<p>Hello all I’m in the Mid-West and new to this site. I have a son who is a Junior this yr we had a major picked (anesthesiologist) we had the pleasure to sit with a Dr and it has now crushed my sons dreams. As he plays sports and now he isn’t sure that he can do both. So now our dilemma is finding him something else to purse. I’ve suggested Business (since I’m an accountant), Science major, Occupational Therapist. I need help navigating this website and scholarship items…EVERYTHING!!! My kid is pretty smart 3.8 GPA at the moment while playing sports. Any help I can get is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>If your son is an athlete, has he possibly considered physical therapy? H was able to play NCAA basketball for 4 years all while maintaining a good enough GPA to get in to PT school. You get the medical side with this major, but also the ability to work with people (or even more specifically, athletes). An OT would also be a great field as well. The PT/OT curriculum likely wouldn’t be as demanding as that an anesthesiologist would have to take. </p>
<p>Which state in the mid-west? He may want to consider Kinesiology. </p>
<p>@kgos16 Yes he is an athlete. I didn’t think of PT he really wants to stay close to the medical field and that is a good option. He doesn’t want to have to chose between either. If it’s not too much to ask what was H 4 yr schedule if you can remember. This really does help me! anesthesiologist isn’t doable with sports at all. my child was totally heartbroken that he couldn’t do both but its a life lesson have a plan a, b & c </p>
<p>Anesthesiology is not an undergraduate major, and plenty of doctors played sports in their undergraduate years before going to medical school. I don’t understand what your concern is.</p>
<p>Anesthesilogist is not a major for undergraduates in college. If he wants to be a doctor, he needs to get a 4 year degree, and then apply to medical school. As an undergraduate, he can major in anything he wants as long as he takes the med. school prerequisites (e.g., Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, etc.)
Are you assuming he will play sports in college? If so, you should start looking into the recruiting process very very soon.</p>
<p>@bopper & @middkid86 you both are so correct and we do realize that I just didn’t state myself as well above. I think at this point the doctor we met with really gave his story and not an overall story so it kind of scare my son away from it. He gave him the story of how he didn’t do anything on campus, no parties (which isn’t a bad deal for me) and it just didn’t sit well with him. We are already within the recruiting process. Thank you for your help</p>
<p>Luckily, I remember his UG portal login! (We met at that school) I will leave out all of the basic GE pre-requisites, and list the classes directed more towards the PT major. </p>
<p>Freshman year fall: General Chemistry I and Gen Biol: Cells & Physiology
Freshman spring: General Chemistry II</p>
<p>Sophomore fall: Foundations of Kinesiology and Human Anatomy
Sophomore spring: Stats for Natural Sciences. Pre-Calculus, and Human Physiology</p>
<p>Junior fall: Abnormal Psychology, Physics I, Biomechanics, Internship in Kinesiology
Junior spring: General Physics II, Fundamentals of Motor Behavior, Sport First Aid, Internship in Kinesiology</p>
<p>Senior fall: Life-Span Development, Physiology of Exercise I, Analysis of Fitness Activities, Analysis of Aquatics (this was a swim PE class 
)
Senior spring: Research in Kinesiology, Exerc Prog/Fitness & Perform, Fitness Assess/Exerc Prescript, and Internship in Kinesiology</p>
<p>So, you and your son talked to one doctor who said that in order to do well in his undergraduate years and get into medical school, he didn’t play any sports or go to any parties. Remember, that’s just one story, and hardly typical.</p>
<p>The pre-health majors had it much worse than H did, as they took heavier science classes (think O-chem, genetics, etc.) While his classes were challenging, he found them manageable while playing a sport. He also is pretty bright and probably had a similar HS GPA as your son. </p>
<p>@billcsho Oklahoma…</p>
<p>Debi Thomas and Eric Heiden are two Olympians who went on to become doctors-I think both became orthopedic surgeons. If your son wants to do medicine and pursue sports he can do both. Many people have done this, it’s not impossible. </p>
<p>As a junior, setting one’s sights on a medical specialty seems premature. Yes, it is possible that some students know what they want to do at this time, but anesthesia has a lot of steps in between that your son has to get to before deciding. </p>
<p>How about simply deciding on pre-health? He may want to be a doctor, but all types of doctors start out in college as pre-med. </p>
