Any other varsity athletes out there?

[xcgirl]

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Just curious to see if anyone else is a hardcore pre-med while playing a varsity sport at college level...

Personally I compete 3 seasons/year [practicing 3 hours/day plus one day/week of competition]. I realize this is total insanity and doesn't really help my application [anyone care to contradict that statement?] but I love it and I love my team. If nothing else I might get some points for dedication and leadership [team captain]?

Who else is an athlete? Have you found this to work for/against you in the admissions process? Are there any schools you found to be particularly "athlete-friendly"?

 

[Robizzle]

Just curious to see if anyone else is a hardcore pre-med while playing a varsity sport at college level...

Personally I compete 3 seasons/year [practicing 3 hours/day plus one day/week of competition]. I realize this is total insanity and doesn't really help my application [anyone care to contradict that statement?] but I love it and I love my team. If nothing else I might get some points for dedication and leadership [team captain]?

Who else is an athlete? Have you found this to work for/against you in the admissions process? Are there any schools you found to be particularly "athlete-friendly"?

u serious about that? obviously it shows that you're skilled in something, you're dedicated, and if u perform well in school it shows that you manage your time extremely well. and hello, you're the team captain -- leadership ability like you said. oy vey. all schools will love you. i can't believe i just had to post this.

 

[xcgirl]

yeah my 3.3 gpa sort of reflects my semi-inability to manage time well [or just the deathly combo of orgo & biochem]. hopefully it will be going up this semester and everything will be all good.
thanks 🙂
reading sdn sometimes makes me crazy and paranoid.

 

[pkbronco]

Just curious to see if anyone else is a hardcore pre-med while playing a varsity sport at college level...

Personally I compete 3 seasons/year [practicing 3 hours/day plus one day/week of competition]. I realize this is total insanity and doesn't really help my application [anyone care to contradict that statement?] but I love it and I love my team. If nothing else I might get some points for dedication and leadership [team captain]?

Who else is an athlete? Have you found this to work for/against you in the admissions process? Are there any schools you found to be particularly "athlete-friendly"?

I rowed for 3 years on the varisty year. I know exactly what you're talking about. Insane hours in the gym/on the water left me struggling to concentrate on homework and tests. I eventually got it together and got straight As my last two years. I was captain too. And as cool as you and I think that is, and all the leadership and dedication is show, it really hasn't done much for my application, other than provide some information for small talk. It definitely looks good though, so keep up the good work!!

 

[polycon7]

Haha I knew this thread was going to pop up one day. Graduated last year after 4 years of D1 tennis and team captain senior year. Year round sport at an average of 5 hours a day. Spring seasons kill me because we travel most Thursdays so I'm missing so much school!! I actually looked at my grades for all the spring semesters and I don't do so hot compared to the fall. Anyhoo, such is life. You only have so many hours in the day, but my experience as an athlete was definitely worth it🙂

_______________
http://mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?myid=6432

 

[Ilovelamp]

Yeah I was on the Taekwondo team for about 3 years. 5 practices a week for 2 hours each time. Now I'm on the men's volleyball club (NCAA doesn't recognize men's volleyball as a varsity sport). We have practices 4 times a week for about 2 hours each time and an optional practice on sundays for a couple hours that I usually end up attending. My gpa hasn't suffered due to this. Only one adcom even mentioned this at interviews.

 

[mewannabedoctor]

i played Division 1 soccer for 4 years and was a team captain my last 2 years

 

[zxcv1234]

i played Division 1 soccer for 4 years and was a team captain my last 2 years

I got a gold star for a pony I drew once.

 

[xcgirl]

I got a gold star for a pony I drew once.

You've got me beat...

 

[little_late_MD]

I rowed crew my first two years. After we got Title IXed out of the athletic budget I had to get a full time job.

Those two years are the only time in my life I received a D in any class. I spent three more years of nearly straight As making up for them.. Just a friendly warning from a former fellow athlete: unless you're going pro or can't afford to go to school without the scholarship, playing the sport is not doing you any favors in regards to med school admissions.

 

[Nickelpennykid]

Yeah I was on the Taekwondo team for about 3 years. 5 practices a week for 2 hours each time. Now I'm on the men's volleyball club (NCAA doesn't recognize men's volleyball as a varsity sport). We have practices 4 times a week for about 2 hours each time and an optional practice on sundays for a couple hours that I usually end up attending. My gpa hasn't suffered due to this. Only one adcom even mentioned this at interviews.

Men's Volleyball is an NCAA varsity sport and they have an NCAA men's championship every year on ESPN...go to www.ncaa.org and look at the spring sports for men's. West Coast schools usually dominate.

Anyway, I played 4 years of Division I baseball and it prob hurt my grades a little, but overall it def. helped. Great leadership opprotounities and great conversation in interviews. Plus it shows that you are a normal human being that can do things outside of the classroom.

 

[kbear12]

I rowed crew my first two years. After we got Title IXed out of the athletic budget I had to get a full time job.

Those two years are the only time in my life I received a D in any class. I spent three more years of nearly straight As making up for them.. Just a friendly warning from a former fellow athlete: unless you're going pro or can't afford to go to school without the scholarship, playing the sport is not doing you any favors in regards to med school admissions.

my experience has been pretty different. i was a 2 sport varsity athlete and captained both teams for two years. my experience in athletics has come up in every one of my interviews and i feel that my experiences have given my app a HUGE boost. but, of course you must be able to balance your sport with academics and still pull off decent grades. doing this will truly prove to the adcom that you can successfully balance a demanding schedule and are probably prepared for many of medicine's challenges.

