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[ChemEngMD]

Hmmm....we talking D1-A or D1-Subdivision? And what conference? lol

 

[CourageKid]

It will help you if you play AND maintain a 3.7

I played collegiate athletics and it has definitely come up in interviews. However, the questions were usually about my leadership experience as a captain or what I learned through the process (i.e what you'd get asked about any significant activity in your application). People are definitely impressed if you can stick with something like sports from an early age all the way through college. But they want to see that you can handle a significant commitment and still excel at school.
Playing a sport could definitely influence class choices, especially in the fall, and maybe affect a grade or two. It cannot be the reason for a big a g.p.a difference as you listed.

 

[littlealex]

Learning the difference between than/then would certainly be a start.

Agree with above poster that if you are able to excel athletically AND participate in sports it's a big plus as it shows your intelligence and capacity/productivity. With that said, you'll likely have to sacrifice volunteer/research opportunities due to the traveling and the tough season.

Do it if you're passionate about your sport. Given that you play at D1 level, I assume you are. Go for it but don't let it become your excuse to not excel in other areas. You can always stop playing football a season or two into college if you feel it is affecting you academically.

 

[Soccerdoc11]

I would stick with it only as long as you can keep your GPA reasonably strong. Almost every interview I have had, it has come up but only because my GPA is good. In the end, I think the experiences you receive from playing and the benefit you get when applying (if GPA is still good) is well worth it and teaches time management better than anything.

 

[RySerr21]

I imagine it would be incredibly difficult to play D1 football and do all the pre reqs and other necessary ECs. Doesnt it consume your life? And I imagine all of the labs from the pre reqs would interfere with practice/weight lightfing/film and what not. But hey, if you can do it, more power to you. And if you still manage to have a 3.7 GPA.....impressive to say the least.

 

[Steeler7588]

One member of a local medical school's ADCOM said he gives consideration to athletics has consuming a huge amount of your time. One of Clemson's football players had a GPA a little lower than average and they understood how his playing time affected his grades.

Of course, then there people like Myron Rolle. Haha.

 

[SammyDaBiz]

it would definately help your chances, without a doubt. I myself played D-1 A ball and I got accepted, so if u can handle the pressure, go for it.

 

[PremedIowa]

Do what you enjoy. Plan out when you take classes to ensure the least possible overlap of the season with hard classes (the chemistry classes, physics for some people, calculus for others).

Be careful, d1 programs will often try to force you into a major of their choice. Don't stand for it. If you want to major in the hard sciences, do not be afraid to do so.

 

[Perrotfish]

Hurt. The ADCOMs won't care much about your athleticism and there's no way that many hours of practice wouldn't hurt your GPA. Not saying you can't do it, just saying that you'd definitely be doing it despite being a premed, rather than because you're a premed.

 

[skrilladoc]

i wouldnt stress to be honest. my gpa hovered around a 3.5 to 3.8 whilst in undergrad...and i was swimming in D1 which is pretty time consuming considering double practices everyday, weights, entire weekend meets...etc.

if you stuck it out and play on saturdays...i think the adcom will recognize that as interesting.

 

[chemnerd89]

Hey guys,
I was wondering what you guys thought. Would playing division 1 varsity football help you more in the long run in terms of medical school admissions then it hurts you in the short run, lowering your overall GPA, lets say from a 3.7 to a 3.4. Thanks!

I know plenty of doctors that are former D-1 athletes.

 

[BelhavenMD]

I'd say go for it. I played baseball in college and have recently been accepted. It shows maturity and commitment when you can excel in the classroom while playing intercollegiate athletics. One thing I would advise...spend your summers pursuing medical school by taking research opportunities, shadowing physicians, and volunteering. That is the one thing that lacked on my application the first time I applied. I didn't realize how important those activiites were until it was time to apply to school. I chose to go play in collegiate summer leagues instead of working toward medical school. Overall, I bet you'd kick yourself for not taking a scholarship to play football when it's all said and done.

 

[chr123]

I'd be more concerned about taking a lateral blow to your knee, tearing your ACL, MCL, and MM and walking with a limp for the rest of your life.

 

[VincentAdultman]

As a resident:

D1 Football player with 3.4 > Guy who spent every night in the library and got 3.7.

 

[tiamat360]

I'd be more concerned about taking a lateral blow to your knee, tearing your ACL, MCL, and MM and walking with a limp for the rest of your life.

Oo, oo! But then you'd have fantastic motivation to go into medicine! 😛

As a former Div I athlete myself, I think admissions committees are impressed by candidates who can excel academically while also playing a sport - most of my interviewers have brought up my fencing, and I've been able to use it to show that I have the qualities/experiences desired in a physician, like teamwork, drive, and commitment. Yes, you do still need to do well academically, but if you can balance the sport and your studies it is very helpful when applying to med school.

