D1 athlete advice?

[Justadreamer63]

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Hey so I'm a pre-med D1 athlete and I just finished my first semester. I had a little trouble adjusting to the 20+ hours of practice a week (in our "off" season no less haha) and being able to handle academics.
I was able to manage a 3.5 but I know I have to get a higher gpa in future semesters to be a competitive applicant and the classes I'm going to be taking are only going to get harder. So I was wondering if anyone whose done the student-athlete thing has some advice on 1) during the season how to handle the school work and the sports demands 2) how to find time for EC's 3) If it would look bad if I took a class or two (such as the first half of orgo or physics) over the summer to lighten up the load during the semester/in-season.

Thanks!

 

[WedgeDawg]

@md-2020

 

[7331poas]

Take an easier major. Nothing more basic than biology or chem.

 

[BigRedBeta]

Had a lot of friends who were D1 athletes that are now physicians.

Your sport does count for something and people will understand that you didn't go to the Pre-med club meeting because of something that represents a much more important part of your life. So don't feel like you have to check off boxes for the sake of checking off boxes. That's not an excuse to do nothing, but just focus your energies on the important boxes - clinical experience, leadership (which you can certainly get within your team). You want that time you do spend on outside activities to be high yield.

By all means, use the academic resources your school provides you as an athlete. When I was in college people were always upset with the fact that the fraternities and sororities had test files, but what my friends got from the Athletic department blew ours out of the water. If they have note-takers, use them when you miss class for competition. I'm sure part of your recruitment was spent telling you about how great the academics were at your school, make them follow through on that. They are asking a lot from you, you should have no shame asking for help back.

Talk to the juniors and seniors on your team about managing classes in-season. I'm sure you know who is doing the best job. Make them a study partner or sit next to them on the bus if they are always studying during that time. You're more likely to follow their lead. Next year do the same for the freshmen.

Summer school at your own university is generally no big deal, particularly with an understandable explanation of what your spring semesters look like.

Not sure what the above poster means by "nothing more basic than biology or chem" but since your major really doesn't matter, pick something that is conducive to your schedule. Not being a science major has lots of benefits - you're not required to take certain classes that are geared towards people who actually want to be chemists, freeing you up to only select the classes that interest you or ones with professors known to be great. With the shift in the MCAT, it's also ever more clear that science is only part of the puzzle for making a great physician. Just be ready to explain how you think your major can help you as a physician when it comes to interviews/personal statement.

 

[Justadreamer63]

Thanks for the reply! I'll definitely hit up some of the upperclassmen for advice (can't believe I didn't think of that myself haha) we don't have any other premed's on the team but a few engineers and science majors so they should know their stuff. As far as the extra academic benefits for student-athletes goes they're unfortunately aimed more for those who are endanger of failing/not being academically eligible to play and the resources are pretty slim. I'm a science major but I don't want to change that as I love science and if the whole medschool thing doesn't work out I would want to work in a science related field.

 

[md-2020]

A 3.5 your first semester, especially while handling the challenges of a DI sport, is actually pretty good. I had a 3.5 after my freshman year while playing DI sports, and subsequently improved significantly as I found a study/workout/practice routine that fit me best.

I totally feel the idea that the tutors and resources for athletes are to prevent you from failing out of eligibility, but in reality if you make clear what your goals are, I (and many athlete friends at other schools) have found our universities very capable of providing all sorts of academic support. I got the distinct feeling that they were actually happier to help an athlete who wasn't solely concerned with pulling a 2.x and being able to compete.

@BigRedBeta 's advice is quite excellent, though I will add on that if you're going to college out of state, taking summer classes at your closest public university during the summer is probably the easiest (and cheapest option). I did unfortunately attend a school that didn't give out athletic $$$, so I suppose if you can finagle some free classes at your current uni during the summer, then disregard this advice. If your sport doesn't require summer sessions or any such obligations (so, no football basically), I've found tough "weed-out" courses that I'd probably have screwed up during the year to be very manageable during break.

