NCAA Athletics question regarding application

[surfdoc29]

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I've got an interesting situation that I was hoping I could get some opinions on.

I am a non trad applicant who was a walk-on football player at a D1 college. However, after my sophomore year, due to changing my major and being lazy, I ended up being short of the "40% of your degree done after 2 years" progression requirement the NCAA has, and would have been forced to not be able to play in games my junior year. As I had also just suffered my 5th concussion, I decided to call it quits.

My questions is how I should write about this on my application, if at all. I'm worried that the ineligibility issue is going to look really negative, and also worried that the fact that I ended up quitting could reflect poorly on me in terms of commitment. However, being on an NCAA D1 athletic team I feel is a fairly large accomplishment, even for a short amount of time, and it was a significant event in my life.

Any thoughts on if I should include this in my app and how I should word it?

Thanks in advance for any opinions.

 

[GoPelicans]

I would say that you suffered 5 concussions and were obligated to withdraw from your spot on the team because your coaches and parents were very concerned about your mental health. I don't see why you have to mention the academic stuff at all.

 

[mcloaf]

I think it'll be all about how you frame it. If you say that you loved football but decided that it was more important to focus on your long term goal of medical school and really focus on excelling in higher level courses your second two years I don't think anyone would care, though this requires that you actually pursue and do well in upper level work until you graduate. Having played D1 ball for any length of time is more than 90+% of us can say.

 

[surfdoc29]

Thanks for the responses so far.

I should clarify that this happened like 8 years ago and I have been out of college for 6. At the time, I had no idea I wanted to be a doctor, or what I wanted to do at all for that matter ha ha. That has come out of 2 career changes and a lot of other stuff since college. I did end up getting a 3.9 my senior year and a 4.0 in my post bac work though.

My concern with not mentioning the academic stuff is, I'm worried that adcoms might look into it and see that I was declared ineligible. Do you guys think they would bother to check into this and if so if it would be a big deal if they noticed? My ultimate reason for quitting was the concussions and desire to focus on school, the ineligibility was mainly just a catalyst for it.

Thanks again.

 

[PanRoasted]

Why not just explain it just as you have laid it out here? It seems like a very reasonable thing to do, and no adcom is going to look down on you for taking the smart route toward your ultimate goal (medical school). If your chances of continuing D1 ball weren't looking good, there's was no good reason to over-exert yourself trying.

 

[smuscs]

First of all, you definitely should mention playing a varsity sport, it is a great way to stand out from the rest of the applicants. As for how to describe it, I would say focus on the fact that is was best for your well-being. I was an NCAA athlete and honestly was not aware of the '40% after 2 years' requirement, so I doubt that most adcoms will be. In addition, if they are aware of it, I still doubt that they will look that much into it to find out that you were ineligible. But if you had taken that few of credits up to that point, I don't see how you were even eligible to play the year before unless you took very few credits your sophomore year... and if you took that few of credits, that is something that may need explaining in a secondary or interview

 

[Snowdon48]

Talk about your 2 years on the team. I see no reason to explain why you had to quit. If they ask in the interview tell them what you just told us. Definitely list this because it is a a big positive to balance a varsity sport on top of your courseload. Good luck

 

[surfdoc29]

Thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate all the insights and advice. I'll probably just go ahead and list the time I played and not mention the reasons for leaving the team. If it comes up in interviews, I feel I can explain it fairly well without having it come off as too negative.

Thanks again everyone! If anyone has any other thoughts, I'll keep checking this thread for a while.

 

[TwistinD]

So, I can relate very well. I was a walk-on gymnast to a D1 college myself and ended up retiring during sophomore year because of persistent knee/ankle surgeries (4th one at this point). The experience screwed my grades a bit, so I needed to address this in my personal statement.

I focused on this aspect - how athletics was a huge accomplishment and a culmination of years of sacrifice, dedication and hard work, how being an NCAA athlete gave me the maturity to *know* when enough was enough and to appreciate my limitations (very relatable topic for physicians), and while the injuries did affect my grades to agree, I learned A, B, and C that made me an even better fit for a medical career.

Definitely include it in your app, but focus on everything you've learned and your resilience to continue on towards a career in medicine. Do not dwell on the negatives - you must address what happened in a brief, clear way, but after that spin it in a positive encouraging light. I personally wouldn't point out that you were lazy - injuries are completely legitimate.

If you want me to look over any drafts on this section, I'd be happy to help! Best of luck 🙂

Cheers,
D

I've got an interesting situation that I was hoping I could get some opinions on.

I am a non trad applicant who was a walk-on football player at a D1 college. However, after my sophomore year, due to changing my major and being lazy, I ended up being short of the "40% of your degree done after 2 years" progression requirement the NCAA has, and would have been forced to not be able to play in games my junior year. As I had also just suffered my 5th concussion, I decided to call it quits.

My questions is how I should write about this on my application, if at all. I'm worried that the ineligibility issue is going to look really negative, and also worried that the fact that I ended up quitting could reflect poorly on me in terms of commitment. However, being on an NCAA D1 athletic team I feel is a fairly large accomplishment, even for a short amount of time, and it was a significant event in my life.

Any thoughts on if I should include this in my app and how I should word it?

Thanks in advance for any opinions.

 

[eggs13]

Definitely agree with the others who posted above. I played D1 lacrosse for a year, transferred to a D3 school and played for a year, and then retired. I briefly mentioned why I gave up lacrosse in my app (and was never asked about it at any of my 5 interviews), but the overwhelming focus revolved around the level of commitment, dedication, resilience, etc etc that was needed to get to that level of athletics and how much playing a team sport helped me in other areas of life when it came to working with others to accomplish a common goal. Being an NCAA athlete at any level (DI,II, or III) for any amount of time is worth mentioning on an application and can be greatly beneficial depending on what lessons you took away and can discuss.