 

[RySerr21]

I'd be more concerned about taking a lateral blow to your knee, tearing your ACL, MCL, and MM and walking with a limp for the rest of your life.

Why live your life in fear of things going wrong? Youll drive yourself crazy if you constantly think like that bc for everything you do there is a possible negative consequence. And even then, just because you tear something in your knee doesnt mean you walk with a limp the rest of your life. Thats ridiculous. You probably have a greater chance getting into a car accident then blowing out your knee playing a sport. Sure, it happens. But you get surgery if necessary (it isnt always) and you move on and often times go back to the sport that you love.

 

[Japika]

Hey guys,
I was wondering what you guys thought. Would playing division 1 varsity football help you more in the long run in terms of medical school admissions then it hurts you in the short run, lowering your overall GPA, lets say from a 3.7 to a 3.4. Thanks!

yes it would
That's a lot of time you spent working with your team. I know one of the leading qb's in 1A last year went to medical school (forgot his name), with a 3.4. A man from my school (Rolle) received the rhodes scholarship, and is going to go into medicine, and he had something like a 3.7. Football would give you a lot of leeway with your grades. Maybe not so much with the MCAT though.

 

[rjf]

Why not set your goals high...play div. 1 ball AND get a 3.7! If you do that I don't see why you wouldn't get accepted, assuming you have taken care of everything else as far as ECs/MCAT/volunteering. Personally, I don't think adcoms are very impressed with anyone just because they played sports in college. Being an athlete, in and of itself, is not impressive. Being an athlete AND getting a high GPA is impressive. Go for it and good luck!

 

[silverlining1]

i wouldnt stress to be honest. my gpa hovered around a 3.5 to 3.8 whilst in undergrad...and i was swimming in D1 which is pretty time consuming considering double practices everyday, weights, entire weekend meets...etc.

if you stuck it out and play on saturdays...i think the adcom will recognize that as interesting.

Good for you. However, my impression is that 3.4 would be on the low and risky side...

I know a few D1 athletes (swimming and gymnastics) who are now at top-ranked med schools. One of them was a 4.0 student, though; I am not sure about the other's GPA, but he has an Olympic gold medal 😱

Anyways, I think this much devotion and excellence in an EC would do great things for your application, but it won't make up for bad grades. So-so grades, maybe - I'm not an adcom and I don't know how much leeway they would give.

 

[deleted74029]

You're not this guy are you? He's pre-med and a rhodes scholar.

 

[theacks1]

If an adcom has even a basic knowledge of the commitment involved in D1 athletics, it will definitely help. Even if it doesn't, if you love football, do it.

 

[Tizoc]

I'd be more concerned about taking a lateral blow to your knee, tearing your ACL, MCL, and MM and walking with a limp for the rest of your life.

Why? Is he playing against Auburn every year?

 

[229141]

Playing D-1 football will help you so much compared to the people who do nothing but med school related stuff...they want to see you have a life and can balance other things, and that is incredible you can play D-1 and be a competitive pre-med. It will help you stand out far above the others in my opinion. What I do is not as hard as playing D-1 football, but I like to think that when I say I've won several first place trophies in bodybuilding shows they'll see it as me being able to balance my life out..

 

[dancindoc85]

My boyfriend plays D-1 football and goes to a top 25 university. He is in our business program, which is ranked in the top 5 undergrad business programs in the country. In my experience with both athletes and pre-meds, I have never met anyone who works harder and longer hours than he does. For the two years I was pre-med before I dated him, I hated hearing athletes complain about how they should have their GPA considered differently than everyone else... I thought it was the same as any other time consuming extracurricular.
After dating him, how my opinions have changed. Football owns you, especially if you want to start. While they technically have to work around your academic schedule, don't expect them to start you when they have other players who only want to pass and don't care about making time for group study sessions or office hours. Of course, that may not be the case at EVERY D-1 school. I have often remarked that if he were pre-med, he should be able to get into any med school he wanted with a 3.3. (with all the other necessary stuff like shadowing and good mcats of course 🙄). That's a B+ average. It would have absolutely nothing to do with how smart he was or how much he was capable of learning... and all to do with how little study time he had.

 

[nogolfinsnow]

You'll only get one chance to be a college athlete. How are you going to feel if you pass on this chance that very few people get? Also, don't be 100% sure you're going to go into medicine. Lots and lots and lots of people change their minds. What if you don't play football, and figure out junior year that you actually hate biology and sick people make you want to bash your head against a wall? D1 athletics is an amazing experience that you should not pass up just to spend more time studying. You make friends for life, your push yourself, you get to compete, etc. You sound like a pretty grounded person who will be able to dedicate the necessary time to each aspect of your life. Those time management skills will pay off big time in medical school.

That being said, you definitely have to try and maintain a GPA of at least 3.5. Athletics is a great interview topic, but you might never get that interview if you have a 3.3.

