@HyeKye the problem I see is that your only source of income was gaming, you should’ve been working a job where the income is more guaranteed. Since you have set hours on a regular job you can plan your life better, that’s what I did when my life was torn apart. The summer before my senior year my father hung himself which led my mother into a deep depression so much so that she could not work. So instead of placing the well being of my family on placing in the top 5 percent of a game I went and worked every single day after school and would get home dead tired at 9:00 at night, but I would still find the time to study. I had my priorities ordered the same as you did. Luckily life has improved since my mother was able to start working again, but for 4 or 5 months I felt like the world was out to get me. My advice get a real job and plan out your studying around that. I also apologize if my previous post came off as offensive.
@HyeKye, I’m not trying to be cruel, but what makes you think you would make the varsity crew at a D1 school? it’s true that many teams take walk-on freshmen, but many of those wash out. Here are some of the things you’ll need to have as a competitive rower.
Physicality. I hate to say it, but unless you’re a woman you’re on the short side for D1 rowing. It sounds like you’re strong and lean, both of which are good, but if you’re shorter than your boat mates you won’t be able to match their stroke.
Devotion. Are you willing to get up at 5 am for morning practice and then lift later in the day? How do you feel about weeping sores covering both your hands? You sound like you’re committed to the idea of rowing but I wonder if the reality will match your expectations. There’s a reason they called the crew team “The Cult” at my daughter’s prep school.
Timing and coordination. Rowing is not all just about pulling hard. You need to be able to keep the boat steady and stay in rhythm with your boat mates. It’s harder than it looks.
Technique. Feathering, stroke length, recovery, finish, set, etc. Rowers get more efficient with experience.
Why not try the rowing club at UCSC? Better yet, attend a rowing camp this summer to try it out. After a week on the water learning the basics you should have a better idea if this is a sport for you.
@Sportsman88 Is their a reward to it? Rhodes has like a benefit to your accomplishments. Sounds cool though, I’ll look into it 
@Undecided3494 No you’re good man. Sorry to hear that, we face somewhat similar circumstances. I understand what you’re saying about getting a job and working around it. It is true, I looked for an easy way out of my situation (if you could call it easy).
GMT7 actually is an adult, not a high school student, and he knows what he’s talking about although his words are harsh.
Also, it’s difficult to guess your actual situation from your earlier posts (3.1 with no work doesn’t translate as “hard working and disciplined”.) You can’t blame posters for reading that and not immediately thinking “he must have been working a lot in order to feed his siblings whom he’s raising alone.”
No matter what, you WILL be judged by your GPA. So that HAS TO be your primary focus. Everything else should be added on to it.
So, you found a job you could excel at and did, in order to provide for yourself and your family. That’s good. But it doesn’t translate into academic discipline - it’s different. Like most freshmen, you’ll need to learn how to study in college. It’ll be different from what you did or didn’t do in high school and even if you have a steep learning curve you’ll still have to learn.
Why the Rhodes? What about the Marshall, Boren, NSF… scholarships?
Why UCSC (is it near your home so that you’d go home and take care of your siblings on top of going to school)? Will you be living on campus?
The extensive video game skills makes some of the overly-optimistic statements make a little more sense. Statements like I think I’ll start a college sport and make it like what UCLA is, or claiming to know millionaires just waiting for a chance to fund such program for a pat on the back. But as MYOS1634 has pointed out, the key flaw to your plan is that you can’t just turn on the video game cheat mode and automatically get good grades in college.
From one former bright high school slacker to another, you need to be putting your energy into developing study skills so you can succeed academically. I was similarly cocky coming out of high school until freshman year at college kicked my butt and I had to learn how to study my Sophomore year. Sounds like you’re plenty motivated to find success in college, but don’t underestimate how much effort the academic side of things will require. If you’re serious about pursuing something like Rhodes you really should focus almost all of your energy on the academics and then feel free to try out the club rowing the first year before coming up with some grandiose plan for taking the sport to the next level.
nevermind…
You boast about your video gaming prowess-- sorry, I’m not the least bit impressed. The huge amount of time you acknowledge you spend not just *“sitting around and playing for fun, or “skating by” on the computer. I worked hard at being the best…” *sounds like a gaming addiction that is distracting you from achievements that really matter. What do you have to show for all that time spent gaming? Did your gaming prowess net you recognition when you applied to college? You think the Rhodes committee will give a crap?
You’ve turned this pursuit of a Rhodes Scholarship into a Holy Grail, likes it’s some magic quest that will turn your life around. This Rhodes delusion will be just as effectual for you as the Holy Grail delusion was for the medieval knights. When people set overly ambitious objectives (like News Year’s resolutions w unrealistic weightloss goals) it always fails.
