Scholarly Advice for Academic Mastery
A collection of insights and advice from some of the most successful university, graduate, and professional students and scholars.
Topic: Sports
Balancing a Variety of
Extracurriculars With a Pre-Professional Degree
As a pre-med student at Emory University, I knew that I could be engulfed
with work from my various classes as well as the pre-med required courses.
That being said, it was still of the highest importance for me to be
involved in non-academic activities on and off campus. This was true, not
only for my sanity, but to set my medical application and resume apart from
the thousands of other candidates applying. As a social escape, I joined a
fraternity, knowing that it would take up a serious amount of time. While a
fraternity of sorority is not for everyone, it could be an easy way to stay
socially involved with your peers as well as have a way to perform
philanthropy and take time to volunteer.
Another possibility to become
involved is a sport, whether it is a varsity or a club sport. I was a 4 year
member of the varsity track team and 3 year member of the club rugby team.
Why should you put yourself through that much activity on top of your
studying? There is no better or cheaper way to travel while in college than
being on an athletic team. Most teams will travel out of the state as well
as all over the country, and the best part is, they will pay for it.
Other avenues of extracurricular activities include music groups or
ensembles, debate teams, academic teams, among others.
Here are some tips to the balancing act. First, make sure that you do not only join the club, but become involved or even hold an office. Professional programs as well as employers love to see involvement and leadership. Leadership experience is a key ingredient to any application. Second, please do not stretch yourself out so thin that you do not have time to study. After all, that is your overall reason for being in college, and no matter how many activities you have, they could only help you stand out as a good student. To avoid this, become involved in activities over time. You should find out how much free time you have on top of your studying commitments.
On top of proving your ability to be well-rounded, extracurriculars serve a very important purpose-networking. Networking allows you to meet a variety of people, and it is important to stay on good terms with everyone. When applying to professional programs, letters of recommendation will be of the utmost importance. Teachers as well as coaches can be of great help if they see someone who is not only involved, but committed to his or her respective club or activity. At application time, you will need to call on these mentors and ask for their help to make you stand out as someone that has helped make a difference through a non-academic activity.
Let's say, however, that you do not get into a school of your choice or are put on a wait list. Your best options will be to take more classes, work in a lab or on a study, or just get a job in other avenues of life. This is where networking is an absolute necessity. In our job market and economy, you must stand out with employers, and many of your peers or people you have met along the way will be in a position to help you. If they recognize you as someone who has been involved and driven, they will go out on a limb and hire you or even refer you to their colleagues. I saw this many times, and the phrase still holds true, "It's not what you know, it's who you know!" This mythical "who" could just be that senior who was on your track team or junior who was in your string ensemble or just a fraternity alum who you impressed on a alumni relations dinner.
All these activities could be your key to success in school as well as professional programs, but extracurriculars are only a part of it. Balancing your schoolwork with other activities is your ticket to success.
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Stan N. Tolkachjov Emory University University of Tennessee Medical School
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As a four-year starter on an elite Division I softball program, balancing
school, softball, and other extracurricular activities could become quite
challenging at times. Our coaches and administration always stressed the
student in student-athlete to us, but as any competitive athlete knows,
success on the field is critical as well. So between the hours of practices,
competitions, and spending time in the weight room, combined with community
service activities and serving on the Executive Board for the Student
Athlete Advisory Committee, where did time for studying come in? After
receiving a 4.00 in Speech Communication and being named as the 2008 College
of Liberal Arts Valedictorian while keeping up on the field, being named an
Academic All-American, studying was definitely one of my top priorities.
Time management is absolutely
crucial in being successful in the classroom as well as on the field, or
whatever extracurricular activity that you decide to partake in. For me, I
took advantage of the little breaks I had between classes or between
practices. In addition, our softball team would sometimes travel 11 hours to
get to a competition, and nothing helped pass the time quicker than studying
for a test or finishing up some problems on my laptop. The key to this was
being focused on the task at hand and being responsible enough to finish the
needed homework or studying for the upcoming test, instead of taking the
easy way out.
Will it be hard and frustrating
at times? Absolutely. There were so many times in my career where I knew
that I could take the easy way and not finish an assignment, but I had too
much drive and competitiveness to let myself go down like that. I approached
my schoolwork like I would approach a softball game. I knew what I had in me
and never settled for less. I couldn't settle for less because of my
competitiveness. It was a game to me- a much more important, life-changing
type of game- but none-the-less, a game. It was a game of skill. I had to
map out my next move. What did I have coming up in the year when I got my
syllabus? How could I strategize early to get some of the material at the
end of the year done now?
