I'm currently applying to medical schools, and my numbers are less than stellar (comp: 3.3, science: 3.0, MCAT: 30P). I also played lacrosse on a varsity team that won 3 national championships. Does that help at all or will I get cut because of my low numbers (as my pre-med advisor has told me)? I'm hoping it makes me stand out but I don't know if schools will care...
Does being an athlete help at all?
- Thread starter nulacrosse
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I guess I should add that I also quit the year before my senior year in order to volunteer, do research, and bring my GPA up (which it did...) which caused me to miss winning a 4th. I'm hoping maybe sacrificing lacrosse shows how dedicated I am to pursuing medicine? Any thoughts?
The short answer is: It'll help you. It won't be enough to make you competitive at the top schools.
My advisors have likened sports participation to a serious grade bump. I don't know whether this actually is true. Your GPA may get you screened out automatically, without consideration to your ECs.
My recommendation is to apply very broadly and hope for the best.
My advisors have likened sports participation to a serious grade bump. I don't know whether this actually is true. Your GPA may get you screened out automatically, without consideration to your ECs.
My recommendation is to apply very broadly and hope for the best.
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my impression is that it definitely helps in the sense that you probably have some pretty memorable experiences and have enjoyed your time playing, and that will show in your secondaries/interview if you want it to. i know I plan to bring up rugby during interviews as it has been a huge part of my college career.
that being said, i dont think it is a valid excuse for a low GPA. i dont know this for certain, this is my impression from talking with other people, students, admins, etc. its kind of the whole "if i got to an top 10 undergrad is it okay to have a 3.0." The answer to that is "no, your undergrad being competitive is not an excuse for "poor" grades."
if you make it past the screen, you are pretty home free for GPA and it is safe to use your sports to your advantage as much as possible! good luck.
that being said, i dont think it is a valid excuse for a low GPA. i dont know this for certain, this is my impression from talking with other people, students, admins, etc. its kind of the whole "if i got to an top 10 undergrad is it okay to have a 3.0." The answer to that is "no, your undergrad being competitive is not an excuse for "poor" grades."
if you make it past the screen, you are pretty home free for GPA and it is safe to use your sports to your advantage as much as possible! good luck.
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My personal experience (DI baseball, 3.33GPA, 36 MCAT) is that sports is a great interview topic and can probably help if you are already a competitive applicant in the numbers department at a given school, but it doesn't necessarily make up for deficiencies in other areas. I was a little naive (had I had your premed adviser I would've had a different school list) and thought that sports would help significantly in the GPA department based especially on the number of hours spent (then again, I didn't win any national championships). Also, since it's not medically or scientifically related, I would venture that some adcoms don't look at it in quite the same light as other ECs. I guess from my experience I would say that you need to focus on schools that have an avg matriculant GPA and MCAT somewhere in your range. At those schools, athletics can set you apart from other applicants. The only love I got was from a school where the avg GPA is around 3.5 and avg MCAT is ~31. I got nothing from schools where the avg MCAT was 34-35 but the GPA was 3.6-3.8. However, when I did get my interview we spent a good amount of time talking about sports and some of the ways it can help prepare you for medical school and life, so in that sense it definitely helps. Just my 2 cents, good luck with everything.
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My impression is that it only helps when you have better grades as way to distinguish you from others with good grades. Like "Wow. he was a varsity athlete and still managed to pull off good grades."
Also helps you if you manage to get to the interview stage as a discussion topic as mentioned previously. Definitely apply broadly and to some DO schools.
Also helps you if you manage to get to the interview stage as a discussion topic as mentioned previously. Definitely apply broadly and to some DO schools.
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Hehe, if you're from Hopkins by any chance then that'll help a bit too since we're pretty well known for grade deflation and I think we get a bit more leeway in our GPA. I've had a few comments from interviewers along those lines. Even better if you have an upward trend 🙂
But yeah, I'd apply pretty broadly, and it's probably too late now, but I might talk about lacrosse in the PS to bring attention to how it's helped your teamwork/focus/discipline, etc which will help you in medicine. If you didn't though, then I'd at least mention it in the secondary, since it was such a large time commitment, and in my opinion, winning national titles is pretty note worthy.
Anyways, best of luck 🙂
But yeah, I'd apply pretty broadly, and it's probably too late now, but I might talk about lacrosse in the PS to bring attention to how it's helped your teamwork/focus/discipline, etc which will help you in medicine. If you didn't though, then I'd at least mention it in the secondary, since it was such a large time commitment, and in my opinion, winning national titles is pretty note worthy.
Anyways, best of luck 🙂
It is not a excuse for having a low GPA or poor MCAT but if your a competitive applicant, but it shows you have experiences, maturity (for most), and skills that are hard to obtain outside of playing a sport.
Playing a sport in college is a lot like being a part of a medical team (from what i've seen/read). You depend on the other to be there and do their job, while they depend on you to do yours to maximize the possibility of success. It also shows that you have good time management/efficiency skills too.
Bottom line: It definitely helps, and can put you over the edge, but it is not an excuse for a low GPA and/or MCAT.
Playing a sport in college is a lot like being a part of a medical team (from what i've seen/read). You depend on the other to be there and do their job, while they depend on you to do yours to maximize the possibility of success. It also shows that you have good time management/efficiency skills too.
Bottom line: It definitely helps, and can put you over the edge, but it is not an excuse for a low GPA and/or MCAT.
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This question comes up quite a bit in evaluating applicants.
Athletics can add a lot to a candidate as noted above by wolvbb. Elite athletes can also become uni-dimensional applicants because of the time committed to their sport. Their life revolves around the sport, their leadership experience is tied to the sport, and their volunteer experience is tied to the sport. Varsity athletes don't get a free pass when it comes to medical school.
We see candidates with 4 years of Div I varsity and great GPA and scores and candidates with the same athletics and marginal GPA and scores.
That being said, undergrads who can manage the time constraints of a high level athletics make excellent medical students.
Apply to the mid to lower tier schools and get your apps in early. If you do not get in then I would spend the year studying the MCAT to raise your score.
Athletics can add a lot to a candidate as noted above by wolvbb. Elite athletes can also become uni-dimensional applicants because of the time committed to their sport. Their life revolves around the sport, their leadership experience is tied to the sport, and their volunteer experience is tied to the sport. Varsity athletes don't get a free pass when it comes to medical school.
We see candidates with 4 years of Div I varsity and great GPA and scores and candidates with the same athletics and marginal GPA and scores.
That being said, undergrads who can manage the time constraints of a high level athletics make excellent medical students.
Apply to the mid to lower tier schools and get your apps in early. If you do not get in then I would spend the year studying the MCAT to raise your score.
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why?
Because I'm curious about this topic and would like to see some more recent opinions, rather than 3 years ago.
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Adcomms vary in their appreciation of sports invovlement. Dedicated participation in intercollegiate sports reveals a lot of positive traits transferable to medicine. It could excuse less intensity in some of the expected ECs. It will explain lower grades to some extent. That doesn't mean one never has to demonstrate facility in earning good grades in science. Maybe a blazing upward grade trend over the previous year would result in extra consideration, but I suspect that the OP's advisor is right, and that the BCPM GPA is just too low. A year of science-intense postbac work would help the problem.
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