As for your boast about you being some alpha wolf who’s going to be doing the hiring. What marketable passion do you have that’s going to take the world by storm? School slackers who made it big had a marketable skill/product that they leveraged. So far, you haven’t voiced anything marketable in this thread, only empty braggadocio. Please don’t point to gaming as a SUSTAINABLE career.
I suggest you turn off the video game, set reasonably attainable step-wise goals, and just hit the books.
“…Highschool wasn’t challenging enough so I settled for Bs with no studying involved…”
Excuses …excesses! Actually the reality is often in a reverse order for the contents of your above statement. I would have rephrased it as:
" Did not want to study, so settled for Bs and as a result did not comprehend the subjects enough to find them challenging in highschool"!
@GMTplus7 rightfully stated above: “Discipline doesn’t suddenly happen”
@Sue22 Sorry, I dont know why your message didn’t load earlier when I was commenting. Thats for the input about the actual sport (not my life) haha. And yeah, Im a former swimmer (competed at a pretty high level locally). So Im keen to waking up. As for the height, I thought I was average but if im a little short I could see the problem there.//The points about trying it out over the summer is what i planned to do. I actually plan to take this summer and get ahead in my math course and use my free time to develop a holistic sports “dude”? (i don’t really know what to call it haha) Im just trying to figure out what sport to pick.
@GMTplus7 I feel like you only half read what I wrote. Placing in the top 5% of millions of video gamers wasn’t a goal, it wasn’t something I necessarily wanted. I did it to help pay for rent, for food, etc. Basic things for my brother and sister. So what do I have to show for my 3 years of gaming? A roof over my head and food on the table.
As for the alpha thing you describe, well I mean Im not going to just spell out what I plan to do with an Oxford Degree and how it helps my marketing plan for later.
I don’t see why YOU don’t see that the Rhodes Scholarship is a step-wise goal. I was going to take up a sport anyways in college, I was planning on doing extensive volunteer service anyways, I was… etc… All the criteria for a Rhodes Scholar I was planning on doing anyways. The rhodes Scholarship is just the motivation to actually accomplish what I set out.
@uclaparent9 “did not want to study, so settled for Bs and as a result did not comprehend the subjects enough to find them challenging in highschool” I don’t get your statement. People struggle to achieve a 3.2 gpa average with studying, I did it without ever picking up a book. Comprehending the subjects was no tasks, the classes were literally A-B-C, what was there to not comprehend? If you considered high school challenging then woah… thats pretty bad.
Resolving for next semester to simply turn in all your assignments and strive to get As, is a REASONABLE and achievable INCREMENTAL goal.
Planning your life’s success on the anticipation of a 4.0 GPA in a UC you have yet to be admitted into, plus leadership roles in multiple organizations that you have previously demonstrated zero interest in, plus elite athletic attainment in a sport you have never tried nor even exists at your present school is less than a house of cards.
Life is not a video game where instantaneously you can be an elite soldier slinging a weightless assault rifle and suddenly kickingass.
@GMTplus7 despite what you may think, I do appreciate your comments. so thank you. But Im going to stop the conversation there; I feel like every time i get on this website im having to explain my self. thank you though. Really.
I think the OP is admitted to UCSC and will be attending this fall. I do think you underestimate the amount of effort it is going to take you to get a high GPA, although it may depend somewhat on your major. Students with high GPAs have a lot of self discipline and habits that give them an edge in the classroom. You don’t have much practice at this. One reason you are getting a lot of skepticism is that you haven’t really proven that you have those academic chops to date. Plenty of people SAY they are very bright. Not so many actually can put in the elbow grease to make something of it. And honestly… to adults with a lot more experience than you have, your Rhodes plan sounds somewhat ridiculous. You can explain and explain – that is still how it sounds.
@intparent See thats the problem. You guys are missing the point. Its just motivation. Its not like my whole life is going to be invested. Its just something I’d like to do. jesus, you guys act like im making this my life. I just asked about ROWING!
You could put every second from now until your senior year into this (your whole life), and it would not get you there. What is the point of having a motivator that is so high that you aren’t going to reach it? We see students out here with grandiose plans all the time. And often they crash and burn because they can’t set realistic goals and take the steps to reach them. You need to figure out what you want to major in, what your career goals are, get the best GPA you can muster in your major, seek to get internships or research experience in that area, and have great relationships with profs so you have strong recommendations coming out of college. Those are the goals that it would be best to focus on, not an award that is given to 32 out of the 1.8 million students earning a bachelor’s degree each year.
