calling all athletes

[bball25]

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Any collegiate athletes out there applying to medical school? Did you guys have a lot of time to do research, shadowing, etc?....cause I didnt. I play basketball and I promise it controls my time!! Will my lack of alternate extracurriculars kill me? 😕

 

[narc]

Any collegiate athletes out there applying to medical school? Did you guys have a lot of time to do research, shadowing, etc?....cause I didnt. I play basketball and I promise it controls my time!! Will my lack of alternate extracurriculars kill me? 😕

I hear ya.
DI rowing here. It sucked. So I took a year off, found some research, a few EC and am applying right now. So far so food.

 

[Sekiray]

depends on the person reading ur app. It could catch an attention of a hardcore basketball fan adcom. Or the person could just be mean and reject you based on your lack of ECs (althoug its due to your commitment to a sport). Personally, I think it is a positive thing because 1. you are talented 2. committed 3. team player 4. have the energy/endurance to get through medical school unlike some of the unhealthy premeds out there who might not do as hot just because they wont perform at their best.

 

[_ian]

I would imagine people would recognize the time commitment, but it won't absolve you of having some good clinical ECs. If all you have is basketball, you probably will have issues... but people won't expect to see a huge number of other extracurriculars.

 

[sscooterguy]

I'm sure that being a basketball player without ANY EC's is fine. It is well recognized that collegiate level athletes have no time at all. Those with full time jobs and families don't have time to go volunteer all the time fare just as well too, as they have an excuse. I think EC's are for those of us that have free time with nothing impressive to show on a CV.

A varsity female basketball player at my school got in and she says she did very little volunteering - only enough to get her own experience, but not enough to really put it in her application. Her personal statement and subjects discussed during interviews revolved around how she constantly worked on a team and managed her time well. She got multiple acceptances.

If you can pull decent GPA and good mcat with the schedule of a college athlete, that's impressive in itself. Work your tail off during those classes and for the MCAT, and you won't have anything to "make up" for with EC's. If there's an EC you're truely passionate about, you'll make time, otherwise, don't sweat it.

Good luck.
sscooterguy

 

[Go Time]

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[govikings10]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=297188

 

[Sekiray]

I've spent most of my adult life working in professional athletics as an athlete and in management, and I don't think sports is a complete substitute for medically related EC's or research. I see it as primarily providing a touch of notoriety, in contrast to other applicants, and adding a different *type* of indication that one possesses skills in teamwork, work-ethic, personal drive, and leadership (should one have been in such a role).

i think sometimes you can get picked just based on the fact that you played collegiate sports. WHy? How many applicants are there? Of that, how many pulled being a full time athlete? a few. If you read 1000 applications, would u remember 900 of the same old ****? I dont think so. You'd remember that one basketball player, or that one football player. That is, I am assuming that they have descent numbers and few ECs.

 

[Kingfish]

I play lacrosse and I know your pain. There really is not much time when you're practicing 3 hours a day six days a week, have team dinners, gametape meetings, road trips. I took this year off to prepare for my MCATs and take Ochem (more for the labs, the time commitment for the ochem labs was pretty extreme). Its not an easy choice, but I think it worked out really well. I did well on my MCATs, brought up my GPA, and beefed up my ECs.

 

[esean413]

I played football for two years and didn't have time for anything and had uncompetitive grades. decided to focus on school more did research my last two years and dominated classes to bring up my gpa to a more competitive level. Plus I was tired of getting concussions.