Being Really, Really Good at Video Games Could Get You a Scholarship
A $1,000 scholarship beckons, if you can display your gaming prowess
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You wish you had these mad skills
How did you save up for college? Did you cook pizzas in a broiling restaurant until the wee hours of the morning? Maybe you worked in an equally stifling factory? Or mowed lawns and cleaned outhouses? Odds are that, whatever you did to raise some cash in a world where you had basically zero monetizable skills, it had nothing to do with zerg rushing people or spawn camping newbs.
The world, it seems, is a changing place. The New York Times, in a story on the few lucky ones who are able to make their livings as professional video gamers, brought to light this little nugget: The Collegiate StarLeague, a inter-university video gaming league that counts among its participants schools such as Yale, Princeton and M.I.T., “gives out two “Excellence in eSports” scholarships.”
The last round of scholarships, awarded in May says GosuGamers.net, were worth $1,000 each.
To qualify for the award, interested students must submit a video application in which they are able to demonstrate their academic strength with a 3.5 GPA and their leadership in the gaming world by discussing and responding to various questions posed by the CSL.
Above and beyond the scholarship opportunity, being really, really, really, good at video games could net you tournament prize winnings worth seven figures. The winners of the world championships for the free online video game League of Legends, a contest held in October, took home $1,000,000.
More from Smithsonian.com:
Pong
The Essentials: Video Games
Playing Video Games At Home Turns 40
Video Games Are More Than Just a Feast for the Eyes
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