Over the summer I got involved in the competitive Super Smash Bros Melee and 64 scenes in my city. I have been to many tournaments and have placed decently high (9th place, 13th place) in some, which has landed me a spot on the city rankings. In 64 I am 13th in the city and in Melee my ranking is much less impressive (84th) but I am ranked (not everyone makes it into the rankings.
I was considering writing about a tournament experience in one of my essays or putting my ranking in my resume. Will the admission reps know or care what I’m talking about? It’s not like I sit at home on the computer alone all day, I go to physical tournaments in which I meet other people and compete in a bracket. Then again, it is a video game.
It depends on which major you’re going into. If you’re going into anything except for video game design, programming,etc, then I wouldn’t mention it. Even though it may not be true, it gives off the feel that you just sit home and play games all the time.
This is an area that is gaining popularity but isn’t really well known yet. For some younger and more enlightened Admissions Officers might well be a big plus but for others, probably most, it will be looked upon negatively.
There are some schools, such as San Jose State, where e-sports is big and well known. A few (I think 2) even give varsity scholarships for e-sports. So you might research the schools you are interested in as for some it may be a plus.
I know that if you are top in the top in the world in some e-sports like starcraft, you can make 6 figures yearly! If that is the case, it better be a huge hook (ironically they are making more money than most college graduates…) I am not sure how much money you get if you are good at Super Smash Bros but it doesn’t sound like you are on an elite level and making tons of cash.
If you don’t want to you definitely don’t have to put your exact ranking, but can say that you are ranked. I don’t see how putting that on your resume would negatively impact you, since you have clearly put a good deal of time and dedication into this, and it is a extra-curricular activity. Plus, part of the resume includes explanations for activities, so you wouldn’t have to just list your involvement and not be able to explain it. If you want to include it in your essay, you could definitely explain how you went into it for the video games, but came out with life lessons (if you did) or something like that. Colleges love to see that you have a passion, and if this sort of thing is your passion, you shouldn’t leave it out. I would say consulting with a guidance counselor or a teacher would be beneficial, especially one who doesn’t know much about video games, because they would be able to tell you whether you are framing yourself as a couch potato or someone with a passion.
I would coach you to try to start a video game club at your school…it shows that you you are taking an interest that you have and then showing leadership, and sharing it with your school community.
Sorry, but I think listing video games as a “passion” will show admissions that you do not have a reality-based, productive passion. Colleges are looking for future world leaders, problem-solvers, and raw genius, not students whose idea of meaningful social contact is gaming next to someone.
I think that fauve shows a good point in how different the responses can be. From the view of some, video games are strategic problem-solving games that revolve around allocating resources to overcome obstacles in a creative manner, requiring a great deal of strategy, almost like chess. This is why ESPN has started broadcasting certain games, and some even consider gaming a sport. (Given, Super Smash Bros. is not really that type of game…) From the view of others, however, video games are a waste of time and cannot be considered any more skillful than watching TV. I think that Troyus and ksh323 make really good points that it depends on the admissions officer and the school and that not being on an elite level may detract from the point.
“(Given, Super Smash Bros. is not really that type of game…)”
You wanna go bro? Take your IGNANT, UNEDUCATED, WORTHLESS OPINION and get outta here. /s
I still say only list it in a fun fact kind of area and not on your resume. I made a Pokemon video once on YouTube that has over 200k views but that is simply not worth mentioning.
I think considering the responses I won’t put it on my resume; as it turns out it didn’t really fit into my essays either, so it worked out. I didn’t start playing so that I could put it on my application, I just thought that maybe it might count for something regardless. It seems depending on the person, it either makes me look marginally better or significantly worse, so my best bet is leaving it off. I will probably ask my counselor though. To me and an increasing number of people it is closer to chess than television, but I don’t want to take the risk that someone who sees it more like television will read my application.
I play Sheik a lot. Young Link is the character I consider my main, but I don’t get as many chances to play him dude to his terrible matchups with most fast fallers.
My son spends a fair amount of time on Minecraft forums advising parents and teachers who come there to ask how to make Minecraft educational for their kids, how to adapt it for their special needs kids, or even “what the heck is this Minecraft thing?” He started this when he saw that some of the kids on the forum gave the parents bad advice. (He doesn’t actually even do Minecraft much anymore, except as a way to share an interest with his little sister.) But, I don’t suppose it will go on his applications, since it doesn’t really speak to his overall plan to major in physics, he doesn’t keep track of time spent, and he does it under a pseudonym.
But, I think if you did something like that for your video games, it could be sort of a leadership role.
He was playing an indie game (through Steam) that was new but growing fast. He had some position as a CA (community advisor?) helping newbies learn the game and posting helpful things on the forum. He got a free t-shirt, some in-game stuff, and got to play in games with some YouTubers who he says are well known.
Again, he probably won’t list that, but I think one might figure a way to list something like that.