Playing D1, any leniency?

[mfrizzo3]

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this is completely wrong.

First, DII and DIII does not give out money, so there is nowhere near the mandatory time committment as someone who is getting a free education for their athletic services.


Second, try missing 25 days of class in a semester because b/c you have 55+ game schedule (i played D1 baseball). some profs dont care if you miss the quiz, and you take a zero. 35-40 hrs a week of physical exhaustion is NOT the same thing as volunteering and research.

trust me man, adcoms dont just want the biggest science nerds in the country at their schools. i wouldnt call it leniency, but make sure your mcat leaves no doubt about your gpa.

Very Insightful👎

youd be surprised how many admissions ppl at top tier schools consider D1 athletes to be best prepared for the rigors of medical school.

You're right. We WOULD be surprised!!

 

[SamDC]

Boonen is a beast. That is all.

Back to your reguarly scheduled program.

 

[callmedonnie]

Unless things have changed in the last 2 years DII schools give out athletic scholarships. NAIA is the same way. NAIA is probably the most demanding of them all because they basically have minimal rules concerning number of games etc.

I played DIII baseball and we had more conditioning sessions than our football team did. We did cardio at least 4 days a week and lifted 5 days per week during the off season. We basically did track team workouts combined with all the other baseball practices and training sessions. Yes it was exhausting. I think the above DI baseball player would agree with me. Having 2 or 3 practices per day the entire school year tends to wear on you a little bit and leaves little time for academics. I can remember getting off the bus from baseball trips and walking straight to some evening gen chem tests.

I would agree that DIII can be as demanding as DI. We practiced pretty much the same amount as my friends in DI sports with only a larger restriction on number of games. We still played 40+ though. There is more travel in DI though.

To those of you that did play sports I agree that spending sometimes 60+ hours a week doing sports stuff is completely different than going to the hospital 5 hours a week to change bedpans, doing 10 hours of PCR lackey work, shadowing a doctor for 5 hours and/or working at a soup kitchen. These "ECs" are not even comparable to college athletics.

I wonder how many of the gunners know what its like to run until you puke then try to start studying at 11pm.

exactly. and for all the tough guys who try to hate on baseball, keep in mind its a year-round sport. not just spring practice and fall season. competitive college players play over 100 games a year.

 

[callmedonnie]

a friend of mine played volleyball and just got an acceptance from duke, after a LATE application. she says she feels one of the main reasons her interview went so well is b/c her and her interview bonded over volleyball and working as a team bla bla bla how it relates to med school. she said it made the difference.

ill be at duke too

 

[callmedonnie]

prob wasnt because of my mediocre gpa either

 

[DMacNeuro]

Not sure why you quoted me. Good for you're friend. This is certainly an exception. If you create rapture with your interviewer via your sport, that's great. You will still need the grades.

 

[dienekes88]

Boonen is a beast. That is all.

Back to your reguarly scheduled program.

Truth.

Boonen is a beast.

However, he ain't gonna win Milan-San Remo.

Freire's in really good shape, and Cancellara is flying. That guy could chase down a cheetah and eat its heart. Too bad he only eats wheaties and babies.

 

[RySerr21]

exactly. and for all the tough guys who try to hate on baseball, keep in mind its a year-round sport. not just spring practice and fall season. competitive college players play over 100 games a year.

whats your point? all competetive college sports are "year round." and 99% require more physical endurance/activity than baseball. great, so you work out 4 days a week and practice too....... so does everyone else. playing the actual game of baseball isn't physically demanding. you could easily go through a whole game with out breaking a sweat. theres a reason you guys are able to play so many games in one season.

 

[SamDC]

Truth.

Boonen is a beast.

However, he ain't gonna win Milan-San Remo.

Freire's in really good shape, and Cancellara is flying. That guy could chase down a cheetah and eat its heart. Too bad he only eats wheaties and babies.

Fabian was a machine at M-SR. If he could climb better, he'd be a serious contender in the Grand Tours. Regardless, he's aggressive, smart and fun to watch. Might be a great Classics rider.

 

[dienekes88]

Fabian was a machine at M-SR. If he could climb better, he'd be a serious contender in the Grand Tours. Regardless, he's aggressive, smart and fun to watch. Might be a great Classics rider.

