Any other NCAA athletes here?

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TomWestmanRules

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Who else plays/played hardcore sports in college? We're talking 30 or more hours a week for training and competitions, on average. Waking up by 6am for practices. Missing entire weekends of partying and homework for sports team competitions many hours away. And still managing to keep our shiit together.

Who else here is in the same boat? I'd like to think there are lots of other athletes here. You don't need to be an All-American or anything, but definitely something besides a benchwarmer for your intramural soccer team that got trashed before every game.

Any NCAAers besides me? :cool:

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big ego club apparently
 
TomWestmanRules said:
Who else plays/played hardcore sports in college? We're talking 30 or more hours a week for training and competitions, on average. Waking up by 6am for practices. Missing entire weekends of partying and homework for sports team competitions many hours away. And still managing to keep our shiit together.

Who else here is in the same boat? I'd like to think there are lots of other athletes here. You don't need to be an All-American or anything, but definitely something besides a benchwarmer for your intramural soccer team that got trashed before every game.

Any NCAAers besides me? :cool:


Did not play in college...but was a basketball manager at a DI school my freshman year...I have mad respect for atheletes who go the premed route...

That is a hard life...fun...but hard!!! Big time committment...and yes the traveling was the worst b/c I missed alot of class time (from Nov. till March...and it showed in my grades).

But I'm not here to kiss your a$$...just showing respect
 
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Unfortunately med schools aren't as impressed with sports as they are with GPAs and MCATs!
 
DIII football here
 
kevster2001 said:
big ego club apparently

Ummmm no. Sounds like you're the one who's still got some insecurity issues.

Nice try, though. Here, have a cookie for participating.
 
docmode said:
Unfortunately med schools aren't as impressed with sports as they are with GPAs and MCATs![/QUOTE

Wrong. Started 38 games in a row with Oregon state football. I'll be headed to OHSU this fall. One should have balance in there lives other than trying to maintain their 4.0 GPA and studying for the MCAT for 2 years.
 
MDB0073 said:
Wrong. Started 38 games in a row with Oregon state football. I'll be headed to OHSU this fall. One should have balance in there lives other than trying to maintain their 4.0 GPA and studying for the MCAT for 2 years.
Thank you!!
 
D3 soccer and D2 Rugby (although its not NCAA). And Docmode is right, sports do not impress as much as a great academic stats, but they do make you unique, which can matter almost as much.
 
DII basketball...woohoo. i love playing cuz it distracts me from all this med school stuff. i am hoping it makes me stand out. i know it doesn't make up for things, but at least maybe it could catch someone's eye.
 
All I have to say is THE TROJANS ARE THE ISH...OSU SUCKS!!!

But yall did beat my alma mater (Rice) in the college world series

MDB0073 said:
docmode said:
Unfortunately med schools aren't as impressed with sports as they are with GPAs and MCATs![/QUOTE

Wrong. Started 38 games in a row with Oregon state football. I'll be headed to OHSU this fall. One should have balance in there lives other than trying to maintain their 4.0 GPA and studying for the MCAT for 2 years.
 
DI Swimming, I just hope it adds a little extra to my app!
 
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DI Track and Field, I hope it doesn't matter I'm applying to my rival school.
 
MFrig31 said:
DI Swimming, I just hope it adds a little extra to my app!

Yeah, swimming! I was DIII, but still :)
 
I played 2 years of of volleyball in the Canadian CCAA.
 
question for everyone: lets say you play a varsity sport in college and manage good grades still. do you think adcoms are more impressed with you than if you had just gotten the good grades? all other things being equal, how much does playing a sport add to your app?
 
spospo said:
question for everyone: lets say you play a varsity sport in college and manage good grades still. do you think adcoms are more impressed with you than if you had just gotten the good grades? all other things being equal, how much does playing a sport add to your app?

I think that it says a lot-- it shows that you are really able to juggle things well. Playing a varsity sport in college is equivalent to holding a full time job down while simultaneously going to school full time; that's pretty impressive, in my humble opinion.

To the OP: when I read the title, all I could think was, "has this guy met any pre-meds?" Generally speaking, it seems to me that there is a reason we are going to medical school, and it is not because we are athletic. In fact, I think that our general lack of athleticism is one of the main reasons we seek to wear long white coats, to hide our very wimpy muscles.
 
DIII Lacrosse . 40 + hours a week plus all the other bull**** that goes on (drinking/fundraising/etc)
 
spospo said:
question for everyone: lets say you play a varsity sport in college and manage good grades still. do you think adcoms are more impressed with you than if you had just gotten the good grades? all other things being equal, how much does playing a sport add to your app?

From what my advisors have told me, being able to excel at academics as well as varsity athletics looks really good on an application. There aren't many people that can do both. It takes alot to do well in both and most adcoms see that.
 
D1 Skiing. Had a 45 minute rde each way to get on snow. I wasn't very good at using that time wisely. Skiing turned into cycling and the rest is history.
 
tangledupinblue said:
DI softball


i see that you are a reapplicant and had some interviews last time. did your athletics come up in the interviews?
 
