Is it possible to be premed and athlete?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course it’s possible. At a large D1 they offer labs from 6-9pm. Athletes register for classes before anyone else. The athletic department will also have an academic “fixer” that smooths the way with difficult professors. Think bulldozer, not snowplow.

That is prime practice and game time which is why it is difficult at times. Life is much better at the NESCACs for example where most of the schools have 4pm-7pm as designated "extracurricular time" with no classes scheduled in this block.

[Anonymous]

the only major that has been discouraged for our D1 recruit is engineering.

Sciences seem ok

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course it’s possible. At a large D1 they offer labs from 6-9pm. Athletes register for classes before anyone else. The athletic department will also have an academic “fixer” that smooths the way with difficult professors. Think bulldozer, not snowplow.

That is prime practice and game time which is why it is difficult at times. Life is much better at the NESCACs for example where most of the schools have 4pm-7pm as designated "extracurricular time" with no classes scheduled in this block.

What sport? Our son practices early in the morning in season and after lunch off season.

[Anonymous]

I went to MIT and lots of my friends were pre med and athletes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We know one at Davidson. Not easy - they don’t make accommodations - but doable.

Such is the difference between Division 1 and Division 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone’s DC has any positive experience?

If it’s doable, which college setting makes it easier? Small liberal arts? Mid-sized research universities?

Doable? yes. At which schools? There isn't going to be an easy answer to your question. It will vary from school to school, so the best advice would be for your child to make a list of all the qualities that would make for an ideal undergrad experience, discern which schools best fit that profile and then contact them individually to figure out which has the best scholar-athlete balance. But schools can't account for the learning process of any given student: your child will have to honest with himself about his goals as both an athlete and student and what he can handle. D1 sports in general will demand more in terms of athletics, but most D1 schools are also not Cal or Stanford from an academic standpoint (and I'd argue that if your child's high school is a competitive magnet or a highly regarded prep school and he then attends, say, the University of Georgia, he may find that the workload and rigor for the first two years of undergrad are less than he experienced in high school).

[Anonymous]

Possible to be “pre-med”- yes, of course.

Chances of successfully being admitted to a US medical school straight from undergrad (no post bacc, research/retake MCAT year, etc) without completely giving up your social life in college- very unlikely.

Why is being a “college athlete” so important to you? Could those same goals be achieved if you played your sport on a less competitive level (local games vs traveling out of state, for example)?

[Anonymous]

It is impossible and at some schools not allowed — to be a D1 athlete and major in ore-med, any lab based science, definite no on nursing.

We know one girl whose school she’d committed to told her during high school senior year that she could not major in Biology. She claims to have asked previously and everyone said she could do it. And then, bam! No. She decommitted and went D3 smarty pants school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to MIT and lots of my friends were pre med and athletes.

That’s because you went to MIT, genius.

It’s much easier to meet the grueling demands of being a pre-med college athlete when literally the entire team also prioritizes their academic classes and are all wicked smart.

Let’s be real here- that is NOT the norm in college sports. Which is exactly why the other posts about going to an easier school are horrible recommendations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Possible to be “pre-med”- yes, of course.

Chances of successfully being admitted to a US medical school straight from undergrad (no post bacc, research/retake MCAT year, etc) without completely giving up your social life in college- very unlikely.

Why is being a “college athlete” so important to you? Could those same goals be achieved if you played your sport on a less competitive level (local games vs traveling out of state, for example)?

Very unlikely? I know four including my niece, her boyfriend, my nephew, and a friends daughter. Two of them were athletes. One D1, one D3.

[Anonymous]

This guy did it
https://magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/gridiron-orthopedic-surgeon

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to MIT and lots of my friends were pre med and athletes.

Were you on the ping-pong team?

How many of those friends/team mates actually got into a medical school on their first try?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to MIT and lots of my friends were pre med and athletes.

That’s because you went to MIT, genius.

It’s much easier to meet the grueling demands of being a pre-med college athlete when literally the entire team also prioritizes their academic classes and are all wicked smart.

Let’s be real here- that is NOT the norm in college sports. Which is exactly why the other posts about going to an easier school are horrible recommendations.

I tend to agree. I follow high academic volleyball where it is pretty common. Looking at the rosters for Williams and Swat each team has at least four pre-med among their upperclasswomen. That is close to half in each instance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Possible to be “pre-med”- yes, of course.

Chances of successfully being admitted to a US medical school straight from undergrad (no post bacc, research/retake MCAT year, etc) without completely giving up your social life in college- very unlikely.

Why is being a “college athlete” so important to you? Could those same goals be achieved if you played your sport on a less competitive level (local games vs traveling out of state, for example)?

Very unlikely? I know four including my niece, her boyfriend, my nephew, and a friends daughter. Two of them were athletes. One D1, one D3.

Huh? Out of the grand total of four doctors that you know, two of them were college athletes. I don’t think your example proves what you think it does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to MIT and lots of my friends were pre med and athletes.

That’s because you went to MIT, genius.

It’s much easier to meet the grueling demands of being a pre-med college athlete when literally the entire team also prioritizes their academic classes and are all wicked smart.

Let’s be real here- that is NOT the norm in college sports. Which is exactly why the other posts about going to an easier school are horrible recommendations.

I tend to agree. I follow high academic volleyball where it is pretty common. Looking at the rosters for Williams and Swat each team has at least four pre-med among their upperclasswomen. That is close to half in each instance.

Yes, exactly my point. You have to surround yourself with students/teammates that are striving for the same level of off-the-court achievement as you are.