varsity sports, a plus to resume?

[tjshine]

Hi,

After reading many posts here, I've learned that research, shadowing, and internships are very important steps to take in order to make your resume strong for med school applications.

I was wondering if playing in a varsity sports team would make your profile any stronger. I'm planning to play in a Division3 soccer team, and I really enjoy sports. However, I know it's time consuming, and if it's not going to be any good for the future I really have no intention in doing it. The admissions officer might say "omg this guy has been playing in varsity and has managed to handle the workload!" but how the heck does varsity sports have to do with MEDICINE?? Thus, I am not very enthusiastic about joining varsity sports at the moment.

Any opinions would be appreciated! Thanks.

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[notdeadyet]

It might make a nice bullet on your application, but it definitely won't make up for a sub-standard academic record.

Do it if you love it. It's definitely not worth the effort if you're only doing it if it will be "any good for the future".

 

[kbear12]

I am a former two-sport collegiate athlete and my experiences have done nothing but enrich my application and make for interesting interview conversations. That being said, I think your real issue here is whether you actually desire to continue playing soccer at a collegiate level for love of the game and not for looking nice on a resume/app.

Collegiate sports, even D3, are extraordinarily time consuming and can conflict with classes and labs. If I didn't absolutely love the sports and my teammates, it would have been very hard to keep up for four years. Personally, I would not be able to make that type of committment if I was only doing it for a future benefit on medical school apps. If getting that edge or benefit is what you want, there are many other things you could do get that (just think about what you could be doing with the extra 30ish hours a week that soccer would probably take up). Playing a sport can really be like having a full time job in college. I was away almost every weekend, practiced 2-3 hours/day, had tons of meetings, and often traveled to during the week.

That said, I wouldn't have given up the experience for ANYTHING. Bottom line: If soccer is your passion and you want to continue to play, then go for it! Medical schools want to see that you are passionate and dedicated and you can show them that in many ways.

 

[kbear12]

And yes, I agree with notdeadyet. Soccer should not hinder you academically and your classes will come first. An excellent academic record is your best bet for the future.

 

[tjshine]

Frankly after experiencing highschool, I have lost enthusiasm and zeal for sports and activities that I would have had time for in middle school. But I really LOVE sports. In fact, I believe that I am better at sports than I am with academics anyway... I just thought that it would be a good experience, and a chance to find a niche in college, make friends etc etc. I don't think I can cope with the still lifestyle of studying in the library, chatting with friends, etc. Ofcourse there are small sports club, but this is kind of my ambition and ego in trying to show something special to the admissions officers as well...

 

[Law2Doc]

Hi,

After reading many posts here, I've learned that research, shadowing, and internships are very important steps to take in order to make your resume strong for med school applications.

I was wondering if playing in a varsity sports team would make your profile any stronger. I'm planning to play in a Division3 soccer team, and I really enjoy sports. However, I know it's time consuming, and if it's not going to be any good for the future I really have no intention in doing it. The admissions officer might say "omg this guy has been playing in varsity and has managed to handle the workload!" but how the heck does varsity sports have to do with MEDICINE?? Thus, I am not very enthusiastic about joining varsity sports at the moment.

Any opinions would be appreciated! Thanks.

If you can manage your workload plus the sports, it will look good. It helps you look well rounded. And it adds to class diversity because the class is already overloaded with the chess/computer/science club crowd. But as others have suggested, don't expect it to make up for anything. It is an addition, not a buoey.

 

[calcox]

I am most definitely biased as a former varsity athlete, but I resoundingly support adding athletics to your time consuming exploits. If you are good enough at a given sport and love it, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.

Yes there are other activities that might look nice on your app and may seem more applicable to medicine, but I argue that there are very few more applicable examples of your abilities to be an excellent doctor or any future professional for that matter, than to engage in and excel at a team sport. You have an opportunity to show leadership, hard-work, concern for others, commitment to goals large and small, immediate and long-term, achievement in a competitive arena as well as many other skills that make great doctors, not just good scientists.

My app is a funky one, my grades while I was competing were poor, because of my time commitment and the nature of my position in my sport as well as an immaturity towards academics at the time. I had to remake my academic reputation when I got serious about med school. I am as proud of my achievements as an undergrad and what they reveal about my abilities outside of sport as I would have been had my gpa been .5 higher than it was.

Yes, not everyone is cut out for collegiate sports (if it wasn't for the nature of my position in my sport, I would never have been able to participate as I am really not a great athlete) and I believe that a non-athlete could cobble together 5 different activities that would reveal all of these things about their character that a sport does from one activity. I go so far as to say for me though, that without athletics on my resume, I would not be attending school next semester for medicine.

