D1 Athlete School List

[macbethsoftball]

Hi, I'm a Division 1 Athlete and have numerous awards like all conference and all region for it. I also have a 3.7 GPA with an upward trend. I have a 507 MCAT score. I'm wondering how many schools to apply to if money isn't a concern. I want to play the numbers game and apply to the most possible, but I also want to be realistic. I have always heard that the D1 athlete thing helps TREMENDOUSLY, but I'm just wondering exactly how much. Can I apply to schools where the average MCAT is more like a 512?

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[deleted480308]

Hi, I'm a Division 1 Athlete and have numerous awards like all conference and all region for it. I also have a 3.7 GPA with an upward trend. I have a 507 MCAT score. I'm wondering how many schools to apply to if money isn't a concern. I want to play the numbers game and apply to the most possible, but I also want to be realistic. I have always heard that the D1 athlete thing helps TREMENDOUSLY, but I'm just wondering exactly how much. Can I apply to schools where the average MCAT is more like a 512?

You might be a little disappointed in how much people care about athletics

 

[WingedOx]

Yeah, what sb said...

It's cool and all and a great accomplishment, but not like a "wow" thing. Hell, you'll see former pro athletes in med school classes too.

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

It's a sad reality, but people in academia don't really understand the level of commitment it takes to be a college athlete. Especially on top of being premed. It takes way more time, dedication, and effort than pretty much any other EC like running a bunch of PCRs in the lab or standing around "volunteering" in the hospital that most generic premeds do. Kind of a shame really. But we do it #fortheloveofthegame

The fact that winged ox said it's not a "wow" thing is just a testament to that. Most people just don't understand how much it takes.

 

[Terror Billy]

Sadly my friend, being a D1 athlete is not in the same ballpark as military service or peace corp to medical schools. You should apply to schools within your stat range, if it's close, being a D1 athlete should help, but it won't be the reason a school interviews you (unless your a famous college athlete).

 

[DaWeasel]

If it makes you feel better, I'm impressed. But it's only worth what adcoms think it is and they likely don't know (or care) how much you put in

 

[cke11]

Hi, I'm a Division 1 Athlete and have numerous awards like all conference and all region for it. I also have a 3.7 GPA with an upward trend. I have a 507 MCAT score. I'm wondering how many schools to apply to if money isn't a concern. I want to play the numbers game and apply to the most possible, but I also want to be realistic. I have always heard that the D1 athlete thing helps TREMENDOUSLY, but I'm just wondering exactly how much. Can I apply to schools where the average MCAT is more like a 512?

Unfortunately on this site there's a prevailing view that being an athlete will not really be noticed, but in my experience and the numerous other D1 athletes I have talked to every single interview they went on interviewers were very impressed with their commitment. Now, this doesn't negate the fact that your GPA/MCAT and ECs should all be in order, but if you have the stats and ECs of most other applicants while maintaining a D1 commitment, it sets you apart.

 

[medbro]

I'm gonna have to disagree with some of the comments. Possibly just an N=1 situation, but as a former D1 athlete with around a 3.8 gpa and a 26 MCAT (bad day, think this is about equivalent to a 501ish) who ended up with a few interviews and an MD acceptance (currently entering my second year), the athletics thing is a big deal. I think people have an appreciation for the depth of commitment to something, whether that's research, student government, athletics, etc. The D1 title is a tangible label to demonstrate that. I didn't take the time to look at what new mcat scores mean but...I genuinely believe if the rest of your app is solid, the D1 thing would help facilitate a 3-5 point jump. I ended up at a school with a 32 avg (I think that's around a 510ish). Definitely still apply to plenty of schools in the 508-510 range though.

 

[Dox4lyfe]

Unfortunately on this site there's a prevailing view that being an athlete will not really be noticed, but in my experience and the numerous other D1 athletes I have talked to every single interview they went on interviewers were very impressed with their commitment. Now, this doesn't negate the fact that your GPA/MCAT and ECs should all be in order, but if you have the stats and ECs of most other applicants while maintaining a D1 commitment, it sets you apart.

This is not just a "prevailing view" on this site. According to the 2015 AAMC survey conducted of N=130 adcoms, intercollegiate athletics is of lowest importance as compared to other experiences.

