Any athletes?

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etx2325

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I play college football at a D1 school and was wondering are there any athletes who would like to share stories about
GPA, MCAT, studying, time management, ect.?
 
Triathlete at big D1 school

Obviously biggest thing is time management. Unlike football though, I think I have the pleasantry of making up my practices without the team. There are incredible resources for student-athletes; use them.

If you're anything shy of a perfect student though, you'll always have to make that priority decision on whether it's worse your grades suffering a bit. On the other hand, the amount of support and motivation a good team gives can be invaluable.

Biggest thing for me coming to my school was accepting that I didn't really have much time outside studies and practice.
 
etx2325 said:
I play college football at a D1 school and was wondering are there any athletes who would like to share stories about
GPA, MCAT, studying, time management, ect.?
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Not d1, play d3 basketball . D1 is a whole a different level of competitiveness and game play, in forstories and advice from prodigies .

Op how do you handle away game and off season camps/practice + premed reqs/ecs?
 
Honestly bro being a D1 athelte in it self a pretty big EC. Probably 1-5% of applicants have that I'm guessing . Thanks for the through reply man, I always admired people who are able to balance the competitiveness of both academics and sports. Hopefully someone is able to chime in this thread and give some more helpful advice , adding on to the other d1 athlete who posted earlier.

On a side note, how much shoulder press...your delts must be huge.
 
silverturtle said:
I cox at a D1 school. Since it is such a team sport and the fact that we practice on the water (duh), I have zero flexibility regarding practices. If I'm late, I affect 4 to 8 of my teammates. And its never fair to leave early, because if I have to be off the water early, then my entire boat has to be so too. If I made a habit of it, my coaches wouldn't hesitant to replace me with another coxswain, would is able to completely dedicate their time to the team.

I have had to walk a fine line between my team and my academics, and I have definitely been remiss in my studies (i.e. my gpa) due to it. The problem is that rowing never has an off season. Sure, we're technically off the water during the winter, but we never let up in the intensity or length of our practices. Therefore, I never have a breather from being a D1 athlete or a chance to solely focus on my academics and whatnot.

It has been so hard to attend office hours, problem set help, review sessions - you name it - due interference with rowing. So yes, my gpa is definitely not where I want it. In fact, it is going to be an uphill battle to get into med school. Was it worth to be a D1 athlete? Can't tell yet. But I definitely dug myself into a grave because of it. And I have to take (at least) one gap year for gpa repair to have senior grades included (fingers crossed).


My other ECs? What ECs? I don't have time during the week for anything other than crew, having double practices most days. I'm restricted to activities which have a weekend commitment. So yes, I've gotten some volunteering in but research? No way. This summer I started working in a lab and I'm praying I'll be able to dedicate enough time to it during the school year.

/rant
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to mirror this, I was a D1 athlete in the beginning of my college career (see my user name for guesses lol), and my grades were absolutely awful during that time. I managed my time poorly and chose partying and enjoying life during my little free time, a recipe for disaster obviously.

I made the decision to quit in order to focus on my real goal, which was getting into medical school, and my grades turned around immediately. my GPA went from 2.6 during those years to 3.6 during the years to follow. I don't blame athletics 100%, but it was certainly a reason for my early failures.

my advice is if you truly can't find a way to balance both, think about what's really important to you and go from there, but utilize the many resources afforded to you before you quit on it. I do miss it all the time.
 
I was a high-level athlete my freshman year. I was competing internationally, etc. but it was an individual sport and not sponsored by my school. Though I was successful on the field, I had to pursue my sports goals without the blessing of my college. Professors didn't care that I was missing class/labs/exams for the national championships or international events. There were many times when I had to choose between academics and athletics, and admittedly, I often chose athletics. I took the zeros in chem lab while I was overseas and showed up to one of my finals an hour late, because my coach wouldn't let me miss any practice. And between practice and studying, forget about ECs. My GPA was alright (ok, not by SDN standards, but it was okay), but there was definitely no way I could continue to balance the ECs and courseload required for entry to medical school with a training schedule that was like a full-time job.

I really struggled with the decision to "retire" (I refused to say I quit 🙄). The sport had been a huge part of my life for so long, and I had really dreamt of competing at that high level since I had been in elementary school. But if I wanted to succeed in medicine, I knew it would take the same sacrifices it took to succeed in sports. In the end, my sport was a short term goal while medicine was something longer lasting--in the lol-worthy words of my mentor: "Sports is Brittany Spears, Science is Mozart."

I firmly believe that participating in high level sports gives athletes great qualities that should be highly desirable by Adcoms. I really value my experience as an athlete my freshman year, and wouldn't trade it for a higher GPA. It's incredibly difficult to balance athletics and academics, and I think that being able to do so for more than one year is extremely commendable. I know how hard the choices can be, but I think above all it's important to remember what the long-term goal is and to make the necessary sacrifices for it, be them on or off the field.
 
