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[thesupreme]

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[rmorelan]

9 minutes ago, cacaonibs said:

Hi everyone.. long time lurker, first time poster. I am turning 25 this year and I just received an acceptance. I am starting to get cold feet. Will I fit in? I see a lot of people getting in in their early 20s and I have a non-trad background. I am just nervous about fitting in and how everything will play out. Any advice or thoughts?

you will see this a lot on this forum - medical school is diverse. True most people a bit younger but let's be clear it is only a few years and there were will be people very likely a lot older than you in the class. I had an entire career before going to medical school and fitting in ultimately wasn't a serious issue. 

I would say first off don't expect to always fit in no matter who you are in medical school - because the class is so diverse. Since classes are so large people do tend to get into groups relatively quickly as well ha. 

Ultimately the people from non-trad background often tend to be the most interesting, involved and even successful people in the class. There is room for everyone

[Butterfly_]

1 hour ago, cacaonibs said:

Hi everyone.. long time lurker, first time poster. I am turning 25 this year and I just received an acceptance. I am starting to get cold feet. Will I fit in? I see a lot of people getting in in their early 20s and I have a non-trad background. I am just nervous about fitting in and how everything will play out. Any advice or thoughts?

Hey there,
Congrats on your acceptance ! I'm turning 28 this year and also non-trad too. Average acceptance age to medical school is around 25 years old these days.
You'll be just fine!!
 

[HoopDreams]

8 hours ago, cacaonibs said:

Hi everyone.. long time lurker, first time poster. I am turning 25 this year and I just received an acceptance. I am starting to get cold feet. Will I fit in? I see a lot of people getting in in their early 20s and I have a non-trad background. I am just nervous about fitting in and how everything will play out. Any advice or thoughts?

Honestly you will have a lot of trouble making friends because of the enormous age gap you will have compared to your 23 years old colleagues.
That age difference will make it even harder to fit in in the upcoming years, since you will most likely turn 26, 27, 28 and 29.
By the time you are 30 years old, it will also be extremely hard to find a residency because of your advanced age and the deterioration of your general health

Jokes aside, I'm surprised that this even comes up on your mind.
You're not even old enough to be a non-trad :p

Enjoy your summer and relax. 
You earned it.
And you'll be just fine.

[shematoma]

12 hours ago, cacaonibs said:

Hi everyone.. long time lurker, first time poster. I am turning 25 this year and I just received an acceptance. I am starting to get cold feet. Will I fit in? I see a lot of people getting in in their early 20s and I have a non-trad background. I am just nervous about fitting in and how everything will play out. Any advice or thoughts?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

OMG my stomach hurts.... this is the funniest thing I've heard all day. Feeling too old for medical school at 25?? You would have thought I should be on the geriatric ward when I first started. You're not even 25 yet! How old are people supposed to be??

You barely, barely even fit the definition of non-traditional. Take a breather and try to enjoy. Wait till you're 35 and tell me how old you feel.

[rmorelan]

Humorous reactions aside - I don't want the impression to be your feelings are invalid. Ha, if only emotions responded to logic so cleanly I will say this - there are ton of people going through this life changing event and many will be feeling similar regardless of their age. 

I remember taking pause when I got accepted - often you push yourself so hard to get into medicine that you shove aside anything other than the goal. Once you get in and can actually decompress I think it is natural to be reflective. That being said it doesn't change the point people above have made - you will be fine, and there are many systems in place to help everyone adjust once they are in. 

[goleafsgochris]

You will be average age or so in med school.  You will likely not notice your age at all or feel old compared to most classmates.  

Being a few years older will start to suck though at the end of residency (if you do a 5 year).  By the end of residency when I was still studying constantly and making blah money I really started to envy my friends outside of medicine who had 9-5 jobs and families.  It immediately went away once I started last year and made money.  

