I am a prospective biochem major with the hopes of becoming premed. I know that I will need to have a difficult course load, very high gpa, plenty of research/shadowing experience, and loads of test prep to do well on my MCATS and get into a good medical school.
I was recently approached by coaches at a midsize university and have started the recruiting process for their Acro & Tumbling team. During a phone interview yesterday, the head coach told me that most of the athletes were premed/science, had gpas of around 4.8, and had plenty of time for their studies.
Does anyone have a child that was a successful athlete while being a science major/pre-med? I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew with 20 hours of practice per week + competitions. My parents are concerned about the commitment an athletic scholarship brings. While I love my sport and the university seems like a great school, I have received very competitive offers elsewhere and it wouldn’t be too hard to turn this down.
My daughter is an athlete and engineering major. The athletics requires that she be very organized and that has been a good thing for her. Her roommate/teammate is preparing for dental school. It’s a STEM school so quite a few teammates are in engineering, chemistry and bio.
You have to be prepared to give up things, like spring break, Christmas break, tailgating (drinking in general), maybe some control on where you live and eat in college. You’ll have to be prepared to watch your teammates go out to dinner when you stay home to study when on a trip because they won’t all be science majors and they may not need to study as much as you do.
Echoing what twoinanddone said, its possible but definitely not the easy, typical college experience path. DS plays football (Ivy) and majors in engineering. His fall semesters are exhausting, Spring a little easier, but definitely works harder than everyone else on the team. But he is not premed so while he gets good grades (3.5) he does not have to get A’s. Unless you really feel the need to continue in your sport, take advantage of the extra 20-30 hours per week and get involved in research, shadowing, study abroad, academic clubs, etc. That is what my son had to give up. He did great internships in the summer but there were alot of interesting school year opportunities that he could not pursue. My two cents.
You can major in anything and go to med school. You do have to do prereq’s of course but they can be done as gen eds/electives or as part of a post-baccaulareate program once you graduate. Plenty of music and English majors go to med school. There are a few pre-med programs but most schools don’t have “premed” majors.
Thanks so much! Being an athlete in high school has forced me to manage my time well and stay focused. I’m not a very social person and won’t be drinking/partying. Spending plenty of time on a team would help give me a friend group.
I absolutely love science and want to be a bariatric physician. While I love my sport I’ve also got to consider the cons of struggling to find time for research and shadowing. :\
Many pre-meds and med school admits do a sport in college. It’s not that unusual. I completed the pre-med track while also doing crew. I was an electrical engineering major. Some athletes believe that the sport helps with med school admission, based on positive comments about the athletic activities during interviews. Past admit data from the colleg I attended is also consistent with this view. Non-URM med school admits with unusually low stats were often stellar athletes who had a leadership role on the team.
The pre-med classes are generally basic, intro type math/science, not the type of class that requires a huge time commitment. The more challenging part may be fitting in research, shadowing, and other medical related out of classroom activities. You might choose to do such activities in the off season (if applicable) or summer.
DIII v DI has very different demands, as can a higher or lower ranked team in each of those divisions. The challenge mine found in D1 athletics is the 5 day/week classes like math, chemistry, etc., (where you have 3 lectures and two labs) and the travel schedule. Some profs are accommodating, some aren’t. In his math class for example, she gave quizzes every Friday (a consistent travel day especially during season) and if you missed it for any reason you got a zero. No give there. So he had to drop that and find a more accommodating professor the next semester. Or if practice is offered the same time as inorganic chemistry you have to pick one (since courses tend to be offered the same times/days every year it seems). Seems like an easy choice, except you don’t miss practice at the top D1 level. So just be aware you can have other issues than just the number of hours of practice that may need some creative work arounds.
But it sounds like the team and school you are considering has a lot of students like yourself, and you should be able to ask team mates what they encounter. As a recruit you should be encouraged to contact current team mates for information through email, facebook etc. While of course there are sacrifices, the opportunities provided by being on a team at college can be incredible as well. Experiences vary by school, sport,and student. Good luck!
