keep in mind I'm always the doom and gloom here
my school just had the sort of vibe that the older students were considered just.... awesome to have. mature. super cool. respected. admired for their dedication. I mean, at that age most have a lot of life experience *and* are walking away from careers to start over, with slower brains (this is true, the older you get the harder it is to learn high volumes), so there's no doubt to most they are doing medicine for the right reasons, and it usually isn't to impress their parents or get laid.
the downsides some have told me....
they were more tired. this is biology. the ones in their 30s/40s with babies/prepubescent kids did not stand up to the 36 hr shifts in the middle of the 90 hour week in ob/gyn rotation capped by the studying for the shelf given at the end as did not stand up as well physically.... they were not the ones meeting us at the bar after. we were all tired but they looked tired-er
they felt they had to spend more time studying/memorizing for the same grades as the younger kids, (but some felt more "efficient" in that many sort of already knew their learning styles, how to organize, find work/life balance, work independently, etc)
some were sickened by some of the immaturity you'll witness from 23 yos dealing with the mature context of healthcare
it's not unusual to have attendings and residents younger than you (everyone is more mature by then... but it's all relative to whatever they were when they started) treating you like a kid.... there's something odd about being a 37 year old with 3 kids asking a 28 year old if you can go potty
as far as how you will be received on the downside, there's a chance you'll rub people wrong with whatever level of confidence you have being older, or if you pose challenges to the hierarchy that's perceived a result of your age, and there's *some* who still feel that letting older people into med school is a disservice to society that needs to wring as many practice years out of as many docs as possible with the doc shortage, and there are some that will attribute any time you're not as fast as they would like to your age
TLDR
medical training is harder on older applicants' bodies
having the most life experience/maturity in a given room can be a blessing and a curse
some will think you are slow because of your age
some will think you don't respect the hierarchy because of your age
some will think your spot should have gone to someone more young
most will think you are awesome
