A Serious Topic

[Cooper]

So over the summer, like many summers of my past, I've been bored. My friends are all out of town or doing other things, there's no school to take away the monotony of sitting in front of my computer alternating between reading manga and looking for new threads on smogon, and the only thing that gets me out of the house is work, which is DEFINITELY not a good thing. So this summer I took a different tact, and went for online gaming. I had previously tried some text-based games which just didn't keep me involved, and even Final Fantasy for the GBA couldn't hold my attention.

While talking to a friend of mine, he suggested I play WoW. I had considered this over the school year, but with college apps, finals, and AP tests, there just wasn't any time. But since it's the summer, I gave it a whirl with a 10-day free trial. And I loved it. It's not exactly what I was looking for in a game, but it's so close it's scary. I love leveling, I love being a Rogue/Druid, and I love that I can interact with so many random people. As of yesterday, I hit my level cap, and with nothing else to do, I gave serious thought to upgrading to a full version.

But at work last night, I was talking to another friend, one who's been in college for a few years. He said that quite of few of his friends play WoW, and, like me, all thought they could make WoW "just a summer thing," or, more realistically, just something to do when they're bored. But that's when the problem came in: WoW makes an excellent distraction when it comes time to study for tests.

I'm currently between my senior year in high school and my freshmen year in college, and flunking out because of a game does not appeal to me. But not playing a game out of unjustified fear doesn't appeal either. So I need your help, good people of Firebot. Having never seriously gamed before (Pokemon doesn't count), I'm looking for answers: will an Internet game be detrimental in college? Should I continue to play, yet hide my laptop from myself when test time comes around? Do I really have nothing to worry about? My academic career consists of me being slightly above average, with a 3.6 in high school. I want stories, I want answers, I want help. What I don't want is "lol WoW, Fable is much better," or "Why play WoW when Starcraft is a much more balanced game?"

Help me out guys.

 

[jujuomi]

Weekends or times where spare time is available would be a good time to play. During school for one week I would not turn on my computer until 8, and all my homework was done about 6:30 (granted high school homework), and when I did turn on the computer right after I got home I had my homework done at 12:30 in the morning.

I say hide your laptop until all studying and such are done.

Although this is off topic, if you are studying for a test, you really need breaks. Cramming stuff into minds doesn't work. Write out what you need learn, say it out loud and memorize for like an hour, do something that relieves your stress (pokemon/wow) for another hour, and then go back to studying.

Hope I helped.

 

[Morm]

No it won't. I played video games and drank and skipped all throughout my last two years and things worked out for me.

 

[jujuomi]

No it won't. I played video games and drank and skipped all throughout my last two years and things worked out for me.

Personally I don't agree with this since the main reason for college is to get a better oppurtunity job-wise, and the boss would rather chose the guy that exceeded over the guy who passed by a mear percentage.

 

[SynysterCola]

So over the summer, like many summers of my past, I've been bored. My friends are all out of town or doing other things, there's no school to take away the monotony of sitting in front of my computer alternating between reading manga and looking for new threads on smogon, and the only thing that gets me out of the house is work, which is DEFINITELY not a good thing. So this summer I took a different tact, and went for online gaming. I had previously tried some text-based games which just didn't keep me involved, and even Final Fantasy for the GBA couldn't hold my attention.

While talking to a friend of mine, he suggested I play WoW. I had considered this over the school year, but with college apps, finals, and AP tests, there just wasn't any time. But since it's the summer, I gave it a whirl with a 10-day free trial. And I loved it. It's not exactly what I was looking for in a game, but it's so close it's scary. I love leveling, I love being a Rogue/Druid, and I love that I can interact with so many random people. As of yesterday, I hit my level cap, and with nothing else to do, I gave serious thought to upgrading to a full version.

But at work last night, I was talking to another friend, one who's been in college for a few years. He said that quite of few of his friends play WoW, and, like me, all thought they could make WoW "just a summer thing," or, more realistically, just something to do when they're bored. But that's when the problem came in: WoW makes an excellent distraction when it comes time to study for tests.