That's the thing. I think he could easily go either way.

He already has Roubaix and Milan-San Remo on his palmares. Should he go for Flanders and maybe Zurich, San Sebastian, Paris-Tours, GP Plouay? They're all great races. However, he's probably always going to be too heavy (never gonna win Liege or Amstel) and lacking in the sprint department to become the next Museeuw or Sean Kelly. He may get a couple more just busting everyone up in the last 20k, but he can't do it every time.

On the other hand... If he loses 5kg, he could become the next Miguel Indurain. 😱 😱 You have to remember that Cancellara only turned 27 four days ago.

 

[ORTHO4ME]

be the alpha male. play a sport.

 

[riceman04]

exactly. and for all the tough guys who try to hate on baseball, keep in mind its a year-round sport. not just spring practice and fall season. competitive college players play over 100 games a year.

So are you saying you are a competitive baseball player?

And don't you mean spring season...fall practice...summer leagues???????

One good thing about baseball is that if your team does make the playoffs usually the semester is over by then

I would argue that actually basketball is the most time consuming in terms of the length of overlap btwn season and semester periods. Your season begins around Thanksgiving and does not end until after spring break.

I was only a team manager (too small to play DI basketball at Rice...I was stuck with scout team duty and all the typical managerial responsibilities...ugh!!!!) and I missed a lot of class during BOTH semesters (LOL it definitely showed on my first semester freshman year transcript)

 

[167649]

Playing D1 sports is equivalent to shooting yourself in the foot for medical school admissions.

Not at all. I was a student athlete and got into my first choice. Every year I read about a lot of highly ranked college football and basketball players who are admitted to med schools. Doing anything at the expense of academics is shooting yourself in the foot, regardless of what that is. It's extremely tough for any athlete in college to juggle labs and practice, but plenty of people do it. I did, I just had less room for a social life than most pre-meds.

That being said, you need to interrogate your priorities. What are your major goals in life? Would a career in medicine define your life or simply be a part of it? What is important to you? What kind of tradeoffs are you willing to make in terms of success now versus later?

Are you willing to trade a tier in medical school admissions for the opportunity to play D1?

To answer your last question, yes. (I'll substitute college sports for D1 though, because as many people have said the time/work commitments are virtually identical across all 3 divisions and the NAIA.) To me, being a student-athlete in college was one of the most important experiences of my lifetime. It has more to do with how I act and hold myself as a person than just about anything.

Your medical school is what you make of it, any offers fine training. But what I learned on the field makes me a better person and will one day make me a better physician. I would never trade it. Sounds cliched maybe, but true to me. Besides, like I already said I didn't even have to trade one for the other, I did both succesfully at the same time. It's just very difficult but personally it was well worth it.

I never expected an ADCOM to give me any leniency for it. To them it's just a nice EC, and that's just fine. But to me it's a very important part of my life.

 

[DoctaJay]

So I'm planning on playing D1, am I going to be granted any leniency (or advantage, if I end up balancing my life exceptionally well) from the adcoms because D1 owns your life? If so, how much? (I realize this isn't an exact science, I'm just trying to get an idea)

Thanks.

What matters most in the end is what makes you stick out. You don't have to have a 30+ MCAT and a 3.8 GPA to make it into medical school, but those things make life a little easier when you are applying. With that being said, be diligent in all that you do. A GPA lower than a 3.3 is going to make it hard for you even if you were Michael Jordan himself (lol, maybe). But medical schools really do look to diversify their class, and with your experiences you would certainly be what they would look for...but your GPA and MCAT shouldn't slip below 3.3 and 25 respectively. (These numbers are your lower limit...you should always strive to do your best as I know you will.)

 

[riverwoman1040]

Sorry, never heard of D1. Could you explain?

I think this might be the most helpful answer in the entire thread. If you can do both well, it will help you with some schools, but a lot of people in medicine/academia are not going to get it. I've known more than one person who has quit a sport to do better in school. Try it, see what happens, especially if you're getting a schlorship.

Mildly related note- there was an M1 where I went to undergrad who was a D1 athlete. He went to the same school for undergrad and had one year of eligibility left when he started med school, so he used it. I have no idea how he did it. But wow!

