AlwaysRainingInMyHead Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Hi guys, like a lot of people I've been a long time stalker but first time poster. I'll try to keep this short and concise so people will actually read through it. - I'm 26 this year - Did about 3 years at UofT Human Bio Specialist before dropping out due to being suspended for a year (struggled mentally with being put on probation) - Transferred to a new school and in a new program (Comp Sci/Eng) in hopes of piquing my interest again, did well in said program but was not really all that interested. - Transferred back to Bio at this new school because I do have an interest in bio but also largely due to the number of transfer credits available to me - Had a really bad year adjusting and family was in the process of going through a divorce - Got put on probation due to failing 2 courses and forced to only take 2 courses this coming Fall semester and 5 in the Winter I just don't know what to do now. I'll be close to 30 by the time I graduate and I was hoping to be done in the next 2 years tops when I transferred back to Bio. I was hoping for 2 good years in which I could apply to med schools like Queen's and Western which look at your last 2/best 2 years since my cGPA isn't salvageable. But it looks like I'll be repeating the 2 failed courses this Fall which don't count towards being part of a full-course load for the 2 full-time years as required by Queens and Western. I've considered taking like 5 Athabasca University distance courses to fill in that Full-course load gap for the Fall but even that is a risk since my school will be unlikely to approve of the courses while I'm on probation so I'd have to take them and ask to get them approved AFTER completing them. Unlike most non-traditional students, I've been staying within school and haven't accumulated the awesome life and work experience they have. Also another concern is that my pre-req courses like first year Bios, Physics, and Chems will be 10 years old by the time I finish this degree. I just don't know, should I just lower my goals? My road to MD seems ridiculously impossible now due to my own mistakes and poor choices in the past. Not to mention that soon I'll be a whole decade older than the first years and my family constantly hounding me (as they should be)... And I'm on OSAP and every additional year I take to finish this degree is another huge financial burden. And when I look around, all my friends are finishing their masters or starting their lives. edit: Extracurricular-wise, I haven't been completely idle on my butt. I've been volunteering for various school associations and outside of school as well. I do feel much more mature now than I did a few years ago. However, it stands to reason that my volunteer work is much less impressive than the applicant with multiple papers published and successful poster presentations. But of course, ultimately the GPA is the biggest factor when applying to med school. And although I strongly believe I can get the GPA, there just seems to be so many extra hurdles I've created for myself such as repeating courses, course load restrictions, and just my age in general. Jesus, I'm afraid to even let my facial hair grow at this point without people realizing I'm not 21 or something. Help... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simpy Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 This is going to sound crazy, but you need some time away from school. It's clearly not working for you. I think during that time off I would reevaluate my desire to go into medicine. You face a very long and hard uphill battle to enter medicine. Why not consider a career in an allied health profession? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychoswim Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 ... Unlike most non-traditional students, I've been staying within school and haven't accumulated the awesome life and work experience they have. Also another concern is that my pre-req courses like first year Bios, Physics, and Chems will be 10 years old by the time I finish this degree. ... Not to mention that soon I'll be a whole decade older than the first years and my family constantly hounding me (as they should be)... ... And when I look around, all my friends are finishing their masters or starting their lives. ... In general - I think you need to really sit down and think about whether med is really what you want, or if something else related might fit the bill too. If it's med, then it might be hard but very rarely impossible. Specifically about the parts I quoted above.. - Many of us non-trads actually stayed in school for a relatively long time, sometimes in completely unrelated domains. - As for prereqs, I don't know how it works in other school, but I had to retake my cegep bio and chem courses this year because my cegep is 10 years old too. If that's the only thing keeping you from med, it's not a huge deal though for sure an annoyance. - Then comes the age part.. I'm starting my med-P year in the fall, and I would say around 80% of the students will be under 20, probably 90% under 22-23. I'm 30. I was almost in HS when they were born! Next year will be better as there are older students that get in directly in first year. Yes we are older, but so what? Age is but a number. I have to deal with my friends have lives, careers. Heck, my younger sister just passed her bar exam and will be a full-time practicing lawyer once her stage is done! And she's talking about having kids! lol I'm still single and starting 10 years of education. But it's my dream so that's what I'm doing. If that's your dream, then being a few years older or living your life in a different order doesn't matter. Sorry it's so long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronjw Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 I agree with simpy. Time away is what you