[thesupreme]

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[thesupreme]

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[rmorelan]

38 minutes ago, cacaonibs said:

Thanks @rmorelan. This is exactly how I am feeling. Sometimes we want something badly and we go ahead towards it full steam, and when we finally get it, we actually step back and think.. I am at that exact phase. I guess part of it is also my s.o. - I am going to move to a new city for medical school and he has offered to move there with me (he is a foreigner and that is causing a whole other headache with immigration visas and what not). I am just afraid of the sheer number of changes that will ensue in the coming months.. moving and acclimatizing to a new city, then starting a new profession, going back to school, and moving in together.. I also am afraid that I won't be able to dedicate as much time to him as I'd like.. I am just rambling on at this point. I guess I am just afraid of the number of changes that are going to happen and I am having a hard time envisioning what it be like. I am not trying to be a worrywart, but these things are starting to give me anxiety when I think of all of these changes in tandem.

totally natural I would say - this is a big thing on so many levels. 

Medicine is full of these sorts of moments that I think for people outside of medicine are a bit strange - not that ha people other than doctors don't have big life changes. That would be a stupid thing to say. We just have them at relatively short predictable intervals, and they are often disruptive in multiple ways. Getting into medical school, clerkship (where you work mostly independently to your class have 2 years of near unity), Start of residency, fellowships (sometimes more than one), and job. Often involving large moves to potentially different provinces and even countries, and playing havoc with any support network you have - seems like every 2-3 years something big happens. Plus usually you are working really hard at something right up to the transition which doesn't give you a chance to really think about things until it is on top of you - like right now, or matching in CARMS, or the jump from college in exam to two weeks later being in a new country ha. 

So I would say again it is quite natural, and it would be odd if all of that wouldn't affect you in some way. What you are about to do will be strange, at times scary even, and yet at other times awe inspiring in a way that it is hard to convey until you do it. Medicine is like that - and as corny as it sounds it is a privilege share in the lives of your classmates and patients to come, and try as you might you won't be able to really envision how it will work out - only that there will be some measure of chaos and change, and you will get through it. 

ha, and welcome to the profession  

 

[Butterfly_]

21 minutes ago, cacaonibs said:

Thanks @rmorelan. This is exactly how I am feeling. Sometimes we want something badly and we go ahead towards it full steam, and when we finally get it, we actually step back and think.. I am at that exact phase. I guess part of it is also my s.o. - I am going to move to a new city for medical school and he has offered to move there with me (he is a foreigner and that is causing a whole other headache with immigration visas and what not). I am just afraid of the sheer number of changes that will ensue in the coming months.. moving and acclimatizing to a new city, then starting a new profession, going back to school, and moving in together.. I also am afraid that I won't be able to dedicate as much time to him as I'd like.. I am just rambling on at this point. I guess I am just afraid of the number of changes that are going to happen and I am having a hard time envisioning what it be like. I am not trying to be a worrywart, but these things are starting to give me anxiety when I think of all of these changes in tandem.

You are not alone because I also feel the same way when I think about all the things I need to do at once. My best advice is to take a deep breath and tackle each task one at a time. 

You’ve made it this far already, so I am confident that you have what it takes to keep going.

Try to stay positive and do your best.

Everything is going to be okay. 

[rmorelan]

3 minutes ago, Butterfly_ said:

You are not alone because I also feel the same way when I think about all the things I need to do at once. My best advice is to take a deep breath and tackle each task one at a time. 

You’ve made it this far already, so I am confident that you have what it takes to keep going.

Try to stay positive and do your best.

Everything is going to be okay. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3nar3xoJ7A&feature=youtu.be

(ha I have to play with this editor some more - I want more out of it than it seems to immediately offer)

[Doctorofmydreams]

14 hours ago, cacaonibs said:

Hi everyone.. long time lurker, first time poster. I am turning 25 this year and I just received an acceptance. I am starting to get cold feet. Will I fit in? I see a lot of people getting in in their early 20s and I have a non-trad background. I am just nervous about fitting in and how everything will play out. Any advice or thoughts?