I'll also urge you to reconsider your major. The "hardness" of a STEM major aside, as you get into upper-level bio/chem/bioC/phys, time becomes a huge issue (assuming you're gonna be a 4-year athlete). Major choice literally has no bearing on chances for medical school (I majored in economics and a "fluff" science, anecdotally, and have been told by >1 interviewers that they'd seen too many bio pre-meds that day), and tbh if you decide to do bench research in the future, any sort of psych/econ/sociology/whatever degree is more than okay for basic science MA and PhD programs, b/c you'll still have completed the whole shebang of pre-med pre-reqs.

 

[docycle]

Damn OP. Respect for making the decision to do this. As far as I understand adcoms respect the hell out of D1 athletes.

A 3.5 your first semester, especially while handling the challenges of a DI sport, is actually pretty good. I had a 3.5 after my freshman year while playing DI sports, and subsequently improved significantly as I found a study/workout/practice routine that fit me best.

I totally feel the idea that the tutors and resources for athletes are to prevent you from failing out of eligibility, but in reality if you make clear what your goals are, I (and many athlete friends at other schools) have found our universities very capable of providing academic support. I got the distinct feeling that they were actually happier to help an athlete who wasn't solely concerned with pulling a 2.x and being able to compete.

@BigRedBeta 's advice is quite excellent, though I will add on that if you're going to college out of state, taking summer classes at your closest public university during the summer is probably the easiest (and cheapest option). I did unfortunately attend a school that didn't give out athletic $$$, so I suppose if you can finagle some free classes at your current uni during the summer, then disregard this advice. If your sport doesn't require summer sessions or any such obligations (so, no football basically), I've found tough "weed-out" courses that I'd probably have screwed up during the year to be very manageable during break.

I'll also urge you to reconsider your major. The "hardness" of a STEM major aside, as you get into upper-level bio/chem/bioC/phys, time becomes a huge issue (assuming you're gonna be a 4-year athlete). Major choice literally has no bearing on chances for medical school (I majored in economics and a "fluff" science, anecdotally, and have been told by >1 interviewers that they'd seen too many bio pre-meds that day), and tbh if you decide to do bench research in the future, any sort of psych/econ/sociology/whatever degree is more than okay for basic science MA and PhD programs, b/c you'll still have completed the whole shebang of pre-med pre-reqs.

This advice is solid af. You'll probably have a hard enough time with the reqs as it is. No need to add high level science classes for a (frankly pointless) degree which is only required to get you to the next step, where the real studies will happen.

I am wondering how you're going to pull off any kind of significant research though. Forgive me for not knowing anything about being a D1 athlete, but do you guys ever have a long period of time off? Like during the summer? Perhaps you could get some significant research experience in at that time, as well as some shadowing.

Jump into a 4hr/wk volunteer gig. You'd really only have to do it for a year to get what seems to be the necessary 200hrs, but having a continuous involvement in that stuff may be more helpful and show a greater interest in altruism. That's what I do and I think it frankly looks a hell of a lot better.

 

[justheresoidontgetfined]

Current grad student and 3-sport D1 athlete here (xc, indoor/outdoor t&f) so I've been in-season year-round for the past 5 years, excluding a year I had to take off from competition due to illness which is why I'm still eligible this year. I finished undergrad with a 3.97 GPA in bio (BS) with two minors in 7 semesters, so it's definitely possible. Here's a couple pointers I've picked up along the way; I hope they help!