Sorry for the length of this post, but I am very passionate about collegiate athletics and their value to students (especially non-revenue producing sports, as they have little obvious value after college).

Also, please do not take this post the wrong way, I type all of these words with the utmost humility and respect for all endeavors that students choose to participate in.

Add-on: To put my thoughts in perspective, before I chose to give medicine my focus, I was dead set on pursuing a career in coaching...

 

[searun]

I am most definitely biased as a former varsity athlete, but I resoundingly support adding athletics to your time consuming exploits. If you are good enough at a given sport and love it, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.

Yes there are other activities that might look nice on your app and may seem more applicable to medicine, but I argue that there are very few more applicable examples of your abilities to be an excellent doctor or any future professional for that matter, than to engage in and excel at a team sport. You have an opportunity to show leadership, hard-work, concern for others, commitment to goals large and small, immediate and long-term, achievement in a competitive arena as well as many other skills that make great doctors, not just good scientists.

My app is a funky one, my grades while I was competing were poor, because of my time commitment and the nature of my position in my sport as well as an immaturity towards academics at the time. I had to remake my academic reputation when I got serious about med school. I am as proud of my achievements as an undergrad and what they reveal about my abilities outside of sport as I would have been had my gpa been .5 higher than it was.

Yes, not everyone is cut out for collegiate sports (if it wasn't for the nature of my position in my sport, I would never have been able to participate as I am really not a great athlete) and I believe that a non-athlete could cobble together 5 different activities that would reveal all of these things about their character that a sport does from one activity. I go so far as to say for me though, that without athletics on my resume, I would not be attending school next semester for medicine.

Sorry for the length of this post, but I am very passionate about collegiate athletics and their value to students (especially non-revenue producing sports, as they have little obvious value after college).

Also, please do not take this post the wrong way, I type all of these words with the utmost humility and respect for all endeavors that students choose to participate in.

Add-on: To put my thoughts in perspective, before I chose to give medicine my focus, I was dead set on pursuing a career in coaching...

Coxswain on crew at an Ivy league school?

 

[calcox]

Coxswain on crew at an Ivy league school?

Pac-10 school and its been a few years since I graduated... and yes I was a coxswain and then an assistant coach for a couple of years. Familiar with rowing?

 

[tictaq]

I agree with all the other athletes who have already posted before me

I played Tennis for 4 years at a D3 school and loved it.
I did it because of love for the sport and not to put on my application.

Just make sure your grades don't slide

 

[AvocadoLover]

I was a rower too at an eastern sprints school (D1 - not that it matters for rowing) and my grades were really terrible. Lucky I was already in pharm school so it didnt matter too much, but now I regret the poor grades since I want to apply to med school. I truly think its difficult to have both. That is be an awesome athlete AND get great grades... maybe its just me

 

[calcox]

I was a rower too at an eastern sprints school (D1 - not that it matters for rowing) and my grades were really terrible. Lucky I was already in pharm school so it didnt matter too much, but now I regret the poor grades since I want to apply to med school. I truly think its difficult to have both. That is be an awesome athlete AND get great grades... maybe its just me

I totally agree, in fact I did not do both, I could only do the rowing very well and sacrificed the academics. My saving grace was that I had not taken most of the pre reqs in undergrad, so when I went back to post-bac work, I had a clean slate. It can be done though AvocadoLover. If you can show some recent improvement academically and do pretty well on the MCAT, your commitment and focus become a HUGE plus.

 

[AvocadoLover]

Well, thats what Im trying to figure out now. I am graduating pharm school now (next wk actually!). Once I finished rowing I still had 2 yrs left in pharm and my grades did improve significantly. I had a 4.0 during my last year (rotations and seminar). I know I will have to take a few classes but Im wondering if I should apply now and take the MCATs this summer and a class or two over the fall or if I should wait until next yr. I cant take too many classes this fall bc I will be working with Indian Health Services and the nearest Univ is 2 hrs away. I dont want to go back on my commitment to work there.

 

[soeagerun2or]

Division III athletics is like running a lemonade stand. It's fun and your neighbors think it's cute but no one really cares.

 

[gsmithers68]

Hi,

After reading many posts here, I've learned that research, shadowing, and internships are very important steps to take in order to make your resume strong for med school applications.

I was wondering if playing in a varsity sports team would make your profile any stronger. I'm planning to play in a Division3 soccer team, and I really enjoy sports. However, I know it's time consuming, and if it's not going to be any good for the future I really have no intention in doing it. The admissions officer might say "omg this guy has been playing in varsity and has managed to handle the workload!" but how the heck does varsity sports have to do with MEDICINE?? Thus, I am not very enthusiastic about joining varsity sports at the moment.

Any opinions would be appreciated! Thanks.

