Athletics & GPA

[KitFox]

---

Members do not see this ad.

does anyone know if ADCOMs give a little more leeway to athletes with GPAs that aren't as high as their peers? i'm trying to decide if i want to continue running cross country/track in college (activities that i really love) but i'm afraid it will take away from my study time (at least 2 hours each day for practice and away meets on weekends that will take up all day saturday if not also on sunday). i know nothing will excuse really poor grades, but i kinda feel like i'd be a little disadvantaged for participating in sports. i mean, i know other people have tons of other time-consuming extra-currics too, but i dunno...i guess i'm just hoping... 😉

 

[Syranope2]

i think the benefits of playing a sport far outweigh any disadvantages that it would cause. first of all, you get a great extracurricular in. you can talk about your experiences when you apply to med schools, and talk about the leadership skills, commitment, camaraderie, and hard work that you did/achieved/whatever. also, athletes tend to do really well in school, i think. many of my friends were very dedicated athletes who woke up at 5am and practiced morning and afternoon, and they still found time to finish their schoolwork. as long as you bring it to their attention, med schools will understand that collegiate athletics can affect your grades. just make sure you know where your priorities are. in sports, college sports especially, that can be hard to do sometimes. but anyway, after all the rambling is done, i say go for it. the worst that happens is that you try it for a semester/year and it doesn't work out for you. you can always quit if you need to.

 

[docmemi]

your numbers are always the most important! playing sports will only help your character, something you can write about in your apps, or discuss in an interview. but sports will not replace/excuse poor grades.

with that said, if you think you can do it, then do it! maybe you can try for one semester.

 

[bubbajones]

I think playing sports helps. If your gpa is a B average than you shouldnt have anything to worry about. Now if it was a 2.0 than I would be worried.

 

[djipopo]

You should be fine as long as u maintain a gpa above a 3.1/3.2. just make sure u describe ur athletics in ur personal statement and tell them how the fact that you were able to keep good grades while playing sports at that level means that you can deal with pressure. That makes you a more attractive candidate than someone who has a 4.0 but did nothing else and had all the time in the world to study. Aslo bring it up in ur interview when they ask you at the end if you have anything to add.
I played college football and was in the same situation 2 years ago and i got accepted into 2 schools. I just couldnt go cos of some imigration problems so i'm here applying again. Go for it, and keep running. U'll be more rounded for it.