What's med school like and is it too late?

apply to pharmacy school. half the thrill, none of the debt.

26 is only too late to become something like an Olympic gymnast !

I encourage you to meet with a couple of physicians and med students, at least for coffee/lunch and potentially to shadow them for a day -- you probably can't see patients, but pick their brain as to what they do, how they do it, how they like it, etc. Do they actually spend their day doing things that you would be interested in doing day in and day out?

And really, do you want to go to med school OR do you want to be a doctor? Your interest in research would suggest you should shadow a scientist.

It's not too late for you. I decided at 36 that I was going to go back to be a physical therapy assistant- I have 2 business related degrees. Just make sure that you are fully aware everything that med school entails- class load involved, money and the time it will take. One of my instructors had been a doctor and from the little bit she told us about her time in school, it sounded pretty brutal. That said, health care encompasses a large number of possibilities for you, so be sure to check out alternatives that would fit into your interest ie. research, maybe lab work, id'ing pathogens ect.

Trust me, 10 years ago I would have laughed if anyone had even mentioned the possibility of my getting into a medical field. I also never would have believed i'd manage to get an 'A' in chemistry, but i did it. While there have been some frustrations, i'm actually excited to see where this leads me. It wasn't that way with the other degrees, so hopefully that's a sign i'm heading in the right direction

Good luck!

Regardless of what anyone says in this thread, med school is suppose to be easier than the college of Architecture (that is the first thing our Dean told us on our first day of class and it was repeatedly mentioned throughout my time there). My class started with 500 students and by the end of the first year we were down to 180, haha. When I graduated there were only 80 of us left.
It's never too late to do the things you want. Forget about age, except become an Olympic athletic but even then Dana Torres was 40.

26 and not a bio major and have had various thoughts over the last few years on what med school 'would've been like.' Aside from learning the basic bio, I find researching/"diagnosing" (beyond the basics like mitosis) interesting and my glimpses of the field feel more second nature than what I'm doing now. I've been around ailments most of my life-whether mine or others' and have a keen interest in learning about them and how they affect the body.

Maybe these reasons are not the major components that one should use when deciding, because I don't really want to just "follow a whim"

Just wondering if any of you with experience in med school have insight on what it's like (other than "just do it" and see) have any helpful opinions?

Thanks in advance.

Reactively, for having been in Law School at 17 (and having since ventured towards other non-law specialties), I am pressed to encourage you do pursue your desire to pursue the many options available to you via Med School, agreeing that at your age of 26, that it is indeed not remotely of an age-medium to be considered extensively old; The benefits of the world of academia.

A friend of mine was well over his 40s, with his wife and family and an established secure position at a Reserve Bank (where we'd worked together in IT), who was amongst the first wave of the brick and mortar Information Technology Degree Masters level with a full MBA, who'd decided midway that his interest would be better accommodated towards Gynaecology. In short, he'd started from scratch - First Med School, then his specialty.

A child of a friend started well after too, in her 40s to pursue her interests through Med School and has not regretted it one bit, presently a Research Scientist for the Federal Government.

I am a strong believer of starts at any odd time in one's life, for having known of an Italian lady who was well over 100 years old, who was pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in English, as a fellow student-peer in my teens.

You are yet - very young still. Jump in and have a go at it.

I missed that you weren't a bio major.

You would probably have to enroll in a post-bac program to get the required courses under your belt. You'll need biology 1 and 2 with lab, gen chem 1 and 2 with lab, organic chem 1 and 2 with lab, physics 1 and 2 with lab. You may also need biochemistry, microbiology, or others depending on the schools you'd be applying to.

As noted, there's no official process for shadowing a doctor. You literally call one up, say you're interested in medicine, and ask if you could shadow. Good places to cold call are small urgent care centers, primary care physicians, etc. If you know a surgeon that's pretty awesome too.

You also want some clinical experience. Look into volunteering at a hospital or through the Red Cross. You want community involvement on your application as well.

A teacher of mine in hs got her MD right as the school year came to a close, she was in her mid-50's...