Game Time at College

Should you mention video game skills on your college application? If you’re good at e-sports—multiplayer games played competitively, often with spectators—you just might earn a scholarship. In the past two years, the National Association of Collegiate Esports helped facilitate $16 million for students. Some schools, like the University of Missouri, are putting together teams to compete against other colleges through their athletic or student affairs departments; other schools include e-sports as part of their engineering or design programs. No one is suggesting that students devote all their energies to video games, but some say there are many benefits to organized competitive gaming. “There’s discipline involved, there’s practice involved, there’s teamwork and collaboration involved, but also the physical aspect,” says Mark Candella, director of strategic partnerships for the streaming platform Twitch. “These young people can do up to 360 controlled precise actions per minute.”