I even competed with other
students- secretly of course. If I knew they were getting ahead in their
assignments, I didn't want them to beat me, so I got even further ahead. If
they got a good grade on an assignment, I knew I was capable of a good grade
and strived to receive one better. Not that I didn't want others to do
better than me, but I wanted to compete to make myself and drive myself to
be the best I could. When looking at it in a sports mind frame, it no longer
felt like something I had to do, but rather a game I enjoyed playing
everyday to experience new methods and strategies. And by the end of my
career, it all paid off. I received two post-graduate scholarships, a
graduate assistantship, and now I can carry that competitiveness into my
graduate studies, as well as my career.
So my advice to each and every
one of you is use your time wisely. Plan ahead and strategize your next
move. See your college experience, inside and outside of the classroom, as a
game that you can ultimately win if you use common sense to make your next
moves. I promise, even if you have a little bit of a competitive drive in
you, you will not want to fail and will find yourself in a mound of success.
So enjoy the game, achieve great success, and never sell yourself short!
Krystal Joy Stein
Southern Illinois University
If you're looking to participate in college athletics, take your time in making your collegiate decision. Don't be quick to choose a school solely because they're offering you a position on their team- make sure to visit every school you could possibly consider, because one visit can change your whole outlook on the university. When I was looking at colleges, my final decision came down to getting an opportunity to play with a scholarship at a small school or attending a different university, which was more appealing to me as far as location, academics, and campus life, where I could try to walk on. Although it was a tough decision, in the end, I found myself wondering if I would be happy at the smaller school if I wasn't playing volleyball. In my case, the answer was probably not, so I decided to go to my current university, which I absolutely love, where luckily everything worked out and I was chosen to play on the team! Granted, I know not everyone will be as lucky, but take into consideration every aspect of the school- unless you're truly thinking about becoming a professional athlete, don't base your decision purely on your athletic pursuits, because there are always many other ways to get involved in a school's athletics (i.e.. intramurals, club sports, pep group, or you could even ask to be a practice player for the university's team if you're not able to be on it).
If you're a (prospective)/collegiate athlete, balancing your academics, athletics and your social life in college can prove to be a challenging task. The difficulty of your classes will increase, as will the demand on time for your athletics, but amidst all of this, you also have to find space to squeeze in one of the best aspects of the college experience: time to spend with your friends!
Granted, it is hard enough to transition from high school work to college work. And when you factor in all of the time you will be dedicating to practices, games, and activities for your sport, it may seem like you won't have time to breathe! Keeping tabs on your schoolwork and athletics may actually seem impossible if you don't know how to manage your time efficiently, but here are a couple of tips to make sure that you fall into trouble during this transition your freshman year:
1. Make sure to talk to all of your professors. If they see that you are a dedicated STUDENT-ATHLETE (not an athlete-student... yes, there is a difference!) they will be more flexible in trying to work around your schedule for their class; most professors just want you to be upfront with them, so be sure to give them a schedule of your games. You may also want to highlight what events, if any, could interfere with their class.
2. Make friends in your classes! it is important to get to know a couple of people in each class because if you miss any class b/c of games etc. you should always have a friend who can lend you their notes- this way you'll stay on top of the material!
3. YOU DO HAVE FREE TIME! sitting around at the airport or on the bus with nothing to do is such a waste of time! always bring your homework or study materials on away trips- even try to get ahead in same of your classes. this way, when you get back form your trips, you can focus on relaxing and dedicating some time to your social life :)
4. TAKE FREQUENT NAPS! honestly, this past year I took more naps than I have in my whole life. Whether they were a 20 minute power-nap between classes or a 3 hour nap on hat one day your classes finish early, your body needs rest- especially your brain. You won't be able to study if you aren't well rested... your brain just won't work! So any chance you get, try and get some shut eye.
Besides that, also keep in mind that you should really take advantage of your off season to expand your social spectrum- your athletic schedule will lighten up by a lot during this time, so you'll have more time to hang out with friends and have fun!
| Paola Annoni Biology Georgetown University |
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Although involving yourself in activities outside of academic work may seem counterproductive, a busy and stimulating schedule will actually help you manage your time and produce quality work. As a member of the women's track team, I avoided procrastination because I knew that I had to get my work done before the team left for a competition over the weekend. Moreover, my days had to be very structured so that I could complete my coursework and attend all of the team's practice sessions. Thus, I seriously focused on my work during specific hours each day and I was motivated to finish the work in that allotted time period. Athletics provided an outlet for reducing daily stress and it forced me to take care of my physical health. These factors definitely contributed to the quality of my academic work because I was able to think clearly and more creatively.
Amy Krilla
Master of Science in Social Work
Florida State University