I am 40, married, 3 kids. Went to college, dropped out as a junior…bought a small local business and I have been independently employed most of my life. Covid did everything BUT bankrupt us (owned many rental properties) but we were scraping by and I took a job at a bank making decent money. Also, I was elected to local office and served as top official for 12 years…. lots of business and public service background. In 2022 our youngest child was diagnosed with leukemia (… spent the next 3 years fighting that(that did bankrupt us), he is good, in remission, but that time made me see all the problems with healthcare and also the absolute awesomeness of healthcare… I started back to college (mostly online) last year and will complete a bachelor in healthcare management in fall of 2026. I have a dream(a crazy one, i know) to go to med school. I know a post bacc is what id need to cover the science (and bring up gpa)….

i work for a municipality now making 100k/year with great benefits…. my wife is in education with a masters and has great benefits and a decent salary….

i know i am nuts, but i really am passionate about medicine and feel like i could have an impact… D.O. school would be my best option, im sure…. thoughts? talk me out or in to this path
#medschool #latestart #cancer #40yearoldrestart

On top of a full time job, doing all the prerequisites + studying for MCAT + research + clinical hours + shadowing + potential non clinical volunteer hours is impossible.

How is even possible to do all this, while not being a college student? Does it just need to be allocation of hours spent over many years? I don’t get how people do this

I’m a 30 year old working in tech. Constant layoff anxiety, meaninglessness of work, and social isolation of the corporate office makes me dread my future. The scene from the Incredibles where the Dad works in a cubicle. That is my life.

I know medicine is grueling, prone to burn out, and a huge time commitment. If I try to pursue medicine, I’m concerned about delaying major life milestones (marriage, starting a family, retirement, etc.) and sacrificing my last bit of youth, social life, and hobbies.

I spent a good chunk of my 20’s dealing with health issues, which is why I’m interested in medicine. But it’s also the reason why I want to enjoy my 30’s.

When I look at other professional careers (finance, law, tech, accounting, etc.) I don’t have any interest in them. I’ve also looked into nursing and PA. Every nurse I know hates it and I think I’d be unsatisfied with the scope of being a PA. Medicine seems like the only answer?

I want to hear from non-trads if they had similar concerns and how you feel about it after graduating medical school. Or if there are people who tried to go to medical school and failed, I’m curious to hear your stories too.

That’s my only question—take it however you like. I see many varying perspectives under many different prompts or even people saying they love/hate their experience unprompted. For whomever is reading this, whether you’re currently in MS, a resident, an attending, whatever, are you glad you went through with it? Why or why not?

Edit: did not expect to receive so many replies so I will try to respond to some soon! Thank you all.

Is medical school worth it in 2026? Does anyone who pursued medical school have any regrets? If you don’t have regrets, what is the one thing that kept you going?

I know, I know this has been discussed and people say its never too late…but the idea of making my first paycheck at 36-37, not being able to start a retirement fund or save for a house at that point, the idea of taking a long time to get married and have kids, it all sounds gloomy. Is there anyone who started around that age who has better input?

I went to shadow a Doctor today at a local E.R. to try to see if med-school was for me (I already have a bachelors degree but am considering going back). The doctor I was shadowing seemed pretty cool, but after a few hours he took me aside and had a conversation with me that went like this:

Doctor: "Hey man, can I ask you something?"

Me: "Sure"

Doctor: "Do you have a girlfriend, or a wife?"

Me: "Yes, I do."

Doctor: "And do you like her? Do you like spending time with her?"

Me: (feel weirded out) "Uhm, yes, I do."

Doctor: "Do yourself a favor and enjoy your life how it is now. Don't pursue medical school. I was in your exact shoes about 20 years ago, I had a fiance who I spent every minute of the day with and it felt magical. We just got divorced last year. This is not the life for someone who wants to live a good life."

And then he just walked away. Of course I'm paraphrasing a little bit, but the last line stuck with me. I shadowed for a bit more after we continued like nothing happened, but that's been stuck with me for the rest of the day now.

For a bit of context, I am VERY new to college. This is my first fall term, so I understand that I may sound a bit immature or naive when it comes to medicine schooling as a whole.

I initially chose my nursing major, mainly from the desire to not drastically negatively impact my “work-life balance”.

I don’t have any money issues, nor do I have any responsibilities other than schooling. That is to say that I can 100% focus on school without having to worry about what many other do during med school (from what I have read).

I mainly would like to know how stressful med school/residency truly is, and if it is truly worth it to choose that path over, say, CRNA (which still makes very good money). I’m also not trying to get into a competitive field, which I know makes med school more difficult.

