‘I just went for it’: Washington Spirit’s Gabby Carle details MCAT journey
As Gabby Carle walked into a team meeting in mid-March, she was greeted by applause and cheers from her Washington Spirit teammates, along with balloons spelling out “congrats.”
Carle was stunned but understood immediately what the celebration was for.
The Quebecer took the Medical College Admission Test exam and learned in February that she had scored high enough to get into medical school. Since learning about her results, her teammates spent a month showering her with praise, including calling her “Dr. Carle.”
“They celebrated me for so long,” Carle told WTOP. “When that happened in the team room, I forgot what this was about. I forgot what they were congratulating me about until I realized.”
Most athletes focus on their playing careers until they retire. But last year, Carle chose to balance her career with her interest in medicine and prepare for the exam. The defender detailed her journey through the test with WTOP, including studying through the team’s championship run and suffering a migraine on exam day.
‘I just went for it’
Carle grew up with an interest in STEM-related topics, thanks to her father, Jean, who was a physician. In high school, her interest grew, with the goal of becoming a doctor one day.
However, her interest collided with her love of soccer.
In 2021, Carle graduated from Florida State University with a 4.0 grade-point average in exercise physiology. However, she chose to play professional soccer rather than pursue medical school.
For Carle, who had been a part of the Canadian national team since her teens, “med school can wait, but soccer can’t.”
“Both professional soccer and med school require full-time (attention) and your whole commitment, so they will have to be staggered,” she told WTOP. “But for sure, I think I would have never sacrificed my soccer career for med school.”
Four years later, Carle decided it was time to reunite the two.
Without consulting friends or family, “I just went for it,” she said.
Carle began re-learning topics she learned in college while learning new subjects. She purchased a Kaplan course to help her navigate the test.
The MCAT test is divided into four sections: Chemical and Physical Foundations; Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills; Biological and Biochemical Foundations; and Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations. The scaled exam scores are from all four sections and are combined to form the total score.
Washington’s schedule helped her study. After morning training, she returned to her apartment or went to a local coffee shop and studied for two or three hours. Her teammates tagged along to the coffee shop with her, knowing Carle might not participate in conversations.
“Sometimes, if I found the conversation really interesting, I just pulled my AirPod out and just chime in, and then put the AirPod back in and keep working,” she said.
During Washington’s run to the National Women’s Soccer League Championship, Carle split her seven-hour practice sessions into sections to maintain her preparation. Following the season, she continued her sprint to the exam with more studying and practice tests throughout the Christmas holiday.
“It definitely was a grind, but when you’re in it, I think you’re just fully committed to it,” she said. “If you start thinking about how much of a grind it is, you’re going to want to stop. So for me, it was focus. This is what I have to do to be successful. And do this test well, so this is what I’m going to do.”
Grueling exam day
One January morning, as Carle got up for the MCAT, she experienced a migraine. Along with nerves and stress, she felt on edge as she arrived at the testing center.
As she read the first chemistry passage and questions, everything appeared too complex to answer. She took deep breaths, skipped the first passage and kept going with the test.
“I feel like I’ve just been put in the spin cycle in the washing machine,” Carle said. “There was a lot of doubt.”
Anxiety grew as she waited for the results. Her focus returned to the field and preseason with Washington as a helpful distraction.
Then, one day in February, she returned to her hotel room alone after training to see her results. After seeing the positive score, Carle called her boyfriend first before telling her teammates and family.
“It’s definitely a challenging test, but it’s also very rewarding once you’ve done it, to be like, ‘wow, I’ve accomplished this,'” she said.
Carle would not disclose her final score with WTOP. However, according to Kaplan, a score of 511 puts one in the higher percentile ranks among all test takers in the country.
The test results are good for three years. While she is looking at medical schools, Carle told WTOP she doesn’t plan to start applying soon.
She recently signed a new contract with the Spirit through the 2029 season, keeping her focus on the pitch for now.
“I love this area. I love the DMV, so right now I’m thinking of staying in this area,” Carle said of possible school options. “But again, you never know what happens in the future. I might end up back in Canada. Who knows?”
After her MCAT experience, Carle recommends that any athlete with off-the-field goals give it a try and put in the work to see if it is worth pursuing.
“The worst that can happen is it doesn’t happen,” Carle said. “But that’s life, and there’s so many things you can achieve in life, so why not try it?”