1) Embrace being the team nerd. You're going to have to study on those never-ending bus rides. You're going to have to skip some team parties and you're going to go straight from practice to the library or the lab. Your teammates with aspirations closer to the mantra of "C's get degrees" will not be doing this. Learn how to endear yourself to the team culture without compromising your academics. Making friends outside of the team helps a lot, too!
2) SLEEP. Oh my god, sleep. Get your 8 hours whenever you can. You'll perform better athletically and academically, and you're much less likely to burn out.
3) Start volunteering early - you're not going to be able to get in more than a few hours a week, so make sure they add up in the end. I volunteered at a local hospital working one four-hour shift per week which was totally manageable, but I did it for two years so I ended up with close to 250 hours. Med schools also value long-term commitment, so double-whammy!
4) Make sure your professors know your face. Be "that guy" in the front row on the first day. Introduce yourself and tell them about your athletic commitment. Let them know when you'll be missing class for competitions; deliver class-excuse forms in person if you can and ask what you can do to make up missed material. A lot of profs are used to athletes that expect the professor to pick up the slack instead of the student-athlete; show them that's not you and they'll usually be more than willing to work with you.
5) See if there's any community service opportunities that you can participate in through athletics - my school has a club for student athletes interested in community service, and they do some pretty cool things. It's way easier to get involved, and they're more catered towards a typical athlete's schedule.
6) Never took any summer courses so I can't comment on those (can't imagine it would look bad if you got good grades though), but I highly recommend using summers to go hard on those ECs... research internship if you can nose your way in, summer camps with at-risk/special needs youth, shadowing, etc. Definitely pick one or two additional ECs to keep up during the school year if you can, but it'll be hard to manage more than that with your schedule. Summers are great to get those hours in!
7) Embrace the lifestyle. It's nuts. I've taken a final exam proctored by my assistant coach on the infield of a indoor track while eating greasy pizza at 10 PM. I've gotten back from a 3-day championship meet at 2:30 AM and had an exam at 8 AM. I've had night-lab partners cover for me while I took a break to go scarf down some dinner in the hallway because I came straight from practice. Learn how to laugh at how ridiculous it is instead of crying over it (it's hard to study through tears), and how to get tough instead of making excuses (this was a HUGE attitude shift for me). Make sure you love what you're doing, and you'll be just fine. It's hard, but I promise it's worth it! I'm one semester away from blessed retirement, but I can tell you I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[xc_stallion92]

Current grad student and 3-sport D1 athlete here (xc, indoor/outdoor t&f) so I've been in-season year-round for the past 5 years, excluding a year I had to take off from competition due to illness which is why I'm still eligible this year. I finished undergrad with a 3.97 GPA in bio (BS) with two minors in 7 semesters, so it's definitely possible. Here's a couple pointers I've picked up along the way; I hope they help!

1) Embrace being the team nerd. You're going to have to study on those never-ending bus rides. You're going to have to skip some team parties and you're going to go straight from practice to the library or the lab. Your teammates with aspirations closer to the mantra of "C's get degrees" will not be doing this. Learn how to endear yourself to the team culture without compromising your academics. Making friends outside of the team helps a lot, too!
2) SLEEP. Oh my god, sleep. Get your 8 hours whenever you can. You'll perform better athletically and academically, and you're much less likely to burn out.
3) Start volunteering early - you're not going to be able to get in more than a few hours a week, so make sure they add up in the end. I volunteered at a local hospital working one four-hour shift per week which was totally manageable, but I did it for two years so I ended up with close to 250 hours. Med schools also value long-term commitment, so double-whammy!
4) Make sure your professors know your face. Be "that guy" in the front row on the first day. Introduce yourself and tell them about your athletic commitment. Let them know when you'll be missing class for competitions; deliver class-excuse forms in person if you can and ask what you can do to make up missed material. A lot of profs are used to athletes that expect the professor to pick up the slack instead of the student-athlete; show them that's not you and they'll usually be more than willing to work with you.
5) See if there's any community service opportunities that you can participate in through athletics - my school has a club for student athletes interested in community service, and they do some pretty cool things. It's way easier to get involved, and they're more catered towards a typical athlete's schedule.
6) Never took any summer courses so I can't comment on those (can't imagine it would look bad if you got good grades though), but I highly recommend using summers to go hard on those ECs... research internship if you can nose your way in, summer camps with at-risk/special needs youth, shadowing, etc. Definitely pick one or two additional ECs to keep up during the school year if you can, but it'll be hard to manage more than that with your schedule. Summers are great to get those hours in!
7) Embrace the lifestyle. It's nuts. I've taken a final exam proctored by my assistant coach on the infield of a indoor track while eating greasy pizza at 10 PM. I've gotten back from a 3-day championship meet at 2:30 AM and had an exam at 8 AM. I've had night-lab partners cover for me while I took a break to go scarf down some dinner in the hallway because I came straight from practice. Learn how to laugh at how ridiculous it is instead of crying over it (it's hard to study through tears), and how to get tough instead of making excuses (this was a HUGE attitude shift for me). Make sure you love what you're doing, and you'll be just fine. It's hard, but I promise it's worth it! I'm one semester away from blessed retirement, but I can tell you I wouldn't change a thing.

