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It's that time of year again for high school seniors to be applying to college. Now it's my turn to go through the process. And the reason for this blog is that I have a valid question to ask TL. The Stanford supplement asks for what some of my favorite events from this past year were. Well, if I didn't put WCG 2010, I would be lying.
I went to WCG on Sunday, the day of the finals between Flash and Kal, which I watched live. I really genuinely enjoyed the experience and I have a signed shirt from Jaedong and memories of some wonderful people on TL to prove it. Do you guys think this has a place on my application, or will I be shooting myself in the foot?
If you are curious about my other stats or places I'm applying to, feel free to ask. Also, if you have suggestions for my Stanford app, please feel free to contribute, since I'm uber stressed and could use some quality advice.
 
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I currently go there.
I love your enthusiasm but gray-haired women reading 1000+ essays aren't exactly going to share your fervor.
Don't do it
You are trying to get into university not promote esports.
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yeah sc is not college app material, sorry =/
everyone should avoid this
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If I was trying to get into Stanford, I'd write my essays on subjects I know that aren't looked down upon by older generations... Gaming is frowned upon by older generations and I'd avoid any writing on it for anything extremely important like college apps.
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I see the response is overwhelmingly negative and for good reason. But for some reason or another, I really want to do it anyway. I must be secretly masochistic.
Perhaps a better question would be who specifically looks at these essays?! I figured these readers would be in their late twenties to early forties, but maybe I'm just completely off. At least the people I've met who were qualified UC essay readers have all been fairly young. Early thirties mostly.
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I wrote my essay about me being a middle age italian plumber trapped in a mushroom world. Got into UCLA my favorite school.
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Actually, I would do it, as long as the writing itself conveys the emotion of the event and is written well then the person reading it will be able to recognize that. Not to mention that colleges are not just looking at the content but the person behind it. Hell, at stanford I doubt they even give a flying you know what about what you say, just as long as it sounds good. So go ahead and write about whatever you want, just make it sound good.
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It depends on whether or not the person appraising your essay is good at it or not. Ideally, they're looking at how well you present an idea and how well you write rather than what you're actually writing about, but unfortunately the negative stigma commonly associated with any video game persists. Basically, you could write about WCG and still get in, but it sure as hell won't improve your chances. It's a small risk, but one that I would recommend avoiding since it has no potential benefit.
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I will be the voice of unreason and say 'go for it'.
(A good percentage of the undergrads here don't strike me as ~srs business~ about academics so it might not be all that uncommon to write about unconventional subjects. One caveat: I know next to nothing about the undergraduate applications process)
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On second thourght, if you are an excellent writer (and have a clear direction on what you are trying to achieve) you can definitely make it happen.
If you are a mediocre-good writer, forget about it, unless you don't care for Stanford.
You are going to have to admit and then combat head on the stigma of video gaming. At the same time, you will need to somehow support that this shows you would be a qualified undergraduate. All in 2-3 paragraphs. No mean task.
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tbh, i think the best thing to do is lie
just write whatever makes u sound the best - wcg isnt it
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idk dude it's kinda a big risk. if you are a really good writer and can make it so it doesn't come off like ur obsessed with games then maybe...
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my advice is don't take any advice from people here unless they've specifically said they have experience (writing or reading app papers) or have some qualification, even then take it with a grain of salt.
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On December 22 2010 15:59 HeavOnEarth wrote:
my advice is don't take any advice from people here unless they've specifically said they have experience (writing or reading app papers) or have some qualification, even then take it with a grain of salt.
I would surmise that the group that has replied is in or has graduated from college. The app letter is about writing ability not the content as much, just because someone has top grades does not mean they can write and the ability to write is tantamount in college. As a polisci/public admin grad, I wrote so many papers it was ridiculous, being able to get the writing done in a timely manner and convey the knowledge efficiently is a key skill. It will be easier to write about the WCG then make something up because the emotion was really there, whereas making something up might not convey that properly. Write more then one app and have someone proofread them and suggest which one is best, then submit that one.
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On December 22 2010 15:43 xbankx wrote:
I wrote my essay about me being a middle age italian plumber trapped in a mushroom world. Got into UCLA my favorite school.
You, sir, are the man.
On December 22 2010 15:51 phosphorylation wrote:
On second thourght, if you are an excellent writer (and have a clear direction on what you are trying to achieve) you can definitely make it happen.
If you are a mediocre-good writer, forget about it, unless you don't care for Stanford.
You are going to have to admit and then combat head on the stigma of video gaming. At the same time, you will need to somehow show that you would be qualified undergraduate. All in 2-3 paragraphs. No mean task.
I agree, it would be a risk to try it. I'd like to see if I can pull it off. I think I'm quite able to express my ideas clearly. If you're talking about excellent writing chock full of symbolism and depth, then I'm screwed. But I think my passion for Starcraft will propel me to write a response that would be stronger than if I was to just talk about how everyone had World Cup fever or something to that effect.
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Absolutely go for it.
I think you would be silly not to. If you write where your interests lead you, you'll write better. And the poor, bored-to-tears grad student that has signed on to evaluate application essays will appreciate any break you can give him or her from all the trite, predictable ass-bullshit that's already flooding the desk.
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If this is an important school to you I advise you to think long and hard about writing about this, making a subject that is really undesirable to the older generation (who knows, you might luck out and get a younger person) and convincing them that you're not just some guy who spends all his time playing video games and going to places where video games are played is quite difficult.
Like others have said, as long as you write mostly about what was going through your mind and also secretly trying to convince them that video games aren't so bad and not "Holy shit Flash is such a goddamn beast at macro'ing, BUT HOLY FUCK CHECK OUT KAL'S ARMY." I would pretty much avoid mentioning video game related specifics altogether unless it's absolutely necessary to explain a point. And if you do, of course explain it in such a way that your grandmother could understand, etc etc.
Just what I think, good luck with your app.
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Do it man. I'm finishing up my apps myself and somewhat regret excluding my starcraft interest from them. As day 9 would put it, theres nothing cooler than sharing what you love  . On a side note, I am interested in your stats. My stats aren't that good but then again i'm not applying to stanford.
SAT: Math: 720 CR: 660 Writing:590
2s: 610 Math 2, 600 Lit
GPA: 3.33(unweighted)
Major:electrical engineering/applied math
Schools: All UC's except for merced riverside and davis, University of Illinois, Purdue University, Virginia tech, Syracuse, University of the pacific, Bucknell university.
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I would like to point out that the older, more established faculty in any sizeable school is not going to, even under threat of death, even think about evaluating undergraduate application essays. Not a chance in hell.
That job goes to grad-students and other younger, more dispensable para-faculty that do it as a supplement to their barebones salary and meager living.
Your choice of topic will be a welcome change of pace for them.Do it.
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EPT
