How old is TOO OLD for medical school?

In this video, we'll answer the question: How old is too old for medical school?

Becoming a doctor takes YEARS and years of intensive study. Depending on your specialty, you could be in school for well over a decade before all is said and done.

You might be wondering: “Will admissions committees question my ability to succeed in med school when reviewing my application if I am significantly older?”

We’ll discuss the various challenges you should be prepared for as an older candidate, so you can make an informed decision.

Who we are:
Shemmassian Academic Consulting (SAC) was founded by Dr. Shirag Shemmassian, a medical school admissions expert with over 15 years of experience helping thousands of students get into top programs such as Harvard, Mayo, and UCSF. Despite a roughly 40% medical school matriculation rate nationally, the SAC team’s approach has resulted in over 90% of their students getting accepted the first time they apply. SAC has been featured on The Washington Post, US News and World Report, and NBC.

We'd love to hear from you! Drop a question down below in the comment section. We respond daily!

#medicalschooladmissions #premed #premedadvice

[moorkhonkojawab]

I am 53 years old, a 3rd year medical school.I quit my 25 years old job as teacher to get into medicine and follow my dreams as a doctor .

[kiyoshichandler]

I am 41 and about to graduate. I started at 37. I also matched into General Surgery. I think a lot of people think that great grades makes a great doctor. I was not top of my class and as an older adult, yes I found it somewhat harder than some of the younger students but working hard and being a good person goes a long way as well. If this profession is a dream of yours, age should not matter. What does is whether you can’t see yourself doing anything else. I love what I matched into and I love the decision I made.

[StudentDoctorAntonioPatterson]

I started medical school at 49 years old.

[miminelson]

I am so happy to read about this i am encouraged to start my studies at 50 in hospitality and at work they talk about me being too old, it does worry me because i dont what they feel about me.Great encouragement.

[SunnySimmer]

I’m so relieved to hear this. I want to become a doctor. In fact, I want to become a surgeon, either cardio thoracic or plastic reconstruction. I’m an older student and I was kind of stressing about this.

[Doblededartistic]

I'm 25 and I'm starting my bachelor's in graphic design and I will also do my masters in cinematography.

[kavitayjychavan]

I am38 years old Medical coding certification trainer from India. I am determined to become doctor. I have enrolled for medical entrance training course. But it's very difficult to do further studies here after a certain age. Everyone finds it unusual and tries to demonization.

[warpath]

Found this video to be very insightful as a potential non-traditional applicant, unfortunately there are several other obstacles for myself, such as being a immigrant. The other is that I live in Canada and med schools here are WAY more competitive as there are so few here. One of my biggest challenges here is just getting information about the application process and acceptance criteria.

[medaviate]

Thank you Dr. Gupta, this a very insightful video, i really appreciate it.

[biffisawshome]

Thank you for this video! It's been very comforting.

[James-dxvs]

Can someone who's 41 years old be permitted to take the MCAT with only a GED in their academic background?

[nawshadnasreen]

I'm currently doing undergrad in microbiology and I'm from Bangladesh... Would be possible for me to be accepted in USA medical school... With a good CGPA from Bangladesh and if I give MCAT?

[johnnyblue]

The movie Patch Adams comes to mind! :)

[janani]

First Two minutes I believed !!!!I finally found non traditional med career in India

[eb]

Non traditional I find it offensive to use. Everyone should be considered equal regardless of age. College is for everyone not young adults.