Should I mention this in my application?

Applying to College
1

<p>Has anyone ever played Second Life? It’s a virtual world…not a video game. I can go on about this argument but that’s not the point.</p>

<p>The point is, should I advocate this? Ever since Dec 2006, I’ve been playing SL (Second Life) on and off. Players can create almost anything, interact with anyone, be anything, the world is theirs. In this virtual world, you create almost anything through their imposed 3D modeling tool. Think of it as a simpler (and possibly casual?) version of Maya, 3DS Max, AutoCAD, Blender, etc… They also incorporate complex 3D models that you can upload from external software such as the ones I stated above. You can also upload textures for clothing through manipulation of Photoshop (obviously), and create animations because the avatars you play in SL have a very generic walk. </p>

<p>Throughout the years, I’ve created some (maybe countless) pretty neat stuff. Varying from architecture to the most detailed weapons. My texturing needs some work though. I attempted to start my own clothing line, but that failed miserably due to my horrible photoshop skills. I’m starting to get pretty good at animations. Created my own original pose for my avatar and for a few friends. I’ve even started and helped out a few “businesses” within Second Life and actually gained some REAL money, only a few hundred dollars though. (You can trade Lindens, the money in Second Life, with real dollars). Although, I haven’t played in almost a year…</p>

<p>Keep in mind I’m in Teen Second Life (13 to 17), segregated from the Main Second Life (18 and over). So should I advocate this in my application?</p>

2

<p>uhhh i dont think so. i definitely wouldnt</p>

3

<p>Can you elaborate on that? Thanks :]</p>

4

<p>Nope. Don’t put that on your essay. They will reject you. Check what they need first like academic goals</p>

5

<p>If you start to make money, I could see it helping you on an MIT application. But only if its real money.</p>

6

<p>By real money, do you mean a steady income?</p>

7

<p>By real money, he means that he wasn’t just earning virtual currency.</p>

8

<p>I’d consider it. Not as your main EC, but as a supplemental material to some sort of technology based course or department / programme!</p>

9

<p>No…Colleges want kids who will be active and engaged on campus, not sitting in front of a computer. And any mention of weapons would probably be an auto reject.</p>

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<p>I feel like I completely disagree with most people posting here. What? Weapons are an auto-reject?</p>

<p>If you have found a way to do this to make your self a lot of (real) money, definitely put it down. Its a business. If you are trying to show them how much time and effort you put into the video game, don’t put it down, it makes you look uninvolved with real life.</p>

<p>It comes down to this: if you’re creating something tangible and substantial (and real), put it down. If its a way for you to say “look at all the work I put into this!” its a waste of application space.</p>

11

<p>I’m not demonstrating that I just stay home all day running my virtual businesses. I’m not gonna say “this is why you should accept me”. It’s just another extracurricular I want to put down. I socialize and go out almost everyday, I direct and write my own short films, I practice my music, I play various sports, I’m trying to say that this isn’t my life.</p>

<p>If I were to put this down, how far would I go with it? Lesser than I stated in my OP?</p>

12

<p>I wouldn’t mention it, if only for the connotations regular video games carry. I think the amount of "ehhh"s you’ve gotten on this thread should be enough to make you wary, especially since we’re younger than the adcoms.</p>

13

<p>I find it ironic that many universities and colleges are using Second Life, a video game. LMU, PSU, SDSU, USC, UCLA?, NYU, Columbia, Princeton, Northwestern, MIT?, UPenn and much more lesser known universities, colleges, or institutions.</p>

