<p>my freshman and sophomore years, I was addicted to World of Warcraft, an online video game. If I had to estimate the amount of time I spent playing the game, I'd say at least 1700 hrs. I did well during those years, and had good extra-curriculars, but quite frankly, it was something that kept me from doing as well as I otherwise could and probably would have. If I were to critically assess my resume/application as a whole, I'd probably say that there is a gap that I know is filled by WoW that a college admissions person would probably expect to be filled with free time/relaxation (which WoW did honestly take the place of).</p>
<p>rather than try to cover that gap by trying to overstate certain extracurriculars that I did, i thought it might be better to actually turn my experience with the game into one of the supplemental essays. not, by any means, try to be like "oh i had a problem and this is my excuse for not having better grades, have pity on my soul," but turn it into a really unique, super creative essay that might pull the attention of an admissions officer and make me stand out. there are so many neat anecdotes and clever metaphors that i can pull from my experience with the game. </p>
<p>i've come to the realization that most of the applicants to the very top tier of schools have the stats to get them into the main pool, and that once you're there the only thing you can do is try to stand out in some way. i think that an essay like this could definitely make me stand out; what i'm not sure about is whether or not it will make me stand out in a bad way. </p>
<p>IMHO, I would look for a different topic for your supplemental essay. I can’t see any essay on the topic of WoW that would enhance your application. :o</p>
<p>To respectfully disagree with Kdog, I don’t think the topic of your essay matters as much as HOW you present it and how much it reveals about you.</p>
<p>Really depends on how you can present it. I’m not against it if you’re confident enough about how good it will be, but if you have to “try hard” to make it creative, I don’t think it’s the best idea.</p>
<p>Two of my favorite college admissions quotes pertain to essays. Whatever topic you choose, as you prepare to write your essay, please keep these thoughts in mind:</p>
<p>What You Don’t Know Can Keep You Out Of College by Don Dunbar</p>
<p>“If the admissions office door has four locks on it, the first two keys are test scores and school record, and the third is a special talent or some other accomplishment or quality. What is the fourth key? It’s “character.” An old fashioned word, it means the way you develop your inner qualities: intellectual passion, maturity, social conscience, concern for community, tolerance and inclusiveness.”</p>
<p>Acing The College Application by Michele A. Hernandez</p>
<p>“Colleges look for students who show initiative and passion. Those are the two mantras you should repeat to yourself over and over as you fill out your application. Think passion and intellectual depth. If there is one single area that admissions officers are looking for above all others, it is intellectual firepower. Though there are many valedictorians, there are few who show a deep and sincere love of learning. Those are the ones who are accepted most often into the most selective colleges.”</p>
<p>WoW (or whatever else you choose) needs to somehow include some of the above.</p>
<p>As a WoW user myself before, I want to warn on one possible essay aspect: how WoW is a complicated business.</p>
<p>I know WoW involves tons of theory-crafting, calculations, reflexes and cunning, but I don’t think there’s any chance to prove to the admissions office that these aspects of WoW are on par with AP Calculus or something as official.</p>
<p>Unless of course, you wrote a book about WoW theory crafting / strategies that sold thousands of copies. That at least shows passion I guess.</p>
<ol>
<li>“my freshman and sophomore years, I was addicted to World of Warcraft.”<br></li>
</ol>
<p>Just as colleges would prefer teacher recommendations from your junior or senior year teachers in high school, they probably want to hear about what you are most passionate about TODAY, not something you did 2 years ago, but have since dropped.</p>
<ol>
<li>As @melody10511 suggested, many other students might also be passionate WoW players, so the topic might be overdone, unless you write something completely different from everyone else.</li>
</ol>
<p>I agree with gibby’s suggestion that it may be better to do a topic on something a bit more recent in your life. You could incorporate WoW as a foil or something similar, perhaps, but I’d avoid talking about it in any serious way. The intricacies of video games very rarely make for interesting topics unless the listener/reader is also immersed in the same game, and even then it may be hit or miss.</p>
<p>As such, if you do decide to use WoW as a topic for your essay, please get people who aren’t very immersed in internet culture to proofread it for you. No matter how interesting or unique internet people may think our internet or gaming observations have been, real world people just don’t find them as interesting. So I’ll be interested to see if you can pull off truly interesting anecdotes relating to your online play, as they so often turn out to be anything but – no offense intended!</p>
<p>Another point to take into account is that though we’re in a world that’s rapidly becoming more and more technologically inclined, adcoms are likely to be from older generations who may not be familiar with and “get” or appreciate today’s abstract and absurdist humour. I’m not sure if that’s the style your writing will take, and I really don’t mean to presume it is. However, that seems to be the current online trend, so I hope you’ll distance yourself from it, and make your essay more unique in the process. :)</p>
<p>Best of luck with whatever you decide to do! :D</p>
<p>thank you so much for all of this advice, guys… i think it was really constructive! I haven’t really sat down and truly thought about or tried to decide what I’ll be writing about, but stuff like this will definitely help me when I do :)</p>
<p>Personally, I think it’s a poor topic for an essay. With all due respect, ignore the advice from other students about this, and listen only to adults. Adults will be reading your essay, not other high school seniors.</p>
<p>I don’t see any way in which to turn playing games that much into a positive essay for you, in the eyes of the likely readers of the essay.</p>
So I’ll be interested to see if you can pull off truly interesting anecdotes relating to your online play, as they so often turn out to be anything but – no offense intended!</p>