My parents and I were talking and my father says he wants to go to Medical School. My father was born in the Dominican Republic and got his degree as a Computer Science major at a private school in the Dominican Republic in 1991. Computer Science has revolutionized so much since then and since his job, unrelated to his major, took up so much of his time he no longer remembers anything. He makes about 16k a year for working 65 or so hours a week and he is now living with us. He is now 49 years old. We have managed everything and made financial plans (cutting down on needless expenses, renting rooms etc.) for my mother to take care of the bills. He speaks english fluently without an accent, his reading comprehension is better than mine, and he has the best work ethic I’ve ever seen.
I have two questions. Do you guys agree with our (& his, might I add) decision or is it too risky/late? He’s always wanted to be a physician and he is not one to ever retire either. His job is pure torture with the hours and conditions although he doesn’t mind working there until he’s 65 either, I feel really bad for him, I’ll do anything to help him out. Will he need to get an undergraduate degree again? That education was 25 years ago and since then he’s been working retail for 22 years. How will he get into medical school with no prior educational experience since then? He’s a US Citizen, and father of two who will be enrolled in college this fall (Full Ride).
You have to factor in whether he will have enough time in practice to be able to pay back the loans necessary. Most medical students have between $150,000 and $200,000 in debt when they graduate plus interest.
Has your father taken any practice MCAT tests? Has he looked at the required courses to apply to medical,school…and how recently they need to have been taken?
Thanks @thumper1 We will. Any more advice would be appreciated! It seems as if he may need to attend Community College first and then apply. I can help him in Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics. It’ll be fun as we’ll be taking the same courses. Some father-son time there, haha.
Federal loans are forgiven on death but private loans are not. (Sometimes the school itself loans the money and that would be an individual case). Private loans would have to be repaid from the estate on death or in community property states by the spouse.
No, I don’t think it’s a good idea. Your father will require a minimum of 7 years to become a doctor- 4 years of medical school and at least 3 years of residency for primary care. Many specialties require more than a 3 year residency. If he needs to take any prerequisites then that adds to the time. Along the way he’ll need to pass licensing exams and a board exam after residency. Most likely he’s looking at being about 60 before he starts practicing. If he has to fund all my f medical school with loans that can be a significant burden on your family. Plus, your dad would be entering his retirement years with a significant financial burden. Hopefully he will maintain his health and energy for many years to come, but if he doesn’t, how will those loans be paid off? Medical school and residency are very difficult at any age, but probably more so in your 50’s. Is he prepared for that?
Are there any other health care careers he might be interested in that won’t be such a long and difficult path? 2 year RN maybe?
Here’s the reality: he needs 2+ years of undergrad prereqs, including Physics and Organic Chem. He’ll need A’s. he’ll need health care related EC’s.
So, let’s say he starts next fall, and finishes at 52. He applies for med school gets in. (At a certain point ageism creeps in, an Adcoms will look askance at such an applicant.)
Starts at 53. Graduates at 57. Intern, Residency, 2-3 more years. Starts practice late 59-60. In huge debt. Sorry, too late to pay it off.
If he is really serious, I’d look into the intensive premed “Post Bac” programs, which teach the undergrad prereqs in lock-step.
Brywn Mawr has an excellent program. Or in SoCal, Scripps or USC.
^^nah, its more of a practical requirement. If you were an adcom, would you admit someone who may be able to practice 5-7 years, or would you give one of your valuable slots to someone who could practice health care for 30+?
I think it’s a bad idea. There’s not even any guarantee he would get in to med school after completing the coursework and yes he would need top grades and significant health-related EC’s. And the training is grueling, even for young people. And how would he pay off the huge loans?
Why not take a few classes to brush up his computer skills? Why has he been working in retail for such low wages all this time? There are computer boot camp type programs where he can learn current job skills and be employed in less than a year.
Wow thanks so much for all this very very useful advice. Kind of upsetting to read but… such is life. I’ll go break the news to him, he may still be interested in Computer Science.
I agree it’d be easier to brush up on the CS skills, but people also look sideways at older programmers. A possible avenue to explore is a lateral move to the IT department of the retail company he’s currently working for. He can emphasize that he’d be bringing a field/store perspective to the IT role. Or if he might consider law school with an eye to focusing on high-tech such as patent law where his CS background would be an asset.
I love his spirit and he sounds like an amazing man. I have no doubt he could succeed in medical school.
But time is not on his side for sure.
Any chance he would consider something like Radiology Technologist? He would get to study some cool health related subjects and yet could graduate in a reasonable time and live to see himself earning a decent salary.
As someone who got a graduate degree later in life I agree that this is not a good idea for your father. However, there are a lot of fields which he may find just as meaningful and be able to get there in a lot less time. If he is able to quit his job in order to go to school, why can’t he quit to find something better or to study for something better? Perhaps someone can recommend what type of professional can help him to figure out a better path?
We know someone who was a practicing lawyer. At 40 something, he applied to, and was accepted to medical school. And he enrolled. He finished ONE year…and then went back to being a lawyer.
The whole thing seemed odd to me…but he gave it a try.
There are a LOT of health related professions that do not require as many years of training.
Another option might be to pursue becoming a physician’s assistant ¶. The educational and training requirements take substantially less time, they can do “most” things doctors can do, and can make good money without a lot of the headaches and stress that go with being an M.D.
I have a close friend who is a PA working for an orthopedic surgeon making well into 6 figures. He’s in the operating room with the doctor and sews the patients up after the doctor is finished operating, he sees patients on his own every day who actually prefer seeing him over the doctor because he is able to spend more time with them, he can write prescriptions, does rounds at the hospital, etc.
I asked him once why he didn’t just become a doctor since he does everything they do other than the surgical procedures. He said it was because of all the years (and costs) required to get there, he has much more time off, isn’t on call 24/7, doesn’t have to worry about finding his own medical malpractice insurance, and he’s still able to earn a very decent living with a much better work/life balance with far less stress.
Here’s a link to an article in U.S. News and World Report. I think only links to personal sites and blogs are prohibited, but (mods), please feel to remove the link if I’m wrong. The title is “Weigh Becoming a Physician Assistant Instead of a Medical Doctor” in the Education section of U.S. News and World Reports
@anomander Where he works isn’t a big company like that however the name it’s under is located very far from home. He wants to stay in NY. I’m already leaving him, can’t leave my mother all alone.
When I told him about the length and cost of Medical School he no longer wanted to do it because of the competition. I have just checked his degree, he is a Computer Engineer. About the Post-Bac programs, what would he need? SAT Scores? GRE? Transcript?
He just wants to move on from the job and pursue either CS, Engineering or Medicine. He talked about Radiology Technologist in the past. I recommended a post-bac and graduate degree in Computer Engineering. I’m just looking for help, for the most part I’m clueless about these things. Opinions?
@1Dreamer Sounds too good to be true, we’ll look into it. Thanks a fortune!!
It could take your dad almost as long to become a physicians assistant. A lot will depend on whether or if any of these programs will accept college courses that are 25 years old. If not, he can expect five years of schooling to,become a P.A.
Why would he do a Post Bac program?
He might want to pursue radiology tech. Around here (CT) once one has the basic certification as a radiology tech, they can get a job for about $50,000 a year. Then they can take additional courses to become a MRI or CT Scan technician…which are ver specialized…and earn near $90,000 a year.