Yes, but it's often not enough
wdym its not enough, isn't it bad that they are considering financial status
college is very expensive - sometimes they will offer scholarships or financial aid, depending on your family income, but it may still be a great deal of money.
if you come from a rich family, it may not matter. but if not, you should go wherever will be cheapest - less debt is better than a name-brand school, because nobody will ask where you went to undergrad after your first job (but there are people who literally will never be able to pay off student loans).
yes
Well it depends on your rating then, or your chess-related accomplishments. If you have some sort of national title, that would look good on a resume. You can't really put down your chess.com rating, so you'll need to play more USCF tournaments.
As for getting into MIT, I've got no clue.
I don't know any university or college that requires an extra curricular activity, but in college, it would be difficult to not find some activity you'd want to join. Outside of the usual restrictions for freshmen, your an adult in college, for most students anyway. It's nothing like being in high school.
That being said, at the end of day, YOU HAVE TO STUDY, and put a lot more effort into it. Nobody is going to tell you to study. But outside of studying, working on term papers and stuff, college can be a very fun and positive experience.
After you graduate with a squeaky clean, brand new degree, you'll spend the rest of the your life fondly remembering the halcyon days of college.
I don't know any university or college that requires an extra curricular activity, but in college, it would be difficult to not find some activity you'd want to join. Outside of the usual restrictions for freshmen, your an adult in college, for most students anyway. It's nothing like being in high school.
That being said, at the end of day, YOU HAVE TO STUDY, and put a lot more effort into it. Nobody is going to tell you to study. But outside of studying, working on term papers and stuff, college can be a very fun and positive experience.
After you graduate with a squeaky clean, brand new degree, you'll spend the rest of the your life fondly remembering the halcyon days of college.
In university when you apply to big schools like MIT and Ivy you need to fill out this extracurricular essay where you say your accomplishments outside of school. They will look at your grades and that stuff but also other stuff which you are good at. So, would chess be viable? If so, at what level would it be viable?
no bruh that would be worse than even giving an essay
So, would chess be viable? If so, at what level would it be viable?
yes, but you have to be good enough to make for an interesting story, rather than a fact that's true of any number of people.
'i've spent years studying the game, struggled to overcome my own limits in competition, and it's taught me x, y, and z things about life' - good
'i like playing chess' - not good
Listen, I know a lot of people that go through the college process including myself. On your personal essay and your interviews they will care about knowing things like calculus, programming and grades, but the real thing they look for is valuable experiences that changed you as a person. Everyone will have the grades and appear to be a genius. what they actually want is the proof that you can make mistakes, grow from them, and better yourself. so if you think chess is a good example of this struggle then please use it as an example, however if it's just another thing that you think is going to make you look smart then don't bother.
Listen, I know a lot of people that go through the college process including myself. On your personal essay and your interviews they will care about knowing things like calculus, programming and grades, but the real thing they look for is valuable experiences that changed you as a person. Everyone will have the grades and appear to be a genius. what they actually want is the proof that you can make mistakes, grow from them, and better yourself. so if you think chess is a good example of this struggle then please use it as an example, however if it's just another thing that you think is going to make you look smart then don't bother.
Ok, I still have around 5 or 6 years till high school ends. I will be sure to add that.
I'm not a college student, I'm still in middle school. I know that in university, you need to have an extra curricular essay. Can I use chess in it? I do programming and a lot of math, so I'm planning to use those. I want to go to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and for that I will need extra curricular activities. My academics are pretty good, I think I can nail a perfect score on SAT, at least for math. I will probably do the K through 12 SAT which is harder, and I think I will do good on it based on how much time I am investing on math. So, assuming I get a perfect academic report, would that be enough to go to a good university like MIT? Or maybe stanford? If not those, then I think I will be able to qualify for Berkeley. I still have 6 years till I go graduate high school (12th grade is the last year of high school right?), and my online uscf right now is 1250, but I am underrated. I haven't played many online uscf rated tournaments. So, if I were to use chess (along with programming and math) for my extra curricular essay, would that be sufficient. I play chess everyday, I am currently learning python, I am an intermidiate in it, and right now I'm in 6th grade, but at home in my own time, I am doing precalculus math on IXL (I use IXL). Would that be sufficient for MIT or Stanford or Berkeley? Ok now I will update this in 6 years and tell you where I'm going lol. Ok now please do answer my question.
I used chess in my main essay that got me into Stanford, I had opened a chess club in high school in my local library for low-income students like myself and that boosted me. DM me for details.
I'm not a college student, I'm still in middle school. I know that in university, you need to have an extra curricular essay. Can I use chess in it? I do programming and a lot of math, so I'm planning to use those. I want to go to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and for that I will need extra curricular activities. My academics are pretty good, I think I can nail a perfect score on SAT, at least for math. I will probably do the K through 12 SAT which is harder, and I think I will do good on it based on how much time I am investing on math. So, assuming I get a perfect academic report, would that be enough to go to a good university like MIT? Or maybe stanford? If not those, then I think I will be able to qualify for Berkeley. I still have 6 years till I go graduate high school (12th grade is the last year of high school right?), and my online uscf right now is 1250, but I am underrated. I haven't played many online uscf rated tournaments. So, if I were to use chess (along with programming and math) for my extra curricular essay, would that be sufficient. I play chess everyday, I am currently learning python, I am an intermidiate in it, and right now I'm in 6th grade, but at home in my own time, I am doing precalculus math on IXL (I use IXL). Would that be sufficient for MIT or Stanford or Berkeley? Ok now I will update this in 6 years and tell you where I'm going lol. Ok now please do answer my question.
I used chess in my main essay that got me into Stanford, I had opened a chess club in high school in my local library for low-income students like myself and that boosted me. DM me for details.
Absolutely. In my school chess is a eca for children from Grades 1-5
In my school, there is a extracurricular activity for chess, so yes.
Hey, I might be late on this post but I am still going to answer it since you still wouldn't have applied to college at this point in time. I'm currently a rising senior who is planning on applying to colleges like MIT and Stanford as you mentioned and I feel I have a bit more experience since I am currently in the application process. First of all, from my understanding you are in your sophomore year in high school, so now is the time to focus on extracurriculars and competitions. I would say prioritize stuff like science fairs or some sort of Olympiads, whatever interests you. You should also do things that you love doing, like chess, but try to have something more than just a rating: for example, try to organize some sort of a community tournament -- anything that shows leadership and these soft skills that universities look for. I would also start prepping for the SAT or the ACT and try to get that perfect score sooner than later (trust me, you don't want to be stressing about it over the summer of your junior year). I hope I was a little bit of help, if you have any further questions, feel free to ask me and I will try my best to answer it.
University provides opportunity found nowhere else. Until it’s time for possible selection... it’s far to early too pass any judgements about their value.