 

[Blade28]

So I'm planning on playing D1, am I going to be granted any leniency (or advantage, if I end up balancing my life exceptionally well) from the adcoms because D1 owns your life?

The latter. Adcoms will look favorably if you can maintain a solid GPA and pre-med extra-curriculars along with playing D-I sports.

But it won't excuse less-than-decent grades.

I played D1 baseball in the ACC. It might help a bit, but in terms of time spent/benefit ratio, it sucks.

Don't bank on any of your unique flower EC's to get you into medical school. There are 40,000 people out there thinking the same thing.

Well-said.

 

[closer23]

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[MilkmanAl]

I know several people who managed D1 sports and a premed curriculum, but it pretty much crushed them. They had no free time at all and were constantly stressed and under huge amounts of pressure. Doing both at the same time will be very difficult, to be sure. I think your plan of doing a post-bac sounds like a fine one, but you might try sprinkling in a pre-med class or two to see how it goes before you commit yourself to that extra year.

 

[mfrizzo3]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=506484

 

[closer23]

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[mfrizzo3]

Not really sure why you're posting this. I've obviously read the entire thing, considering it's my thread.

What do you want to hear? Your life will suck trying to manage 4 years of pre-med along with D1 sports. Your pre-med classmates will be partying while you are practicing and your D1 teammates will be partying while you are studying. Has it been done. Yes. Can you do it. Yes. Will you want to do it after your first year of D1 sports and pre-med? Who knows.

 

[closer23]

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[mfrizzo3]

You haven't even started college yet. You may find that handling the coursework along with sports is cake. My PI was a DIII football player of the year finalist, double majored in BIO and CHEM, got a 4.0. What you are asking is impossible to predict without any point of reference (a freshman year of college.) Why don't you wait a year and then ask your questions?

 

[DoctorPardi]

I am merging this thread with the old thread since they are asking basically the same exact question and both have active replies today.

My advice would be don't expect being a division I athlete to help you for a few reasons:
1) You have less time to devote to school than others which might mean a lower GPA
2) You have less time to do extracurriculars than others which might mean you have no research or clinical experience

So yeah if you had a 3.8 gpa, 30+ mcat, research, and clinical experience and asked whether adding Division I sports would help then the answer would be yes. However if the cost of adding division I sports is lowering the gpa to 3.4, the mcat to 28 and having no research or clinical experience than I would say the answer is definitely no.

The thing to consider is, what could be the maximum grades, and ECs you could accomplish without sports? In my mind there is no question your grades and ECs will be reduced with sports. So are you a good enough student that you could go from 3.9 to 3.7 ? It is hard to say before you enter college so the best advice I can give is do what you really want to do. Playing college sports is a wonderful experience and great opportunity so go for it and see what happens, but don't let it bring down your grades if your true ambition is one day being a doctor.

 

[166035]

x

 

[nu2004]

What about people who play D1 golf?

had another friend who played D1 golf (at a prestigious undergrad institution) all four years (was first at his school and second amateur in the nation that entire time). played professionally for two years after college. a hip injury made him re-think his priorities; he did the post-bacc with me.

again, decent MCAT, decent grades, few ECs -- didn't get in. just one more example to the heap of them here that sports aren't enough to get interviews or admits.

 

[Skymastre]

Your D1 team makes it to the ncaa championship

scenario 1: adcom/interviewer bets on your team and loses...loses big (house/car/etc). Outcome? Rejection.

scenario 2: adcom/interviewer bets on your team and wins...wins big (house/car/etc). Outcome? pwnage of the acceptance level.

scenario 3 (likely): adcom/interviewer doesn't follow sports, your team doesnt make the tournament. Outcome? It's nice that you can run suicides, but did you show the skillz on the MCAT...

IMHO

 

[bep207]

here is an example of someone who did it

http://themat.com/index.php?page=showarticle&ArticleID=17667

in more recent interviews he said that he will be attending UMich Medical School but is considering pursuing a deferment to make a run at the 08 Olympics

 

[DMacNeuro]

here is an example of someone who did it

http://themat.com/index.php?page=showarticle&ArticleID=17667

in more recent interviews he said that he will be attending UMich Medical School but is considering pursuing a deferment to make a run at the 08 Olympics

Yes. Play sports, stay around ~3.3. Then, 4.0 a post-bacc and apply with a 3.5. Best of both worlds.

