General Is being a Division I student-athlete an advantage or disadvantage when applying to medical school?

[Question]

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Hello!

I am a pre-med Division I student-athlete that is having a hard time understanding how to achieve all of the hours and extracurriculars needed to be a successful traditional medical school applicant. I was wondering if medical schools will take into consideration the time commitment necessary for being a student-athlete when looking at my clinical hours and/or extracurriculars. Does anyone have experience with how student-athletes are viewed during medical school admissions?

Thank you in advance.

— Experts please respond to this post —

 

[GoSpursGo]

It’s certainly a positive, but you still need to make all the other hours. Many student athletes wind up taking a gap year (or two) for this reason.

That said, at application time being a division 1 athlete will definitely make you stand out in a positive way

 

[Mr.Smile12]

It can only be an advantage if everything else in your application is solid. It will not excuse you for a lack of clinical or community service hours or experiences.

 

[Goro]

In General, Admissions Deans have a soft spot for student-athletes. However I have colleagues who think D1 is a vitamin.

 

[PerioDont]

It can only be an advantage if everything else in your application is solid. It will not excuse you for a lack of clinical or community service hours or experiences.

Completely agree. If this causes you to drop in your grades etc won’t help at all.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

It's a cherry on top...not a substitute.

 

[Pathdocmd]

It helps in that it can explain why you didn't have as many hours doing research, volunteering, etc. However, it only goes so far.

Check out: Performing Under Pressure: Varsity Athletes Excel in Medical School

 

[Dral]

Definitely a plus if your application is otherwise similar to your peers. If shows one is disciplined if they can compete at that level and still perform well academically and in other areas.