D1 varsity athlete here! I second most of what everyone else says, especially about time management. My freshman year was AWFUL with grades and it hurt my overall GPA so I had to work twice as hard to ensure freaking amazing grades every year after that.
Something to note, I was in a year round sport, so no off season was hard. I didn't think I had the time, so I didn't get involved in research, something I wish I had done. I also worked a part time job to support myself and so wasn't volunteering throughout the school year. This definitely hurt my application and so I took 2 years off before applying again. Here's to hoping for the best this cycle!

Forgot to say: if you want any specific tips or just to hash out time management ideas, PM me! Athletes rule!!
 
silverturtle said:
I have been going back and forth between quitting and staying on the team for the past 3 years 🤔
At this point, going into my senior year, I feel like its too late to do anything but stick with what I've been doing 🙁
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just think long and hard is all I can say. if you can find a way to do it in your last year then at this point you may as well stick with it. but if you feel like you've tried everything and nothing seems to work in order to keep your grades up with it, then it might be something to consider.

someday, whether it's sooner or later, the sport will end and real life will come. I decided that 40 years as a physician was what I'd prefer over 2 more years as an athlete. I'm applying this year, so ill let you know how it ends up lol
 
Ex-college athlete for an essentially year round team sport here as well. The only thing to really say is that it's ****ing tough. Having that multi-hour time commitment per day on top of pre-med activities definitely an intense commitment but it makes med school a small transition. I had zero problem adjusting to med school because it was essentially the same as undergrad + athletics. Once you're in med school, the skills you have to multi-task, coupled with the drive and focus, are invaluable.

With that said, in my experience, I was surprised to find my dedication to athletics didn't go as far as I thought it would during application time. Everything cames back to GPA, MCAT, and research and I talked about my sport minimally in my interviews. Some interviewers didn't mention it and a good portion of my PS revolved around it as did my app experiences in general. Be careful to set your priorities and really keep GPA up as high as possible. While playing a sport, don't gamble with taking the MCAT if you're not ready. Many athletes I've met in med school do a gap year for that reason.

Enjoy it while you can. You'll miss the physical competition when you're done. It's easy to transfer the work ethic to medicine but the daily competition just isn't the same.
 
D-1 athlete here as well. Huge time commitment! Hoping to get some extra consideration around that for my undergrad experience.
 
Also applying as a DI athlete...have average gpa +mcat but not taking a gap year so definitely banking on my commitment to my sport (also year round) to help me stand out!

The best thing I've done is be open with my professors from the very beginning of the semester. I tell them my time constraints or if I know i'll be missing class. Will do the same this fall+tell them about (potential) interviews!

I'm also super open with my coach. I tell him when I have big tests so he knows where I am at mentally. For some reason I feel better when he's aware of my situation. Also using him for a lor

You sacrifice a lot as a pre med student athlete, I have never had a spring break, start practicing before everyone else is back for both semesters and have worked every summer. I have to find time in my schedule to relax though, but sometimes it is just making myself dinner or getting coffee with a friend. If I didn't have that is go crazy and burn out.

And @silverturtle, from a fellow rower, I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought about quitting too. With only 1 year left I say stick with it but that's only because I know I would regret it if I did. if you are 100% positive you won't regret it and you'll be happier, then quit. Not true for me, don't think I could live the narp life (non athletic regular petiole, anyone?)

Hopefully it will all be worth it in May after 4 years on the team, a diploma, and an acceptance somewhere...we'll see...
 
Not sure what stage of the process you are in, but even if some of this doesn't apply to you, maybe some freshman will see this and gain some insight.

I play DI lacrosse and it is definitely doable, and dare I say, enjoyable. Are you going to have to spend a few Sat nights in, when all your teammates are out? Yea, absolutely. This is a good time to really, really reflect on why you want to do medicine. What is motivating you to spend 300k and 4+ years in school while, I assume, that most of your athletic connections would help secure you a finance/IB job? Have you figured that out?? Good, write it down, frame it, laminate it, and put it somewhere you can see it for the majority of your day. I'm not here to give you some bull**** inspirational speech, but can only speak for what I have done to help me balance this craziness. Moving on...