 

[CWUDoc]

Actually, I disagree with your statement on the time constraints. I did D1 basketball for 2 years and D3 for one year. D3 is a lot less time consuming than D1. You have to do a lot more activities in the community, signing autographs, etc. Not saying D3 is a joke of a time constraint, it just isn't as much of one as D1. When you factor in working to pay for a d3 versus only playing sports at the d1 then I agree that is about the same amount of time constraints.[/quote

That is a great point, I did save countless hours not having to sign all of those autographs.

 

[Percival Cox]

To the OP: Here is my story, I hope it helps.

I ran Track/Cross Country at top D1 program. I came in as a decent athlete but by no means the stud on the team. There was more time to study back then but even so it wasn't very much. Soon I became much better competing on the national level and even negotiating professional contracts. After I was put on scholarship, my world changed. I was expected to stay at practice longer, run over 120 miles per week, stay in the training room while everyone else rushed off to dinner/studying, had massages as late as 10 at night, and to be honest I had to do these things to stay at the top. Don't get me wrong, I loved it....it was my passion. But it cost me greatly.

I am a very smart kid, not as smart as some of the brains on this forum (i mean that as a compliment) but sometimes you have to sit down and actually prove (in numbers) that you can hack it in med school. My GPA is lukewarm at best and bordering on cold and my MCAT is OK.

My advice is: enjoy playing D1, it is unlike anything else in your life. Compete hard, practice harder, and soak up the team aspect. BUT, make use of your free time!! Sundays are always good, try to fit in some extra clubs or some volunteering (you'll be an admissions killer if you can do this). Use your summers! get medically related jobs/shadowing or use it to do your research. I got some the highest level research during the summers at the local medical school. Oh, and get involved in your school, that's one thing I missed the most. It'll give you a whole new sense of pride in a place that will give and ask a lot of you.

Last but not least...I am most likely going to have to do an SMP before attending med school. So there is no slack. I've received two interviews and two subsequent waitlists. I can interview better than 99% of premeds out there but still, there is no slack. Learn from what others have done wrong and what has worked. The ability to do this will not only make you a better premed but also a better athlete and an awesome doctor.

Best of luck buddy.

 

[166035]

x

 

[robocop1998]

let me tell you guys this. i was good enough to get recruited by a bunch of d1 schools for tennis but turned them down for a d3 program at one of the colleges that are well-known for its academic and especially the premed program. i looked at both the d1 and d3 practice schedules and i have to say that the time commitment for both divisions are pretty much the same, with practices after class and games on the weekends. i am now a senior econ major and manage to maintain a gpa of 3.65 and an MCAT score of 31. i have had a poster presentation for my cancer research and 2 publications coming out. on top of that, i was chosen for the espn academic all-district team and have a good chance of making tennis All-American by the end of this season. i have to say that balancing rigorous premed classes while spending 30+ hrs on the courts each week is a very demanding task, it is doable. Also for the past 4 years, there would be at least one of my teammates who matriculated at a top 5 medical schools (one got into Harvard, one got a full ride from UPENN, one got into Stanford and another got into Wash U St. Louis) I know they all have good GPA and MCAT scores but I strongly believe that playing college tennis gave them that extra boost to get into those schools. I will be applying this cycle and I hope I can get into one med school.

 

[StayFocused]

I'm glad this topic was brought up.

I am currently a sophomore playing tennis at a Division II University in Tennessee. I was originally recruited to play baseball here, and did so my freshman year and first semester of this school year. As far as training time is concerned, all divisions are the same, so being a Division III athlete trains just as much as a Division I athlete in their respective sports. Here is a basic schedule I had with baseball:

5:45-7:00AM: conditioning
3:00-7:00PM: practice
7:30-9:00PM: weight lifting

Thats almost 7 hours a day that I put towards baseball Monday - Friday. Luckily, my grades were good my freshman year. Last semester, I made a C in differential equations and a C+ in organic chemistry (double majoring in Math/Biology). I never studied for DE, simply because I had NO time at all - after eating dinner, taking a shower, and finally sitting down, my clock would read 10:30PM. I have played baseball since I was 4 - it was and will always be my true love, however, I made the decision at Christmas break to give it up for my hopes in becoming a doctor.

