Relevance of athletics on career

[Anonymous]

Just curious if anyone -or their child- has used their high performing sports background (college athlete, national teams experience, national rankings. . . ) as a springboard for things like medical school, dental school, pharmacy school, law school . . .
I'm not talking as something dispositive for admission or getting any financial help. But is it something these schools view as positive/relevant to the "leadership" criteria applied by these schools?

We are nowhere there yet. But my child has college offers to play their sport (at diff division levels) and is weighing the options. But, just thinking way ahead. A pre-health path is the goal but not sure which path yet.

Any thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just curious if anyone -or their child- has used their high performing sports background (college athlete, national teams experience, national rankings. . . ) as a springboard for things like medical school, dental school, pharmacy school, law school . . .
I'm not talking as something dispositive for admission or getting any financial help. But is it something these schools view as positive/relevant to the "leadership" criteria applied by these schools?

We are nowhere there yet. But my child has college offers to play their sport (at diff division levels) and is weighing the options. But, just thinking way ahead. A pre-health path is the goal but not sure which path yet.

Any thoughts?

So, it is common right now because Covid gave athletes extra years of eligibility...but there is law school and MBA program recruiting for athletes. I know a Penn baseball player that still has a year of eligibility and was basically recruited to Duke Law School to play on the Duke baseball team.

I don't know if you can use that for Medical School. However, if your kid gets say hurt one year and still has eligibility remaining after they graduate undergrad, then there is still post-grad professional school recruiting that exists.

I don't think it is a good move for an MBA because most firms expect an MBA to have work experience and not have continued straight from undergrad.

I have never heard of a "good old boy" sports network helping for graduate school admission, although it helps with a career.

[Anonymous]

In my top 5 MBA program we had a lot of former professional athletes and Olympians. Some had done some time in finance or business but most came straight from their sport with no true career experience, so I assume the sport counted for a lot. We also had a ton of former college athletes whose first jobs were basically handed out via their team networks, my DH included. The sports I remember were football, figure skating, speed skating, hockey, rowing, golf, tennis and a ton of track & field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my top 5 MBA program we had a lot of former professional athletes and Olympians. Some had done some time in finance or business but most came straight from their sport with no true career experience, so I assume the sport counted for a lot. We also had a ton of former college athletes whose first jobs were basically handed out via their team networks, my DH included. The sports I remember were football, figure skating, speed skating, hockey, rowing, golf, tennis and a ton of track & field.

Well, professional athletes and olympians (which are also usually professional as well…though not the same as the big pro sports) are a different animal. They are out making money and working…just not in a traditional sense.

[Anonymous]

I think at some point, the actual leadership skills become relevant, rather than someone’s assessment of their leadership based on the resume. So yes, you see a lot of successful former athletes who use their leadership, resilience, work ethic, etc to achieve success in the work place.

[Anonymous]

It's good for sales, because an athlete is a kid of celebrity influencer.

[Anonymous]

Local high school athletes can transition easily to small business owner with or without college.

[Anonymous]

I know someone whose college sports experience was a key part of them getting a job at nasa. They wanted engineers who also knew how to work with a team.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, my husband rowed Division 1 crew. Hard to tell if it helped with law school admissions but at biglaw firm interviews he felt it was an advantage (he listed it on his resume). And when he got to his firm it was always something higher ups remembered about him from the interview process.

[Anonymous]

Just remember there are drawbacks too. My brother was a serious student athlete who was aiming for the Olympics. He passed up all college internships and clubs to focus on his sport. This meant that when he missed making the Olympic team by 2 spots he didn't have the resume line of being an Olympian and also had no relevant job experience. It's taken him a decade to try to come back from that, as no one give internships to unemployed 28 yo gym rat with a mediocre GPA.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the interesting responses. I was not thinking that a sport would be a "hook" to get in like it may be for college. But rather one of the holistic factors ("leadership") that the schools apply to get in.

My kid is currently balancing D1, D2, and D3 offers (with pros and cons to each). But, just looking ahead to see if sports at any level would be a boost? Or Only D1 (in which maybe you don't play as much)? Or D3 where you'd play A LOT. Does that matter on such a granular level. Kid has played in national tourneys but has not been on an olympic or national team. That said, they've had to balance a lot to maintain the grades and performance level obtained. That would continue through college and i would think, regardless of the level, that would showcase a lot of positive attributes. But I am just speculating.

[Anonymous]

Surgeons are often former exceptionally good athletes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, my husband rowed Division 1 crew. Hard to tell if it helped with law school admissions but at biglaw firm interviews he felt it was an advantage (he listed it on his resume). And when he got to his firm it was always something higher ups remembered about him from the interview process.

I don’t think anyone cares about Rowing

Former coxswain here and I think you're wrong and agree with the PP with the lawyer/rower husband. First of all that sort of thing is something the higher ups can easily remember and talk to you about. Second of all, it's the kind of sport that says something about you to anyone who has ever done it.

[Anonymous]

My best friend ran track at our D1 school; she was also captain senior year and set a few records (assume they’ve been broken since!). She took a few years off after to move abroad and run track professionally, after which she applied to both law and med schools, getting into all.

(She chose law.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the interesting responses. I was not thinking that a sport would be a "hook" to get in like it may be for college. But rather one of the holistic factors ("leadership") that the schools apply to get in.

My kid is currently balancing D1, D2, and D3 offers (with pros and cons to each). But, just looking ahead to see if sports at any level would be a boost? Or Only D1 (in which maybe you don't play as much)? Or D3 where you'd play A LOT. Does that matter on such a granular level. Kid has played in national tourneys but has not been on an olympic or national team. That said, they've had to balance a lot to maintain the grades and performance level obtained. That would continue through college and i would think, regardless of the level, that would showcase a lot of positive attributes. But I am just speculating.

What sport