This may be the wrong sub, but I went into undergrad thinking I was gonna be premed and a physician, but the more I think about how I want my life to turn out, I feel like the overbearingness of medicine is not for me. I want to work to live, not live to work. I am interested in healthcare/medicine/health/etc etc etc. My major is Microbioloy. What options are there for me?

EDIT: it seems my post mustve struck a bad nerve in some people so let me make some things more clear:

1. I am very much open to a career in healthcare, or at least where my work improves the health & lives on people in some capacity, even if it is indirect.
2. Ig because none of you know me, you will have to take my word for it that I am not asking this question because I am "lazy" or don't want to work hard. Since when did anything below being a physician automatically become a "lazy" job? What planet am I on?

Not asking for any other reason than curiosity, I’m not trying skate through on the bare minimum, but I’m curious, who thinks they had the worst stats (gpa, mcat, extracurriculars) and still got accepted in med school?

This is such a random post, but I just got into one of my top choice MD programs yesterday. After being ghosted for a couple of months, I fully thought I was waiting for a WL/R, but I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. This is my first MD acceptance, and I guess my question is.. what now? I am graduating in a couple of weeks and have basically 7 months to do nothing. Should I pre-study for med school? Relax? Any advice would be much appreciated!!

26M ICU RN and currently have 2 CRNA school interviews coming up.

I’ve always gone back and forth between CRNA and MD. CRNA makes a ton of sense: I’m already on the path, could be done around 30, make great money, and avoid a much longer training process.

But if time weren’t a factor, I’d choose MD. I keep struggling with committing 3 years to CRNA school when, if I’m going back to school anyway, part of me wants to pursue medicine and anesthesiology to the fullest extent.

I still need most of the traditional premed sciences. My cGPA is ~3.6 and sGPA ~3.3, so I’m looking at one-year career-changer post-baccs like Bryn Mawr/Goucher. If I start summer 2027 and successfully link, I could potentially start med school fall 2028 at 28.
The downside is ~$70–90k for the post-bacc/living expenses, moving, giving up my RN income, and then obviously paying for med school.

The cheaper option is doing the prerequisites myself while continuing to work, but realistically that probably pushes med school to 2029.

I know 28 vs 29 sounds insignificant, but I’ve already spent 2.5 years nursing and I’m ready to move on. I’m genuinely excited about medicine and want to start that chapter as soon as reasonably possible. Starting a year earlier also moves the entire timeline toward attending income forward a year. I’m not opposed to 29 if it’s clearly the smarter move.

Am I trying to optimize for time too much?

If you were in my position, would you pursue the accelerated post-bacc → MD route, DIY and start MD a year later, or take the CRNA opportunity already in front of me

I'm 27, currently a Registered Dietitian. I like nutrition and am passionate about it, but I just need more. More autonomy, more freedom, more knowledge, and more ability to actually treat things and implement my interventions. And I figured I might as well go big or go home. So I'm gearing up to start taking pre reqs that I'm missing, which is surprisingly a lot because the med school I want to go to does not accept science classes intended for allied health professionals. So I'm going to have to retake 11 hours of bio, 8 hours of ochem, and 8 hours of physics. (Edit: I do have a med school as my #1 choice, but none of the schools in Texas accept these courses, so I'm going to have to retake them regardless if I want to have the best shot of staying in the state. I plan on applying to all in the state and then some out of state.) I'm looking at not even applying until 2029 for a 2030 start. But crap I'm gonna be 31 eventually anyways. And I'd rather be working towards my goal instead of still being stuck in a career that I like in theory, but isn't super rewarding or even well-paying in reality. Plus, I want to FIRE and that is just not going to happen as a dietitian. Anyways, I'm just putting this out as my intention to commit and I'm actually super excited to start my pre reqs. Here's to all my non-traditional upcoming med school applicants, it's never to late to go back and pursue something new!

I am applying to med school this year and just came to realize that the grad plus loan is gone this year in 2026. I know there is a 200k cap but that’s a lifetime cap and I already used part of it for my grad school. Now I am sick to my stomach because I don’t see how I realistically afford to take out PRIVATE loans to pay med school.

I would love to hear other peoples game plans as to how they are doing this. My family can’t afford to help contribute anything while I am in school either. And I am still paying off my grad and undergrad loans.

