I currently attend a small liberal arts college, and I am a sophomore who plays lacrosse. I have a good gpa, ec's and I believe I am on the right path to medical school. Recently I started taking organic, and I have been doing quite well however I have sacrificed a large portion of my social life to do so. Alot of the social life revolves around the fraternities on campus, and I do not see myself fitting well in that environment. The majority of my team is comm and exercise science majors (aka gym teachers) and they barely ever study. I feel kind of disconnected with the group, and I sometimes feel out of place. Also, I found a magnificent woman who I believe I can have a great future with, and I want to spend time with her as well as my team. My main concern is being able to balance my life as a student as well as being able to have fun and take some time off to enjoy myself. I just hate feeling disconnected from my teammates. any thought?? thanks
Social life of a premed
- Thread starter doc4lax
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I played lacrosse in college as well (DI then transferred to DIII at a small lib arts college like you) so I guess I can relate. It's all about being able to burn the candle on both ends and managing your time well. I did not join a fraternity like most of my team because there was no way I could handle practice, pledging, and the premed course load all in one semester without taking a GPA hit. Were there times when I couldn't go to certain parties because I wasn't in a frat? Sure, but I understood that when deciding not to pledge. There were plenty of other parties and what not to go to and our team always seemed to have some sort of social event every weekend.
When it came time to study for the MCAT I pretty much gave up my social life altogether because I couldn't afford to be distracted given the importance of the test. Bottom line is you are going to have to prioritize things and make certain sacrifices, especially as a pre-med student athlete. I had a blast in college and tried to make the most of it but I knew in the long run i wanted to be a doc so I had to sit some things out here and there. It was definitely difficult initially trying to find the right balance, but its so important that you do find that balance so that you don't feel overwhelmed with any aspect of your life.
Good luck!!
EDIT: feel free to PM me if you wanna know more about how I handled this.
Some of your options are:
1. To focus on quality time and what you have in common with teammates/gf. Make sure team/gf know you want to spend more time but also really want to be a doctor (so they won't feel neglected). Chances are, later on, some of your teammates will wish they were pre-meds too.
2. You could quit either sports or pre-med. I don't recommend that.
Later
1. Try to find a med school with a culture you like. I'm struggling with this now. I want to go to a college where most people are amazing across the board, not just in science. I want to play with a band, go dancing, discuss traveling, literature, and must be around lots fun happy young adults, etc. I'll definitely be in a city.
2. Keep your eyes on the prize. Know what you want for your future and spend time accordingly.
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I'm pretty sure most of us have felt like this at one time or another. It is not easy for everyone to find a good balance, but you have to decide what is more important. Make sure you don't cut things totally out, but you will have to occasionally sacrifice enjoyment now for your long-term goals.
op i went through something similar to this all through undergrad, and i can tell you that when I got my first acceptance last month, the many nights i chose to stay in and study over going out ran through my head and all the times my roommates called me "lame" and i wouldn't change a thing! if you want med school badly enough, do whatever you need to to get there
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Sorry to be that guy, but unless you're taking an obnoxious amount of hours you shouldn't have to stay in more than 1 night on the weekends to study, assuming you review the material on a consistent basis.
If you're literally talking about partying every other day, that's a different story.
If you're literally talking about partying every other day, that's a different story.
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The key is balance. You'll go insane if you don't have a social life. Although school should be a priority, do something fun for yourself so you won't burn out.
Just saw Skyfall with a few friends today! I never do anything academic on Saturdays (probably will change near Finals). Good way to reward myself for working hard during the weekdays and to increase my productivity on the days to come.
Just saw Skyfall with a few friends today! I never do anything academic on Saturdays (probably will change near Finals). Good way to reward myself for working hard during the weekdays and to increase my productivity on the days to come.
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+1
Manage your time extremely well on the weekdays (make a written schedule if you have to), and you should be able to open up at least one entire weekend day for no studying whatsoever, not to mention a few other nights on weeks without tests. That's what I did
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Balance is everything. I always made sure to have fun. College is the pathway to becoming a doctor, but don't look at college was just a pathway. There is a lot of fun stuff there and you should enjoy it. You need to know your limits though.
You can study everyday and get a 4.0, or take breaks and enjoy yourself a little and get a 3.8. Heck, you can get into medical school with lower than that!
I guess I view this process differently than everyone else.
Sent from my iPod using SDN Mobile app. Please excuse the typos.
You can study everyday and get a 4.0, or take breaks and enjoy yourself a little and get a 3.8. Heck, you can get into medical school with lower than that!
I guess I view this process differently than everyone else.
Sent from my iPod using SDN Mobile app. Please excuse the typos.
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Man, I was the king of not studying and there were a few semesters that I had to stay in on most weekends. Namely the semester when I took organic I and the one heck semester where I took the hardest classes of my undergrad. Point is the OP plays a sport while having to focus on GPA and social life. Balance is hard to find.
One way I achieved balance was study groups. I always studied well with others so it workede would study, joke, and play drinking games (depending on how close to the test we were).
thanks for all the wisdom. I guess finding balance in all the busyness is possible. I just have to make the right plan in order to achieve my goals. I consider lacrosse a great break from everything, and I really enjoy it as it helps me relax and take my mind off of school albeit for only 3 hours a day, but it's still great.
