In preparation for college, many high school students search for clubs, contests, summer jobs or internships, as well as other extracurricular activities that can boost their chances of acceptance. I recently had the opportunity to partake in one such contest, known as the World Scholar’s Cup, and I loved it. It was a unique, educational, and an unforgettable experience, and I thought I’d spread the word (or the pwaa—you’ll see why later) so other students like me can take advantage of the opportunity next time it rolls around.
The World Scholar’s Cup challenges participants across six subjects: History, Art and Music, Literature, Social Studies, Science, and a special area that changes each year. In teams of three, students join in events like debating, collaborative writing, taking an individual test, and participating in quiz bowl. Through these events, they can apply what they’ve learned in order to further develop teamwork, confidence, as well as research and speaking skills. Not only that but instead of simply being judged by a third party, students give each other feedback on how to improve—involving them further in the learning process. The best part of all this is qualifying teams are invited to join the global round, and by qualifying, they can go on to the Tournament of Champions, held annually at Yale.
Don’t be fooled, though. As scholarly and formal as it may seem at first glance, the World Scholar’s Cup is anything but stiff. For example, Daniel Berdichevsky, head and founder of the competition, calls himself the “alpaca-in-chief”, even on official documents. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. As you’ve probably realized, the team behind the competition loves alpacas. In fact, their mascot, Jerry, is one. What’s more to say, students are encouraged to cheer “pwaa” a couple times during the event (it’s the sound of a happy alpaca, the team says), and as the event comes to an end, each student gets to go home with their own stuffed alpaca. Combine the mild alpaca obsession with all the joking done on stage, and you can almost forget it’s academic at all.
Personally, it was a tiring but amazing experience. Two days had never seemed shorter. It made me more confident in myself, more willing and excited to learn new things, and connected me with friends I plan to keep in touch with for a long time. If we’re being honest though, there was one negative thing—after this, normal academics will always seem just a tad boring.