<p>I'm a sophomore policy debater and a junior in high school right now and I really want to know which might look better on a college app- debate camp or summer volunteer. Almost all of the dates for both events overlap so I can't do both. I'm not sure if I'm going to debate in college yet, but I know for a fact that I'll debate till the end of senior year in high school</p>
<p>I know that to some of you, the volunteer/internship looks better, but camp is essential for me to become a much better debater and I just don't know which to choose ):</p>
<p>This happened last year, but I chose camp over internship</p>
<p>Aaaah help please! I just want to get a bunch of people's opinions so I can tell if I'm overthinking a decision that's supposed to be super easy</p>
<p>I agree, do what you prefer. You seem to like debate camp more than that. Also, admission officers look at what you have passion for, and what you have a passion for looks better on your applications.</p>
<p>There are many avenues for volunteering from now until summer. Debate camp is summer only, so no debate there… (sorry, couldn’t resist). There is nothing stopping you from doing both. You can find a volunteer position, even if only a few hours per month, which will fill that slot on your resume, if you start now. It does not have to be a “formal internship” during the summer months, if you can arrange something during the school year. Maybe you could work with children at an afterschool program and teach them some debate skills. It’s good to teach what you have already learned, and maybe you could inspire some future debaters.</p>
<p>Kell- both opportunities are ways to broaden your experiences, intellect and passions and grow as a person. Do not let anyone discourage you from exploring both, for whatever reasons you have in mind. Everyone is encouraged to build their resume at any point in their life by exploring opportunities and seeing where they fit. I commend you for considering both and I think you can work them both in. If students had to be totally altruistic with every activity on their resume, most would be empty. Good luck!</p>
<p>Well, how about this, then? You are fortunate to have found these passions at a young age, and it may well be that the OP will not find her true passions until she gets to college or even beyond?</p>
<p>Or, maybe, these are her passions and this is a college advice site and she just wants that advice about college, and worded it that way.</p>
<p>Either way, I love your passion and wish you tons of success!</p>
<p>I would imagine that you Could and should include summer debate camp on your apps though I’m no app expert </p>
<p>Feel free to decipher people’s comments here and use the constructive. Also a good skill to look for morsels of wisdom even in an angrily worded misanthropic malconted response to your reasonable question. </p>
<p>In the big scheme of things you can only make a correct decision on the issue at hand. Go with the ‘funner’ choice. With few exceptions , and I place excess video gaming right up there with potential mistakes, I would make choice that ‘feel’ right for you. This will cause you to perform better, to show more interest, and ultimately be better for your success.</p>
<p>I agree that both camp and volunteering are best. But from the way the question is worded (saying the camp and volunteering can’t overlap) sounds like what the OP is thinking of is a fixed date volunteer trip that has to be paid for… In that case, DON’T do the volunteering thing, volunteer in your own hometown for free! That would look way better than a weeklong, paid trip to somewhere else. If it’s real, free volunteering, though, definitely do both.</p>
<p>OP, both of them are very valuable experiences. I’ve done Congressional Debate for the past four years and I went to a debate camp at NIU. I had a great time and it was so much fun. I would probably say that was the highlight of my highschool summer because I met so many amazing people and it helped a lot of my confidence to do public speaking. I wouldn’t recommend it to you, though. You will enjoy it but I don’t think it will help you in policy debate as you are well into your debate career. Right now, I think you should try to expose yourself to different things! So if you think the internship is something you have little knowledge of, I would recommend that…and especially, if you think it might help you narrow down your career choices.</p>
<p>OH yeah…you can also put Debate Camp on your college resume if you wanted, like mmmgirl said. I don’t know if the colleges will value that over internship though.</p>
<p>OP, you have been given some good advice. My daughter was accepted ED to her first choice school, and I will tell you what I told her. “Do what you love.” Do not worry which summer activity looks better on your college app, (they both are equally compelling), but rather focus on what is your greatest passion. Honestly, colleges care less about what you do over the summer, and more that you do something! Work, travel, volunteer, play sports, participate in local theater, summer school, intern or any “productive” activity is good. Something that supports your interests or ECs is best. The more you can demonstrate commitment or leadership (or both) with your choice, the better. </p>
<p>I hope I was able to answer your question about which is better for your application without being opinionated. This forum is for advice on questions. Continue to post and we will try to help.</p>
<p>I’m so sorry that this response is extremely late- I am relatively new to CC and I don’t know how to navigate through the forum! But thank you all for your advice and kind words! I really appreciate it. </p>
<p>At this far through the school year, I think I’m going to take the volunteering/internship opportunities. Considering that my high-ranked debate team will probably stay high-ranked in the nation, I feel that even if I don’t go to camp, I will be able to learn a lot in the debate class that I’ll be taking at my school. However, there simply is no replacement for volunteer/internships and so I think I’ll focus on that for now.</p>
<p>You guys are most likely right though, that both could be valuable on my college resume. It’s just that volunteering can’t be replaced and since this is my last summer before I graduate, I might as well focus on something I don’t have on my college resume yet. </p>
<p>hello kell16178. I think that your decision is fine. My math is 1Volunteer+1Debate = 2Volunteer = 2Debate
So I think that you can’t go wrong no matter what you choose to do.</p>