No one ever said "athletics won't be noticed" or that interviewers wouldn't be impressed, but its unfortunately not as big of a deal as D1 athletes would hope it to be.

 

[Dox4lyfe]

the D1 thing would help facilitate a 3-5 point jump

 

[mw18]

I think it'd make up for a lower GPA more than MCAT. If your grades were a little lower than a school's median but you did well on the MCAT I could see that being explained away by the time and dedication of travel and competition. It would seem like you have the ability (MCAT) but didn't have the time to put too many extra hours into all your classes. Doing well in classes despite the time commitment is definitely noteworthy but doesn't really excuse (or give extra points to) a below median MCAT. I don't actually think it does either, just that if it were to have that effect I would think it would be that way.

I was an athlete, too, when I applied and it was maybe my 5th or 6th most important EC. Interviewers asked a little about it, but nobody's eyes lit up and it wasn't discussed at many of my interviews. Apply to schools in your stats range is my advice.

 

[medbro]

I think it'd make up for a lower GPA more than MCAT. If your grades were a little lower than a school's median but you did well on the MCAT I could see that being explained away by the time and dedication of travel and competition. It would seem like you have the ability (MCAT) but didn't have the time to put too many extra hours into all your classes. Doing well in classes despite the time commitment is definitely noteworthy but doesn't really excuse (or give extra points to) a below median MCAT. I don't actually think it does either, just that if it were to have that effect I would think it would be that way.

I was an athlete, too, when I applied and it was maybe my 5th or 6th most important EC. Interviewers asked a little about it, but nobody's eyes lit up and it wasn't discussed at many of my interviews. Apply to schools in your stats range is my advice.

I don't think there's anything ridiculous about me saying "facilitating a 3-5 point jump" from OPs mcat. Plenty of people with 28's and 29s end up at at schools with 32 and 33 Avgs with something else in their app that makes them stand out. I'm not saying someone with a 30 will end up at Harvard because of their sport. Were you a D1 athlete? With accomplishments like conference championships or NCAA All American? (I don't mean this in an attacking way just questioning) We must of had a very different interview experience because at mine the athlete thing (also for a few other student athletes I was friends with in undergrad) was pretty much the core of the discussion. Like I said, not necessarily athletics itself, but the depth of commitment that's important.

Apologies, this was meant for Dox4lyfe

 

[medbro]

It looks like I made my response to you to the wrong person. Oh well lol. That being said, maybe im wrong, but, I'd bet plenty that it wasn't my 100 hours of volunteering at a clinic that got me accepted with a 26 Mcat.

 

[md-2020]

I don't think there's anything ridiculous about me saying "facilitating a 3-5 point jump" from OPs mcat. Plenty of people with 28's and 29s end up at at schools with 32 and 33 Avgs with something else in their app that makes them stand out. I'm not saying someone with a 30 will end up at Harvard because of their sport. Were you a D1 athlete? With accomplishments like conference championships or NCAA All American? (I don't mean this in an attacking way just questioning) We must of had a very different interview experience because at mine the athlete thing (also for a few other student athletes I was friends with in undergrad) was pretty much the core of the discussion. Like I said, not necessarily athletics itself, but the depth of commitment that's important.

I mean, I was an Ivy League athlete (so technically D1) and made a few all-conference teams. At the top schools that I interviewed at (so maybe some research powerhouse bias here) not a single one asked about my sports involvement. They were almost exclusively interested in my research publications, volunteerism, and other clinical ECs.

As far as I can tell the SDN opinion on this issue is actually pretty accurate. Medicine undervalues sports so much; I've known a few professional-level athletes not really even getting the credit that they deserve in the app cycle.

I would strongly urge OP to limit the bulk of school apps to within <510 medians. A few reaches is fine though.

 

[medbro]

I mean, I was an Ivy League athlete (so technically D1) and made a few all-conference teams. At the top schools that I interviewed at (so maybe some research powerhouse bias here) not a single one asked about my sports involvement. They were almost exclusively interested in my research publications, volunteerism, and other clinical ECs.

As far as I can tell the SDN opinion on this issue is actually pretty accurate. Medicine undervalues sports so much; I've known a few professional-level athletes not really even getting the credit that they deserve in the app cycle.

I would strongly urge OP to limit the bulk of school apps to within <510 medians. A few reaches is fine though.

