eSports Scholarships & Grants: a New Pathway to College & Keeping students engaged

Parents and teachers are both faced with the challenge of keeping students engaged and on track. With cell phones and social media stealing their attention, it has become increasingly difficult. On top of that, there are social dramas, bullying, sleepiness, and disinterest. You might be left wondering, what can I do about it?

Sports, clubs, and other extracurricular activities were incorporated into the school day to help students have something to look forward to. The thought was, if a student had something of interest to do in school, they might be motivated to perform at their best in the classroom. And this can help, though it is not without its own flaws.

The 21^st-century brings us a whole new list of challenges. And it will continue to change and present new challenges in education. That means you must think outside of the box. 

Maybe it’s time for an educational twist.  

“Meet students where they are." 

Students live in a technologically advanced world. Meeting students and your children in that advanced state may help solve attendance issues, grades, and motivation. Many parents have found success in combining an activity with competition and educational elements. 

The Rise of eGaming and eAthletes

eGaming is a fast-growing field of competitive video gaming that has bridged some of the gaps of disinterest and interest. This goes beyond just playing videos games. This is a team-oriented, strategy-inducing, communicative competition between elite players for a grand prize. Schools have started eSports teams, and it’s helped to bring students back to concentrating on education.

Video games are complex constructs that take years to create. Many people work on them at different points of the game's inception to make it an immersive experience. It’s no wonder gaming is worth billions. The eSports industry goes beyond just playing games; it's a chance for students to tap into other potential avenues of growth.

Combining education and eSports

Your child may want to be game creator or designer. This can lead them into STEM fields that will carry them into the other lucrative side of gaming. Teachers and parents have found many ways to integrate gaming and learning, making education a more engaging process. (Are you an educator? If you’ve considered starting an eSports team at your school, the timing could not be better.)

One of the benefits of participating in an eSports team is that it allows students who have not been part of other extracurricular activities to find their place in the education world. Students from different economic areas can come together and be part of a new world of acceptance. Just having this aspect of eGaming is worth having a team.

More importantly, eGaming can be a path to college for your child. There is so much more opportunity for students to fund their college through something they are truly good at (and love). Not many people know that scholarships are available to students who would like nothing more than to continue playing on an eSports college team. 

You can go to www.scholarships.com and see for yourself. Millions of students wanting to fund their college education go to this resource to find scholarships they would qualify for. And just like any scholarship, a student can also find eSports or eGaming scholarships. And this is not the only place these unique scholarships can be found.

Over 175 colleges and universities offer scholarships to elite players. This is encouraging to students who may not have done as well in school (there are still GPA and testing requirements for the school, though there is some leniency for eAthletes). Knowing they can acquire a scholarship is tremendous motivation for them to do well in their classes. 

It makes sense, doesn’t it?

And we are not talking about smaller colleges you have not heard of. We're talking about massive universities like Ohio State, the University of Texas at Dallas, and Boise State University.

Every day the list of colleges and universities with eSports grows, so we are talking about expanding opportunity to people who did not have access to higher education before. 

eSports and the future of education

There is about the be a significant evolution of gaming. The Metaverse is on the way, and it will help to revolutionize gaming. It’s a great time to have an eSports team because it's about to get virtually real.