Admission Committe View on Varsity Sports

[pinacol]

I was talking to another pre-med student who met with a medical school admissions officer, and he told me that the officer said that the school doesn't like to see varsity sports on resumes. They said that varsity sports appear as a time-consuming, selfish activity which could have been better spent on volunteering and bettering the community. Has anyone else heard the same thing and is there any ounce of truth to this?

Personally, I think it is horrible that an admissions officer would say such a thing. I am on a varsity sport (rowing), and it is time consuming. But it's where I learned discipline, teamwork, and it is where I found my support through my college career. I honestly don't think I would have done as well in school if I hadn't been on my sports team. (Granted, I could have logged more volunteer hours if I didn't do crew, but I am getting my volunteer hours up to speed now.)

Thanks for your thoughts!

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[Lamel]

I really can't see how a varsity sport can be taken negatively, given that the rest of the application is strong (good numbers and experiences). In fact it can be a very cool thing to mention in your application and interviews. BUT if you are deficient in any other parts of your application (ex. low grades or lack of medical exposure) then the varsity sport isn't going to help make up for that.

I think the way you describe your experience on the team is great. Experiences are more about what you get out of them.

 

[Catalystik]

I've never heard someone say something like sports are selfish and a waste of time.

Neither have I. And while some adcomms won't "get it", others feel that intercollegiate sports involvement shows passion, discipline, and determination and is an expression of altruism where one rises above self to act for the team's benefit. These days, medicine is a team sport, too, afterall, and all these traits translate well into characteristics desirable in a future physician.

 

[baxt1412]

if you can juggle a varsity sport and maintain good academics, shadowing, volunteering, etc then they will look at it positively.

some members may give you a little leeway on your GPA.... potentially.

but it won't make up for a 3.0 24

 

[Doug Underhill]

Yes, there are adcom members who were once pasty-faced nerds who were shoved into lockers and had their books thrown into the mud by jocks in high school, and have a negative view of athletics as a result.

You can find adcom members with pretty much any viewpoint on any EC, particularly if they're trying to challenge you during the interview.

 

[Goro]

A student-athlete who has good grades and ECs will be viewed very favorably.

Student-athletes with poor to fair grades, not at all.

I was talking to another pre-med student who met with a medical school admissions officer, and he told me that the officer said that the school doesn't like to see varsity sports on resumes. They said that varsity sports appear as a time-consuming, selfish activity which could have been better spent on volunteering and bettering the community. Has anyone else heard the same thing and is there any ounce of truth to this?

Personally, I think it is horrible that an admissions officer would say such a thing. I am on a varsity sport (rowing), and it is time consuming. But it's where I learned discipline, teamwork, and it is where I found my support through my college career. I honestly don't think I would have done as well in school if I hadn't been on my sports team. (Granted, I could have logged more volunteer hours if I didn't do crew, but I am getting my volunteer hours up to speed now.)

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[Doug Underhill]

I know of one former Division 1 volleyball player who is currently a MD student at a Top 25 school. She said that she was actually a bit short on clinical ECs relative to the average applicant, and that the school was perfectly OK with this.

Of course, she had good grades. Take this anecdote with a bag of IV saline.

 

[Narmerguy]

I was talking to another pre-med student who met with a medical school admissions officer, and he told me that the officer said that the school doesn't like to see varsity sports on resumes. They said that varsity sports appear as a time-consuming, selfish activity which could have been better spent on volunteering and bettering the community. Has anyone else heard the same thing and is there any ounce of truth to this?

Personally, I think it is horrible that an admissions officer would say such a thing. I am on a varsity sport (rowing), and it is time consuming. But it's where I learned discipline, teamwork, and it is where I found my support through my college career. I honestly don't think I would have done as well in school if I hadn't been on my sports team. (Granted, I could have logged more volunteer hours if I didn't do crew, but I am getting my volunteer hours up to speed now.)

Thanks for your thoughts!

I'm quite positive that this is an anomaly. In reality, it's possible for an admissions officer to take exception to anything in your application--maybe they hate people who waste time playing in orchestras or writing for the school newspaper. You can't please everyone, and some people are simply unreasonable. In general, sports are highly regarded so long as the rest of your application is good.

 

[pinacol]

Thanks for the responses--it's a relief to hear! My GPA, MCAT and other ECs are fine, so I won't worry about it anymore. I'm just going to go with that it was probably an anomaly and that being on crew won't hurt my chances of getting into medical school!

 

[ProudMD]

If you already have a competitive application (in terms of numbers, ECs, etc.), then being a varsity athlete on top of everything will probably help you quite significantly.