It is important to be totally honest with your coach. Tell him how much this means to you and I can only hope that he will respect you for chasing your dream. This might mean coming 15 mins late to a practice or having to leave a little early to get to that Orgo review session. With that being said, schedule your classes wisely and try and use as much foresight as possible during this process. While being open with your coach is important, being open with your professors is also integral to your success. If you can't make the scheduled office hours because you guys have a workout, tell the prof. and actively seek to meet with him/her at another time. My personal advice to tackle lab courses is to try and bang them out over the summer. I know SDN might freak out at this comment and say admissions folk will frown upon this but frankly, they are human beings and will understand that practices take up 4 hrs a day and labs over the summer are a necessary evil. Plus, if you take it at your home institution, its not that big of a deal AND you can spend the summer running and lifting w the strength and conditioning coach FOR FREE!!

From an athletics POV, do not ever, EVER let your premed studies be an excuse for poor performance on the field or in the weightroom. Even if you were up till 3am working on the physics Pset and have to get up at 6 for the lift, I dont care what you do, find it within yourself to dominate the day. The second that you attribute poor performance to pre-med life, you start using that excuse more and more often. It is a cancer and your coach and teammates will sniff it out. I know the wording is strong, but I learned the hard way my freshman year and was lucky enough to get a second chance, most are not.

As far as GPA and MCAT scores are concerned, and again some may not like this advice, you need to learn how to play "the game." Sure, take Biochem and Genetics, but also take that class that all the upperclassmen tell you is a "hidden gem." You may have to end up balancing a B in Biochem with that A elsewhere. And yes, I realize that AMCAS breaks it down into BCPM but it is always important to have a respectable cGPA as well. If you dont want to take a year off, your junior year is going to suck. If you plan correctly, start studying for the MCAT early, devise and stick with a study plan, and do all the other hints/tips you hear around here, it will suck less. Not sure what else to say, thats just the way its gonna be. Granted, you will still have time to go out one or two nights a week, you will just have to be impeccable with your time management. Also, use away trips and bus rides to your advantage - invest in noise cancelling earphones and get some work done whenever you can.

Again, I dont know you and dont know what you do for fun/to let loose, but I do know the football guys here at my school. Cut day parties out of your vocab. They are too big of a waste of time. It turns out, being drunk for 12 hours is NOT a good use of time. Sorry if that is athlete stereotyping but its just a reality at my school so I thought I would address it. Trust me it was a heartbreaking realization.

Lastly, you have something that 90%+ of the applicants do not have. Leverage that to the max. Do not come off as a dumb jock, but find eloquent ways to integrate athletics, and the LESSONS THAT YOU LEARN THROUGH SPORT into your application. Being a stud in Oklahoma drills doesn't matter to med schools - but the the fact that you are immersed in a team environment, have tangible proof of your time management, showcase a commitment to a cause greater than oneself, and complete the studies that other complete despite a 30 hr/week time commitment will get their attention. With that being said, do something (literally anything you are passionate about) that is not strictly football. It could be football related (ex. start a youth league or something, idk) but you cannot be solely defined by your sport.

Best of luck, feel free to pm for any advice, and sorry if I hurt any feelings with some blatant athlete stereotyping
 
natekristel said:
Not sure what stage of the process you are in, but even if some of this doesn't apply to you, maybe some freshman will see this and gain some insight.

I play DI lacrosse and it is definitely doable, and dare I say, enjoyable. Are you going to have to spend a few Sat nights in, when all your teammates are out? Yea, absolutely. This is a good time to really, really reflect on why you want to do medicine. What is motivating you to spend 300k and 4+ years in school while, I assume, that most of your athletic connections would help secure you a finance/IB job? Have you figured that out?? Good, write it down, frame it, laminate it, and put it somewhere you can see it for the majority of your day. I'm not here to give you some bull**** inspirational speech, but can only speak for what I have done to help me balance this craziness. Moving on...

It is important to be totally honest with your coach. Tell him how much this means to you and I can only hope that he will respect you for chasing your dream. This might mean coming 15 mins late to a practice or having to leave a little early to get to that Orgo review session. With that being said, schedule your classes wisely and try and use as much foresight as possible during this process. While being open with your coach is important, being open with your professors is also integral to your success. If you can't make the scheduled office hours because you guys have a workout, tell the prof. and actively seek to meet with him/her at another time. My personal advice to tackle lab courses is to try and bang them out over the summer. I know SDN might freak out at this comment and say admissions folk will frown upon this but frankly, they are human beings and will understand that practices take up 4 hrs a day and labs over the summer are a necessary evil. Plus, if you take it at your home institution, its not that big of a deal AND you can spend the summer running and lifting w the strength and conditioning coach FOR FREE!!

From an athletics POV, do not ever, EVER let your premed studies be an excuse for poor performance on the field or in the weightroom. Even if you were up till 3am working on the physics Pset and have to get up at 6 for the lift, I dont care what you do, find it within yourself to dominate the day. The second that you attribute poor performance to pre-med life, you start using that excuse more and more often. It is a cancer and your coach and teammates will sniff it out. I know the wording is strong, but I learned the hard way my freshman year and was lucky enough to get a second chance, most are not.

