The Student Room Group

Is it too late?

I am 35yrs old this year. I am married and have been living in Vietnam for the past 7 years. I have always wanted to be a doctor since I was younger however my rebellious younger self preferred to go against my parents wishes to join the medical profession like my siblings, and become a forensic scientist instead. I find myself now in a position where I feel lost. I am unhappy with my decision to not chase that initial yearning to be a doctor. I have had a great life with lots of life experience working for the police and teaching science in a high school abroad. I feel like right now maybe I have a chance to go and follow that dream again. My question to you all is. Can I do it? Will medical schools accept someone like me? I did not do brilliantly at school and I have moved to different departments in different police forces and private companies. My A level results back in 2008 was B in maths, C in bio and E in chem. Admittedly isn’t great. I heard from a friend who became a doctor in 2016 at the age of 45 that his a levels were out of date and was not considered. He also did a year long access to medicine course in Manchester prior to getting into keele university. What are my options here? Should I retake my chemistry A levels? What about the access course? Does anyone have similar experiences ? Or is it just too late for me?
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Original post by Soool09
I am 35yrs old this year. I am married and have been living in Vietnam for the past 7 years. I have always wanted to be a doctor since I was younger however my rebellious younger self preferred to go against my parents wishes to join the medical profession like my siblings, and become a forensic scientist instead. I find myself now in a position where I feel lost. I am unhappy with my decision to not chase that initial yearning to be a doctor. I have had a great life with lots of life experience working for the police and teaching science in a high school abroad. I feel like right now maybe I have a chance to go and follow that dream again. My question to you all is. Can I do it? Will medical schools accept someone like me? I did not do brilliantly at school and I have moved to different departments in different police forces and private companies. My A level results back in 2008 was B in maths, C in bio and E in chem. Admittedly isn’t great. I heard from a friend who became a doctor in 2016 at the age of 45 that his a levels were out of date and was not considered. He also did a year long access to medicine course in Manchester prior to getting into keele university. What are my options here? Should I retake my chemistry A levels? What about the access course? Does anyone have similar experiences ? Or is it just too late for me?


An access course may be necessary as some universities require you to have recent experience of higher education (eg you graduated in the last 5 years) - you would need to check the universities entry requirements on their website or call them. But regarding A levels, some universities don’t consider your a levels, just your degree classification. If you have a 2:1 you’ll likely be in good standing. In terms of age, you shouldn’t be at a disadvantage at all. There are definitely people of a similar age doing grad entry medicine. If you’re genuinely passionate, go for it and make your life experiences work to your advantage during the application/interviews. Just extensively research entry requirements for each university, because it differs a lot and apply strategically to maximise your chances of getting in. Good luck x

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