At age 40, you're likely established in at least a temporary career and may be able to afford medical school more easily than someone who just graduated high school or is in their early 20s and hasn't started their career yet.
It can be challenging to afford the cost of education without savings or additional financial support, so having a career before deciding to go back to school can help you pay for expenses without borrowing money. A doctor who is older can potentially command greater respect and trust from patients due to their age and supposed experience in the field. Patients may think of younger doctors as less experienced, but this depends largely on the patient.
Either way, you may have an advantage with patient relations as an older doctor. Your age does not determine whether you're eligible for medical school or residency.
Older students often hold the misconception that they're the outlier and will be treated differently than other students. While older students do tend to be conceptualized as nontraditional in many programs, your age will not affect your eligibility in most cases, unless specific programs have strict standards. Therefore, you should feel confident in your eligibility as you apply for admission to medical schools.
At age 40, you're getting closer to the average retirement age, which is around 62 to 65 years old. You can still complete your education and become a doctor at 40, so if you're passionate about a potential career as a physician, you should begin your education as soon as you can. Getting started sooner means you can start contributing to a retirement plan earlier, which may result in a higher yield of savings. In addition, it can help you enjoy a full professional life prior to retirement.
Becoming a doctor offers you a chance to work closely with people to help them identify ailments, get the treatment they need and recover from diseases and other conditions. Becoming a doctor can be a rewarding endeavor that allows you to help people. She has gone onto a residency in family medicine. She was a year-old mother of three kids when she started med school.
She told me about how she finds time to balance everything and still put family first as a med student. Another resource to listen to is this episode of The Shortcoat Podcast. Factors affecting how many older students apply may be the difficulty in preparing the application, getting the grades, and getting shadowing and volunteering when working full-time and raising children.
Many people who have been successful in other medical careers such as nurses, midwives, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, or PhD researchers have also been successful at getting into medical school at age 40 and above.
Every doctor has a slightly different purpose for pursuing the path they ultimately chose. We asked some physicians to reflect on their reasons for starting their medical education journeys a little later on. Margaret Russell, a SGU grad and family physician, spent more than 20 years as a teacher. Russell recalls. For Dr. Remakus says. This meant his instructors were happy to help him develop the requisite skills. In osteopathic programs, admitted applicants can range into their 50s and even 60s.
Pursuing a DO option may be a great way to increase your odds and, in some cases, to connect with other older students with whom you can share your studies and your perspective. Mature students have had time to think about their paths and ultimately to decide that medicine is indeed what they really want.
As another expert teacher for The Princeton Review has observed, most older students are actually better students because they are highly motivated and focused.
Plus, in the intervening years between college and medical school, many older students will have pursued careers in the military or the corporate world. These students bring valuable life experience to their endeavors—including the ability to manage people, take initiative, make decisions under stress, and keep working even when the job gets grueling. Check out our complete list of law schools, based on surveys of school administrators and over 14, students. Teach or Tutor for Us. College Readiness.
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