As far as GPA and MCAT scores are concerned, and again some may not like this advice, you need to learn how to play "the game." Sure, take Biochem and Genetics, but also take that class that all the upperclassmen tell you is a "hidden gem." You may have to end up balancing a B in Biochem with that A elsewhere. And yes, I realize that AMCAS breaks it down into BCPM but it is always important to have a respectable cGPA as well. If you dont want to take a year off, your junior year is going to suck. If you plan correctly, start studying for the MCAT early, devise and stick with a study plan, and do all the other hints/tips you hear around here, it will suck less. Not sure what else to say, thats just the way its gonna be. Granted, you will still have time to go out one or two nights a week, you will just have to be impeccable with your time management. Also, use away trips and bus rides to your advantage - invest in noise cancelling earphones and get some work done whenever you can.

Again, I dont know you and dont know what you do for fun/to let loose, but I do know the football guys here at my school. Cut day parties out of your vocab. They are too big of a waste of time. It turns out, being drunk for 12 hours is NOT a good use of time. Sorry if that is athlete stereotyping but its just a reality at my school so I thought I would address it. Trust me it was a heartbreaking realization.

Lastly, you have something that 90%+ of the applicants do not have. Leverage that to the max. Do not come off as a dumb jock, but find eloquent ways to integrate athletics, and the LESSONS THAT YOU LEARN THROUGH SPORT into your application. Being a stud in Oklahoma drills doesn't matter to med schools - but the the fact that you are immersed in a team environment, have tangible proof of your time management, showcase a commitment to a cause greater than oneself, and complete the studies that other complete despite a 30 hr/week time commitment will get their attention. With that being said, do something (literally anything you are passionate about) that is not strictly football. It could be football related (ex. start a youth league or something, idk) but you cannot be solely defined by your sport.

Best of luck, feel free to pm for any advice, and sorry if I hurt any feelings with some blatant athlete stereotyping
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I can agree with some of your points, but as someone who's personally tried some of them and failed, I can say that it depends a lot on your school, and frankly, yourself.

I tried to be open with professors and my coaches, but both felt either their class or the team was more important than the other. I got very little sympathy from professors when I had athletic commitments other than what they were mandated to give me (not all, but some), and my coach used to often get annoyed when I put any kind of non-mandatory academic things before the team (like review sessions, office hours, etc.), and my athletic experience suffered at times because of it. My time management and priorities were also not right for a lot of that time also, so maybe that's just as much to blame.

Maybe I didn't try hard enough to MAKE it work, who knows, but once I quit and started working 24-32 hours a week in my clinical jobs as well as volunteering/research, I balanced it fine and excelled in my classes. Whether that's because my job and EC supervisors were more understanding of my needs or because I tried harder to MAKE it work, ill never know.

Either way I definitely respect those that can excel at both with ease, but I feel not everyone has the ability to depending on their specific situation.
 
DoctorLacrosse said:
I can agree with some of your points, but as someone who's personally tried some of them and failed, I can say that it depends a lot on your school, and frankly, yourself.

I tried to be open with professors and my coaches, but both felt either their class or the team was more important than the other. I got very little sympathy from professors when I had athletic commitments other than what they were mandated to give me (not all, but some), and my coach used to often get annoyed when I put any kind of non-mandatory academic things before the team (like review sessions, office hours, etc.), and my athletic experience suffered at times because of it. My time management and priorities were also not right for a lot of that time also, so maybe that's just as much to blame.

Maybe I didn't try hard enough to MAKE it work, who knows, but once I quit and started working 24-32 hours a week in my clinical jobs as well as volunteering/research, I balanced it fine and excelled in my classes. Whether that's because my job and EC supervisors were more understanding of my needs or because I tried harder to MAKE it work, ill never know.

Either way I definitely respect those that can excel at both with ease, but I feel not everyone has the ability to depending on their specific situation.
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Great point - this is entirely a personal choice. What works for me might not work for others, I should have included that caveat. I am glad you found what works for you and wish you the best in the upcoming application process.
 
natekristel said:
Great point - this is entirely a personal choice. What works for me might not work for others, I should have included that caveat. I am glad you found what works for you and wish you the best in the upcoming application process.
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I appreciate that, good luck to you as well. also good luck still getting to enjoy the thing I miss the most! haha. hope your squad is looking good this year.
 
I was a D1 athlete in a year-round sport all 4 years of undergrad. It's definitely not easy to maintain a high GPA while committing to 20+ hours of practice a week, but it's doable. The post by @natekristel above is really great, but here are my tips:

1) If you happen to not be part of a year-round sport, take advantage of the "off season". Similarly, if you are part of a sport that gets summers off, take advantage of those too! What can you do during these less busy times? Take more difficult prereqs, volunteer, shadow, dabble in some research, study for the MCAT, etc. This should allow you to lighten up your load a little bit during your season.