^^This can vary widely. At my daughter’s school, most of the exams for math and the basic sciences are given on Thursday nights (Calc 1,2,3, chem, physics) but quizzes are given on Fridays. The coaches are aware and schedule around those. The first year my daughter’s coach (she was new) did schedule some trips that left on Fridays, but she’d delay the bus so that they could all take the quiz at 8 am (sounds fun, huh), but after that first year she’s limited OOS travel to one weekend per year. Life in the Sunshine state has its advantages and teams travel to them. They just don’t miss that many classes for games.
The amount of travel should be brought up in recruiting. How far, how often will the travel be (and look at past schedules)? Will the student be allowed to miss practices for class? My D is a senior now and this semester has a class that conflicts with practice but it is the only time offered, and the coach knows after 4 years that my daughter will not be a second slower or unprepared for a game. This is also the only semester my D has worked during the school year (a prof asked her to do research) but some of her teammates do work. It takes a good deal of organization and determination to get everything done.
@SuperGymnast_04 Is this a small school/program? If it mainly takes buses to matches in a small regional conference, it won’t be much different than high school in terms of time demand. It is very different at a big program in a major conference with lots of flying and overnights involved.
You should give it a try since you love the sport and can always change your plans later if need be. You will likely find ways to work around it.
I’m not sure how many Acro and Tumbling programs are flying around the country to compete, or at least doing it for every competition. There are D1 football teams that still take more buses than planes.
@blueskies2day this is a D2 school. The competition schedule doesn’t sound much more rigorous than my current schedule. From looking at the locations of current competitions, it looks like there are mostly bus trips with a couple plane rides (e.g. to competitions across the country). If you get an athletic scholarship, are you allowed to pull out without penalty? I’ll definitely ask when we visit.
Yes, you can quit at any time, and you’ll keep your scholarship for that semester (your coach can fight this but usually they don’t).
It will be more rigorous than high school, and the academic load will be harder too. My daughter was exhausted after her first season but much better after the next 2.
For a gymnast , the college practice schedule might be easier that the club schedule because the NCAA has rules about the amount of practice allowed (even when coaches employ the common workarounds of conditioning requirements or optional practice with coach not present). My girls were training 16 hours a week by junior high, and our club was on the low end compared to others in the area.
Seriously, though, I’d question a coach that said her athletes had a 4.8. Colleges typically don’t weight grades.
I would ask specific questions about the culture of the team. Are you expected to participate in community service activities as a team? Are you expected to attend other sporting events as a team? Most team members participate in recruiting weekends and unofficial visits by hosting recruits. There are many meetings (team meetings as well as sports meetings only available to athletes) that have required attendance.
I would also look at the schedule. If there is travel, I’d look at how far you go and how you travel. For instance how often, if ever, will you travel across the country, take a red-eye back and land on campus an hour before your Monday 8:30am class? While there are programs that give grace for late afternoon classes or labs, there are many where the culture dictates otherwise. There are certain programs that flat out tell athletes on the front end, they will have to choose between the major and the sport (nursing is one I know of at more than a few DI programs).
My junior S tells everyone, it is not as easy as some think. He also says he loves it even though it is hard as heck to do it and that his social life probably isn’t as robust as it would be if he were not an athlete. In the end, only you can determine how much joy your sport brings you and your ability to thrive in college while doing it.
I have another question for you @SuperGymnast_04 Acro/Tumbling is not a recognized sport in the NCAA or the NAIA . It’s probably a club team. Are you being offered scholarship money for this team? And second what @crimsonmom2019 said about asking questions. Some places have their club teams on a much lighter schedule than the athletes for the recognized sports. Some do not. Find out.
@ordinarylives it is an NCAA D2 sport. It is registered under gymnastics and is not a club team. There is a recruiting process and scholarships are involved. I was also surprised to find out just how competitive it is (the university in question is very highly ranked) because I hadn’t heard of it and it doesn’t get much recognition.
Your best source is going to be current athletes on the team, especially those that are also premed. Really dig into how they manage their time, what (if anything) they do beyond homework and the sport, etc. Best of luck.
My D is a gymnast. Among graduates of her club, there is a young woman who competed on a Div. I team and was pre-med. She is now about to graduate from med school. Her younger sister (former gymnast) was on a Div. I track/field team and has been admitted to dental school. I do think it is amazing that they were able to make the grades in rigorous classes and compete in sports throughout college. I think their training in strict time management (practicing 20 hrs. a week during high school) from an early age is one of the big reasons for their success.