I think it speaks a lot about your desire dedication and discipline for things you are passionate about and also prepares you for a leadership position and how to work within a team (can you tell I played a sport in college? ) I would definitely say it is a plus to an application.

Don't listen to these people. Mention it in an interview. I think it is a good thing you should be proud of if it meant something to you.

 

[Wahoos]

Playing a sport on a college level definitely will help you on the application process. Some of the things that med school look for is depth of involvement into a certain area, and if you have taken something like sports to the college level, it just shows that you can transfer that type of committment into something like medicine. I played tennis on a Division I level and it definitely helped me out in both my medical school application as well as my orthopedic surgery application. But playing on a team does NOT mean that you can do sub par, it will only look good if you can committ into soccer in college and then still pull off a 3.8 GPA and 30+ MCAT.

 

[rmsgolfer]

If you are good enough to compete at the collegiate level, do it. I play golf and it has provided me with great memories and opened a lot of doors. Yeah the time restraints sucks, but well worth it. Dont look back and wonder ''what if". Best of luck👍

 

[dln72183]

The truth is, D3 athletics isn't supposed to get in the way of academics. Your coaches should eb able to adapt to you. Obviously if you are missing 2-3 practices a week for labs, you may not get as much game time. I played varsity hockey and worked all through college. We were required to lift all year so I just go that done either late at night or early in them morning. I found it a great stress reliever and break from studies.

Personally, athletics made me more efficient with my study time. And I've even found that some of my interviewers turn out to be athletes themselves. You really do have plenty of extra time in college. If you don't play athletics, that just means you'll take up napping as your extra curricular activity, that's what I usually did once the season ended.

In short, you can always quit if it is hurting your academics, but it is a great attribute to your application, it's usually fun and it helps you stay healthy. Go for it and have fun. I'm glad I played.

 

[AnEyeLikeMars]

I think it's a plus to the extent that it shows you can handle yourself academically while devoted so much time to an EC (assuming you actually handle yourself well; if you do poorly because of sports you'll get no breaks) and to the extent that it makes you a well-rounded person.

Not everything you do in college needs to be medicine-related. In fact, you're better off keeping some balance.

 

[Tyronebiggums]

I play D3 sports at a tough academic school. If you can keep your grades high it will be an immense benefit. I think it made a huge difference in my ability to get into school.

 

[notdeadyet]

and yes I was a coxswain and then an assistant coach for a couple of years.

I think folks probably made the guess based on the use of "the nature of my position in my sport" and the mention of the fact that you're not a physical athelete. That narrows it down.

 

[VaulterGirl]

I think being a varsity athlete impressed my interviewers. Just keep your grades up and do well on your MCAT. I was a DI athlete and I was still able to have a competitive major, do research, and volunteer. It just takes a lot of discipline and hard work. I also didn't have much of a life in undergrad.

Being an athlete is a job for the most part especially if you are on scholarship. I know that it may be easier for a DIII athlete (in terms of a pressure to perform/stress) but it still takes a huge time commitment. ADCOMs will respect you reguardless of what sport, position, division you are in.

Good Luck!

 

[calcox]

I think folks probably made the guess based on the use of "the nature of my position in my sport" and the mention of the fact that you're not a physical athelete. That narrows it down.

Yeah, not much of a mystery, especially considering my screen name. I included that bit because while I did have a physical aspect to my competition (I am 5'8"-5'9" and had to weigh 125 in the school year and 123 in the summer, for perspective my weight now is 170 which though a little higher than it should be, its a lot closer to my healthy weight than 125, there was a lot of running and fasting involved...) there are places in competitive athletics for all sorts of people.

 

[tictaq]

Division III athletics is like running a lemonade stand. It's fun and your neighbors think it's cute but no one really cares.

It is true that the general public does not play attention to Division III but that doesn't mean we don't work as hard as Division I athletes. In fact, in Division III you don't get all the benefits of Division I athletes as they are supposed to be students first and athletes second.

 

[odes]

I really hope that you all don't get into an argument over D1 vs. D3 athletics. This isn't the place for it! I was a D1 athlete at a highly competitive school (for my sport) and I've also coached at the D3 level. Both have very different hardships to face and advantages to gain- let's leave it at that. Regardless of what you do, your accomplishments both on and off the court will have weight with ADCOMs. It's a really tough road, and you have to make a lot of sacrifices. I am extremely happy with the decisions I made and I will be attending my top choice school next year! In my case, athletics played a significant part of my application. If you can do it and be happy, my advice is to try it! Best of luck! (p.s. don't beat yourself up for not getting a 4.0 unless you want to go insane)

 

[calcox]

Division III athletics is like running a lemonade stand. It's fun and your neighbors think it's cute but no one really cares.

Yeah I let that comment go because the person that made it was too bush league to even address it.