2) Be present and focused on whatever activity you're doing at a given time. If you are at practice, don't be thinking about the two exams you need to study for; and when you are studying, don't be worried about a lackluster performance at practice. This is definitely challenging to implement, but is crucial if you want to be successful as both a student and an athlete.

3) Do what you need to do to keep your GPA up. Sometimes that means you'll have to play the game. Learn from your teammates which classes are easy A's and which majors have the fewest requirements. If you find it hard to excel in science classes, just take your prereqs and major in something less time consuming.

4) Make friends with some non-athletes in your classes. As an athlete you'll probably have to miss at least a few days each semester for competition and it's always helpful to have someone to get notes from or to study with.

5) Take advantage of athlete resources at your school. Most schools have academic counselors for athletes and also offer free tutoring. If you notice your grades slipping even slightly, get a tutor!

6) Be mindful of what you are doing with your "free time". Are you partying every weekend? Are you taking 2 hour naps every afternoon? Are you mindlessly thumbing through facebook during your 1 hour break between classes? If your GPA isn't where it needs to be, change something!

7) Don't be afraid to take a gap year or two. The majority of medical school matriculants have taken at least one gap year. Use the time after graduation to shadow, work on a research project, take prereqs (if necessary), study for the MCAT, volunteer, etc.

8) Most importantly, don't expect ANYONE to use your participation in athletics as an excuse for poor performance on other parts of the med school application. Most adcom members have only vague ideas of how much time and energy go into being a D1 athlete. Varsity athletics can be a great addition to an already competitive application, but it cannot make up for a low GPA or not having clinical experience.

I apologize for the somewhat haphazard post. If you have any particular questions for me, feel free to PM me or post them here. 🙂
 
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Thanks for the shoutout @Runican. And one last tip to all the athletes out there. NETWORK.

The relative dearth of premed athletes only serves to increase the connection they feel with one another. Take this forum for example, you have people taking time out of their day to compose in-depth answers in the hopes of helping an anonymous internet stranger just because we have battled through the same ****.

Ask around if anyone on the team, or other athletes at the school have gone down the path before you. They will help you, they will advise you, and I can promise you they will enjoy every second of it. I would not have had the slightest clue about what to do without help from those before me. I realize this isn't finance and you might not think about networking in medicine much, but having a current student or someone who went through the program you are applying to do something as simple as shooting an admin an email goes a very long way. Name recognition, etc, etc.

Nobody is born knowing how to play the game - everyone has a mentor.
 
I never played a sport in undergrad except for intramurals (yeah, I know it doesn't even come close). I'm just here to say that taking time off between undergrad and potentially medical school isn't a bad thing. If you love your sport and also want to pursue medicine, give yourself an extra year to help your application be it research, more volunteering, taking the MCAT etc... In the big scheme of things, 1 or 2 years isn't a big deal and you'd be a much more interesting candidate and well rounded candidate. If someone else has already said this, I apologize there was a lot of tl;dr 🙂
 
silverturtle said:
I cox at a D1 school. Since it is such a team sport and the fact that we practice on the water (duh), I have zero flexibility regarding practices. If I'm late, I affect 4 to 8 of my teammates. And its never fair to leave early, because if I have to be off the water early, then my entire boat has to be so too. If I made a habit of it, my coaches wouldn't hesitant to replace me with another coxswain, would is able to completely dedicate their time to the team.

I have had to walk a fine line between my team and my academics, and I have definitely been remiss in my studies (i.e. my gpa) due to it. The problem is that rowing never has an off season. Sure, we're technically off the water during the winter, but we never let up in the intensity or length of our practices. Therefore, I never have a breather from being a D1 athlete or a chance to solely focus on my academics and whatnot.

It has been so hard to attend office hours, problem set help, review sessions - you name it - due interference with rowing. So yes, my gpa is definitely not where I want it. In fact, it is going to be an uphill battle to get into med school. Was it worth to be a D1 athlete? Can't tell yet. But I definitely dug myself into a grave because of it. And I have to take (at least) one gap year for gpa repair to have senior grades included (fingers crossed).


My other ECs? What ECs? I don't have time during the week for anything other than crew, having double practices most days. I'm restricted to activities which have a weekend commitment. So yes, I've gotten some volunteering in but research? No way. This summer I started working in a lab and I'm praying I'll be able to dedicate enough time to it during the school year.

/rant
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I was a D1 coxswain as well. Eight years later, yes it was totally worth it! Don't underestimate the value of your experience. Leading a boat to victory is a skill. Not crashing the shell is a skill. Being responsible for the safety of your boat is not to be taken lightly.