4 years of volleyball for me (hopefully they will overlook my not so stellar GPA)!
 
spospo said:
i see that you are a reapplicant and had some interviews last time. did your athletics come up in the interviews?

Definitely. Softball was probably the largest part of my application last time. And I talked a lot about it in my personal statement, so I was asked a lot about it in the interviews. Some of the doctors/interviewers seemed quite impressed with college athletics, though I had one interviewer whose daughter rowed for an ivy league. He made some snide remarks about me going to a university that gave scholarships. It caught me a bit off guard. Anyway, I don't think he was impressed with my involvement in DI athletics.
 
DIII Soccer. In my experience most adcoms didn't realize how much effort actually goes into sports. I can't think of a single other 4year (or 17year, depending on how you look at it) EC that takes so much time, effort, commitment, etc. Shadowing a doc or volunteering 10hrs/wk doesn't even compare--i think that's someting that most athletes know already.

but i'd do it all over again even if the adcom couldn't ever know about it.
 
Division I Waterpolo here... definately effected the grades... but still managed to finish in 3 years...

Post-Bacs here I come. ;)
 
P-Bone said:
DIII Soccer. In my experience most adcoms didn't realize how much effort actually goes into sports. I can't think of a single other 4year (or 17year, depending on how you look at it) EC that takes so much time, effort, commitment, etc. Shadowing a doc or volunteering 10hrs/wk doesn't even compare--i think that's someting that most athletes know already.

but i'd do it all over again even if the adcom couldn't ever know about it.


i don't even think a lot of fellow students know how much it takes. it is like having a full time job, but one that you come home from completely exhausted, sore all over, and (in my case) sweaty. it can affect grades, but it, in my opinion, also affects everything else. i have a hard time volunteering because our practices are constantly changing. i couldn't celebrate my 21st in the usual way because it was during season. but i love it. wouldn't change a thing. and it has given me a lot to write about :D good luck everyone who is applying this cycle and good luck with your seasons :luck:
 
Division 1 Big Ten Soccer

My two cents...while I had decent GPA/MCAT score, my involvement in soccer played the biggest role BY FAR on my application and acceptances. I know this because during my interviews, I can honestly say we spent at least 70% of the time discussing soccer and what I got out of it as opposed to discussing academics/shadowing/volunteering/etc. The thing is, and I think most student-athletes will agree, all the questions you get about being a doctor and medicine in general, whether on a secondary or at an interview, relate back to the lessons and values you learned as a student-athlete, including the strength and stamina it takes to compete at the highest level possible, the level of discipline you must have at all times, the ability to perservere when your body and mind are telling you not to, among countless others. I think all pre-meds learn and experience these things in one way or another, otherwise we wouldn't be going into medicine, a field that not only expects these qualities but demands them on a daily basis. It is just that student-athletes, at least in my case, learn these values through their sport, and that is why it is so likely to come up in the application process and thus why it is an invaluable part of our applications.

On a side note, if there are any pre-med athletes out there that have any questions or need some help with the application process, please feel free to PM me (that goes for any pre-meds in general, not just athletes). I applied last year during the summer, went through interviews during the fall, during the heart of our season, and will be starting at a rival Big Ten school this fall.

Good luck everyone!
 
P-Bone said:
DIII Soccer. In my experience most adcoms didn't realize how much effort actually goes into sports. I can't think of a single other 4year (or 17year, depending on how you look at it) EC that takes so much time, effort, commitment, etc. Shadowing a doc or volunteering 10hrs/wk doesn't even compare--i think that's someting that most athletes know already.

but i'd do it all over again even if the adcom couldn't ever know about it.

Amen, bro! You nailed it. Sure loved it when all other pre-meds I knew would scoff at me for not really doing much undergraduate research. Then again, 99% of my weekends were way more exciting than their's ever were. If we won a game, we got trashed. If we lost a game, we got trashed.

Win win.
 
You guys are crazy if you don't think that most schools condider it quite a big acheivement to play varsity sports and still have the same grads and test scores as most of their other applicants do, so yeah playing an NCAA sport is a huge advantage.
 
P-Bone said:
DIII Soccer. In my experience most adcoms didn't realize how much effort actually goes into sports. I can't think of a single other 4year (or 17year, depending on how you look at it) EC that takes so much time, effort, commitment, etc. Shadowing a doc or volunteering 10hrs/wk doesn't even compare--i think that's someting that most athletes know already.

but i'd do it all over again even if the adcom couldn't ever know about it.

I'm also DIII soccer...I completely agree, it takes a ridiculous amount of time, from practices to the grueling hours on the bus during roadtrips...not to mention the social time you miss because of the 48 hour rule when you are at home. I can't even imagine how two sport athletes and distance runners who do XC, indoor and outdoor track manage. Its all worth it though and not because it might help you out for medical school, I mean seriously not everyone can look back and say they played college ball...I'm sad its over.
 
