Hi, is it a good idea to put professional video gaming on your application? The game I’ve accomplished the most in is a team based strategy game called League of Legends. I’ve hit the highest rank (Challenger) in North America, which is the top 300 out of 2 million players, around .01% of the playerbase, currently maintaining the rank and have peaked rank 152, and have been offered positions from amateur teams which is basically a step to go pro in the game and perform on the national stage.
I’m wondering if this is worth putting on my application, as well as how much merit it’ll have, as more and more schools are getting into League and college League of Legends. I’m very passionate about the game and is one of the things that I’ve put a lot of time into, but I’m worried it’ll show me as someone who slacks off and plays video games instead of his schoolwork.
afaik, AOs HATE video gaming as a hobby or an EC. No matter how much time you committed or how much money you earned (it could be acceptable if you earned that money for family support and there was no other option), video gaming does NOTHING (i guess) good to society. Unless it taught you some very important lessons in your life or changed the way you perceive the world and inspired you to bring a “REAL LIFE” change, video gaming is not a good activity to put in the application.
Colleges want to take in (or at least they say so) students who are serious about real-world problems and not some gaming pro.
I am really sorry if my reply appears to be discouraging. I don’t mean it that way, but whatever I said is truth.
So, please, don’t put gaming (am talking about video games, not sport games or so) of any sort, that didn’t have any impact in your future plans or careers or society, in the application.
(and if you are planning to be a real professional gamer in the future or a game designer, then it MAY help, but otherwise, I am not sure.)
NOTE: I may be wrong. I said whatever I know or believe, please don’t make any decision based on the opinions of just one-two people.
It is fine to have high-level gaming as a common app activity. I would give some thought as how many hours you attach to that activity, and hopefully you have other activities/clubs/work to showcase.
What are you gaming goals? Are you looking to go pro? There are certainly college teams that recruit for their esports teams so that may be something to look into if you are interested in that. NACE is the esports governing body…see info here, as well as a directory of schools with esport teams. https://nacesports.org/
I don’t think AOs will necessarily see you as a slacker, but without knowing your stats, courses, and rigor, I can’t really comment on that.
Do any of the schools your are applying to have LoL as an esports team? this actually makes money for the school and they do want to do well in these competitions. I would think that would be a real EC that would be of interest to those schools.
I’m currently a high school junior. Although I currently don’t have a desire to go to the pro scene, I’m willing to try things out. My stats are 3.85 gpa (took 8 aps so far, 7 exams), and I have a 29 act but I’m retaking it in the upcoming June ACT and have been steadily improving.
I’m a junior currently and haven’t given too much thought into what colleges to apply to yet, but I’m interested in applying to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, the University of Michigan, and some UC’s. From my knowledge UMN and UMich should have a league roster for college, and most UC’s should as well. Correct me if I’m wrong.
There is a reason why parents hate video games. Kids spend endless hours in front of a screen - diverting time away from more “useful” activities like schoolwork, chores, etc.
There is also a reason why kids love video games. Great way to interact with friends, and a good way to let off some steam.
But your application will be reviewed by a bunch of parents, not your peers. So I think its doubtful that many people on the Adcom will have a good understanding of the level of your accomplishments. I don’t see any harm in mentioning this, but it really won’t move the needle much.
I have understood the same as others: AOs have traditionally not valued gaming. I have heard firsthand college counselors strongly discourage applicants from writing about it as an essay topic, for instance.
On the other hand, AOs are NOT “a bunch of parents,” as @sgopal2 said. While there are seasoned/older AOs everywhere, especially in leadership positions, regional AOs tend to be young and closer to your age than to your parents’. Although gaming is not traditionally interesting to AOs, that could be changing as entry level AOs are more familiar and accepting.
That said, it would be a big risk to put too much focus on it. If you were currently a professional and had significant earnings or other awards to mention, it might be worth it, but given what you said, my guess would be that you would be more likely than not to get an AO who wouldn’t appreciate the time spent or expertise developed from gaming.
I would be cautious of writing about video gaming as your main (or worse, only) EC. Too many college kids have flunked out by spending too many hours doing video games. My daughters really didn’t play many games as hs students, but one got into it in college (and then had a non-student boyfriend who was into it). I think she spent too much time doing that, and too late at night when she should have been sleeping. Luckily, she got over it quickly.
Do show your skill level and how much it means to you, but do balance it with other interests, activities, leadership, etc.
Of course you could say this about all sports, yet colleges bend over backward to recruit and fund athletics.
Most CS departments have a major in Game Design now, so if this is serious enough to earn a degree in, then gaming in general should no longer be seen as frivolous.
All that said, I do agree it is risky. So you would somewhere need to explain your interest as more than idle entertainment – that you value strategy or immersive environments or competition, etc. Frame it as analagous to playing chess (which is valued by colleges and is now played online) or getting sucked into an adventure novel.
Maybe put it on half your apps and omit it on the other half?
So my opinion will differ. Do what you like but do several things and use gaming as one such ec but not your only one. Gaming can teach many lessons. For my son it was how to lead and manage a group, communication skills especially for typical introverted kids, defining goals and yes skills. It takes lots of practice to get to level xxxx BUT you got to have the complete application and that 29 ain’t getting you into Michigan. So my suggestion is… Take that time and commitment to gaming and pour it into your sat /act studies. We had one simple rule. Game all you want as long as it doesn’t effect your grades. My son also brought his gaming console to college. Again, as long as it doesn’t affect the grades.
Here is an article that might be helpful
Also the Michigan organization he helped create with a bunch of engineering students and gamers…