Time for extra-curricular activities during undergrad?

[Guest Vitor Belfort]

Hello everyone!

 

Just had a question regarding the time you have for extra-curricular activities during your under-grad (Pre-med) years....

 

Im starting University in September at the University of Manitoba...and im really interested in trying out for the Wrestling team.

 

Im pretty confident that i'll make the team.....but just wondering weather i would have enough time for practices, matches etc.. with a busy under-grad schedule, MCAT etc...(mostly worried about having time to wrestle and keeping a GPA at the same time)

 

Anyone here play for their university team and still have enough time to study and maintain a high competitive GPA for med school??

 

Thanks!

[Guest Vitor Belfort]

Sorry, meant to write:

 

"...(mostly worried about having time to wrestle and keeping a GOOD GPA at the same time)"

 

Thanks again!

[Guest fox]

I didn't play for a university team in undergrad, but I did a lot of things sports-wise/extra-curricular stuff. I would recommend doing fun stuff and not spending all of your time on school. When you're applying to med school, the schools like to see that you do stuff outside of studying. And when you do get into med you really need to learn how to balance life/school/relationships etc. I look back now and realize I probably could have done a lot less work in undergrad and been just as successful. I certainly do less work now than I did in undergrad, and my marks are even better now. There's a lot less free time in med than in undergrad (for me, anyway), and when you add a life outside of school on top of that, you learn how to make the best of the time you do have to study. So, sorry for the long-winded answer, but I think if you are able to manage your time effectively, you shouldn't have a problem doing well in school and wrestling.

[Guest hacker]

Hi there,

 

I wrestled with a varsity team and I must say it was a tough challenge to keep up with school work at the same time. It all depends on your academic schedule and the training schedule for wrestling. I encourage you to go for it and try to see if you can adjust and still be on track with school work. If you can then PERFECT. If not, then you can still wrestle but at a recreational level I guess so you can have more time for school.

 

H

[Guest aneliz]

You will have time for extra-currics in undergrad if you make time for extra-currics. There are plenty of people that play varsity sports and still have a good GPA....but they work for it. They don't sleep in until noon on a weekday...or party until 3 AM on a school night....or take an entire weekend off to do nothing too often. You will have less 'free' time to watch TV, party, drink, hang-out, etc...but you won't have NO time...it depends on if you think that you have enough discipline to commit yourself to practices and studying...or if you would rather spend your time 'hanging out'.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

Anyone here play for their university team and still have enough time to study and maintain a high competitive GPA for med school??

I was able to do a bit of an interesting experiment (in retrospect) regarding varsity sport and academics. During my first year at university, I rowed for the varsity team. During my last five years at university, I captained the women's varsity squash team. Although both sports were at the varsity level, i.e., required a decent amount of commitment, the two experiences were quite different in terms of time consumption and the influence on my academic performance.

 

For varsity rowing, we had to be on the water six days a week. On each of the five weekdays we practiced for ~2.5 hours per day, from ~5:45-8am. Since we had to have the boat on the water by 5:45, I had to get up at ~4-4:15am each day. On most Saturdays we rowed at regattas, which generally consumed the whole day since we had to travel to each. If any of us didn't show up for practice (even if we had good reason) we knew that our spot in the main boat could be in jeopardy. Thus, there was little flexibility offered by the coaches. Also, even though I'm not bad at rising and shining early in the morning, staying awake during lectures posed a major challenge after rowing, flat-out, each morning. (Incidentally, my grades suffered a little due to that.)

 

Squash, on the other hand, was a lot different. We had official practices 2-3 nights per week, and we could slot other matches and drills in as our schedules permitted. We attended ~5-7 varsity events per year, plus local tournaments. If we could not attend practice because of a course conflict, etc., it was not a problem. We were still expected to earn our spots in the team rank, but overall, the coaching staff were a lot more lenient. My last five years in school as a varsity athlete were great: I did well academically, and squash was/is a brilliant sport to pair with academics, when you just need to get away from the books for a bit (I still play a lot now, albeit recreationally).

 

The moral of the story is: varsity sports and coaches differ. Just as rowing and squash were unique, wrestling teams and their coaches may be unique, too. If you're interested in participating in a varsity team, my advice to you would be to give the head coach a shout and see how he/she approaches team management and training. It can tell you a lot about what your marriage of varsity sport and academics may be like.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest UWOMED2005]

I played varsity rugby all four years of undergrad and maintained a med-school worthy GPA. I was Club President and Team Captain (the last bit for part of the season) my last year. A number of my classmate played varsity athletics, and as the orthopedic surgeon I was working with pointed out - there was a time where almost EVERY surgeon at UWO had played varsity football.

