<p>Hi everyone. It will be a bit long'ish post, but please take your time. I am really not sure about the issue and your opinion is very important for me.</p>
<p>I have posted this on several sub-forums here since I am not sure where exactly it belongs. It is not an issue of an essay, it is more of an issue of how to approach the universities, whether I should state it on CV or not.</p>
<p>I have a question which really bothers me. I am a junior right now, thinking of applying to Ivies/top business schools. I would not say I have much of a chance for such as Sloan(MIT) or Princeton. However, what makes me unique is the fact that I have started playing poker (wait before you laugh, it's actually not gambing in a long run, it is pure math of probability and possible dispersion/variance) being 15. Right now I am 17. I have made over $100,000 by playing poker, being financially independent for 2 years right now. It wasn't a lottery, net profits were growing exponentially. I have paid for my very expensive private, kind of magnet school, I have paid for everything what I have consumed over the past 2 years. One of the reasons being for me to play poker was that my family was unable to pay for the school anymore. I am curious on whether you think I should write about poker thing and the fact I earned some money (in fact, I have earned well over $80k before turning 17). I think this is the thing which could kind of boost my application. Otherwise I don't think there is much of a chance for me. My SAT is like 2250, maybe could improve that, GPA is ok and not that many EC's except doing maths olympiads.</p>
<p>The worst part about poker is the fact it is illegal to play under 18. I have been playing online with a permission of my family of course. I viewed poker as a way for me to learn how to handle the money. It taught me money-management skills, emotional control and deep quantitative analysis. It is exactly what I will need in future for trading. Is there a way for me to write about poker as a good thing, or do you think top Ivies will see it as a strict NO on application and reject me straight away? Thanks a ton.</p>
<p>P.S So should I try to make an unique essay out of it? If you actually look up wall street hires poker players - Hledat Googlem or go to an interview for top proprietary trading shops, such as Jane Street Capital, you will find out they are really into such things. They ask you questions on game theory/probability. So please, don't call it pure gambling.</p>
<p>If it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck… but I won’t mention the “G” word. </p>
<p>I don’t think admissions officers at the most selective schools here in the US will necessarily appreciate your extra curricular. How much TIME do/did you spend at this activity, when you could have been doing other things? As a parent, I sure wouldn’t want either of my kids doing this activity on the internet-- for a multitude of reasons.</p>
<p>Why you would not want your kids to do this “activity” as you called it?</p>
<p>Maybe it is because you know nothing about it and the laws which restrict human freedom are there only because consumers have limited knowledge (which is not the problem of “activity” but the problem of such consumers)? </p>
<p>If the admission officer would be libertarian, there would be no question from me…</p>
<p>Using the “reasons” you cited in your original post, I do not think this activity will boost your application, or your chances. Your parents were “unable to pay” for your education any longer. Who do you think would have been on the hook for any losses that you incurred? I applaud you for earning money and paying for high school but I question your judgment, and so will most college admission’s departments.</p>
<p>OP, as a fellow “online poker pro” myself, I recommend that you not write about poker in your essay. While you and I both realize that winning poker requires discipline, sharp analytical skills, and sound money management strategies (all of which must also be used to successfully trade), the harsh reality is that most people outside of poker, even very intelligent ones, have a hard time wrapping their head around the fact that poker is not gambling.</p>
<p>Despite the numerous similarities to trading, poker has a very negative stigma attached to it, and I have learned the hard way that when interacting with others and applying to jobs/ schools, you are in general better off staying away from this subject. I’m not sure if you read 2+2 poker forums, but there was a thread there a while back in BFI about this topic (can’t find it now), and most agreed that the general public is overall not accepting of professional poker as being legitimate.</p>
<p>If MIT and Princeton are complete reach schools, and you think you really don’t have very high chance of getting in, then I suppose you could try an essay on this topic as there is an outside chance that the admissions committee will not look unfavorably on this and it could get your application noticed. But overall you’re better off shying away from this subject.</p>