I’m 48 yo. Was in medical school 20 years ago. Never finished. Want to now. Which schools should I be focussing on. I live in New York. Specific names of schools would be great. Thanks much! 
What happened twenty years ago? Quite frankly I think that is going to be a lot more important for you than your age. We kick this question around a lot and in general I think that most schools will entertain an application from an older non-trad as long as it is a good application. (i.e. good MCATs, good grades, good letters of recommendation) Your situation is distinctly different, right out of the box, and so I think that you need to address that looming issue and forget about the conventional “which schools” question. If possible, start with the school you attended last and find out what you’d have to do to go back; if that’s not possible, I would strongly, strongly urge you to schedule a time to meet with an AdCom representative from any local med school to discuss your situation. The usual stuff isn’t going to apply here.
Mary
Mary,
Thanks, that sounds like sound advice. I’m certainly not prepared to discuss my “previous life” here. Suffice it to say that I’m in a a different place psychologically at this point in time.
RGL
RGL;
As Mary points out, your far larger & potentially more restrictive issue will be why things did not work out 20yrs ago. Even more than visiting with them about why, I would even guess that you will be required by other med schools to have some form of clearance by the original school prior to hem accepting you. I do know that if you - generic ‘you’ - are dismissed from Ugrad or Grad school for academics/cheating/conduc t and so forth, essentially an “expulsion”, that any future progams you apply to will make it a pre-condition that the institution that expelled you formally declare you as eligible for readmission. That does not mean that you have to reapply to that program nor attend, just that they are sufficiently satisfied with the current vs. the past such that would consider you a valid applicant.
Now, does that apply to medical schools? I do not know. There may be some policy through the ACGME &/or AOA. Or, it may be the provence of the individual programs. What ever the case, the best place for you to seek answers is thru the programs themselves.
Regarding your comment where you appear uncomfortable talking about your past life here - I completely understand your position. And, it is perfectly within your purvey to disclose or not disclose here. However, I can assure you that you will have to recite the situation down to the details during any interviews you may land. Furthermore, it will be up to you to articulate the situation in such a manner as to highlight all of the maturation, personal & professional growth you have accomplished in response to this past. To simply rehash the details & apologize will not be enough. But, if you clearly demonstrate that you are a much stronger person & applicant for surviving what you went through, then that can be seen as ‘in your favor’.
Your case is far from what we typically see here on OPM. But, we do occasionally see folks who have scenarios along this line. To be honest, we struggle to give specific advice, we wish w could, purely due to the novelty of the situation. I will invite you to return to teach us the things you learn as your situation evolves.
I wish you the best of luck & success.
Good morning RGL01 & it is truly a small; I must be your kindred spirit. I too am 48 & it was 17 years ago I attended Drexel SOM (formally Medical College of PA) and did not complete my medical degree either. I have to this day, not found a profession, that is as challenging & fulfilling like Medicine! I live in Houston & due to family, the only school choices for me are either Univ of Houston Med or Baylor. Both have very stringent admission requirements & not sure how this would be perceived these institutions. I’m very interested in hearing any words of wisdom from this sage group about my situation.
rgreene, the advice for you will be the same: you MUST first clear out the old history and then you’ll be able to figure out whether stepping back into this is do-able for you. None of us on this board can knowledgeably advise you on this. All the best to you!
Mary