I have (in a team) set a world record for a robotics competition in 5th grade, and I was wondering whether putting this on my college application would be relevant / if it will even help me, as that is what sparked by continued interest in it up to now.
Might be good in an essay! For an achievement that makes them say “We need this person on campus,” though, they might prefer more recent exploits.
I think you can discuss how that early experience impacted on your development and interests and subsequent achievements.
If you write an essay where it fits in, you could mention it in passing. I would not list it in activities, nor pick an essay topic just to fit it in. Colleges don’t really consider awards from elementary school in the application process (maybe national spelling bee… ). :bz
I asked a similar question for my kid about a middle school achievement and was told unequivocally not to list it. It begs the question “haven’t they done anything impressive since then?” Certainly could be worth mentioning in an essay, as long as it isn’t the main focus.
If you were competing against other elementary school kids, then I would not put it on your list of achievements.
But, as other posters have already advised: writing about it in your essay as an event which inspired your present ambitions is fine.
Thanks a lot
Have you continued activities in robotics? If yes, then I would talk about it to show continued interest.
In my accumulated experience, admissions committees want to see unremitting determination on part of the prospective applicant. So, if you’re going to use robotic building efforts taken from individually competed tournaments you need to demonstrate unceasing enthusiasm for the topic. Any such university acceptance commission will desire proof that your interest prevails nowadays just as much as it did at a prior time. Then if you’ve applied to a chosen school with a top rank in artificial intelligence and computer programming generally [ie. Georgia Tech] you must be willfully dedicated [in this academic pursuit]. You may be able to draw upon science fiction and its copious relevance in the engineering disciplines to show where your ideas have lead you and what you’ve done with them. But the college faculty prefer that you convey action, which indicates progress at the level that affirms their ongoing intellectual enclosure [as a good fit]. On a last note, if after having read this and are in the same place as the original poster… try to find some statistical learning textbooks and hope that they help you [to guide and inspire].