3 answers
ashna
Student
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
2
Questions
Asked
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How important are extracurriculars for admissions in CS in Pakistan, and for Master's abroad, and how do I find extracurriculars with limited opportunities and freedom ?
I feel really overwhelmed by how to find notable extracurricular activities, especially since I am a girl living in Pakistan and have limited freedom as well as limited money. I don't know where to even start to find internships, extracurriculars etc and my college does not offer anything. I want to know how to build a solid application for undergrad in Pakistan, if extracurriculars are important for universities such as NUST and NED, and how to find opportunities in order to apply for Master's abroad.
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3 answers
Anuj Gupta
Software Engineering
325
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Anuj’s Answer
### **What to Expect and Prepare For**
* **The Portfolio is Your Real Degree:** In the gaming industry, a high GPA matters far less than a proven portfolio. You must be prepared to build, polish, and publish your own games or tools on platforms like GitHub or Itch.io outside of your regular schoolwork.
* **Crunch Culture and Burnout are Real:** While many modern studios are actively improving, the gaming industry is still notorious for "crunch"—periods of intense, mandatory overtime leading up to a game's launch. Protecting your mental health and setting boundaries early is crucial.
* **Math is More Important Than You Think:** If you want to work on game engines, graphics, or physics programming, you will need a rock-solid grasp of linear algebra, vectors, and matrices. Game development is essentially applied physics and geometry wrapped in code.
* **Extreme Competition for Entry-Level Roles:** Because thousands of graduates want to make video games for a living, entry-level positions are fiercely competitive. You should be prepared to start in related fields ($e.g.$, general software engineering, Quality Assurance testing, or tools development) to get your foot in the door.
* **Rapidly Evolving Tech Stacks:** The tools used to build games shift constantly. You cannot just learn one engine (like Unity or Unreal) or one language (like C++ or C#) and stop there; you must be prepared for a lifetime of continuous, self-directed learning to stay relevant.
* **Cross-Functional Collaboration is Key:** Unlike general software engineering where you mostly interact with other programmers, game development requires communicating with artists, writers, musicians, and game designers. You must learn to translate technical limitations into terms creative non-programmers can understand.
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* **The Portfolio is Your Real Degree:** In the gaming industry, a high GPA matters far less than a proven portfolio. You must be prepared to build, polish, and publish your own games or tools on platforms like GitHub or Itch.io outside of your regular schoolwork.
* **Crunch Culture and Burnout are Real:** While many modern studios are actively improving, the gaming industry is still notorious for "crunch"—periods of intense, mandatory overtime leading up to a game's launch. Protecting your mental health and setting boundaries early is crucial.
* **Math is More Important Than You Think:** If you want to work on game engines, graphics, or physics programming, you will need a rock-solid grasp of linear algebra, vectors, and matrices. Game development is essentially applied physics and geometry wrapped in code.
* **Extreme Competition for Entry-Level Roles:** Because thousands of graduates want to make video games for a living, entry-level positions are fiercely competitive. You should be prepared to start in related fields ($e.g.$, general software engineering, Quality Assurance testing, or tools development) to get your foot in the door.
* **Rapidly Evolving Tech Stacks:** The tools used to build games shift constantly. You cannot just learn one engine (like Unity or Unreal) or one language (like C++ or C#) and stop there; you must be prepared for a lifetime of continuous, self-directed learning to stay relevant.
* **Cross-Functional Collaboration is Key:** Unlike general software engineering where you mostly interact with other programmers, game development requires communicating with artists, writers, musicians, and game designers. You must learn to translate technical limitations into terms creative non-programmers can understand.
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Debbie Morton
Business Consulting
68
Answers
Phoenix, Arizona
Updated
Debbie’s Answer
Extracurricular activities are indeed acknowledged and linked with your field of study or school. They can be a great way to enhance your learning experience.
Curious about the top extracurricular activities for college? Here's a list to inspire you:
1. Leadership Roles: Colleges appreciate students who have demonstrated leadership skills. It's a great way to stand out!
2. Part-Time Jobs: Balancing work and studies can be challenging, but it's also a great way to show your dedication and time management skills.
3. Sports and Athletics: Participating in sports not only keeps you fit but also teaches teamwork and discipline.
4. Academic Clubs and Teams: Joining these clubs will deepen your understanding of your subject and provide a platform to share ideas.
5. Artistic and Creative Pursuits: These activities can help you explore your creative side and might even uncover hidden talents!
6. Volunteering and Community Service: Giving back to the community is a rewarding experience and shows your commitment to making a positive impact.
7. Internships: These are a fantastic way to gain real-world experience in your chosen field.
Remember, these activities not only enrich your college experience but also make you a well-rounded individual. So, go ahead and dive in!
Curious about the top extracurricular activities for college? Here's a list to inspire you:
1. Leadership Roles: Colleges appreciate students who have demonstrated leadership skills. It's a great way to stand out!
2. Part-Time Jobs: Balancing work and studies can be challenging, but it's also a great way to show your dedication and time management skills.
3. Sports and Athletics: Participating in sports not only keeps you fit but also teaches teamwork and discipline.
4. Academic Clubs and Teams: Joining these clubs will deepen your understanding of your subject and provide a platform to share ideas.
5. Artistic and Creative Pursuits: These activities can help you explore your creative side and might even uncover hidden talents!
6. Volunteering and Community Service: Giving back to the community is a rewarding experience and shows your commitment to making a positive impact.
7. Internships: These are a fantastic way to gain real-world experience in your chosen field.
Remember, these activities not only enrich your college experience but also make you a well-rounded individual. So, go ahead and dive in!
Joseph Neilson
Radiation Detection Physicist
273
Answers
Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Joseph’s Answer
I don't know specifically about what's required for the universities you mention, but many universities don't require your extracurricular activities to be anything formal through clubs etc; they can just be things you do by yourself at home or informally; so they don't have to cost much money and can fit around whatever free time you have.
Certainly for computer science, there's a lot of resources online; you can take online classes with places like Khan Academy, try out online development tools, discuss problems on forums, or even just watch relevant videos on YouTube - it all counts, and can be included in a personal statement or admissions essay to show your interest in and commitment to the subject.
One thing I'd recommend from my own experience would be getting yourself a cheap microcontroller or single-board computer like a Raspberry Pi, and coming up with ideas for little projects you can do with it that would be interesting or useful to you. Depending exactly what subfields of computer science you're interested in, there's all sorts of things you can do with something like RPi - I was interested in the electronics and GPIO interfacing, and built a set of sensors for home monitoring; but you can do all sorts of different projects like computer vision, cluster computing and parallelization, network tools like a firewall or VPN server, etc...
Certainly for computer science, there's a lot of resources online; you can take online classes with places like Khan Academy, try out online development tools, discuss problems on forums, or even just watch relevant videos on YouTube - it all counts, and can be included in a personal statement or admissions essay to show your interest in and commitment to the subject.
One thing I'd recommend from my own experience would be getting yourself a cheap microcontroller or single-board computer like a Raspberry Pi, and coming up with ideas for little projects you can do with it that would be interesting or useful to you. Depending exactly what subfields of computer science you're interested in, there's all sorts of things you can do with something like RPi - I was interested in the electronics and GPIO interfacing, and built a set of sensors for home monitoring; but you can do all sorts of different projects like computer vision, cluster computing and parallelization, network tools like a firewall or VPN server, etc...