Mature Entry Medicine | Non-Traditional Applicants | PreMed 101

Mature Entry Medicine & Non-Traditional Medical School Applicants

Mature Entry Medicine: Pursuing medicine as a non-traditional medical school applicant is an exciting yet challenging prospect. There are several common profiles of aspiring physicians that fit into this category. Fortunately, there is a growing trend amongst medical schools to ensure that a certain proportion of spots, per medical school class, are reserved for mature medical school applicants. For e.g. the McGill Non-Traditional Medical School Pathway is specifically designed to capture the diversity of experiences and skillsets that Non-Traditional applicants possess that aren’t only captured in one’s GPA and MCAT score.

Mature Entry Medicine: Common Scenarios

Non-Traditional Medical School Applicants

Here are a few common scenarios for a non-traditional medical school applicant (mature entry medicine):

1. Professional is a Science field (e.g. Nursing, Engineering, Computer Science, Pharmacy) interested in changing career paths and applying to medicine as a non-traditional applicant.
2. Professional in an unrelated field (e.g. teaching, business, law) interested in changing career paths and applying to medicine as a non-traditional applicant.
3. A mature student (e.g. 20-30 years out of undergraduate) in a Healthcare Career (e.g. public health, medical administration, medical research) interested in pursuing medicine as a non-traditional applicant.
4. Many other potential career tracks are also seen.

Unlike most applicants to medicine, as a non-traditional applicant to medical school, you have the luxury of a wealth of experiences and skills you have accumulated over time. For most applicants, their resume is the most significant part of their application.