 

If you can't balance extra-curriculars with academics during undergrad, you probably have no business being in medicine. As a number of my consultants this year argue, med school isn't overly intellectually challenging but rather challenging in terms of time management and discipline - a monkey could do well in medical school as long as he worked hard, was dedicated and had excellent time management skills.

 

After all, how do you plan on balancing things like extra-curriculars and family during your medical career? Did you think you'd be LESS busy than undergrad during medical school? During your career?!?

 

Participating in varsity athletics during undergrad not only would help you get into meds, but would be good time management practice so you know how to handle things after you get in.

[Guest TimmyMax]

Hey,

 

I echo UWOMED2005's sentiments. I played field lacrosse in 2nd, 3rd and 4th year for my university and was involved in so many things outside of school, it makes my head spin thinking about it now- yet the busier I got, the better my marks were! Each of those last 3 undergraduate years I was carrying an overload of courses (5.5, 6.0 and 6.5, respectively) and for the last two I was doing a lot of teaching as well- I had 2 different labs to demonstrate for as well as a weekly Chem 100 tutorial to teach in my 4th year, with a thesis thrown in there for colour.

There is tons of time in undergrad to do what you want, just as there is in medical school. It's all about time management and getting stuff done when it has to get done. Everything else is gravy.

 

Best of luck!

Timmy

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

Each of those last 3 undergraduate years I was carrying an overload of courses (5.5, 6.0 and 6.5, respectively)

Up to 6.5! A ramping masochist, you Timmy!

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest VS12]

but I have real problems with doing "well" and fitting in the time to do extracurrics. Right now, I'm working 1 night a week and volunteering 4 hours a day. Even with that, I found that I had to work super hard to get the marks I did... and they were not great marks at all. Maybe I'm just dumb, but I think that the amount of time you'll have to do extracurrics will be entirely dependent on how smart you are. Some people are just able to grasp concepts better than others. I know that personally, I can't learn from lectures and so, the bulk of my time in class is spent copying the notes as quickly as possible, while others who are gifted with visual/auditory learning are able to grasp the concepts simply from listening to the prof. Then, I'd have to sift through the notes + text to be able to half-understand what's going on. Again, that's how I'm able to learn, and you may be completely different.

 

I say, if you can find the time to be involved in 4589724754 hours of extracurrics and still be able to keep your marks up, more power to ya. Me personally, that's a really tough thing to do - and for many others, I'd imagine it's the same way.

[Guest Elaine I]

I agree with Timmy. The more things you are doing, the more organized you are. If you know you have practice for a varsity team, then you know you have to get your paper done early, or study in advance for your exam. A lot depends on your drive and motivation.

 

During my early years at university, I wasn't focused at all. I wasted a lot of time, and my transcripts reflect that. Last year, I went back to university full time while continuing to work full time (shift work). I carried 7.0 courses and maintained a 3.8 GPA, while preparing for the April MCAT. Most of my papers were done in advance, and studying was done whenever even 20 minutes was available. I didn't have the luxury of simply enjoying subway rides - I was always reading notes from one class or another.

 

The bottom line is that if you want to do something, you'll make the time. You'll learn to be better organized, and develop good study habits. You just can't give yourself the choice of not getting work done!

 

BTW, I suggest that you stay focused the first round of university, so that you don't have to return once working full time! I wouldn't recommend the above schedule, but it is doable!

 

Elaine

[Guest Vitor Belfort]

Wow! Thanks for the replies!

 

Seems to me that many people on this forum have successfully participated in extra-curricular activites and done very well in school.

 

I actually phoned the head coach of the wrestling team and found out practises are held Mon-Fri 4:30-6:30pm, which actually sounds convenient compared to the early morning practises Kirsteen had to go to!

 

But after reading all your posts and seeing that people like Kirsteen, UWOMED2005, TimmyMax, and Elaine 1 all had busy under-grad schedules with school work/extra-curriculars, I realize that mixing extra-curricular activities with school work can definitely be done. Come September i WILL be wrestling and I'll keep my GPA as high as i possibly could.

 

Thanks for all your posts!