 

[deleted74029]

My boyfriend plays D-1 football and goes to a top 25 university. He is in our business program, which is ranked in the top 5 undergrad business programs in the country. In my experience with both athletes and pre-meds, I have never met anyone who works harder and longer hours than he does. For the two years I was pre-med before I dated him, I hated hearing athletes complain about how they should have their GPA considered differently than everyone else... I thought it was the same as any other time consuming extracurricular.
After dating him, how my opinions have changed. Football owns you, especially if you want to start. While they technically have to work around your academic schedule, don't expect them to start you when they have other players who only want to pass and don't care about making time for group study sessions or office hours. Of course, that may not be the case at EVERY D-1 school. I have often remarked that if he were pre-med, he should be able to get into any med school he wanted with a 3.3. (with all the other necessary stuff like shadowing and good mcats of course 🙄). That's a B+ average. It would have absolutely nothing to do with how smart he was or how much he was capable of learning... and all to do with how little study time he had.

I agree, I didn't know how time consuming it was until I had the chance to fly with our football team to an away game, we followed the same schedule they had and it was ridiculous. There's no way I could do it, and this is a sun belt team so I cant imagine what it would be like for a top football school.

 

[Japika]

You're not this guy are you? He's pre-med and a rhodes scholar.

no not me. I wish I could accomplish all that man has accomplished. But yeah that's the guy I was talking about.

 

[rowerlauren]

I would say that athletics definitely have an impact upon Adcoms given my experience interviewing.

 

[Japika]

I agree, I didn't know how time consuming it was until I had the chance to fly with our football team to an away game, we followed the same schedule they had and it was ridiculous. There's no way I could do it, and this is a sun belt team so I cant imagine what it would be like for a top football school.

yeah man, it's chaotic. But they do get a lot of leeway. Myron was in a lot of my classes, and teachers were always caring and understanding.
Long story short, if you have a chance to play, go for it. If you are destined to be a doctor, football won't be the thing that will slow you down. It will without doubt, help you tremendously.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

What about the Ting's:

USC football and still had pretty high gpa's. I hear their dad is one of the guys in the Barry Bonds scandal or something. Probably the only asian players to actually contribute to a big time football program besides Dat Nguyen, who probalby wasn't pre med.

 

[turkeyjerky]

Adcoms would take a guy who played d-1 football with a 3.4 over someone with a 4.0 10 out of 10 times. No competition.

You have to keep in mind that the freaks on admissions committees (and yes, I said freaks--that's what they are) have a real fetish for anything "outstanding". High level athletics falls into that category, and, sadly, outstanding academics does not. People with 4.0's are a dime a dozen, 40+ MCATs aren't that uncommon, but a d-1 football player? Your interviewer is gonna be asking to feel your muscles.

 

[Character]

DO IT, not only will it help you out in med apps (definitely an attention grabbing ec, and its football..not some lame sissy sport), it will help you out in life. you can do it though, kid at my school played wide receiver, single parent poor upbringing, disadvantaged, worked, majored in Molecular and Cellular Biology, got a 4.0 and is now at UCSF..reagent scholarship of course...He came from a really competitive undergrad too. so if he can do it, there is no excuse for you.

 

[Character]

What about the Ting's:

USC football and still had pretty high gpa's. I hear their dad is one of the guys in the Barry Bonds scandal or something. Probably the only asian players to actually contribute to a big time football program besides Dat Nguyen, who probalby wasn't pre med.

if they had made that damn sack on vince young in the fourth quarter instead of bouncing off like a damn ping pong ball, usc would have had thier third straight national championship.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

if they had made that damn sack on vince young in the fourth quarter instead of bouncing off like a damn ping pong ball, usc would have had thier third straight national championship.

Lol, also didn't one of them miss an interception? These guys should've gone to someplace like Stanford, they would've been 1st string for sure. USC was just way too stacked. Even at UCLA they had talent to start there.

 

[MossPoh]

I imagine it would be incredibly difficult to play D1 football and do all the pre reqs and other necessary ECs. Doesnt it consume your life? And I imagine all of the labs from the pre reqs would interfere with practice/weight lightfing/film and what not. But hey, if you can do it, more power to you. And if you still manage to have a 3.7 GPA.....impressive to say the least.

Didn't stop Myron Rolle.

 

[MossPoh]

Adcoms would take a guy who played d-1 football with a 3.4 over someone with a 4.0 10 out of 10 times. No competition.

You have to keep in mind that the freaks on admissions committees (and yes, I said freaks--that's what they are) have a real fetish for anything "outstanding". High level athletics falls into that category, and, sadly, outstanding academics does not. People with 4.0's are a dime a dozen, 40+ MCATs aren't that uncommon, but a d-1 football player? Your interviewer is gonna be asking to feel your muscles.

Depends what school. I was offered a scholarship to a small D1 team but chose not to take it and go to a school that actually had the academics I want. I don't consider myself a stellar athlete at all. I just had great stats to build off of (6'5" , 245 at the time)