Being a coxswain is especially hard because land practices are so tough when you aren't as in shape as everyone else. You have to keep up all the time and be part of the team, but you're also different from the rest of the team.

Tips -
Time management. Use a planner. Ask professors if you can stop by at another time if their office hours conflict. At my school athletes were respected and professors understood the time constraints.

Excel at your sport. Use it to remove stress and not as a source of stress.

Do those ECs when you can. I put it off and I shouldn't have. You can fit them in just a few hours per week for four years.

Find a student athlete mentor who is a year ahead of you and is also premed. This helped me a lot.
 
DoctorLacrosse said:
I appreciate that, good luck to you as well. also good luck still getting to enjoy the thing I miss the most! haha. hope your squad is looking good this year.
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Loving the D1 lacrosse representation here! D1 lacrosse alum here as well.

All I can say is is that if you are a young D1 athlete, do not feel like you need to go straight from undergrad into medical school. Take advantage of your 4 years; obviously stay on top of your grades but don't think you have to choose athletics or academics.

I personally did not decide to pursue medical school until my junior year; Bc of this I spent a Post-bacc year after graduation and then a gap year (now) applying and working in a clinical setting. If you feel like you need an extra year or two to get some typical pre med EC's then by all means do it! Don't be afraid to take a few years off. Athletics has taught me so much about life and hard work; I would not trade it for the world.

Dr. Lacrosse makes a good point though, there is a fine line between Athletics and academics. However if you are on the fence and think you can pull both off by sacrificing a few things (party's, etc...) then by all means make that sacrifice. Best of luck everyone!
 
Vacations/breaks are good times to bulk up the clinical EC hours if you can't make a regular weekly schedule. As for academics, learning how to do work on the road makes studying a lot easier. Sure you're the loser with your head in a book 24/7, but one day you'll have two letters behind your name that will make all the difference.

Ultimate has a somewhat reverse problem of other sports. We only practice about 5 hours a week + individual workouts, but the weekends have basically no free time. (Physically playing from 8-4 on Saturday and Sunday every other weekend)

Inb4clubsportsdon'tcount
EDIT: D1 Ultimate*
 
I guess Ill add to the lacrosse love. I am a DIII athlete, and I go to an institution where academics always come first in lieu of athletics. As I begin my final year, I think the time management skills I learned from lacrosse helped me tremendously in becoming a more mature student. I have my summers off so I have been able to get in EC's and research. I was thinking of taking a gap year, but I managed to get into an early acceptance program at a reputable midwest MD school. I studied for the mcat this past spring, and I had to miss practices and two games (against weak opponents albeit) for my mcat class. Its all about letting your coaches know what your priorities are first and networking with your professors to make pre-med possible. However, my sport has been great in terms of stress relieving, and nothing is better than being able to excel in what you love, while still maintaing grades. That being said, when the rest of the team is all communications and business majors, staying in almost every weekend night dreaming of arrow pushing while everyone is partying totally pays off when you get that med school acceptance 😀 Keep pushing along!

Just as a side note: During my med school interview, half of my interview was about lacrosse and how it has helped me develop as a student. I think being an athlete fives you that "wow" factor.
 
silverturtle said:
Thanks, I needed this. It makes me feel less crazy for wanting to do both. I think I've been subconsciously using rowing as an excuse for not doing my very best in my classes. But no more! It is possible to do both well and I am going to.

Wish me luck, senior year is going to be a wild ride.
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Senior year is the best! I don't know about your school, but we had a four-year-oar award. The last year was the easiest, because I knew it was my last year. I still have my four-year-oar and feel a deep sense of pride and accomplishment whenever I see it. 🙂 Not many people can understand what it's like.

GOOD LUCK!!
 
silverturtle said:
Thanks, I needed this. It makes me feel less crazy for wanting to do both. I think I've been subconsciously using rowing as an excuse for not doing my very best in my classes. But no more! It is possible to do both well and I am going to.

Wish me luck, senior year is going to be a wild ride.
Click to expand...

Stay strong man. It will make your app unique. I rowed for a year but those dawn practices take something out of you when 8 AM classes come around. When I rowed I could power through 8AM classes but consistently fell asleep in 9AMs. Needless to say, I had an upward trend after quitting.
 
I was a D1 athlete in a winter sport. The biggest mistake I made was to try and apply during my senior year, hoping to schedule interviewed around competitions. It didn't work out at all the first time through. I stayed for a fifth year after I graduated, took some graduate classes, helped out the team for like 5 hours a week to get my scholarship and had tons of time to reapply, finish my research project and get more clinical experience.

