or even "They didn't admit me because they already met their quota of X type of students."
Or, perhaps the school did indeed have an issue with non-trads in the past. Schools often change their policies and even though someone has issue in the past, the administration may have since corrected that problem.
As to cost - when I applied AMCAS charged $25 per school and secondaries ranged from $25 - $100 each. So yes, there can be a cost issue. But, my opinion is that if you have a genuine interest in a school due to location or research interests or something like that, you shouldn't NOT apply there just because you've "heard" that they aren't friendly to non-trads.
- Emergency! Said:
- DRFP Said:
I have a question? How much does it cost to apply per school?
I think limiting the application process to a school due to opinion of Nontrad friendly is not a good idea just because the ADCOM mind is hard to really know. But if a school has not or there is a known issue of not admitting older students then I would pass on them.
I think limiting the application process to a school due to opinion of Nontrad friendly is not a good idea just because the ADCOM mind is hard to really know. But if a school has not or there is a known issue of not admitting older students then I would pass on them.
How often do you KNOW factually that a school has an issue with older students. Most stories are just that - stories, or the personal experience of one or two people. I also think there is a tendency for some people to use certain aspects as an excuse for why they didn't get accepted: "Oh, I applied to X school, but they didn't accept me because I'm a non-trad and they don't like non-trads." or even "They didn't admit me because they already met their quota of X type of students."
Or, perhaps the school did indeed have an issue with non-trads in the past. Schools often change their policies and even though someone has issue in the past, the administration may have since corrected that problem.
As to cost - when I applied AMCAS charged $25 per school and secondaries ranged from $25 - $100 each. So yes, there can be a cost issue. But, my opinion is that if you have a genuine interest in a school due to location or research interests or something like that, you shouldn't NOT apply there just because you've "heard" that they aren't friendly to non-trads.
Exactly I agree, there have been applicants in the recent past who have told us things though, Like "The ADCOM member brought up my pregnancy and said they thought it would be too tough for me to attend being a new mother" "I was rejected from that school too" or "An ADCOM mentioned my age and stated that medical school is for younger students who can have the ability to do 70 hour weeks with little sleep." I have read statements like this, but I wonder a couple of things, Are these members still part of the committee, did these things really mean anything?
I would include as many schools as possible in an application with the factors of averaged GPA and MCAT being the only factor to consider.
This is my current opinion on this.