Six great benefits of being a mature medical student

When I became a medical student at JSC South Kazakhstan Medical Academy, I was a mature student whereas most of my course mates were 16 or 17 years old.  

Waiting to go to university has had its benefits for me. Here’s why I love being a mature student: 

I have more life experience 

Going to university is a big step in life. Moving cities, maybe even country, living independently for the first time and studying at a higher level of education can be a lot to adapt to. As medical students, we train for around seven to 10 years which means it’s a longer commitment than many other degree programmes.  

As a mature student, the life experience you gain after high school can help with that transition and gives you additional time to make a decision about the long-term commitment, too. For me, I’d already had some experience of living independently after school, was more comfortable making new friends, had more work experience and found that I was more prepared for managing my time as a medical student.  

I gained valuable experience in medical topics 

Before starting medical school, I worked as a medical assistant where I was able to get acquainted with many aspects of the field before I studied it in depth. Thanks to this experience, I already understood some aspects of my course material at university and had first-hand experience of dealing with patients in a medical setting.  

For example, I already understood how bronchitis works in the body, how it is diagnosed and treated, and I was able to study this subject in more detail at university and gained high performance indicators from my assessments.  

I have confidence in building relationships with my professors  

The grades you receive at university and the success of your student projects often comes down to whether you make the most of your professors. As a mature student, I felt it was easier to find a common ground with my teachers and to strike up conversation about the topics we were studying.  

I visited professors in their offices to gain further insights and felt less afraid to ask questions in class because I’d had some experience having to do this in my part-time job.  

I still benefit from student discounts 

Thanks to my student card, I can watch the latest films, go out for dinner and travel across the city at discounted prices. There are always student promotions at the shopping centres and stores for clothing and homeware, which helps with living costs.  

I love that I can still benefit from this reward as an older student. It hasn’t become a novelty.  

I can organise my time and prioritise tasks 

Having more life experience and a part-time job meant I was used to organising my time and prioritising tasks before I started my medical degree. Having this experience has made it easier to adapt to planning my study time, internships, classes and assessments for solid results.  

I also appreciate rest a lot more as a mature student and manage my social time well, so that I have a good balance of fun and restoration as I study.  

I still get on great with my course mates  

It can be nerve-wracking to start university as a mature student. I sometimes worried that I wouldn’t gel with my classmates or wouldn’t be invited to social gatherings with the younger students, but I found my group of friends and I’m still as involved as my younger course mates.  

I sometimes find that I can provide advice to my course mates when it comes to living independently.  

Although I had some reservations about starting university as a mature student, I think it has some great benefits and I’m happy that I decided to wait to study until I’d gained some experience and knew it was the right decision for me. It’s never too late!