 

[Nickelpennykid]

my experience has been pretty different. i was a 2 sport varsity athlete and captained both teams for two years. my experience in athletics has come up in every one of my interviews and i feel that my experiences have given my app a HUGE boost. but, of course you must be able to balance your sport with academics and still pull off decent grades. doing this will truly prove to the adcom that you can successfully balance a demanding schedule and are probably prepared for many of medicine's challenges.

Truth...I was told at one of my interviews that one of the biggest reasons I was considered was b.c of the full time commitment of playing sports. I guess it helped to explain some of my low grades early in the academic career.

 

[tangledupinblue]

I think collegiate athletics definitely boost our applications. But I also think that it probably depends on who reviews your application. I think some people see it they way we would like them to think of it and others don't think much of it. so just like the rest of the process it is a crap shoot.

But anyway there was a similar thread not too long ago:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=297188&highlight=NCAA

 

[little_late_MD]

my experience has been pretty different. i was a 2 sport varsity athlete and captained both teams for two years. my experience in athletics has come up in every one of my interviews and i feel that my experiences have given my app a HUGE boost. but, of course you must be able to balance your sport with academics and still pull off decent grades. doing this will truly prove to the adcom that you can successfully balance a demanding schedule and are probably prepared for many of medicine's challenges.

While I can certainly see where you're coming from, I think that in general, mixing varsity sports and academics is not the best recipe for a successful medical school admissions bid. I knew many people on many different sports teams, and when push came to shove between spending an extra hour practicing and an extra hour studying, it was always the sport paying the tuition bill that won.

Granted, this is not universally applicable, and there are many who can pull fantastic grades and a full time practice/competition schedule off. However, if you know right now that your primary goal is med school admissions, then I still believe that dedicating yourself to that pursuit is the wisest move one can make. Even the OP herself said that her GPA is struggling a bit. It certainly doesn't get any easier as you move on through upper-division courses. Really, is a bit of interview small talk worth risking what really matters: a great GPA, solid MCATs, and good volunteer/clinical experience?

To the OP, take my original post for what it is: my opinion. Just always keep in the back of your mind the fact that you can't undo mistakes in your early academic career, and digging yourself out of a hole is much harder than avoiding one in the first place.

 

[DolfinGrl11]

Hey xcgirl! I played varsity water polo for 2 years in college after playing 4 years in high school (double knee surgery sidelined me for a season and transferring to a different school took care of one). I know what you mean about the time...I practiced upwards of 5 hours a day and had games almost every week/weekend plus my season was from October-May so it took up most of my life, lol. Even though it took a toll on my GPA I still gained a lot of interviews and a few acceptances to schools I thought would never look at me due to my lower GPA. If you show hard work and dedication and success in athletics, it's seen as a plus because it requires a TON of time management and maturity. It didn't hurt that I was named to first-team all league and gained all-america honors both years but like I said, it balanced out the fact that I only had a 3.3 GPA. I had other xtracurriculars too but athletics were my main one and when I got to med school I met a lot of other athletes too so no worries, if you're MCAT's decent and your GPA is decent, you have a good shot! E-mail me at [email protected] if you have any questions about applying/interviewing/med school. Good luck to you!

 

[Nickelpennykid]

While I can certainly see where you're coming from, I think that in general, mixing varsity sports and academics is not the best recipe for a successful medical school admissions bid. I knew many people on many different sports teams, and when push came to shove between spending an extra hour practicing and an extra hour studying, it was always the sport paying the tuition bill that won.

Granted, this is not universally applicable, and there are many who can pull fantastic grades and a full time practice/competition schedule off. However, if you know right now that your primary goal is med school admissions, then I still believe that dedicating yourself to that pursuit is the wisest move one can make. Even the OP herself said that her GPA is struggling a bit. It certainly doesn't get any easier as you move on through upper-division courses. Really, is a bit of interview small talk worth risking what really matters: a great GPA, solid MCATs, and good volunteer/clinical experience?

To the OP, take my original post for what it is: my opinion. Just always keep in the back of your mind the fact that you can't undo mistakes in your early academic career, and digging yourself out of a hole is much harder than avoiding one in the first place.

I understand where you are coming from but I think you are ignoring a few key issues. Obviously, if sports are going to kill the GPA/MCAT then don't do them. But yes, it is worth a minor grade hit to participate in athetics for a few reasons. Everyone is going to lose out to the academic superstars with killer MCAT's and research, but for the average competative applicant, sports will def push you over the edge, if they are a full time commitment (this excludes Intermurals and non-time consuming club sports).

You can't shurg off athletics as interview small talk. Let's face it, everyone is biased, even adcoms, and if your borderline stats are similar to another applicant who didn't spend 30+ hours a week playing a varsity sport, guess who is getting in. Athletics also say alot about your character, they show that you are competative, hard work, well balanced, health concious, able to overcome challanges and above all else, able to deal with failure. These characteristcs w/o question transcend into academics. Don't ignore the happiness factor either...if you can do it and still do well in school, you will look back on it as one of hte best decisions you ever made.

Also, for the "interview small talk" issue, adcoms and residency directors have plenty of ex-athletes and naturally, you gravitate towards people like you. Sports lead to plenty of job connections in other fields, medicine is no exception (of course you have to be qualified). Any pre-med can spend every waking hour doing school work, those that can balance both, even if grades take a SLIGHT hit bring somthing to the table that others applicants simply cannot.