Is it too late?

Factual Questions
1

My childhood…and adulthood for that matter dream has always been to be a doctor.

Unfortunately I became quite the pot head in high school and dropped out sophomore year and got my GED. I was not able to go to college as I have been working full time every since.

I am now 28 (10/23/03) happy b-day to me :slight_smile: and a proud father of a baby girl, born 10-07-03. Being in the hospital with her and my wife for 5 days( c-section) was great. I really enjoyed being in the OR for the c-section.

Anyway, do you all think it is too late for me to pursue my dream?

If not, then where would I start? Would the GED hurt my chances of getting into a decent school after college? Am I too old to start?

2

It takes about 8 years at best. Add 4 for under grad in 12 years you’ll 40 whether you go to Med school or not! Go for it.
I’ve worked with med students in thier late 40s. As long as you can manage to live a life. Med school is expensive and time and labor intensive. Working during the last 3 years is completely out of the question.
Your GED will make no difference what ever. Your college grades must be outstanding. Even if you start out in a JC and transfer to a 4 year school, as long as you keep your grades high, you have a better chance.
Go ahead and write for information from some schools that might interest you.
The name of the school matters very little. Do you know what they call someone who graduates from a no name medical school?

Doctor

good luck

3

No, not at all.

It’ll take you a long time but it’ll be worth it if you can get through school.

And think of the strong example you’ll be setting for your little girl (congratulation, btw).

First, you have to get into a pre-med program at a four-year school. Talk to a career counselor at whatever school is near you.

Then, once your well on your way there start looking for med schools that you might get accepted by.

Start with that college couselor. Or someone in admissions.

It’s never too late to take a stab at your dreams.

4

I think this’ll be sent to IMHO fairly soon, but:

I don’t see why you couldn’t still pursue it.

Let me tell you a little story.

My mom was married at 17 years old, and dropped out of high school to do it. At 18, she had my older brother. I came along when she was 21, and she had my little brother when she was 28.

A few years after my little brother was born, my parents got divorced. My dad left my mother with no skills, no means of support, and three children. My dad was sort of domineering, and wouldn’t allow Mom to work.

My mother went on welfare, and ended up working the graveyard shift at a 24-hour fast food joint to help make ends meet. Often, we would have no money for food, and she would bring home what she could get for free from work.

We were on free school lunch programs throughout my academic life.

A few years ago, my mother decided that she was going to take advantage of the programs and educational services offered by the state.

She attained her GED, then she went back to school (while still putting two of us through school, as my older brother had graduated), and got a degree as a dental assistant.

After about two years of that, she decided that that wasn’t enough. She went back to school again, and now has her nursing license. She’s been a nurse for several years now.

If she can do it, I see no reason why you couldn’t.

5

You should make your titles more descriptive to get a better response, a mod will probably help out though.

Congratulations on your baby girl!

Colleges a lot of times like people who have lived in the real world for a little while since you’re more likely to have the motivation required. I think you’d definitely find some place to accept you, but you would probably want to take as many credit hours as you could stand, like 15 a semester, and this would be hard if you also have to work and raise a girl. But it can be done, I have friends who took 15+ hours a semester and worked.

If you could get through a pre-med major (Microbiology, Biology, or even English if you’ve taken all the required pre-med courses…but you’d be better prepared in the first two) in 4 years you could be entering med school at 33. You would graduate at 37, which is not too old at all in my opinion. My wife has classmates in Optometry School who are in their 30s. She has mentioned that older people seem to have a harder time passing since they’ve been away from school for so long, but if you’re going right from college into med school this shouldn’t be an issue.

Best of luck to you. Hopefully QtM (Quadrop?) or another SD doctor will reply as well.

6

What a great day for a birthday. :smiley:

7

How old will you be when you graduate med school?

How old will you be when you don’t go to med school in the first place?

GO FOR IT!

8

You are DEFINITELY NOT too old to get into med school. The real question is, can you juggle your family AND all the years of schoolwork? Remember, you will probably have to make some sacrifices in your personal life to pursue this. You’ll probably have to spend time studying when you’d rather be spending time with your family. That could put a strain on your marriage.
You may want to think about if you would be happy to work in a medical career which doesn’t require such intense, time-consuming preparation as being a doc does.
Perhaps check if your community college has a program for Emergency Medical Techs, Surgical Techs, Respiratory Therapy, Radiologic Techs, or Nursing. Such careers would give you a chance to participate in medicine without consuming all your family time for the next 8 or more years (residency can also be hugely demanding, depending on what field you go into).
In fact, even if you’re sure you really want to pursue an MD, I’d recommend getting your bachelor’s degree in something like Nursing, to have a “back up plan”.
For med school, it does NOT matter what you get your undergrad degree in as long as you take the necessary pre-med classes (Bio, Chem, Physics, and Organic Chem). So I recommend getting your degree in a field that will allow you to support your family JUST IN CASE med school doesn’t work out for some reason. This is why I would not recommend majoring in “Pre-Medical Studies”. Unfortunately, med schools have to turn away a lot of good candidates, because there just isn’t room for everyone.

So, if you’re still interested in pursuing med school, where to begin? I’d suggest signing up for some basic science classes at your community college and do your best to excell in them. That way, you can assess your aptitude for science first, before you get in too deeply.
Take things slow at first and don’t bite off more than you can chew. Taking 15 credits every semester is not going to impress anyone if you get Cs or Ds in those classes. Do what it takes to get an A (or at least a B), even if that means taking only one or two classes each semester.
That’s my two cents. Good luck.