Man well, oh well, I guess i just got lucky and had a unique situation. I'm suprised to...I would of thought Stanford would care plenty about athletics. Good luck OP!

 

[md-2020]

Man well, oh well, I guess i just got lucky and had a unique situation. I'm suprised to...I would of thought Stanford would care plenty about athletics. Good luck OP!

Nah, Stanford at the med level is all about research, research, and research. Maybe a little bit of med entrepreneurship these days too, but mostly just eat, sleep, breathe research.

An ongoing debate on campus is actually that our clinical skills aren't even as up to par vs. grads from places like the Mayo Clinic, where it's all about patient-centered care (plus their massive constituent hospital system). It's hard to really convey how big of a thing research is at the powerhouses.

 

[medbro]

Nah, Stanford at the med level is all about research, research, and research. Maybe a little bit of med entrepreneurship these days too, but mostly just eat, sleep, breathe research.

An ongoing debate on campus is actually that our clinical skills aren't even as up to par vs. grads from places like the Mayo Clinic, where it's all about patient-centered care (plus their massive constituent hospital system). It's hard to really convey how big of a thing research is at the powerhouses.

I feel ya, that being said...do you think it is possible that at lower tier schools, such as the one I currently attend, where research isn't the end all be all, other aspects of an applicant (like athletics) can become more important? ...just a thought

 

[md-2020]

I feel ya, that being said...do you think it is possible that at lower tier schools, such as the one I currently attend, where research isn't the end all be all, other aspects of an applicant (like athletics) can become more important? ...just a thought

Could be, I did preface my first post with the possible research powerhouse bias factor. But others on here seem to believe it's also not a huge thing at other tiers as well, so I'm honestly not too sure.

Out of my interviews Maryland and Pitt were the only mid-ish tiers that I attended and FWIW they didn't bring up sports either, but n= admittedly very small there.

 

[Peach Newport]

In my experience, the student athletes who had decent grades and decent mcat scores did *significantly* better in med school admissions than those with great scores. I went to an Ivy League college, and the only people I knew that got into top 20 MD were the athletes (with meh scores like yours)... and this wasn't even D1 (although does ivy count as d1? I never actually found that out).

My money's on a solid MD admission.

 

[Goro]

Hi, I'm a Division 1 Athlete and have numerous awards like all conference and all region for it. I also have a 3.7 GPA with an upward trend. I have a 507 MCAT score. I'm wondering how many schools to apply to if money isn't a concern. I want to play the numbers game and apply to the most possible, but I also want to be realistic. I have always heard that the D1 athlete thing helps TREMENDOUSLY, but I'm just wondering exactly how much. Can I apply to schools where the average MCAT is more like a 512?

EDIT: as an aside, most of my Adcom colleagues think that D1 is a vitamin. I appreciate athlete scholars, though.

I suggest the following:

U VM
Rush
NYMC
Creighton
Albany
Rosy Franklin
Drexel
Temple
MCW
SLU
WVU
Jefferson
Tulane
Loyola
Wake Forest
Loma Linda (only if you are SDA or a very devout Christian)
VCU
Netter
EVMS
Oakland-B
Gtown
GWU
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Any DO program. I can't recommend Touro-NY, or LUCOM, for different reasons
Your state school(s).

 

[TypeADissection]

Yeah, what sb said...

It's cool and all and a great accomplishment, but not like a "wow" thing. Hell, you'll see former pro athletes in med school classes too.

This. I played D1 as well. Correction: I rode the bench at the D1 level and cheered everybody on. It's nice but not an over the top clincher. I had 1 former NFL linemen, a lot of D1 football guys from big name schools and many other accomplished athletes in my class. Guess what? It only mattered for our intramural flag football league and dodgeball.

 

[medbro]

This. I played D1 as well. Correction: I rode the bench at the D1 level and cheered everybody on. It's nice but not an over the top clincher. I had 1 former NFL linemen, a lot of D1 football guys from big name schools and many other accomplished athletes in my class. Guess what? It only mattered for our intramural flag football league and dodgeball.

Do they all want to do orthopedics? Lol

...just another quick thought, your saying your school has a ton of former student athletes, is it possible to look at that and think "seems like the med school I go to has a thing for student athletes?"