I think NCAA is definitely very impressive. I am wondering if bodybuilding counts. I have been in several bodybuilding competitions and have finished top 5. I was also a certified personal fitness trainer at Bally's and now am one at 24 hour fitness. I got my license from american college of integrative medicine and baylor sports medicine. I have been intramural weightlifting champions few times and have taught as a TA for university weightlifting class. I don't know if that really helps me.
 
i wouldn't want a bodybuilder for a doctor

i find them terrifying

sorry :(
 
Do you have to travel a lot on school days? And if you do, do teachers cut you any slack or do end up falling behing and getting bad grades. I'm willing to work hard for both, but I just don't want it to be out of my control. I wan't want to have a big test Tuesday but be stuck traveling from Saturday til Monday.
 
Mirc™ said:
Do you have to travel a lot on school days? And if you do, do teachers cut you any slack or do end up falling behing and getting bad grades. I'm willing to work hard for both, but I just don't want it to be out of my control. I wan't want to have a big test Tuesday but be stuck traveling from Saturday til Monday.

It depends on what sports, what major, and if your profs are nice. My roommate is an athlete as well (swimmer) and he got screwed over some lab grades because he had to be gone. But I know plenty of people that got test dates pushed until they returned to school or that the coach was allowed to administer the test.
 
Matth52 said:
It depends on what sports, what major, and if your profs are nice. My roommate is an athlete as well (swimmer) and he got screwed over some lab grades because he had to be gone. But I know plenty of people that got test dates pushed until they returned to school or that the coach was allowed to administer the test.
Basketball, and it's not the classes that are part of my major that I'm worried about. It's the classes like inorganic chemistry and calculus that I'm concerned about missing.
 
Mirc™ said:
Basketball, and it's not the classes that are part of my major that I'm worried about. It's the classes like inorganic chemistry and calculus that I'm concerned about missing.


i play basketball, and i've had to miss class before. last fall i missed about 8 days of class for traveling. most of my profs though are really nice about it. if i missed a test or some homework, they would let me do it late. make sure you just talk to them about it early. i did spend many bus rides studying for tests i had the next day while my teammates all just goofed off and talked. its a sacrifice you have to make. my coaches were also always willing to proctor the exam for me on the road if i was missing one. that was never fun, but it meant i didn't have to study once i got back :)
 
D-1 Ice Hockey, for two years at least.
 
JDWflash44 said:
D-1 Ice Hockey, for two years at least.

Softball player here!

I find that it is a challenge to play a sport (year round committment) and to also excel in the classroom...all of the med school people that I have talked to said that they consider it an advantage because it shows that you can be busy and stressed out and deal.

:)
 
I was a student athletic trainer for a DI, Big Ten school, so I definitely understand and completely respect the amount of time you guys put in, and how difficult it is to be a college athlete and pre-med. I also spent most of my free time helping you guys heal and get back out there to play. I definitely enjoyed it, learned a ton, and the experience has helped me and will continue to as I enter medicine :) So thanks for being awesome athletes (except those of you who bitch and moan everytime we try to help!)
 
D1 baseball. 35hrs/week w/o travel from January to June. I think it definitely hurt my GPA a little bit, but it also shows that you can be fully committed to something. I just made sure to do well on the MCAT, the great equilizer. i loved playing college sports, and i think playing any level of any college sports teaches you to deal with being tired and pissed off a lot of the time.
 
oops, double post, sorry
 
Mirc™ said:
Do you have to travel a lot on school days? And if you do, do teachers cut you any slack or do end up falling behing and getting bad grades. I'm willing to work hard for both, but I just don't want it to be out of my control. I wan't want to have a big test Tuesday but be stuck traveling from Saturday til Monday.

You only get one chance to play sports at the college level. You can find a way to handle the time. We had a few biochem and engineering majors on my d1 baseball team. You just have to be very straightforward with your teachers. I always went and talked to mine in person before the quarter started and explained what I was doing and why i needed them to please please please let me take the test after everyone else. It never turned into a big problem. Most teachers are accomodating as long as you give them the heads up. Just realize you'll have to put in some extra time to stay on top of things. But don't pass up a chance to play sports just because you're worried about grades. You'll probably make your best friends this way
 
JDWflash44 said:
D-1 Ice Hockey, for two years at least.

I almost played D1 hockey but got hurt really bad my senior year of high school.

However I do have a friend that played D1 hockey and now is in med school and he says he actually has more spare time now that he is not playing than when he was in undergrad dealing with practice everyday.
 
D3 softball!!

Granted, only for the first two years, until our coach turned into a major b**** and drove half of the team away (when at the end of your sophomore year you have 7 people in your class, and are down to 1 by the time the season starts, it's not just a personal issue). Still managed to maintain a 3.67 GPA (not playing softball allowed it to go up junior year), and be involved in a whole bunch of different ECs.
 
thinknofu3 said:
I was a student athletic trainer for a DI, Big Ten school, so I definitely understand and completely respect the amount of time you guys put in, and how difficult it is to be a college athlete and pre-med. I also spent most of my free time helping you guys heal and get back out there to play. I definitely enjoyed it, learned a ton, and the experience has helped me and will continue to as I enter medicine :) So thanks for being awesome athletes (except those of you who bitch and moan everytime we try to help!)
No, no, thank you for putting us back together. I have spent way too much time in the training room, but it is alright when you have a good trainer.
 
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