really need. Work, make some momey, do some traveling and figure out what you want out of life. If you dont return until you're 30, 31, 32 then who cares? Long is short but long (if that makes sense) so figure out what you really want and then go for it. Coming back at a later age isnt necessarily a bad thing as you'll have fear on your side. You'd be surprised what a good motivator fear can be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazyboy Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Life is sometimes funny, I know you feel depressed and you seem to be running into a dead end. However, it is not. You seem to be doing quite well in Comp Sci/Eng, but you say you hate it. Do you ask yourself why you hate it and yet you're doing well? If you have a degree in Comp Sci, why don't you try to find a job in computing, whether you like it or not, it is a job that pays quite well. You use it to pay down your debt, have time to reflect yourself. With the time away from medicine, you can still read up on Biology on your spare time and whatnot, may be even take a MCAT test, and see how you are doing, without pressure or anything. I know some people that didn't get his MD until 50, age is not a problem. Sometimes, you just need to step back and the whole world is open to you. My 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taiga gal Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 i hear ya...but maybe take a break from school and get out and live life...u don't know where u will end up. i never thought i would be working in healthcare after many many years of living the hippie lifestyle working for $8.00 an hour... ( ooo that dates me...) but i had so many great experiences, many of them volunteer, and i really did not care what my paid job was as long as i could keep exploring new places and learning new skills. eventually i was like, uh...i don't want to work for 8 bucks an hour anymore, so at 30 i went to massage school, became an RMT, set up my own practice, eventually found nursing at 40 and now at 45 am applying to med school. when i think, man! i will be 50 when i am an MD, and then there's residency! well, i am going to be 50 one day no matter what i do, so why not be an MD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfuguy Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 so at 30 i went to massage school, became an RMT, set up my own practice, eventually found nursing at 40 and now at 45 am applying to med school. when i think, man! i will be 50 when i am an MD, and then there's residency! well, i am going to be 50 one day no matter what i do, so why not be an MD? Thank you so much for this, especially the last line!!! Its true! you're gonna age no matter what, so why not be doing and following your dream!!! Needed to hear that!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
path_finder Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Look..life is to short to waste on thinkin..what will happen..and wht will not. Dont wrry bout ur age. U kno the sayin "age is a matter of mind, if u dont mind..it dont matter"... i mean relax..think..and go where life takes u... u said u didnt like com sci/eng...then try medicine lol.. u wont kno until u try. and.. for wht its Worth..i wudnt mind, discriminate, or even ask any questions if there was a 30, 40, 50 or even 60 year old person in my class ... just my 2 cents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flow Cytometry Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I do feel that age will be an issue in the longer run. I can imagine that being older, like 40s or even 50s by the time you are doing residency, the long runs of calls with very few sleep (especially for anything other than family medicine) can be very tough. Hate to say that, but younger folks probably have better stigmata (physically and mentally) to recover from calls karma, assuming that both are at the same training level. Also, there are a lot more to consider in your family life when you get older, not just medicine. Again, it may seem absurd now at the pre-med/medical student level, but this may get clearer as one goes up further training in medicine. While it is an ideal way to say that it does not matter how old you are if you are really devoted to medicine (especially from those ones who haven't experienced the intensive training in medicine), there is just a lot of practical aspect to consider in reality... and assuming that you are ok with your colleagues and your supervising fellows/staff are younger than you, if you choose to enter medical school at the age of 40s. Just my 2 cents as I go thru the training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adversary Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I really liked this response. It brings back memories of conversations I had with the oldest dental student while I was in dental school who was also in my class. He was a 56 y.o. oral surgeon from middle east and an international dental student doing the last 2 years with us. Back home, he was a professor and taught some of the other international students in my school. They always told me he was a tough professor. What we learn in school was not too much an issue for him as he had the knowledge. It did show - he easily answered questions during PBL and one of the 2 people I turned to when I had oral surgery questions. However, every time I asked him how things were, he would always shake his head and say, "Not good." He confided in me that he was stressed out about school and neglecting his young son. Even though he knew core concepts, he still had to study details and that required time into the wee hours. He struggled with late night studying and all the hoops we had to jump through. I could see him running slowly out of steam. Dental school was hard on him, but in a way different than it was hard on the rest of us. His age did play a role though he