You can also use your athletic experience to fill a bunch of ec checkboxes. My leadership experience was related to athletics with team captaincy and SAAC rep and leadership position. All my volunteering was through SAAC and athletic related.

GPA is important, and the time commitment does hurt you so be sure to take advantage of what your athletic department offers. Mine offered tutoring and had standard people available for all the big freshman classes. But when I asked and sought it out they provided me with a tutor for 300 and 400 level physics classes.
 
Just a question out of curiosity for you fellow athletes, how many hours per week do you usually spend in training and games/competitions?
 
Why Not MD? said:
Just a question out of curiosity for you fellow athletes, how many hours per week do you usually spend in training and games/competitions?
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Keep in mind this was 8 to 12 years ago. It was minimum 20 hours per week. We had water practice six days per week, land practice 3 to 5 times per week. Weights twice a week. Water practice was three hours by the time we met, drove out, launched, practice, then came back. Land practice was an hour or two. Weights were two hours but you could finish early some days.
 
Why Not MD? said:
Just a question out of curiosity for you fellow athletes, how many hours per week do you usually spend in training and games/competitions?
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NCAA says no more than 20, but if you factor in travel, film, rehab before, ice baths after, etc. I felt like it exceeded that. If we had a 3 hour practice I was usually there at least an hour early and usually 30 mins- hour after.
 
Here's something I'm wondering about. So I'm a D3 varsity athlete, just finished my sophomore year, and I play a sport that requires a year-round (excluding the summer) commitment of 18-20 hours/week including practices, pre-practice obligations, competition, and travel time. Practice time is not negotiable. I am able to commit what I feel is enough time to my studies and maintain a good GPA for medical school. However, after school and my sport (and other things like eating, showering, etc) I have next to no time for other activities such as research, volunteering, etc. I have done a minimal amount of research and shadowing but I am worried about the lack of significant research, volunteer, and shadowing hours on my application. I am worried that the quality of my application will take a hit if I don't start volunteering and do more research/shadowing, but I just have no hours in the week to take on any more activities. Would playing a varsity sport be considered a legitimate reason not to have spent more time on other things like that (not no time, just less time than most other applicants)? I enjoy my sport enough that I don't want to quit, and I also don't want to quit because I feel I owe it to the people who invested time and energy in my athletic development, as well as the coaches who recruited me, to finish out my college athletic career.
 
StandUpComedian said:
Here's something I'm wondering about. So I'm a D3 varsity athlete, just finished my sophomore year, and I play a sport that requires a year-round (excluding the summer) commitment of 18-20 hours/week including practices, pre-practice obligations, competition, and travel time. Practice time is not negotiable. I am able to commit what I feel is enough time to my studies and maintain a good GPA for medical school. However, after school and my sport (and other things like eating, showering, etc) I have next to no time for other activities such as research, volunteering, etc. I have done a minimal amount of research and shadowing but I am worried about the lack of significant research, volunteer, and shadowing hours on my application. I am worried that the quality of my application will take a hit if I don't start volunteering and do more research/shadowing, but I just have no hours in the week to take on any more activities. Would playing a varsity sport be considered a legitimate reason not to have spent more time on other things like that (not no time, just less time than most other applicants)? I enjoy my sport enough that I don't want to quit, and I also don't want to quit because I feel I owe it to the people who invested time and energy in my athletic development, as well as the coaches who recruited me, to finish out my college athletic career.
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Are you willing to take a gap year or more? Your athletics will make your application stand out, but you NEED clinical experience and a commitment to service of some sort, unless (maybe) you crush the MCAT, though you would still be at a disadvantage, IMO, compared to a well-rounded applicant because your commitment to athletics does not necessarily demonstrate a commitment to medicine.
 
i was a D1 athlete for 5 years (red shirts). I ran xc and track, so I practiced pretty much every single day of the year. lots of miles. and I still finished with a decent gpa (3.8). it was really hard, I had pretty much zero other ECs. but it made me an overall better, stronger person. ive made other posts about how I think med schools and adcoms really don't understand or give a damn about athletics, which is incredibly unfortunate. one of my (ignorant) student interviewers asked "Oh yeah, my girlfriend in high school ran track. how many laps is it to a mile, 6?" my advice to you is just focus on grades and training, and if you need to take a gap year to get in some clinical experience or shadowing afterward, then do that. but maybe try to get it in during the summers, if possible. definitely don't quit or ever even think of quitting football in exchange for something else, especially if it's something you're passionate about. you only get to play sports in college once, and, at least for me, id take doing sports over some cookie cutter pre-med EC any day. in my opinion, applicants who are athletes SHOULD be regarded as the best applicants because of the strong time management skills and self discipline and all that stuff med schools supposedly look for. good luck with everything.
 
