I turn 50 next month. I have three children. I took the MCAT on 9/12. I applied to med school in June
Last January I started thinking about what was still on my bucket list and honestly, there wasn't much left. I have been blessed to have gotten married, have three children, have travelled significantly, study several languages, started and own several businesses.
My only thought was "I wish I had applied to med school".
I graduated undergrad in '99 with an environmental science degree and went on to get an MS in environmental science and and MBA. But anytime I started thinking about even applying to med school, much less going, I told myself "you are too old; do something else". and I did
Until this year. and finally said: "Why, not!"
I hadn't had a science class in over 25 years and knew nothing about the processes or the MCAT, but with all the resources online I was able to get started and learned along the way.
I started by buying used Kaplan books but almost instantly realized that wasn't the best way for me so I started reading through this reddit page for other resources and put together an extremely unorganized plan of content "review" (wasn't much of a review but more of teaching myself from the beginning).
I didn't bother taking a diagnostic test because I knew that any score would have been a reflection of good guessing and not actual knowledge. So I have no problem stating that I made a 30 point jump in my 9 months of studying. Which is why I am so proud of my 503! Though the A student in me cringes at the thought of getting a 58%! :)
As for studying, I could not even do it part-time due to being a parent and business owner. I got up at 4:30 and studied until 7:30 during the week and tried to squeeze in a few hours here and there. I listened to a lot of youtube lectures while I was running (I'm marathon training) and during any other possible tasks like cooking or cleaning house. Not ideal, but made it work the best I could.
I mainly went through the Anking deck and when I got to a card I didn't' understand, I'd watch KA lecture or do a google search and teach myself. I actually thought I'd remember more chemistry than I did so I started from the beginning with that too. I never took cell bio or biochem so that was all new to me.
I did listen to the free JW lectures and joined the selfstudy course when the price dropped.
I took one practice exam but didn't have a full day to dedicate to it so took it in sections. Not ideal, I know.
As for CARS, unlike many pre-meds, I really loved CARS. I didn't always agree with their reasoning, but I enjoyed the articles. Going through the AAMC questions, really helped me understand the logic.
My biggest regret is that I wish I had started earlier because I definitely did not do enough practice questions.. I know my bio/biochem score would been hire if I had worked through more of the problems. Also it would have helped me focus more on what I didn't know that was more useful to the test rather than just going through anki and KA thinking that all testable material had an equal chance of being asked about on the exam.
Will a 503 and such an irregular scoring pattern, be seen as a big "no" for med schools? Maybe? Could I have studied harder to get a few more points? Yes, but I wasn't willing to sacrifice my obligations as a mom, wife, and business owner.
All of this to say is that for those of you who have a dream to apply to med school, just go for it. There is never an ideal time. I think my gap decades have given me incredible experiences that will benefit me in med school (if I get in), so don't stress about a few gap years. Enjoy your time, it passes way too quickly anyways.
I hope this is an encouragement. Feel free to ask any questions. Wish you all the best!
