Maybe it's okay to be a well-rounded student...

higheredrocks
Fri, 19 Feb 2016 20:09:51 +0000

@soxmom – I also have a gamer S17 (we actually watched the ESPN2 ESport tournament referenced in the Fortune article). Despite attending computer game design camp (iD Tech) since he was 8, he has zero interest in actually doing gaming design or programming (my suggestion of coding was just as successful as yours) – probably the only engineering majors he is sure that he doesn’t want. His preferred online game is played by the equivalent of club teams on college campuses, so no chance of getting on the teams that might actually win money (unless one plays professionally on the international circuit – fortunately, not my son’s dream). And yes, I am the enabler that bought him the gaming laptop of death and offered to take him to the international championship semifinals in Chicago next fall (they coincide with his 18th birthday).

I also struggle with the – “how is he going to show his personality on his app and in his essays” issue. He hates talking about himself, is unwilling to discuss anything remotely personal, and his humor tends toward the dry and snarky (his gamer tag is a variation on “godofsarcasm”). Hoping his GC can guide him through it and come up with something genuine and not totally generic.