<p>I am an undergrad at at a top 5 university, and am on the varsity track team. I was wondering, in terms of law school admissions, if this will help me at all, or would it be better to quit and focus on just grades?</p>
<p>It depends. If running track will really hurt your grades, then stop. GPA is too important.</p>
<p>If, however, there won't be too much of an effect on your grades, think about staying on. The William and Mary application does ask if you've done any sports in college, and many have spaces for honours/awards. Some have spaces for extracurriculars and hours per week (like Northwestern). Also, consider that running and keeping in shape will really help you focus and manage your time well; there are some positive influences on your grades. Furthermore, if you are going to run anyway, you may as well get some credit for it.</p>
<p>Take a trip to your university's career services office and look at the data there. I suspect you'll also get better advice from the pre-law advisor than you will on this board. That said, here's mine: </p>
<p>I agree with AA that part of the answer depends upon how much running and the time it requires impacts your grades. But part of the answer also depends on where you fall on the spectrum and what kind of LSAT score you are likely to get and part of the answer depends upon how competitive your school is athletically. </p>
<p>If you are an outstanding student aiming for Harvard, Yale or Stanford for law school, getting a 3.8 as a varsity athlete and scoring a 176 on the LSAT will probably yield more impressive results than getting a 3.9 without being an athlete and getting the same LSAT. </p>
<p>If you have a 3.1 and without running could get a 3.4 and you're likely to score around a 158 on the LSAT, I'd say stop running and study. The difference between a 3.1 and a 3.4 at a top 5 school is going to matter more than the bump from being an athlete. </p>
<p>And, the bump for being a runner will be less for a student from CalTech than from a runner at Stanford because the amount of time involved is a little different...or at least that's my understanding. A 3.3 from a Stanford football player is a bit different than a 3.3 from a Columbia football player. </p>
<p>But, seriously, go see your pre-law advisor. You'll get better advice.</p>