@intparent
Im pursuing political science which I have internships for (because I was recognized by district senators and through other networking outlets). All I’m going to say is remember this post 4 years from now. Ill post my valedictorian speech here. Your all invited 
Motivation is buying yourself a cute workout outfit when you want to lose 10 lbs. It’s not getting Donald Trump to invest in moving the Miss Universe pageant to your town so you can be a contestant.
@GMTplus7 you done yet?
//
This GMT guy is a parent? just doesnt know when to stop commenting. lol
Guys, professional gaming is like professional
Sports. The relationship to casual gaming is the same as NFL to playing on the street with friends. It takes a lot to be paid to play. It’s like this kid made the Olympics in his sport and yes it gets recognition in the 'real world. ’ (This poster is likely well known.)
Op: you have skills. However the type of skills you developed aren’t the same as what you’ll need to get a B in college, let alone an A.
At this point, you know how to wing it to reach a B level product, which in college translates to low grades. Or you know how to produce an occasional A paper whichyou then leverage tobspend time doing something else. You don’t know how to get to an A level in college and consistently. Imagine if a player who took four months to get to level 10 in the game you’re good at, thinks he can do the same as you, without a huge learning curve, without mistakes, without pain. You’d think that kidbis delusional because he hasn’t got the skills yet. Doesn’t mean he can’t get there but you’d be skeptical.
Curiosity :Why didn’t you apply to colleges that have gaming as a varsity sport and even give scholarships?
More practical :
Are your siblings still at home and are you still expected to take care of them? Will you live on campus or commute?
Since you no longer will be gaming and will devote the time spent on making money through this skill, hOh will you feed them and keep a roof on their head? Or will you continue pro gaming while in college - and what will happen when the competition eats into your time for classes?
Why a fellowship that isn’t supported at the University you’ve chosen, rather than one that is?
My plan, if you really want the Rhodes, would be:
If you live on campus
- start training for rowing and participate in the club
- if living on campus, participate in your hall’s governing body and have a positive impact
If not living on campus, check to see if there’s a commuter student group and join it; if not, create one. Beware of commuting times and fatigue.
In either case: - focus on getting a 3.75+ GPA, figuring out right now where the tutoring center is, its schedule and process to get tutors, get familiar with their resources before school starts (that’s how you get to an A in college. You’re not expected to make it on your own but you’re supposed to have enough self awareness and enough humilitynto knoW Everyone needs help to go from B to A); as soon as school starts schedule meetings at the writing center three days before a paper is due, using your syllabus, and during the first week make it to office hours with your outlined notes + questions based on the reading/ problem set/lecture + of course 100% perfect participation in your honors classes.
Check right now what the deadlines are for transferring to another university if you manage to do all that and a GPA of 3.7 and higher (not common and not to be taken for granted). Think of what major you’re in, what program your university doesn’t offer, and why you’d transfer there. If the deadline for transfers is this November you’re out of luck because you won’t have your first semester grades yet and thus won’t be able to transfer. Look for universities in California where there have been Rhodes scholars in the past 20 years - Check out Pitzer, Pomona, Occidental?
Having a big goal means planning all the smaller goals along the way and meeting each h of them. What’s your first goal going to be?
@MYOS1634 I have a plan to send money back home for my sister and brother. (kind of hush hush on the topic, lets just say it only really works in college.)
I do agree about the jump from B’s to A’s. In junior high a teacher called me out and said the same thing. “If you can barely get A’s in jr, what makes you think you’ll do the same in HS. You aren’t going to suddenly turn a switch on and now you study every day.” - #religionteacher… He was right though, and so are you. I really need to find it in my self to devote the time and effort into studying.
You’ve probably been the most helpful, I really appreciate your comments. Thank you so much.
So you already had an intent to do it in HS based on my reading of that conversation… and didn’t. I think you MAY be able to get good grades in college. But I honestly don’t see you suddenly leaping to the truly outstanding quality of achievement needed for a Rhodes. Sports are the least of it. Also, college is harder than HS. It isn’t like the step up you need to make is from the Bs you were getting in HS to As now – it is a bigger step up. I will say that poli sci is a major on the easier end of the scale to get a good GPA (vs. STEM). Sounds like you will be working part time in college as well if you need to send money home to the sibs. One thing about poli sci is that most of the internships available in the summer are unpaid – it is tough to land a paying gig in that field as a college student. If you need to earn to help your family, that may be a challenge.