<p>There are also many pre-health fields he could find himself drawn to. nurse anesthesia, physician’s assistant, physical therapy, nurse practitioner, or any medical specialty. </p>
<p>If he has an interest in sports: sports medicine, orthopedic surgery.</p>
<p>One step at a time. It’s good that he is talking to professionals in the areas he is interested in. He can also meet many more.</p>
<p>What he needs to focus on now is continuing to do well in school and pursue his interests. Sports are good.</p>
<p>@perfect thanks for the visual for him. Sometimes seeing that I can be done is the key!! @kgos16 HELPFUL information very!!! @middKid86 that is so true and what I tried to explain to him but I think HS life is getting to him and he wasn’t wanting to hear anymore </p>
<p>@pennylane2011 that is so true and most surely everything you have said I’ve told him. You all have wonderful advise and I’m totally letting him read all this. AWESOME advice!!! AWESOME</p>
<p>For most of the medical majors, like the ones penny listed above - the important thing is the pre-requisite classes that you take, not necessarily the major that you pick. So he could take many general science classes beginning freshman/sophomore year, which would give him some time to decide what path is do-able for him as he goes through school. Every student who wants to become a doctor of any kind is going to have to start by taking biology, chemistry, physics, etc. </p>
<p>What about Exercise Science?</p>
<p>High school is stressful enough, and then we parents (I include myself in this category) heap on more pressure with “what are you going to choose as your career?” when they are only 16 or 17 years old. They haven’t the slightest clue what the reality of long-term employment feels like, and can’t see much past the stress of keeping up their high school GPA and writing the much-dreaded college essays.</p>
<p>So, picking a college for an athlete means finding both a sports fit with a team/coach, plus having an academic fit that allows for student athlete to keep a decent GPA and graduate with either an employable major or with good chance of continuing on with grad school/med school.</p>
<p>Getting all the possible majors narrowed down to something in the health field is a good start for your son. Look at the possible health majors at each school that is trying to recruit him, and that might factor in when he is making his final decision.</p>
<p>After your son settles back down a bit, you might suggest other tours/interviews/shadowing opportunities for him with PT/OT, PA, etc.</p>
<p>You can get your son into the most elite school possible, with Division 1 athletics and find that he struggles to keep up. If he wants to balance athletics and academics, he might want to consider a less stressful, less competitive level of sports. </p>
<p>My niece has a full-ride softball scholarship at a smaller Division I school, and wants to be a nurse. She has a jam-packed daily schedule trying to keep up with both sports and academics. I have complete confidence that she will achieve all her goals, but she is very driven and has internal motivation. It is not an easy college life she has chosen, but she is making it work.</p>
<p>Take a deep breath, it’s okay for this path towards college and career to be jerky and twisty. It makes for a bumpy ride, but most students end up finding their passion.</p>
<p>If you really really want to help your son, don’t let him sell short his dream based on one conversation.</p>
<p>Being a top student and a varsity athlete is not an easy path, but it can be done. You have to really really want to succeed in a couple dimensions. Having said that, a number of people I went to college with successfully juggled it. One of my kids is also a student and athlete at a top university. I can tell you that sports is enriching her college experience beyond belief. And she loves her challenging classes.</p>
<p>Employers and Grad Schools appreciate student-athletes as they have often shown dedication and teamwork. Yes, the student-athletes have to learn how to manage their time. But it can be done. Just as one can have a successful career as an adult while giving time to the Community.</p>
<p>I know several doctors who run their practices but also find time to run marathons or triathlons at a very very high level.</p>
<p>Finally, the link below is a student who juggled extremely well. The NCAA recently announced its Woman of the Year… Hopefully this will be a counterweight to what the Doctor told you and your son will do some more thinking on whether he wants to make the commitment. But at least you see it’s possible….</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2014-10-20/notre-dames-elizabeth-tucker-honored-ncaa-woman-year”>http://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2014-10-20/notre-dames-elizabeth-tucker-honored-ncaa-woman-year</a> </p>
<p>Good luck! </p>
<p>@Chansfan I don’t think Oklahoma is considered mid-west.</p>