Former Student-Athlete Chances

[sportsguy8]

Hey guys, I go to a top 25 academic undergrad school on the west coast (CA). I played two years of Division 1 competitive volleyball with ~25 hrs a week dedicated to it. I played two years before I decided to quit because I wished to focus on school and work an internship.

Because of my super busy and overwhelming freshman year with volleyball, I got a low GPA for the first three quarters in my GE classes. The two years after that I have received approx a 3.7ish my soph and junior years.

My stats arent the best with my new cum gpa is 3.45 and a science of approx 3.50. I took the MCAT this summer with a 27P, but i struggled mainly because my father was diagnosed with a very debilitating medical condition in the summer and I served as his caretaker all summer and studying in the off time.

I work right now in a very integrated sports medicine internship, which I love, dedicating several hours a week to that (3 years total) while working another job for money.

I was wondering if I will be able to get interviews to MD/DO schools (hopefully MD) with my stats, and if being a competitive student athlete at a highly regarded D1 school will help my chances.

Any comments will be extremely helpful, definitely need advice thanks!

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[HuskerHopefulMD]

Hey guys, I go to a top 25 academic undergrad school on the west coast (CA). I played two years of Division 1 competitive volleyball with ~25 hrs a week dedicated to it. I played two years before I decided to quit because I wished to focus on school and work an internship.

Because of my super busy and overwhelming freshman year with volleyball, I got a low GPA for the first three quarters in my GE classes. The two years after that I have received approx a 3.7ish my soph and junior years.

My stats arent the best with my new cum gpa is 3.45 and a science of approx 3.50. I took the MCAT this summer with a 27P, but i struggled mainly because my father was diagnosed with a debilitating medical disease in the summer and I served as his caretaker all summer and studying in the off time.

I work right now in a very integrated sports medicine internship, which I love, dedicating several hours a week to that (3 years total) while working another job for money.

I was wondering if I will be able to get interviews to MD/DO schools (hopefully MD) with my stats, and if being a competitive student athlete at a highly regarded D1 school will help my chances.

Any comments will be extremely helpful, definitely need advice thanks!

Op,

I, like you play a Division I sport (baseball) and I know what you mean when you talk about how much of a commitment it is! I get the feeling the a lot of people on SDN say that playing a college sport isn't that big of an EC, but I disagree! When you think about it, most of the qualities you want in a teammate on a high level sports team, you also would want in a Physician (It also shows that you can put in hard work, time, and really commit to something!). As for your sGPA and cGPA, I think they're fine. Do your best to keep them both above 3.5. Your MCAT is a bit low, but if you really hammer down on studying and commit to it, I'm sure you could crack 30! If you can crack 30 you would be a solid candidate in my mind (assuming you have clinical/nonclinical volunteering, shadowing, good interviews, etc).

To sum it up, if you feel comfortable doing so I would retake the MCAT. Raising your score 2-3 points could make a world of a difference. Good luck.

Sent front my iPhone.

 

[Moosepig]

You're going to get no love from Cali schools, but that's fine.

A 27 with your stats puts you in a good spot for DO and your Father's condition will work well in your PS (I do not mean to degrade your Father's condition into a heat grabber but I am sure it did influence your desire for medicine). If you are interested in MD, you're going to have to get that MCAT up and then if you apply broadly you'll probably generate some interviews. If you really think you can bring it up, study hard for it and retake.

Also, you didn't mention your other ECs so I hope you have some shadowing, clinical volunteering and some community service. Obviously they will take into account your volleyball time sink but it might be worth taking a gap year to beef up your medical related ECs.

tldr, great DO shot, possible MD shot with a retake and some EC beefing.

 

[ArseneWengered]

Wow, actually you and I have very similar applications; 3.44cGPA, 27M MCAT, and I played 4 years of college soccer and went to 2 national championships. It is a struggle and I hope that it helps to show our dedication, but unfortunately for us, numbers matter more. I don't expect a single interview invite from an MD program for that very reason. Being a California resident also doesn't make it easier from what I have read since everyone seems to want to go to a California medical school.

Hoping for the best