Should I Include This On My ECs?

[xroc]

I have a question regarding one of my ECs and whether to include it or not on my app. As a kid I used to play chess competitively, pretty much from around the age of 7 until about 13. I was ranked #3 in the nation for my age group in my home country and then when I moved to the U.S. I took first place in my home state. Around the age of 13, I started getting involved in other things (sports, music, etc.) and stopped playing competitively (I also stopped because my parents didn't have the time to drive me around to tournaments in other states). I do, however, still play informally with friends and online, and the game has always been a passion of mine. Should I bother including this on an app since it played a fairly large part in my life, or because it was so long ago since I last played it competitively, it's not really worth including? Thanks for any advice.

 

[xBODOMx]

No.

 

[Barcu]

You are free to indicate hobbies on your application so if it really is a big thing for you, you could mention it. It could be an interesting conversation during the interview.

Usually, you don't want to mention pre-college activities unless you've continued them. In your case, you sort of have continued (just not competitively). You can mention the earlier other stuff, but make the description focus more on how you play chess now (as a hobby, stress-reliever, etc).

 

[dmf2682]

I've been told that I was an exceptionally cute baby, maybe I should think about putting that in my application...