I'm turning 25, too! Happy early birthday

I was a bit anxious about this as well but, as others have posted, ~25 is the average age. Congratulations!!!

[Butterfly_]

21 minutes ago, rmorelan said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3nar3xoJ7A&feature=youtu.be

(ha I have to play with this editor some more - I want more out of it than it seems to immediately offer)

Haha yes!!!!!

[thesupreme]

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[Nibbler]

50 minutes ago, cacaonibs said:

Thank you again @rmorelan @Butterfly_. Your posts have been nothing but calming haha. *deep breaths*

Definitely have to second everything they had to say. I am turning 25 right before med school starts and can absolutely relate! You have to take a second to realize how objectively amazing all that you've accomplished so far is!! Getting through the challenges of our lives is how we build the strong characters that hopefully will make us great physicians  

If you ever need a person to talk to feel free to message!!

[ToughLuck]

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[Lactic Folly]

It's natural to have some of the same feelings as starting at a new high school, which may sound a bit surprising given that most people have completed undergrad +/- some work experience prior to starting medical school, but I'll leave it at that. There are some good reads out there about the difference between fitting in and belonging. By virtue of your acceptance, you now belong in this profession, and hopefully that knowledge will help release some of the anxiety about fitting in. Congratulations! Life may throw curveballs regardless, but the changes that are coming will be an amazing opportunity for growth that you've worked hard to achieve. 

[Eudaimonia]

I'm pretty much the same age as you and should feel relatively older since at McGill a good amount of students come from CEGEP, but I seriously doubt anyone would know without us disclosing so! I met lots of third years during interviews who surprised me with their age because rarely someone stood out as being a significantly different age than me. In terms of interests and point in life, maybe there will be some differences, but you do all have a commonality in wanting to be a good doctor and person. 

I'm also moving to a new city and am both excited and a bit nervous about the change. But bonding with classmates can happen as we all have something to learn from each other; I may have some knowledge in research that the younger students didn't get a chance to learn, and I'll be eagerly taking tips about Montreal from the natives. Your classmates are sure to be great and things will work out!

[t0ny]

I'm older and I feel average age in the program. To be honest, I think the premeds are the ones that feel more out of place, everyone that's done an undergrad essentially just has the same/similar mentality. So don't worry!

[jfdes]

If it helps to hear another one, I'm turning 27 in a month and will be starting a 4 year MD program in the fall.

[Persephone]

Turning 29 this Fall, hopefully I will start this year but it's still up in the air! I am applying to the next cycle if not!

[PT2MD]

If it helps at all my wife and I just got in to a 4 year Med program to start this coming fall and will both be starting at the age of 28. Age is just a number. In my previous PT class we had people ranging from ages 22-40 and everybody fit in perfectly! I found that the “older” classmates had a lot more life experience and could offer a much greater perspective on things while in school.

[Galaxsci]

The other thing is that it's almost impossible to know who's 22 and who's 26/27/28. We're at an age where there's really no difference on first glance, so I've found myself assuming everyone is my age (22/23) and then finding out months or years later that they're in their mid 20s or older. Nobody cares how old anyone else is, you'll find a group of people that you fit in with based on your personalities, age aside.

[dumbebell]

I used to think like OP and still think little like 

On 5/9/2018 at 10:09 PM, cacaonibs said:

Hi everyone.. long time lurker, first time poster. I am turning 25 this year and I just received an acceptance. I am starting to get cold feet. Will I fit in? I see a lot of people getting in in their early 20s and I have a non-trad background. I am just nervous about fitting in and how everything will play out. Any advice or thoughts?

Totally understandable! I was born in 1991 and non trad (though still waiting for that acceptance *sigh) and it might seem like a huge gap but it is not. I love the community here and I am sure that many med students would not care much about age either and would be very open minded. 

Congrats on your acceptance!!!