Chiming in as a fellow former D1 runner to second all of these points, and as far as number 6 goes, I took a couple summer courses (mainly gen ed stuff), and it worked out just fine. If it's an option for you, I would definitely recommend thinking about it.

 

[Justadreamer63]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to answer my questions extremely thoroughly and offering great advice. It really helped!

 

[docycle]

Damn. Feelin the athlete love in this thread.

 

[mw18]

Former athlete here as well. You've gotten great advice. I took a lot of courses over the summer, particularly prereqs (my school was set up where you could take two classes in succession BIO1/BIO2 in one summer) and it never negatively affected me. I really liked being able to focus on one class or maybe two. As far as study habits, the best thing I found was frontloading the work as much as possible. It's really difficult to do when you finally have an actual day off, and you're pretty sure you'll be able to write that paper next week. Just write it now. You never know what next week will look like. You always think you'll get home from the road at 10 pm but it's always 2 am.

My team got involved with a lot of community service opportunities(Ronald McDonald, Toy drives, canned food drives, etc), and if you take the lead on those it will provide really great experiences.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. But don't sweat it too much, you've got plenty of time.

 

[md-2020]

My team got involved with a lot of community service opportunities(Ronald McDonald, Toy drives, canned food drives, etc)

Totally forgot to mention these. I'm sure your schools athletic dept and various teams do tons of community outreach and such. Perfect way to get some ECs and volunteering down

 

[BigRedBeta]

Even though the academics seemed geared towards keeping people eligible, I think you might be surprised what sort of resources are available to you. It doesn't hurt to ask and explain why you're so grade conscious. If you're truly getting shot down, then figure out what resources for the general student population are available. It might not be course specific but they might give you some thoughts on studying more efficiently given your time commitments.

 

[EIShopeful]

Former student-athlete as well. I wouldn't trade my experience as an athlete for anything. I skimmed through the postings, you've gotten good advice. Just remember that you don't have to go straight from undergrad to med school. Take a couple years off in between graduation and applying, your athletic experience will always be relevant.

If you are NCAA D1, your school will likely have Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Get involved in that if you can. It is a great way to fit in community service with your tight/exhausting schedule.

Good luck!

 

[Goro]

An athlete pulling a 3.5 is no mean feat. Work on the self-esteem.

Hey so I'm a pre-med D1 athlete and I just finished my first semester. I had a little trouble adjusting to the 20+ hours of practice a week (in our "off" season no less haha) and being able to handle academics.
I was able to manage a 3.5 but I know I have to get a higher gpa in future semesters to be a competitive applicant and the classes I'm going to be taking are only going to get harder. So I was wondering if anyone whose done the student-athlete thing has some advice on 1) during the season how to handle the school work and the sports demands 2) how to find time for EC's 3) If it would look bad if I took a class or two (such as the first half of orgo or physics) over the summer to lighten up the load during the semester/in-season.

Thanks!

 

[Justadreamer63]

Just wanted to thank everyone again for taking the time to give me some wonderful advice!