am I too old for medical school? -- Virtually Advising Q+A

The Q: I am a registered nurse who has always wanted to attend medical school. I am 35 and my children are teenagers. Am I too old to try for medical school? I will be 38 or so by the time I complete all the prerequisites. I really want to do this, but am concerned that the schools will not accept a near-40 med student.

The A: It most definetely is possible to attend medical school at or after age 40. I have several 30-year-olds in my class right now, and one 50-year-old ex-actress, as a matter of fact.

I won't lie to you, though: It won't be easy, and you're going to have to work really hard in your premed classes and in your essays and applications, to convince admissions committees that this is a life change you are willing to commit to and follow through with. You're also going to have to explain to admissions committees why, after a lifetime of being an RN, you decided you wanted to be an M.D. Why is being a nurse no longer enough for you? I always had trouble answering the "why not be a nurse?" questions during my interviews, because nursing and doctoring can be equally fulfilling in many ways.

My advice, when it comes time to apply, is to select a wide range of schools, especially ones that have a tendency to "look past the numbers" and accept people based on life experiences as well as MCAT score and GPA. My current school, Albany Medical College, is one of those.

You still have a long way to go before you can begin applying, though. In the meantime, don't give up hope, and don't believe what people tell you about your being too old. You might even want to try calling up a couple schools that you might be interested in attending and asking them what they think of someone your age as a prospective applicant. You don't even have to give them your name if you don't want to.

Best of luck,

—Anna Kaltsas, Premed Advisor

This response was written on Oct. 21, 2002.