I'm currently between my senior year in high school and my freshmen year in college, and flunking out because of a game does not appeal to me. But not playing a game out of unjustified fear doesn't appeal either. So I need your help, good people of Firebot. Having never seriously gamed before (Pokemon doesn't count), I'm looking for answers: will an Internet game be detrimental in college? Should I continue to play, yet hide my laptop from myself when test time comes around? Do I really have nothing to worry about? My academic career consists of me being slightly above average, with a 3.6 in high school. I want stories, I want answers, I want help. What I don't want is "lol WoW, Fable is much better," or "Why play WoW when Starcraft is a much more balanced game?"

Help me out guys.

I know a lot of kids who play WoW in college (some are my co-workers) and are maintaining good grades (not 4.0s, but above a 3.0).

If you have the self discipline, then you are fine. You will know when to stop, instead of leveling up all night and then realize you have an exam in an hour.

 

[TAY]

First of all, "above a 3.0" is not a good gpa.

Second, I think I'm the "another friend," since we talked about this several days ago. I haven't been in college for a few years, Cooper, just going into my second.

Third, whether or not you get addicted is really a matter of your personality and work ethic. I have an semi-addictive personality and a terrible work ethic, so WoW is not for me. Though I suppose a huge time investment is required so you probably shouldn't play anyway. Cooper, I know you. Don't play! In all seriousness, a bad academic record is something that could haunt you for a long time, whereas WoW is something completely irrelevant to the rest of your life. I bet you'll feel pretty stupid after your first year if you got a sub-3.0 GPA and all you have to show for it is a lvl 70 WoW character.

Fourth, this is in longer in firebot.

Fifth, I'm expecting free yogurt on Wednesday...

 

[Firestorm]

I would say above a 3.0 is a pretty decent GPA. That's above a B. Then again, I hear most places in the States give you higher than 4.0 if you do well in AP/Honours courses which I never got -_-

It's all about discipline Cooper. I don't play WoW for two reasons:
1. I lack dicipline so it would probably screw me over
2. Last time I played an MMO it consumed the time I used for other games and created a huge backlog

It was #2 that mostly made me stay away from WoW as I really want to try as many different games to completion as possible. I do want to get into the games industry and would rather have more experience with a variety of games.

The thing with #1 is, I don't need WoW to slack off. I'm a bit of an internet addict and forums easily distract me more than WoW ever could.

If you hit the level cap within the 10 day trial though, I think there could be a problem.

 

[chaos]

You should find a productive hobby, like programming :)

 

[StrangerDanger]

First of all, "above a 3.0" is not a good gpa.

"lol"

Anyways, as someone who plays WoW as a 'summer thing' you have to start off vigilant from the getgo. I'm going to keep playing through the year, just because i enjoy it and have found great friends to play with, but know your limits. Don't set curfew's or hide your laptop, just do it when you're not doing anything else.

like, wake up on lazy sunday. You've read, studied, and you don't have anything to do--play for a bit. maybe like 4 hours until you get a call from your buddy to do something and then just go have fun. For me, as long as you make WoW lower than .everything.else. on the totem pole, it's manageable.

 

[Cooper]

I was so afraid this got moved to Trou when I couldn't find it in Firebot. Anyway, my thing about WoW is that I'm easily distracted when it comes to studying. That doesn't mean I can't get it done and pass a test, it means I'm one of those people who think an hour of studying and an hour of gaming sounds like a great idea. Even without WoW, I'd be doing that with other websites, Facebook, etc., but eventually I'd get bored with those and go back to studying. There's always something to do in WoW.

Tay, you are not the other friend. But you will get your yogurt.

 

[da gold sun]

Cooper I'll say we both play WoW and have around the same GPA (this year starts my AP classes 0_0). Only you're 4 years older than me.

