Debate into College

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello,
I live in CA and have participated on my school's debate team all 3 years of my high school career. I'm be going into my senior year and plan to apply to the following schools for engineering: UT, A&M, Rice, Stanford, Georgia Tech, MIT, Penn State, and NM Tech. I know these are all really competitive school in terms of engineering, but I believe I am a strong contender academically (and racially: Latino LOL) plus I have legacy in Stanford and MIT. But I was wondering, for all of you former high school debaters, how much did debate help you getting into college.</p>

<p>Some of my background in debate: 2 time NFL national qualifier in International Extemporaneous Speaking (Top 32 in the nation this year), 3 time qualifier to the CA State Tournament (Finalist this year), and many more debate accolades.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the help</p>

2

<p>Debate really helps in articulating your ideas, whether it be spoken or written. The debate awards will definitely help distinguish you from the mass of engineering applicants. Most people who participate in debate (from my experience), are interested in political science or business.</p>

3

<p>Since debate is popular with applicants to top schools, it won’t get you into college. Of course, if it’s a passion of yours and you perform well (attending national tournaments), it definitely will help.</p>