<p><a href=“http://newsroom.lmu.edu/newsroompressreleases/LMU_Professors_Bring_Real_Life_to_a_Virtual_World.htm?DateTime=633644254800000000&PageMode=View[/url]”>http://newsroom.lmu.edu/newsroompressreleases/LMU_Professors_Bring_Real_Life_to_a_Virtual_World.htm?DateTime=633644254800000000&PageMode=View&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://www.magazine.ucla.edu/features/second-life_virtual-classroom[/url]”>http://www.magazine.ucla.edu/features/second-life_virtual-classroom&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://kb.ucla.edu/articles/second-life-sl-and-education[/url]”>http://kb.ucla.edu/articles/second-life-sl-and-education&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“起源app软件园-好玩的手游-手机游戏大全-安卓市场下载 - 818App资源库”>起源app软件园-好玩的手游-手机游戏大全-安卓市场下载 - 818App资源库;
<a href=“http://secondliferesearch.blogspot.com/2007/07/current-list-of-universities-in-second.html[/url]”>http://secondliferesearch.blogspot.com/2007/07/current-list-of-universities-in-second.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://admissions.psu.edu/secondlife/[/url]”>http://admissions.psu.edu/secondlife/&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“NewsCenter”>SDSU Launches New Virtual Campus | NewsCenter | SDSU;
<a href=“http://www.marshall.usc.edu/elearning/second-life-island.htm[/url]”>http://www.marshall.usc.edu/elearning/second-life-island.htm&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“Teachers College Information Technology (TCIT) | Teachers College, Columbia University”>Teachers College Information Technology (TCIT) | Teachers College, Columbia University;
<a href=“http://blogs.princeton.edu/itsacademic/2007/04/a_second_life_for_the_university_immersive_reality_in_teaching.html[/url]”>http://blogs.princeton.edu/itsacademic/2007/04/a_second_life_for_the_university_immersive_reality_in_teaching.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“https://blogs.princeton.edu/librarian/2007/09/a_students_view_of_second_life.html[/url]”>https://blogs.princeton.edu/librarian/2007/09/a_students_view_of_second_life.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://www.law.northwestern.edu/journals/njtip/v6/n3/6/6Abril.pdf[/url]”>http://www.law.northwestern.edu/journals/njtip/v6/n3/6/6Abril.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11295[/url]”>http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11295&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://wic.library.upenn.edu/wicshops/secondlife.html[/url]”>http://wic.library.upenn.edu/wicshops/secondlife.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

14

<p>Colleges offer classes on pornography, Nazi Germany and abnormal psychology. I’m not sure I’d want to point out my personal involvement in any of these things to them.</p>

15

<p>Strange, I’ve never seen any of those in Second Life. Then again I spent little time on the Main Grid</p>

16

<p>Even though I’m not against putting Second Life there, I don’t feel it’s remarkable enough to make a good impression the way you worded it.</p>

<p>Perhaps if you mention as “helping businesses design 3D elements for a new marketing strategy venturing into virtual communities” or whatever it is you did for those businesses. The key is in the wording.</p>

<p>Still, as you say, you haven’t played it for a year and it was pretty much just some past hobby. Unless there’s a way you can link it to your current interests or talents, there’s no point in mentioning it.</p>

<p>It’s still your choice though, just do as you see fit.</p>

17

<p>I think virtual accompishments might be viewed as misplaced priorities. Just think of the volunteer work you could have done to benefit real people during those hours.</p>

<p>My daughter has over 40 million Neopoints, but she’s not putting that on her applications.</p>

18

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<p>That’s shameful, the highest I ever got was 1 million.</p>

19

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<p>Yeah, I agree. I could of raised my volunteer hours but everyone volunteers. I wouldn’t stand out unless I had something everyone else didn’t have.</p>

<p>I think Neopoints or Neopets isn’t a good analogy here. Through my virtual accomplishments, I’ve gained experience in professional modeling, animation, and rendering softwares; learned about marketing and business; and gained a substantial amount of US currency. I don’t think Neopets can accomplish as much as Second Life can. </p>

<p>I know a few people in Second Life who actually make a part-time job off of it, some teen “entrepreneurs”. I know someone who obtained a stable job at 16 to 3D design characters for a company. I can go on but I don’t want to convey that this video game is my life. It is not. I don’t play as much as I used to due to school and sport commitments and volunteer work and such. Although the game has given me much interest in pursuing a career in 3D modeling for gaming, film, and television industries.</p>

20

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<p>Emphasize THIS PART and not the fact that you got it playing some computer game. Colleges care about skills, talents, and interests, not hobbies and mindless clickfests.</p>