Anyways, I've found that simply play less WoW every school day; it really is a summer thing for the most part. Just play when you have absolutely nothing better to do; when you don't have to study, you're done with homework, and when your buddies aren't hanging out with you. You have weekend time (I think).

My guild is full of college students; we've spent the summer raiding. They told me that they'd probably play maybe 5 hours a week while in school session, but when they have nothing else to do, they go on a pick up raid (our server us pretty good for that).

If you want to do something in WoW that will get you satisfied, perhaps you can work on a budget twink (lv 19 or 29). They're fast to level, and you will feel awesome when you own in battlegrounds. I started one today for when school starts; my 70 is kinda boring because band practice in these next 3 weeks eats up what used to be raiding and BG time. With that said, it only takes an hour to do 10 arena matches (at lv 70) to get that weeks points!

To answer your question, WoW will only lower your grade if you allow it. Allow some study time (no cramming; that's my current problem) each night once you are warned of an incoming test, and save some free time for yourself too. If you can balance WoW, social and school time, you'll do great in college (and in post-college adult life!).

Good luck to ya, Cooper!

 

[DM]

Correlation isn't causation.

Just because a guy plays WoW and gets poor grades from not studying doesn't mean that WoW is the direct cause of the poor grades. That person's laziness/work ethic has to be taken into account. Not everyone would be susceptible to bad time management in the same way.

 

[Raikou]

I play WoW very casually, taking weeks to months off at a time if I get busy, and only playing a few times a week when I'm not. On the other hand, a friend of mine failed his BMW STEP program because he was playing 10 hours a day. That's a huge opportunity to throw away due to a game, and that was his turning point.

If you have an addictive personality, do not touch WoW. If you don't, I would still avoid hardcore raiding and just play casually. You have to understand the psychology behind this game is going to make you want to keep playing for long periods of time, you're never done whether its leveling, raiding or grinding reputation or gear. It's designed to addict you so you keep paying up every month.

 

[Jimbo]

I think it's ok to play games, but like Raikou said, if you find yourself getting addicted step away immediately. It definitely is possible to excel in school while maintaining online activities like Pokemon/smogon and WoW. I'm going into junior year, and have maintined a 4.2 GPA for all of high school so far while still being active on the internet (but not addicted...).

Good luck in college :)

@Firestorm-Yea in my school in honors courses if you get an A or higher, it's more than a 4.0, though also an "A" in my school is a 93+ @.@

 

[OH NO]

I play WoW but it doesnt eat all of my time. To me it seems you are like me and get bored easily, which makes it easy to quit WoW when you have something more important to do. WoW is fun for me but it doesn't take all of my time. So i suggest if you like doing something why not, unless you really think it is gonna consume your whole life over.

 

[Yaridovich]

If you have an addictive personality, do not touch WoW. If you don't, I would still avoid hardcore raiding and just play casually. You have to understand the psychology behind this game is going to make you want to keep playing for long periods of time, you're never done whether its leveling, raiding or grinding reputation or gear. It's designed to addict you so you keep paying up every month.

This is probably the most important thing to remember when deciding whether to play or not. I guess I'm a little bit biased because the few (4 or 5) people I know that play WoW treat it religously. They probably give up a good 10 hours a day playing it, and it has managed to seriously get in the way of their schoolwork/jobs. Like everybody else has said, if you don't let WoW get in the way of your life and show some self control, play it sparingly, during the summer or whatever, your fine; If you can't though, you could put yourself in some deep shit. Trust me.

 

[Lee]

My first impression was, if you're bored you should probably look for something better to do that resorting to such a potentially social life-destroying game. But if you enjoyed it, then more power to you...there are worse things that you could do with your spare time.

