<p>Hi, Im a newcomer in this forum and I have a question regarding extra-curriculars. </p>
<p>Does being involved in E-Sports and winning in some amateur tournaments count as a viable EC for US universities? </p>
<p>This is not a troll post, I hope I could get constructive replies. Thanks everyone.</p>
<p>PS. Im sorry if I post this thread in the wrong place.</p>
<p>I think this is kind of a gamble. If you’re going to use that as an EC, you HAVE to spend your supplemental essay explaining why they should take e-sports seriously (compare it to chess, etc, etc). That being said, using a whole essay to justify one extracurricular is a HUGE gamble, especially considering that they won’t necessarily accept based on this one extracurricular. I was pretty good at Starcraft when it just came out , and was pretty active on the competitive scene, but I chose not to mention it at all in my application because it was just TOO risky, plus it crowded out my other excellent extracurriculars. You HAVE to prove to admissions that its not JUST another hobby, that its something that you’re passionate about. But again, the problem with this is that you have to pull this off with AMAZING essays JUST TO GET BACK TO GROUND ZERO. Even when you are AT ground zero, this huge investment crowds out room to express other extracurricular accomplishments which might be more appealing to the admissions. You need to couple this with STELLAR SAT’s and grades in order to show them that you’re not just a slacker, and give an inspiring story about how computer games helped you in a time of need. The only way I would see this really working is if you were a CS major and expressed your love of CS through gaming, coupled with a story about how this game helped you improve as a human and advance your goals in the real world. If you can pull all of that off, it could end up being a VERY UNIQUE AND ATTRACTIVE application. But its a HUGE gamble, and I don’t know whether I would take that bet UNLESS I had little to lose (no other extracurriculars or unique abilities).</p>
<p>starcraft II btw, not starcraft 1 lol</p>
<p>I don’t think you should do it unless you’re an actual pro (i.e. Pokebunny in SC2 but even then it’s risky). The problem with gaming is that they may associate it with the lazy, antisocial stereotype which doesn’t help you in any major you apply to. I guess if that’s your ONLY EC, you might think to take the risk but if you have anything else then I don’t think you should mention gaming at all. Remember that most admissions officers aren’t gamers and will just use whatever preconceived notions they have.</p>
<p>If you’re Pokebunny from SC2, I would probably give it a shot.</p>
<p>First off, if a college holds similar preconceived notions as the above poster (#4), that college is extremely biased and ignorant, and is not a school that even deserves your consideration. I don’t think it is a risk at all. I don’t understand why pursuing something you enjoy should even be considered a risk in the college application process. Just make clear your passions and show how you can tie together your extracurricular with your professional career goals. However, my real advice is this: stay true to your passions and don’t allow a petty college application process to validate your individualism.</p>
<p>That being said, DeMusliM > Pokebunny.</p>
<p>If you want an idea of what I’m talking about, go to Youtube and search for Day9’s “my life of starcraft” Daily 100. He gives a really passionate speech about why starcraft meant so much for him and his brother. Btw, he goes to Harvey Mudd, which is a pretty good school.</p>
<p>@Castielyse, this is true.</p>
<p>Day9 went to harvey mudd for undergrad and already graduated from usc for graduate school </p>
<p>The thing with gaming is that your grades will most likely suffer to some extent, and if you’re good enough to do it professionally then it’s pretty much like a job but not a job, I don’t think I’m saying it right haha. I guess if you have high GPA/SAT it’s safer.</p>
<p>People are passionate about drugs, and yet you still shouldn’t put it in your college application otherwise they’ll think you might relapse and become addicted. (edit: this statement is unrelated to thread)</p>
<p>Oh and the only career you can make out of an amateur pro gamer is a pro pro gamer. Starcraft skills don’t transfer to anywhere else :I</p>
<p>Wow, thanks for all the replies! The game I am aiming in is “Dota2” , if you are not sure what that is refer to “LoL”. Is it worth it to get into the amateur scene with a low time investment and add other ECs (Im thinking of Handball and orchestra atm) or should I just drop E-Sports completely and focus on other stuff instead? And is it worth it going against the biased stereotype?</p>
<p>Bump… need more replies…</p>
<p>no I don’t think “e-sports” will be a respected EC at all. you will probably be better off focusing on handball and orchestra.</p>
<p>I think you can manage to make it sound respectable through a good essay (probably the short answer on the common app). Is it your only EC, though? If it is, then it is rather risky.</p>
<p>Haha, it’s too late now, but I wonder what would’ve happened if I had included playing Pok</p>