Student athlete chances?

[JonnyD33]

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Hi everyone out there. I've been a long time reader but recent subscriber to these forums. I was hoping to get a little insight and advice from some of you out there. I'm currently in my senior year of my bachelors and am applying to medical school this year (This summer). I strongly want to follow the MD/PHD curriculum however due to my resume I'm not really sure what chances I stand. I currently have a 3.8ish GPA and a solid list of extracurriculars. I'm taking the MCAT in May, however, I've been averaging 35-36 on the practice tests I've been taking so I expect to do well on it. I have been doing some looking into what MD/PhD programs want and it seems to be the general consensus that 1-2 year of research are a must. I play basketball for my university (a division 1 school) and hasn't allowed me to do much research due to the massive time commitment that comes with playing. I do have a lab position lined up at the end of the season (March-April) working on copy number variation and how that translates to cancer risk factors in children (Namely how CNVs translate to the risk a child has to leukemia.) and will be working on that in my "year off" until hopefully I start school. My question is will this be enough research, if I'm applying this year, to make myself competitive for MD/PhD programs? Would it be wise to take ANOTHER year off to build an even stronger foundation of research experience? Does the college basketball experience play to my favor at all? Thanks for the help everyone. I've been beating my head over this one for quite sometime!

 

[ratherberocking]

Although having a sport really shows being well-rounded to the adcom, MD/PhD programs heavily emphasize research experience over anything else. Most MD/PhD students have had 2 -3 years of research experience before starting the program, so I would recommend taking an extra year off to then have 2 full years of research experience.

 

[butterfly2684]

I agree. An extra year would mean you're applying after having spent a year doing research full-time, demonstrating that you know what you're getting yourself into. I think applying without much prior experience might not send the message that you know what research entails and that you're sure you want to do this with your career.

 

[JonnyD33]

Yeah I definitely see what you both are saying. It would make sense from the schools point of view to be skeptic in investing so heavily into someone with limited research experience. The thought of hanging around not going to school for another year isn't a great one... but hey if thats it takes then thats what it takes.

Any other thoughts?

 

[Doctor&Geek]

A complete year with a project will be extremely beneficial.

Also consider the NIH IRTA or similar programs.
http://www.training.nih.gov/student/Pre-IRTA/previewpostbac.asp

(Good luck in March Madness!)

 

[JonnyD33]

Haha thank you! At this rate it looks like we will be there!

 

[dmblue]

If you take a year off and do a lot of research, then you will be a highly qualified candidate and should get into some top programs. If you don't, then you will be limited by your research.

 

[strangeglove]

While a year off sounds like more work, it's actually a great opportunity to enjoy life a little bit before you step into the mill of medical school/residency/post-doc/faculty position/Science paper/tenure/death. Think of it as the last time in your life when you won't have to think about your work over the weekend. It's also a time when you can grow as a person and meet some people outside of the premed/graduate student circle. I've noticed that people who haven't taken any time off between undergrad and medical school tend to be less mature and burn out more quickly than those who have.

 

[Doctor&Geek]

While a year off sounds like more work, it's actually a great opportunity to enjoy life a little bit before you step into the mill of medical school/residency/post-doc/faculty position/Science paper/tenure/death. Think of it as the last time in your life when you won't have to think about your work over the weekend. It's also a time when you can grow as a person and meet some people outside of the premed/graduate student circle. I've noticed that people who haven't taken any time off between undergrad and medical school tend to be less mature and burn out more quickly than those who have.

To be quite honest, I don't think there are a lot of better character building/non-science/non-premed things one can do than Division I sports, especially basketball.

If the OP is Mormon, add missionary experience as well.

 

[strangeglove]

To be quite honest, I don't think there are a lot of better character building/non-science/non-premed things one can do than Division I sports, especially basketball.

If the OP is Mormon, add missionary experience as well.

Being a Division I athlete in college would be even more reason to take a year off before medical school, given how much of a commitment of time and emotional energy is required. I'm suggesting that a year off is not just for character-building, but for the opportunity to have a life outside of the world of high achievement. Playing Division I basketball is certainly a very valuable and character-building experience, but, like any other high-level pursuit, it lead to burnout.

 

[JonnyD33]

While I'm not Mormon and haven't served a mission (contrary to most Utah students), I don't really feel that the extra year off would serve me much good as far as character building. Just as Doctor&Geek said, its tough business trying to do athletics and being disciplined enough to keep up on the studies.

However, in the back of my mind I can't begin to explain how excited I am to have this next year off, which may be an indicator that maybe "enjoying life" for another year on top of that may be the way to go. The last thing I want to happen is only to get burned out 2 or 3 years into my degree with nothing to show for it.

I guess where I stand now is to apply this year and see what I get. If nothing comes up then no harm.. I've always have the next year plus a years worth of research on top of that.