toughed it out. Anyhow, Flow Cytometry's response just reminded me of him. I do feel that age will be an issue in the longer run. I can imagine that being older, like 40s or even 50s by the time you are doing residency, the long runs of calls with very few sleep (especially for anything other than family medicine) can be very tough. Hate to say that, but younger folks probably have better stigmata (physically and mentally) to recover from calls karma, assuming that both are at the same training level. Also, there are a lot more to consider in your family life when you get older, not just medicine. Again, it may seem absurd now at the pre-med/medical student level, but this may get clearer as one goes up further training in medicine. While it is an ideal way to say that it does not matter how old you are if you are really devoted to medicine (especially from those ones who haven't experienced the intensive training in medicine), there is just a lot of practical aspect to consider in reality... and assuming that you are ok with your colleagues and your supervising fellows/staff are younger than you, if you choose to enter medical school at the age of 40s. Just my 2 cents as I go thru the training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronjw Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 The physical aspect i can possibly agree with depending on one's own health but i'll take the flip side to the mental aspect. Kids and young adults stress about everything. A lot barely have any life skills to cope with their own life let alone helping someone else in their life. Mature adults, some which have had previous careers (not just jobs), some with families, some with health issues personally and within their own family, etc, etc have responsibility and life skills that far out pace anything that 99% of young adults have. We're better prepared mentally for the stresses what the job, life and school will throw out at us because we've likely already experienced it before. Time management skills are important and by and large those mature adults have a better handle on it than younger adults who for the most part only have to concentrate on their studies and why a lot of them stress out when finals roll around. If you have a family then the discussio. On HOW to make it work should have come up before one entered school. Nothing is ever easy but then again nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight. And yes i know im generalizing (as you have done as well) but do know a few younger peeps who act like mature adults amd know lots of mature adults who axt like kids I do feel that age will be an issue in the longer run. I can imagine that being older, like 40s or even 50s by the time you are doing residency, the long runs of calls with very few sleep (especially for anything other than family medicine) can be very tough. Hate to say that, but younger folks probably have better stigmata (physically and mentally) to recover from calls karma, assuming that both are at the same training level. Also, there are a lot more to consider in your family life when you get older, not just medicine. Again, it may seem absurd now at the pre-med/medical student level, but this may get clearer as one goes up further training in medicine. While it is an ideal way to say that it does not matter how old you are if you are really devoted to medicine (especially from those ones who haven't experienced the intensive training in medicine), there is just a lot of practical aspect to consider in reality... and assuming that you are ok with your colleagues and your supervising fellows/staff are younger than you, if you choose to enter medical school at the age of 40s. Just my 2 cents as I go thru the training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taiga gal Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 i have a lot more energy now at 45 than when i was 25...and i presently do full time shift work as a nurse and am a single parent to a 16 month old very curious boy...when there is a code called at 4am on a nite shift, i run, don't walk, and can do chest compressions the same as any 20 year old...i am always the nurse in charge on my unit and so decision making re client care is left to me, in consultation with other staff. i need to be able to give direction to doctors who do not know the patients, including suggesting meds and interventions. if i can do this work now, i'm sure i can go back to school ( for the 4th time ) and then do a residency. just have to make sure i have appropriate childcare and am spending lots of quality time with son, as i do now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hills Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I think that this might be getting out of hand and is probably stressing "Help..!" out even more . This person said that they were 26, which is equivalent to only a few years out of school, and this thread has progressed to discussing students in their 50's!!? Relax, not being 23 doesn't automatically make you 50, haha (and there is nothing wrong with that either, btw). I'm sure that there will be people of all ages at various levels of training, so I doubt that anyone would feel out of place. This combined with the fact that (I assume) everyone in med would need to continue their education throughout their career, means that everyone should just relax about the age thing and continue living their life one step at a time. - No comment on that exam by age seating arrangement, lol - As for the other stuff, I would take stock of your programs to see which entrance criteria you have the best chance at meeting. i.e. two best years, location advantage, best over all gpa, etc. Then begin to finish said program (comp sci or life sciences) applying where you can (possibly in your 3rd "year") to get a feel for the admissions process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.