I do have to echo what the others have said though; some people have addictive personalities and are just easy prey for this game. My little brother who is a mere 14 yrs old has been kicked out of high school and needs to attend regular sessions with a psychiatrist because he has developed a dependancy to WoW and similar games (when my parents pulled the plug on WoW, he moved onto free games of a similar style). He constantly left school early to sneak home and play on WoW, and even whilst in lessons he was only thinking about WoW and doodling druids and shit in his notebook.

Honestly, if I was in your situation I'd try to avoid it and take up something a little more productive like chaos suggested. I know a few guys who have played WoW extensively and look back on it and think "Fuck, I wish I'd spent those thousands of hours doing something useful." But that's just my personal opinion...only you can make this decision but try not to feel pressured into doing anything simply because you're bored during the summer holidays because it's almost certain that this summer activity will extend long into your school term.

 

[dinosaurz]

if you have to ask, does that mean you feel it will be detrimental to your education? If so id find somthing better to do with my time.

 

[Warthog]

you sound like you're already addicted to the game, I would leave it. Plain and simple.. if you have to ask if WoW will be hampering your school time then I would just drop the game.

 

[Ambitions]

Find a physical hobby like skateboarding or going to the gym. I'm the farthest thing from a jock, but I love going to the gym to ride a bike for 5 miles, play some basket ball and maybe do some lifting. It will just make you a more energetic person in general.

Skateboarding is the best thing I could possibly imagine to do when I'm board, but it requires friends to take advantage of its fun-nes potential. Just get off the computer and head out side.

 

[Cooper]

It's not that I'm already addicted to WoW. I'll admit that I tend to log up towards 10 hours a day, but when it's time to go to work or my friends want to hang out, I have no problem leaving it. I'm asking more because I know college is so drastically different from high school, having more free time and more social outlets, and I want to hear from people who play the game or know people who play the game and how they handle it. The last thing I want is to become a social hermit.

 

[nardd]

I think it's more about your own personality and your ability to know when to stop if you need to. If you think you will not be able to focus on other things and branch out if you start to play, then don't subscribe. But if you know you have some kind of sense of "I need to study" or "I'm gonna go to the gym and play basketball with my friends" then why not. It's more about your self-control than the game taking over your life. If aren't sure, then try it, but make sure you can easily quit if you realize any problems.

I'm sure you'll do fine even if you give WoW too much time. just keep grades up and stuff I guess.

 

[Cooper]

Thanks for the responses guys. I've decided I'm going to give it a shot, but gradually work my way down to only playing about 2 hours a day by the time I leave for college, mostly to find other things to do and not make WoW a habit. Let's hope it works.

 

[misdreavus79]

I'll tell you this right now. If your GPA in HS is 3.6, you do not want to play WoW during the school year. A couple of friends of mine actually failed out of college due to WoW, and they were 4.0 students.

In the ends, it all comes down to your self-control, but if you're asking us, then that might be an issue.

 

[Kingdrom]

I would try to drop WoW, or at least cut it down dramatically before attending college. As you already know, college is not even close to the challenge that high school presents. Two of my friends have been addicted to WoW- the first one, Jim (not his real name), played WoW whenever I came over to his house. It was sad, but I eventually got him to quit, and he's picked himself up from there. The other guy is still digging himself into a hole. He was grounded after his parents found out that he bought -insert WoW currency here- on Wow for $200. He wakes up in the middle of the night to play sometimes. I wish I could help him, but there isn't much I could do.

I have a highly addictive personality, so that means I need to steer clear of WoW. Just a few years back, I got into playing Runescape for a year. It ruined my social life like crazy, and all I had to show for it was a level 50 mage. It was pathetic- but I didn't even realize that it was a problem until after playing for a year. Then I ended up cancelling my membership and giving all my gp away to an online friend (I think it was like $800k and full rune, but that's besides the point). I knew that I wouldn't be able to return, but it was a turn for the better.

Only now I face a bigger problem- a forum addiction. But I've managed to cut back on that some. I guess what I want to say is that college has many opportunities you don't even know yet, and taking away several hours of your day to a WoW addiction is probably not the best option.