user12 said:
i was a D1 athlete for 5 years (red shirts). I ran xc and track, so I practiced pretty much every single day of the year. lots of miles. and I still finished with a decent gpa (3.8). it was really hard, I had pretty much zero other ECs. but it made me an overall better, stronger person. ive made other posts about how I think med schools and adcoms really don't understand or give a damn about athletics, which is incredibly unfortunate. one of my (ignorant) student interviewers asked "Oh yeah, my girlfriend in high school ran track. how many laps is it to a mile, 6?" my advice to you is just focus on grades and training, and if you need to take a gap year to get in some clinical experience or shadowing afterward, then do that. but maybe try to get it in during the summers, if possible. definitely don't quit or ever even think of quitting football in exchange for something else, especially if it's something you're passionate about. you only get to play sports in college once, and, at least for me, id take doing sports over some cookie cutter pre-med EC any day. in my opinion, applicants who are athletes SHOULD be regarded as the best applicants because of the strong time management skills and self discipline and all that stuff med schools supposedly look for. good luck with everything.
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I agree with a lot of this, and it's definitely true that adcoms (or the entire general public really) have no clue what goes into being a college athlete. it sucks, but everyone always thinks whatever situation they're in deserves special treatment.

at the same time though, would you still feel this way about applicants who were athletes if you weren't one? there are people out there who work full time as a paramedic to support a family while going to school full time and still make time for other ECs, and they say that they don't get any special treatment either. should an athlete be held higher than these people?

At the end of the day we all chose (or didn't choose) to be athletes, and we all knew what we were getting into. most of us also got a LOT of extra resources and help throughout college to make the commitment easier because of being an athlete, a luxury that other college students didn't have.

bottom line is do your sport because you're passionate about it and love it, then do what you have to do to make yourself a competitive applicant after or during if you have to. athletics will help, but they won't be enough on their own. just what I've seen personally.
 
DoctorLacrosse said:
I agree with a lot of this, and it's definitely true that adcoms (or the entire general public really) have no clue what goes into being a college athlete. it sucks, but everyone always thinks whatever situation they're in deserves special treatment.

at the same time though, would you still feel this way about applicants who were athletes if you weren't one? there are people out there who work full time as a paramedic to support a family while going to school full time and still make time for other ECs, and they say that they don't get any special treatment either. should an athlete be held higher than these people?

At the end of the day we all chose (or didn't choose) to be athletes, and we all knew what we were getting into. most of us also got a LOT of extra resources and help throughout college to make the commitment easier because of being an athlete, a luxury that other college students didn't have.

bottom line is do your sport because you're passionate about it and love it, then do what you have to do to make yourself a competitive applicant after or during if you have to. athletics will help, but they won't be enough on their own. just what I've seen personally.
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im not saying athletes deserve special treatment in regards to being applicants, and I actually didn't get any extra resources when I was in college (I did get free printing and ice though). but it would be nice if interviewers could at least actually, you know, appreciate and respect the time that goes into athletics. like after my interviewer said that about the mile, I immediately hated him a little bit. and it would be nice if athletics at least factored into the admissions decision a little bit. but I understand your point. i still think athletes should be regarded a little differently. i got interviewed this past cycle by a school, got put on a high waitlist, but ultimately didn't get in. now, im not 100% certain what went wrong... but if i had to guess, it would be "lack" of community service. and when i say that, i'm stretching it a little bit... because i still had over 100 hours, plus plenty of clinical volunteering and shadowing. but it's like, if they're looking for 400 hours, and i have 100- along with close to 1000 hours of athletics and they wonder why i don't have more volunteering... give me a break. it was also the SECOND time i interviewed at the school. just CANNOT please them i guess.
 
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user12 said:
im not saying athletes deserve special treatment in regards to being applicants, and I actually didn't get any extra resources when I was in college (I did get free printing and ice though). but it would be nice if interviewers could at least actually, you know, appreciate and respect the time that goes into athletics. like after my interviewer said that about the mile, I immediately hated him a little bit. and it would be nice if athletics at least factored into the admissions decision a little bit. but I understand your point. i still think athletes should be regarded a little differently. i got interviewed this past cycle by a school, got put on a high waitlist, but ultimately didn't get in. now, im not 100% certain what went wrong... but if i had to guess, it would be "lack" of community service. and when i say that, i'm stretching it a little bit... because i still had over 100 hours, plus plenty of clinical volunteering and shadowing. but it's like, if they're looking for 400 hours, and i have 100- along with close to 1000 hours of athletics and they wonder why i don't have more volunteering... give me a break. it was also the SECOND time i interviewed at the school. just CANNOT please them i guess.
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in this case, I 100% agree with you. it is a shame really, and it sounds like you deserved the acceptance.
 
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