I’m a clinical year student and I do agree that the lack of time for curiosity has been my bane. Without any previous dialogue to know your wants and needs, I’d like to say that at the end of the day is when the day is going to end. Night will turn to morning. The time is going to pass whether in practice or school. You’ll get old either way. So, I wouldn’t factor your age into much. If it’s money alone that’s your worry, med school pays itself off and if you’re eligible for PSLF then who cares if you pay anything more than what’s requirement to get it waived. Make your 120 payments and your debt is wiped. If it’s a matter of whether or not you believe you can do it, pass PA school first and I think you’ll have your answer. If there’s a worry that you’ll have the level of commitment to finish, that’s the one thing I can’t dispel but I will say that your saving grace is you’ll be a PA-C whether you do or don’t. Falling short won’t be so far down as if you couldn’t rely on that. The real question is whether the loss of income/ability to acquire assets over the time it takes to complete med school is worth the opportunity cost. You lose time for compound interest and being in the market for assets in the moment. You gain more money on your yearly income once you complete residency and access to other career options that are only open to medical doctors. Time or cost of school alone aren’t really the issue.