Luckily, I played tennis just as long as I played baseball, and I picked it back up after 4 years off from it. I am proud of myself for getting my game back to compete at the collegiate level. As far as time constraints go, tennis takes up maybe 2 hours of my day - huge difference from 7. Currently making an A in DE this semester, and it is all because of the time I have to put into my studies.

Got off on a tangent there - but I must say, playing a collegiate sport at any level shows determination, time management, team work, and a desire to excel in areas other than academia. In some cases (and in mine), it is helping to pay for your education - so in a sense, it's a job because scholarships are awarded based on performance. You aren't guaranteed a scholarship for all four years. Don't worry so much about other EC's - your sport will be your biggest EC, and it is a great and respected one at that. As far as grades go - don't let it affect them too much. If you are having trouble, get a tutor, talk to your coach, etc. When I told my baseball coach I was quitting, my exact words were "Baseball is taking way too much of my time, my grades are dropping, and I'm going pro in something other than baseball."

Good luck!

 

[CWUDoc]

Seriously though, they made us sit out in front of a football game for two hours signing autographs and then forced us to stay for the whole football .. then practice afterwards. It was a long day.

I'm sure it was a long day, but you can't honestly expect me to believe that signing autographs makes D1 tougher than D2 or D3. I know there are different time constraints, but D1 also gets a lot of perks that the lower divisions don't receive (chartered flights to games, free gear, free food, tudors, etc).

 

[rwessinger23]

So I'm planning on playing D1, am I going to be granted any leniency (or advantage, if I end up balancing my life exceptionally well) from the adcoms because D1 owns your life? If so, how much? (I realize this isn't an exact science, I'm just trying to get an idea)

Thanks.

I played D1 basketball... if you do well in school, it makes for great answers to a lot of the questions adcoms ask about things like perseverance, time management skills, dealing with adversity, etc. So, if it doesn't help anywhere else, it at least gives you good experience in things they will ask you about. Then, you can get lucky like I did, and have an interviewer who played a sport as well. Then they reallllly sympathize, bc they know the kinda crap you had to go through to balance school and sports. It's a plus, either way. At least it was for me.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Yes it will own your life. It will also provide you with structure, which is a godo thing. You will have to work harder to take care of business, but it can be done for sure.

It really depends on the program, and the kind of resources they have. Here at UT, I worked in athletics (men's basketball strength and conditioning), and I've seen plenty of athletes take care of their **** and go on to medical school, law school, etc. (and plenty of others who could have, had it not been for the draw of playing professionally).

For me, I think it would have been a positive. I had no self-discipline, and failed miserably when I first got to college. I was not good enough to play D1 ball, but if I had gone somewhere smaller and played, I think the structure and discipline would have done me a world of good.

 

[166035]

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[167649]

I've done both D1 and D3... D1 was a larger time commitment. The perks are nice and all but do not make up for it. I only said the thing about autographs bc we had to do a lot of stuff like that that does not happen in other divisions and takes up valuable hours (especially on weekends)

I played D3 football, I had to sign autographs...

 

[166035]

x

 

[closer23]

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[Luke816]

just my example...I played D1 soccer on a top 25 team. I got good grades, did well enough on my MCAT (33), and had minimum EC's outside of soccer. I found that athletics helped or hurt depending on who interviewed me. It was a major topic of discussion for most interviews (and still was for residency interviews this year) but occasionally I had someone who just didn't get the time commitment D1 requires. It was a nice addition to my application, but I think I was competitive as an applicant already. It did hurt me in a few interviews...

Thinking back, there was plenty of time for other EC's....just not enough energy. Plus I enjoyed my undergrad experience on the social side...perhaps too much, but it made me the person I am today.

 

[PainKiller69]

I'm thinking this is my best bet (hopefully I can keep more than a 3.3 ungrad though, maybe a ~3.5). Anyone else have any suggestions/comments?

Thanks for everyones help

A 3.5 with D1 will get you in. If that's you're goal, then you do not need to worry about being granted leniency.👍