 

[DaWeasel]

This. I played D1 as well. Correction: I rode the bench at the D1 level and cheered everybody on. It's nice but not an over the top clincher. I had 1 former NFL linemen, a lot of D1 football guys from big name schools and many other accomplished athletes in my class. Guess what? It only mattered for our intramural flag football league and dodgeball.

Well if there are that many athletes in your class, it seems like it matters to the admission committee

 

[medbro]

I was thinking the exact same thing haha

 

[WingedOx]

Well if there are that many athletes in your class, it seems like it matters to the admission committee

Or more likely, those students just happened to have good stats despite the sports.

We had quite a few D1 players in my huge med school class, and a lot of them were hitting 250+ board scores. Also made for some hilarious disparity in our intramural leagues.

 

[medbro]

Or more likely, those students just happened to have good stats despite the sports.

We had quite a few D1 players in my huge med school class, and a lot of them were hitting 250+ board scores. Also made for some hilarious disparity in our intramural leagues.

Okay, well, that may be so. Last thing though from my end...you can't tell me that an adcom looks at the same two applicants, having all else being equal, just dismiss the fact that one of them is a D1 athlete. They can't just throw that in the garbage. Is that atleast a reasonable assumption??

 

[WingedOx]

Okay, well, that may be so. Last thing though from my end...you can't tell me that an adcom looks at the same two applicants, having all else being equal, just dismiss the fact that one of them is a D1 athlete. They can't just throw that in the garbage. Is that atleast a reasonable assumption??

"all else being equal" isn't something that actually exists in real life.

 

[medbro]

"all else being equal" isn't something that actually exists in real life.

Tough crowd. I have nothing else to contribute.

Kind of unrelated, I think it's funny we've ran into this discussion with your signature being "seriously, bro?"

 

[cke11]

I think it also depends how you spin your story in your secondaries as well, for those of you that said you were a D1 athlete and didn't talk about it much were your interviews closed file? Or did you never bring it up in your secondaries? I mean if so, that would make sense that the interviewer either didn't know you played a collegiate sport or didn't see it written in your secondaries. For the people I personally know they really emphasized how much they learned from playing a collegiate sport, as did I on my own secondaries. I think it's what you make of it, you can't just put it in your activities section and hope everyone will notice it. For OP, I received all-conference and all-region awards for my sport as well and I think you should definitely mention that in your essays. You'll definitely be among applicants that played a D1 sport, but excelling at your sport will look good.

 

[BombsAway]

Like any sweeping label, experiences may vary. "veteran" can mean you did a few weekends of national guard service, or it can mean you deployed several times, earned a silver star, and shot bin laden in the face. D1 athlete can mean you played a bit of tennis when it suited you. Or it could mean every waking moment was devoted to your team and you worked your ass off all the way to the rose bowl. Your experiences and admission success will vary accordingly. Another important factor being how well you can translate these experiences on paper, to demonstrate how they will benefit your future classmates, patients, and profession.

 

[aymar]

I am 1 of 3 D1 athletes in my class of ~100. From my interview experiences, it was a crapshoot how adcoms felt about my experience. I actually had one that was extremely combative. She asked me if I was interested in anything in the "arts" or if sports were all I did in my free time. She clearly thought I was a dumb jock.

The school I ended up attending actually asked very little about my sport in the interview. I took that to mean that it may have contributed to my candidacy, but only minimally. And for reference, I played for one of the top programs in my sport and went to multiple Final Fours.




Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[strugglebus9118]

Hi, I'm a Division 1 Athlete and have numerous awards like all conference and all region for it. I also have a 3.7 GPA with an upward trend. I have a 507 MCAT score. I'm wondering how many schools to apply to if money isn't a concern. I want to play the numbers game and apply to the most possible, but I also want to be realistic. I have always heard that the D1 athlete thing helps TREMENDOUSLY, but I'm just wondering exactly how much. Can I apply to schools where the average MCAT is more like a 512?

Agreeing with medbro here, it definitely helps. It was great conversation in my interview and shows a good way to balance life. Got into MD program with a 24 first attempt and 501 second attempt where my schools avg was around a 30. had a 3.9 gpa with no research and a little volunteer work. I think it definitely goes a longer way than most people think especially if that medical school is closer with the school you went to or in the same state.