Led your school chess team, as in you were the team captain or similar role? They're more likely interested in hearing about that, as it demonstrates some leadership ability. So mention the rating (shows you're serious) and the school tournaments.
FIDE rating on my US University application
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I agree with both posters so far. Out of curiosity though, how do you plan on including your rating in your application? Are you going to put it on your resume? Or are you planning on writing about chess in an application essay?
Dec 14, 2016
0
#4
Yes, I agree with the others...having a formal rating does show you've put some effort into chess but they will be much more interested in what you've actually done in terms of leadership roles. Leading you team to an excellent result + an international rating will be a plus on your application. Depending on the essay questions you might want to talk about what you learned leading the team and how your chess experience will make you a stronger member of the university community. Hope this helps and good luck!!!
stuzzicadenti wrote:
However I do not recommend mentioning chess during a job interview, it can actually have the opposite effect from what you intended -- this happened to me one time.
Interesting viewpoint... I put that I play chess on my application for my current job and I got the job. I would think that it's a positive thing because either
1) The interviewer knows nothing about chess, in which case they think, wow that sounds brainy, or
2) The interviewer knows something about chess, in which case you can speak about it and it's something that creates a connection
I recently ordered an essay here, maybe it will be useful to someone https://www.waywriting.com
Lol 😆
Jan 21, 2022
0
#8
TacticalPrecision wrote:
...is this a serious thread? No colleges or employers care about your chess hobby lol. If anything, I'd specifically leave it off there so they don't see that you have a propensity to waste tons of your own time on nothing productive.
Then you’re not the most productive person yourself, since you seem to have a lot of time reserved for posting comments like this.
Jan 21, 2022
0
#9
TacticalPrecision wrote:
I always have time for the truth. You're young. You really shouldn't be wasting your time on this since as soon as you become an adult, you'll never play again anyway.
That’s a bold claim. I’m not sure you can back up what you say.
Jan 21, 2022
0
#10
TacticalPrecision wrote:
B1ZMARK wrote:
TacticalPrecision wrote:
I always have time for the truth. You're young. You really shouldn't be wasting your time on this since as soon as you become an adult, you'll never play again anyway.
That’s a bold claim. I’m not sure you can back up what you say.
...When you have the options in front of you that adults do, and you know that nobody on earth cares about your chess ratings, and things like money and bills come into the equation, I can assure you that you'll quickly see what a silly waste of time this is.
A lot of adults who play in weekend tournaments would disagree.
Jan 21, 2022
0
#11
TacticalPrecision wrote:
B1ZMARK wrote:
TacticalPrecision wrote:
B1ZMARK wrote:
TacticalPrecision wrote:
I always have time for the truth. You're young. You really shouldn't be wasting your time on this since as soon as you become an adult, you'll never play again anyway.
That’s a bold claim. I’m not sure you can back up what you say.
...When you have the options in front of you that adults do, and you know that nobody on earth cares about your chess ratings, and things like money and bills come into the equation, I can assure you that you'll quickly see what a silly waste of time this is.
A lot of adults who play in weekend tournaments would disagree.
These are the losers who don't have any other options because they're usually terribly unattractive and unlikeable. Honestly, that's really what it is.
You haven't even met most of the people I've met in those weekend tournaments and you jump to conclusions that quickly. They're all very nice people and range from normal looking college students to retired old men who enjoy playing the game.
One poster on here is describing themselves. Hahahaha
.... and didn't realize it.
Bharadwaj-S wrote:
If you know about US University applications and extracurriculars, please help!
This year, I'm applying for undergrad to US universities, most on the more selective side. My major extracurricular activity is chess. I've been playing chess for 5 years now, have participated and finished high in various local tournaments, and led my school team to 2nd place in the national inter-school tournament for the last 3 years.
But where I live, in Qatar, there are no FIDE rated chess tournaments. I've participated in a few when I travelled back to India, and got my FIDE rating 2 years ago. Unfortunately, it was a below 1600 tournament, and I got a rating of just 1280. Last year, I played in one tournament, lost 2 games. My rating is now 1273, dismal and trivial in competitive chess.My coach says I could easily be around 1600 or even 1700, but I don't get a chance to play in a rated tournament here.
i do not want admissions officers to think I am such a weakly rated player, and not strong enough. But since having a rating is often better than being unrated, I do not know whether to include my rating and be seen weak, or not disclose my rating and may be appear not serious. Is 1273 > Unrated?
1273 < unrated
TacticalPrecision wrote:
...is this a serious thread? No colleges or employers care about your chess hobby lol. If anything, I'd specifically leave it off there so they don't see that you have a propensity to waste tons of your own time on nothing productive.
Mentioning that one plays as a hobby is a definite plus rather than a minus. I wouldn't mention any rating, whatever it was.
They don't care what your chess rating is! You're going to college, not booking a chess tournament!
Jan 21, 2022
0
#16
ShrekChess69420 wrote:
They don't care what your chess rating is! You're going to college, not booking a chess tournament!
Then why do people put their clubs and extracurriculars for college application?
Jan 21, 2022
0
#17
Admissions officers will care that you led your team successfully because that shows leadership. They won’t care about your rating since it’s not high; if it were, you would still be better off mentioning what you won. I’d put the chess experience in but not the rating.
B1ZMARK wrote:
ShrekChess69420 wrote:
They don't care what your chess rating is! You're going to college, not booking a chess tournament!
Then why do people put their clubs and extracurriculars for college application?
Americans care nothing about chess.
Jan 21, 2022
0
#19
ShrekChess69420 wrote:
B1ZMARK wrote:
ShrekChess69420 wrote:
They don't care what your chess rating is! You're going to college, not booking a chess tournament!
Then why do people put their clubs and extracurriculars for college application?
Americans care nothing about chess.
Daniel Naroditsky graduated from Stanford university. He now lives in north carolina and streams as a top online GM.
Of course, chess probably had nothing to do with his admittance, but it probably didn't hurt.
B1ZMARK wrote:
ShrekChess69420 wrote:
B1ZMARK wrote:
ShrekChess69420 wrote:
They don't care what your chess rating is! You're going to college, not booking a chess tournament!
Then why do people put their clubs and extracurriculars for college application?
Americans care nothing about chess.
Daniel Naroditsky graduated from Stanford university. He now lives in north carolina and streams as a top online GM.
Of course, chess probably had nothing to do with his admittance, but it probably didn't hurt.
Daniel Naroditsky is a former World Youth Chess Champion. By the time he applied for college, Danya was probably one of the top chess players in the United States. However, not everyone is a grandmaster of the caliber of Danya! In general, colleges do not care about your chess rating. Americans as a whole do not care about chess.
If you know about US University applications and extracurriculars, please help!
This year, I'm applying for undergrad to US universities, most on the more selective side. My major extracurricular activity is chess. I've been playing chess for 5 years now, have participated and finished high in various local tournaments, and led my school team to 2nd place in the national inter-school tournament for the last 3 years.
But where I live, in Qatar, there are no FIDE rated chess tournaments. I've participated in a few when I travelled back to India, and got my FIDE rating 2 years ago. Unfortunately, it was a below 1600 tournament, and I got a rating of just 1280. Last year, I played in one tournament, lost 2 games. My rating is now 1273, dismal and trivial in competitive chess.My coach says I could easily be around 1600 or even 1700, but I don't get a chance to play in a rated tournament here.
i do not want admissions officers to think I am such a weakly rated player, and not strong enough. But since having a rating is often better than being unrated, I do not know whether to include my rating and be seen weak, or not disclose my rating and may be appear not serious. Is 1273 > Unrated?