As a nontraditional applicant to medical school, you will have factors other than MCAT score and undergraduate GPA to consider when selecting the schools to which you plan to apply. They include: age, career goals, lifestyle issues, and financial considerations. Don't gloss over these issues in your effort to gain acceptance to medical school as paying close attention to them at the outset will certainly ease your transition. Here are some suggestions to make the transition to medical school as a nontraditional student as smooth as possible.

The Age Factor
Although many returning adults are concerned that their age will be a negative factor in their applications, they should take comfort in the representative groups of first-year medical students who are in their thirties, forties, and even fifties. Although for legal reasons, most schools claim "age is not a factor in admissions," one way to evaluate a school's attitude toward nontraditional students is to look at its student body. Are there a significant number of nontraditional students? What is the average age of incoming students, and what the age range? Medical schools that have arrangements with post-bacc programs are clearly interested in nontraditional students. You should explore them carefully. Your transition to medical school will likely be easier if you have company.

Career Goals
An important difference between medical school and many other graduate or professional degree programs is that medical training does not end at graduation. Rather, a physician's formal education continues during internship, residency, and possibly into fellowship experiences. In terms of job opportunities, where you go your residency could be more important that where you go to school.

Rather than focusing on prestige or a publishing ranking, concentrate on what you want from a school. Is access to a school of public health important to you? If so, look for a medical school that has an affiliation with a school of public health. Do you need to continue working part-time or during summers while you are in school? If you do, look for schools that allow this type of activity.

Lifestyle Issues
Beyond the academic features of a particular school, there are lifestyle issues to consider that may be quite different from those faced by recent college graduates. Do you have geographic restrictions due to family obligations? If so, focus your research on schools within a specific location. Are you interested in maintaining a social life that, to some degree, involves people other than your medical school classmates? In that case, you might want to focus your medical school search on schools in urban areas or those in close association with larger universities. As a nontraditional student, you are likely to have more responsibilities and complexities in your life than a recent college graduate. As a result, you may find that lifestyle issues play a more important role in determining where you apply and where you go to school.

Seek Out Current Nontraditional Students
Interview day is a rare opportunity to hear first-hand what it is like to be a student at a particular medical school. During the course of the day, you will probably speak with current students, either formally or informally. Ask the students you meet for the names of nontraditional students within the class. If you have a spouse and/or children, ask for the names of students in similar situations. While interviewing, you will be focused on making a good impression and getting in. Later, however, you might have some choices to make and you may be desperately trying to differentiate one school from the next. Input from current students, particularly those with backgrounds similar to your own, will be invaluable.

Research Support Programs
Also, medical schools have begun to develop support programs for spouses, partners, and children of medical students in recognition of the different needs of nontraditional students. As you begin to investigate the medical schools to which you will eventually apply, check to see what kinds of services they provide.

Financial Issues
The cost of a medical education is daunting for traditional and nontraditional students alike. Financing medical school as a nontraditional student can involved significant challenges, especially as nontraditional students often have higher living expenses associated with off-campus living, dependents, debt, and other financial responsibilities. With few exceptions, financial aid offices will look at your parents' income and assets in determining assistance packages. This applies to all students, regardless of their age and whether they themselves are parents. If you are married, medical schools will expect your spouse to contribute to the extent that he or she can. This can translate into personal/emotional issues with your spouse and/or parents.