As esports scholarships grow ever more common across the higher education system, have you ever considered an alternative program for single-player game fans? The University of Silicon Valley (USV) has come up with a solution with its Max Achievement Scholarship. You can use your dedication to games like Stardew Valley, Genshin Impact, and Vampire Survivors to pay your way through college – if you’re skilled enough.
USV’s scholarship program aims to reward students who have “demonstrated exceptional persistence, systems thinking, and creative problem-solving” by earning rare achievements in a range of titles, from the best roguelike games to the best Soulslike games. Split into two tiers, the Max Achievement Scholarship awards students up to $15k for completing “ultra-rare accomplishments requiring 500+ hours of sustained mastery across complex systems (typically <1% global completion rate)” and $7.5k for slightly more common completionism.
Stardew Valley falls into this lower tier, but you still have to put in plenty of work to earn the money, as you have to 100% the Perfection mechanic. This in-game system is multifaceted, but it includes reaching level ten in every farm skill, catching every Stardew Valley fish, and maxing out your heart rating with every single villager. USV says that this demonstrates “long-term planning and relationship management,” which are both pretty valuable transferable skills.
For games like Stardew Valley, Minecraft, and Genshin Impact, the stated platform doesn’t seem to matter, but for some reason, tons of roguelikes with portable versions specify that you need to show your Steam profile for verification. Considering that some of the best mobile games out there, like Vampire Survivors and Slay the Spire, fall into this category, and taking into account USV’s custom achievement submission process, you can probably still apply using data from your Nintendo Switch or phone, but we’ve reached out to the university’s team for clarification.
As well as actually earning these in-game achievements, your Max Achievement Scholarship application must also come with a short essay on “what your pursuit of mastery taught you about learning, persistence, or problem-solving.” If the transferable skills that I gained from my part-time jobs and involvement in Scouting and Guiding were relevant to my university application, I don’t see why colleges shouldn’t take into account those learned through gaming as well. It makes sense in this context, especially, though, as USV offers courses in game design, animation, and software engineering, but it would be awesome to see other schools take a similar approach.
Have you completed any of the achievements on USV’s Max Achievement Scholarship list? Let us know in the Pocket Tactics Discord server. Or, if you’re planning to use your farm game skills to get into college, check out our Stardew Valley characters guide next.
