Chess.com Scholarship Program - Your Thoughts?

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dsarkar

Proof of Age:

chess.com should ask for proof of age, and scholarship should only go to 25 years or under.

 

Proof of Ability:

chess.com should ask for FIDE or some sort of country rating or proof of his/her ability to play chess (school/college awards or similar or statement from local notary public)

doric1

Good idea in principal but as stated how do you find your needy cause.

I do not see how age should come into it many older people are strapped for cash at the moment why should they be ruled out.

Yes you have my support but the vetting process needs to be run properly.

Is their a junior membership and senior membership at the moment?

-MICKEY-

I think its great. The more realistic you can make a site the better. If I wanted to give a friend some money in real life, I would, so why not in cyber life.

anonym
mwilkin9 wrote:

The more realistic you can make a site the better.


We're getting realer, and realer, and realer...

PrawnEatsPrawn
gumpty wrote:
i would be willing to donate to somebody (a youngster from a poor family that is interested in playig chess), but i would want reasurances that my money wasnt going to some trickster on benefits aged 58 and using my money to pay for his membership so he has more to spend on lager :-)

 Damn the Thought Police! I've been fingered before I even start.

Mmmmm Stella!   *gurgle, dribble*

shadowc

I think this is a great idea... I till give my thoughts with more time, may be tomorrow. I once wanted to give someone a paid membership... remember?

OrangeJ

i like the idea but i need an idea of how this would work and im afraid someone will abuse it.

bigpoison
KillaBeez wrote:

Dang it!  When I first saw this thread, I thought chess.com was going to give away college scholarships.  I was already brainstorming about my resume when my hopes were dashed.


This is, probably, a better idea.  A fine company like Chess.com helping the youth of America earn their undergraduate degrees.

spork

What about requiring an essay as part of the application for the scholarship? Maybe 1500 words-ish. They could also be posted for donors to consider and maybe even vote on which ones they like; though, that could create opportunities for vote rigging, so maybe not...

The idea is that it allows people to show how dedicated they are to chess (though is somewhat unfair against those who don't write well) and why they care about it, while adding a difficult enough barrier of entry that it becomes less attractive to those who actually do have the money to afford a subscription.

When I was a kid, there was a program in the town I lived in that gave a basic (driver, putter, 2 irons) set of child's golf clubs and a few lessons to kids who wanted to learn golf and wrote an essay about why they did. I'm sure it wasn't a perfect system, but it was enough work, and clear enough from the writing who cared and who didn't really, that it was a pretty successful program IIRC.

Certainly not abuse-proof, but possibly a step in the right direction?

And, obviously, I would be interested in supporting a scholarship if such an option were implemented. :)

TheGrobe

I think the problem with an essay might ultimately be the language barrier, particularly as I'd expect the most deserving amongst the applicants (in terms of need, anyway) are likely to not be from English speaking countries.

redsoxfan33
TheGrobe wrote:

I think the problem with an essay might ultimately be the language barrier, particularly as I'd expect the most deserving amongst the applicants (in terms of need, anyway) are likely to not be from English speaking countries.


 Couldn't the applicant use an online translator?

TheGrobe

And be coherent over the course of a 1500 word essay?  I don't know if you've used it much, but I don't think computerized translation technology is quite there yet.

redsoxfan33
TheGrobe wrote:

And be coherent over the course of a 1500 word essay?  I don't know if you've used it much, but I don't think computerized translation technology is quite there yet.


 Could (s)he reach the point were it is obvious what they are trying to say? Even if a few sentences are off, a lot might be understandable.

spork

Yeah, the non-native language thing is really tough; I'm not sure how to get around it, though.

Rating on passion rather than grammar (obviously)? Solicit volunteers to evaluate essays in their native language?

It's probably already a good sign of real interest if a non-native speaker makes the effort, too. It would be shame to have any potential scholarship be too English-centric, though.

TheGrobe

I'd be more concerned about those that don't try because of the barrier it represents.

redsoxfan33

What if they got the main points accross? Does the essay have to be of the length TheGrobe described?

Trant

I would imagine a rudimentary grasp of English would be essential to make use of a Premier membership on this site!

Nice idea, gets my thumbs up. 

Perhaps paying members who leave the site (or are expelled) could have the remainder of their paid time 'donated' on their behalf.

Benjer

Devilish sales idea.....:D

Kacparov

erm...what's this essay? must have missed something

sbattert

The USCF gives free memberships to students who can have a school official sign that they are in need of financial aid.  They require at least one tournament competition.