How will Football look on an application?

[FBDoc]

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I'm an undergraduate at a Big Ten university majoring in Biology, and I played football at my school for one year, and for a year at a previous university. I was recruited by a division 2 school for football and played there for a year, had a 4.0 gpa there the first semester, and had a 3.5 gpa the second semester. I then transferred to the Big Ten school I'm at right now, and my grades took a big dive. I guess I wasn't ready to both play football at the Division 1 level and keep my grades up to par. I was placed on academic probation after my 3rd semester on the team, and wasn't asked to return to the team after the 3rd semester due to my grades. I'm off academic probation now (was only on it for 1 semester), and my grades have steadily increased over time. I'm currently in the fall semester of my senior year, and I expect to get either a 3.5 gpa or above on my next 3 semesters (I was on a five year academic plan because of my football eligibility, so I'll be in school for 4 years plus one semester).

To be honest, for the first few semesters that I was at this school, the only thing I was concerned with was football, and I let my grades suffer as a result, which was not good, especially considering the difficulty of my major, and my aspirations to enter the medical field after graduation. I guess my question to any experts here would be, how significantly would my history playing football affect my application and chances to gain entry into either medical school or pharmacy school? Would they take into account the toll that football took on my grades, and the fact that they steadily increased after I stopped playing? Would a recommendation letter from one of my former coaches be an important asset to an application?

I haven't taken either the MCAT or the PCAT yet, but I anticipate doing well on both. I got a 31 on my ACT, so take that for what it's worth. (I do know that the MCAT and the PCAT are on a different level than the ACT, but I feel that my ACT score demonstrates my intelligence to a reader of this post, at the moment, if that affects your responses at all).

Also, on another note if anyone has any idea, would playing a year or two of professional football in a European football league be detrimental to me for getting into med school or pharmacy school? Would they view it as not having enough commitment to the profession, or as a valuable strength to a diverse application?

Thanks for the help in advance guys, would like to know what y'all think.

 

[BeachBlondie]

I played lacrosse for my university and after speaking with admissions deans, they seem to understand that being a a student-athlete is a huge commitment. Thus, if you pull solid grades while being a jock, it shows that you are capable of taking on a great deal of responsibility with concurrent classes. And, it definitely counts for something.

Also, last I heard, the European Football League was disbanded about 3 years ago, my friend.

 

[Musclemass]

You should assume that your football background is more important to you than it will be to anyone else. It's interesting that you didn't quit to salvage your academics but rather the team dropped you. That's not a story you want to broadcast.

If you have a sub-optimal GPA, unless you deliver a very strong MCAT and have other compelling things in your app, it's hard to imagine that you would be a very competitive applicant. You might want to consider a masters program to show that you're serious and can perform at a high level consistently.

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

Duuude, you're playing (played?) D1 ball. It's big. You might have to sacrifice a little more time than you'de like -- you might have to do one of those SMP's or some research or something after you graduate, but it's a big factor and it won't be ignored by admissions committees. Guess what. Doctors love sports. I can't tell you how many times I've heard things like "Medicine is a team sport" and "Sports teach young people how to work as a team and make the needed sacrifices," etc. My buddy played D1 basketball and everyone freakin loves it. If, down the road, you decide to do something like Ortho, it also has big advantages. It's not even fair. They eat this stuff up. Just make sure not to drop too far below where you're at. If needed, put in the extra time. It'll work out in the end.

 

[Emerica]

Duuude, you're playing (played?) D1 ball. It's big. You might have to sacrifice a little more time than you'de like -- you might have to do one of those SMP's or some research or something after you graduate, but it's a big factor and it won't be ignored by admissions committees. Guess what. Doctors love sports. I can't tell you how many times I've heard things like "Medicine is a team sport" and "Sports teach young people how to work as a team and make the needed sacrifices," etc. My buddy played D1 basketball and everyone freakin loves it. If, down the road, you decide to do something like Ortho, it also has big advantages. It's not even fair. They eat this stuff up. Just make sure not to drop too far below where you're at. If needed, put in the extra time. It'll work out in the end.

I agree with this 100%. Put a lot of time and effort into studying for MCAT (this should go without saying), but if the results are extremely favorable your chances will increase dramatically.

 

[littlealex]

I always think of it this way: if you have solid grades, your experiences will highlight it. If you have subpar grades, your experiences will never truly be a good enough excuse. If you can pull a c3.5 GPA average, your D1 football experience will be weighted and admired.

 

[BeachBlondie]

I always think of it this way: if you have solid grades, your experiences will highlight it. If you have subpar grades, your experiences will never truly be a good enough excuse. If you can pull a c3.5 GPA average, your D1 football experience will be weighted and admired.

This.

Bottom line for medical school will always be grades. But, as I mentioned before, if you can be a D1 athlete and STILL manage your academics, you're going to have a really cool application that will CERTAINLY get second looks. Hell, I'm applying to research positions right now (I graduated last year and am taking my pre-reqs as a post-baccalaureate student) and EVERY SINGLE interviewer I've sat down with has asked about--and been intrigued by--my athletics.