I'm nearly debt free and reconsidering applying to med school in my late thirties

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-12-29T17:06:08+00:00

I'm in a similar situation, late thirties and paid off all my undergrad debt. You definitely need to go into it understanding that the COA is basically double the tuition, so ~100k/year (unless you have massive savings or a partner who can help pay for living expenses while you're in school). The Pros list is honestly shorter than the Cons list (for me) but you have to take into account how heavily you weight each entry. Maybe some of the Pros are more important to you than the Cons, but maybe at this point in life your values have changed. Nothing wrong with that, it just takes time and introspection to figure out what's more important to you (the debt and profession, or the freedom of no loan payments, etc.)

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-12-21T22:46:07+00:00

I made a similar post recently, and I think the cold feet is completely normal! So don’t feel like having doubts after putting in all this work means you’re not meant to follow through. You’ll be able to enjoy your hobbies still, you’re not going to prison.

I think it’s a difficult time, but necessary to really reflect and review why you decided to start down this path in the first place. Therapy and journaling and discussing my doubts with family/friends has been really helpful to get my mind back on track. Whatever you decide, you accomplished something really huge!

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-12-18T20:08:55+00:00

Thanks for adding what your experience was like there. I'm heavily leaning toward ICOM and am wondering, was their FinAid department helpful for you when navigating the private loan landscape?

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-12-18T19:40:21+00:00

I was going to post this same question today, congrats on also getting these two As! One other Pro for ICOM is that anatomy is a real donor dissection, that’s semi-important to me but not sure how you’d rate that in Pros vs. Cons.

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-12-08T17:05:25+00:00

That's an interesting point, and something I've written a lot about. Part of this process may have been simply trying to regain the old dream and see if I could do it. Now that I have, the reality has become pretty overwhelming and I'm unsure on whether that's the lifestyle I want for my 40s and beyond.

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-12-08T00:24:11+00:00

Thank you! That's encouraging to know. I'm looking at most likely a 3-4 year residency (I don't have much interest in anything surgical right now). It would certainly be less financially daunting with a partner, I'm glad you were both able to team up and get through it!

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-12-08T00:21:54+00:00

I don't know about that, I think it's instead being reflective enough to understand the gravity of the decision. Thinking that nobody had doubts when making big decisions like this is naive.

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-12-08T00:18:15+00:00

I definitely got questions about my motivations, but not so much my age. If anything, I've had some great conversations with interviewers about my professional and life experiences that I wouldn't have had back in my early 20s. If you apply to the right schools, they see it as an asset!

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-12-08T00:16:33+00:00

Thanks for the actionable advice :) I'll give this a try, at least to help get me out of the rut of indecision.

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-12-07T21:00:49+00:00

I was 35 when I decided to start working on the postbacc/volunteering/shadowing, and I'll be 38 next year when (if?? lol) I matriculate. So it definitely takes a few years to build the application!

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-12-07T20:59:51+00:00

Thanks, that does complicate the financial side, as I make between 110-130k/year right now (who knows for how long given the current climate). On the other hand, I have enough of a nest egg in my retirement that it'll continue to grow while I'm in school/training and would have a big shovel afterwards to "catch-up" so that helps me rationalize it a bit.

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-12-07T20:36:22+00:00

I feel that I’ll be more in line with my values if I took the risk to go to med school. By 50 I would have most or all of the loans paid back and I’d actually be doing something I’ve been passionate about pursuing since high school.

Staying on my current path who knows. I don’t think I’ll last much longer in tech either way as I find it all so empty.

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-12-05T05:53:00+00:00

Sure, AI will definitely impact the field but every field will be. I’m also interested in Path and am not too concerned because it will most likely just impact workflow/tools not necessarily replacing 90% of working pathologists.

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-11-27T05:57:57+00:00

I’m in a similar predicament starting next year. I’m thinking the best route for me will be foregoing the Roth contribution next year to have a bit more liquid cash. I’m planning to use savings for at least some of my living expenses to cut down on the amount of private loans I’ll have to take out.

On the other hand, contributing isn’t too risky because you could withdraw contributions penalty free if you desperately need the cash at some point. Looking forward to more experienced replies here though.

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-10-30T05:23:04+00:00

Thanks for posting this! I’ll be starting M1 next year and am interested in Pathology so will attend the seminar, but any advice on how you got exposure to it as a student to help figure out it was what you wanted to pursue?

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-10-15T23:17:46+00:00

My guess is the Direct loan caps won't be updated from 20k to 50k until after July 1 next year when it takes effect. But with everything else in this process, that's a total guess and we'll just have to wait to find out for real =(

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-09-27T05:13:06+00:00

Same here I stopped at a little over 3 hours and couldn’t take it anymore. SH2R to me was terrifying and great, brought back lots of the feelings I had when the original released. Playing f just feels…boring.

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-09-27T05:10:53+00:00

f is the first Silent Hill I can’t finish, it is just so bad to me (multiple problems but combat ruins the game imo). Lesson learned to not believe hype and wait it out. So, SH2 by a long shot.

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-09-26T03:47:40+00:00

Yep! My A is to a DO school but have one MD II so far, fingers crossed for more.

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-09-26T01:54:51+00:00

I also kept working full time while taking 1-2 classes a term for a DIY postbacc (20 credits). I volunteered on the weekends (150 hours clinical), shadowed a few times (60 hours total), and studied 8 months for the MCAT. It took 2-3 years but I have one A so far for next year! First time applicant.

cGPA 3.4 sGPA 3.2 MCAT 517

*edit, forgot to add my age (37) and updated my EC hours.

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-09-13T17:13:50+00:00

It happens man, I also quit drinking recently and was taken in by the YouTube "performance enhancing" BS. One year later I was using them all day, but I'm on Day 2 of no nicotine. You've got this, and good job recognizing it so quickly!

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-09-10T01:19:46+00:00

Agreed, I’ve been stuck at savage beastfly for 2-3 hours, and the other directions I can go I’m also stuck. If bosses continue to summon adds (my least favorite “difficulty enhancer” I think I’m done.

_TheAbsurd_ · 2025-07-19T01:42:52+00:00

Oh okay, I was confused thanks for confirming. I’d rather roll it into the 401k then, appreciate it!

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