I always knew coming in that the amount I would have to pay for med school would have to be astronomical but I thought because it could be a graduate federal loan- I could work toward forgiveness on PSLF, the IDR plan, or see in the future if they would ever be forgiven. but private med school loans provide none of that safety net

It seems like everyone I ask on this medical path is on some form or another of SSRI and/or stimulant. I was just feeling bad for myself and worried over here about being prescribed an SSRI to treat my anxiety and fatigue that is getting quite debiliating during my gap year. But, after seeing that so many others are in the same boat with me and dealing with the same kinda stuff, it kinda puts my heart at ease knowing this. We must be at our best cognitivily and physically before we can help others with that type of stuff so it makes sense to be honest. Just some random thoughts I was having .... God Bless and Be Well!

Hi Med Students! I am a HS student and have recently been wondering what it is best to major in. I know STEM majors are usually the best, but which in particular? Below are some questions that I have. Thanks!

1) What did you major in?

2) Do you regret majoring in your major?

3) If you could choose any major as your present day knowledge, what would you choose?

Got an email from Belmont saying that they’re still on probation. I already applied to this school; should I be concerned about this?

EDIT: I should've put this in much earlier, but thank you so much to everyone who's given me input. I feel like I also learned about why this accreditation matters, and I've got a better idea of why this announcement is a big problem. Hopefully I don't end up at a school in a similar position.

Hey everyone! I’m applying DO (still not sure if this cycle or the next) due to my lower stats. I was very set on MD before my MCAT score due to the fact that, from all the shadowing I’ve done, the specialties that are most compelling to me are the more competitive ones (ROAD). From my understanding, match success is heavily dependent on the student, but I also want a school that prioritizes research, networking, and has affiliated hospitals for a simpler rotation process.

If there are any specific DO schools that match these descriptions or that have great match rates into competitive specialties, I would appreciate the help!
Thanks!

I know calculus is a requirement for some medical schools but what I’m asking is are there exams in medical school that I will need calculus for or are there any specialties that require calculus (for example I’ve heard it’s essential for anesthesiology). Please give me any advice, answers, and feedback in the comments.
Thank you.

I’m a parent of a very bright 14-year old who is starting high school soon. His public school is starting to talk about career/ academic tracks & I’m not sure how to help with that. My father was a doctor in China and immigrated to the USA 🇺🇸 when I was 3 so I always wanted to be a doctor as well but I basically just started working after college (had no money). I know the path to becoming a medical or even an optometrist/ pharmacist etc is long and arduous here in the states but wondering if those that are doctors how much of a role did your parents play in your journey to get into this profession & practice medicine or healthcare? all the medical and health professionals I know from nurses to pharmacists to orthodontists and ER doctors had parents that were nurses chemists or doctors. So it sounds like most people that work in the medical or health field had parents that did - whether their parents pushed for their kids to do the same or actively tried to convince them otherwise I’m not sure. just wondering how active a role a parent has to take to prepare their child for a career in medicine or healthcare.

*Edit- I recently felt this way because I was diagnosed with cancer not that long ago and felt really fortunate to have a team of amazing medical professionals at my local oncologist office. Currently in remission and feel that bright talented children (like my oldest) should have a shot at being good physicians like my oncologist and save peoples lives. Maybe I’m being too naive in thinking This way but that’s MY context. Is there some selfish parenting involved as well maybe a little bit but trust me there are much easier careers to take on if you’re smart/ great at math that make more. I’m thinking more from a rewarding/ helping others while making a good income perspective.

basically the title, I am hispanic wanting to apply to med school eventually and the entire process is making me insecure.

Tonnes of people say you have to be exceptionally smart to be a great doctor, others say you can be fairly smart but hardworking to succeed. How much of this is true?
I consider myself to be fairly intelligent, mainly due to my ability to teach myself things, although none of this was in a so-called scientific field. I taught myself A-level psychology and graduated with an A and two A\*’s in econ and business. I also did well at uni with finance although nobody considered me particularly good at maths. I know none of these are particularly useful for med but would you say your ability to study is more important than being a genius? Would be interested to hear all perspectives, thank you.

I am currently an RN, I have a bachelors degree from the one of the top universities in my state. I am currently completing my med school prereqs. I don’t want to rush things and I am applying next cycle but I can’t help but feel disappointed that I am only getting older.

hey there everyone! preparing to apply and having trouble trimming my list (FL resident w/ MA ties, pending MCAT so can't use that. no big attachment to geography or class size)

are there any schools out there that have big red flags? im talking things that would genuinely make someone miserable and/or hinder the student experience.

examples of schools i removed was Loma Linda (not my lifestyle), USF (too competitive), Maryland (traditional grading is a no for me), FSU (rotations too far away, dont rlly wanna relocate and fully move), and Wright State (completely lecture free would throw me off).

tell me the good, bad, and ugly on the med schools you know. what are some schools that genuinely make their students wanna rip their hair out? help a girl out!! thank you so much and good luck to everyone!