<p>So I am a junior and I've been doing debate for a while, and will probably compete at a national tournament for it this spring/summer. Will MIT see this as a sign that I want to go into politics/am just applying to MIT for fun? I know that most debaters go to Harvard, Yale, etc. Does MIT appreciate/value debating skills???</p>
<p>I also have other ECs like FRC Robotics, Science Olympiad, and research. </p>
<p>I do debate since I think that there is essentially no point in researching/discovering in the field of science unless you can communicate your ideas effectively/make them make a difference. My question is, basically, if anyone knows if MIT would be impressed by debate activity. Could, at the national level, debate even appear as a "hook" to the adcom? Or would they just discard it since it's not science-oriented. I have never heard of any debaters being accepted at MIT. :(</p>
<p>I’m a debater, and I got in EA, listing debate as my top EC on the application. I didn’t focus on it too much in my application though, and I wouldn’t view it as a hook. There are several forms of debate, all of which have organized competitions, and hundreds of people compete nationally in debate. What it could show for you is that you’re interested and dedicated to a fun, competitive speaking activity.</p>
There is no reason you can’t express this sentiment somewhere in your application. I don’t think it’s totally critical that you do so, but if that’s why debate is important to you, then you can find a way to let MIT know it.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I totally agree with you. One does not become a successful scientist unless one can communicate persuasively, not to mention unless one can argue one’s face off while keeping complete composure. ;)</p>
<p>All your activities don’t have to be math/sci/eng. :)</p>
<p>In addition to what Mollie said, which is correct:</p>
<p>There are plenty of debaters at MIT. The team is quite good.</p>
<p>I’m actually friends with a couple of the team members, including the current team president. It is possible that I could put you in touch with someone on the team (you’d have to send me your email address, of course). Would you be interested in that?</p>
<p>Our son is also a junior considering MIT for nuclear engineering. He competes in public forum, humorous interpretation and duo interpretation. As a result, his classmates pick him to present in nearly every group project in all his classes. His sense of humor is a keen as his interest in math and science. </p>
<p>My husband’s cousin has a PhD in nanotechnology and now works at Intel. He joined Toastmasters to improve his presentation skills. He echoes Mollie’s sentiments about a scientist needing to be able to communicate persuasively.</p>
<p>Thanks to Mollie for being the voice of reason on this forum. It gives me hope that MIT just might be interested in a smalltown kid who has had no opportunities to do research or participate in the alphabet soup of contests we’ve never heard of, but instead spent his HS years debating, earning his Eagle rank and mentoring middle school boys at our church.</p>
<p>Go for it, neongreen! Maybe you and my son will be classmates at MIT in 2011.</p>
<p>@Jessiehl: Yes! That would be great! I would love to continue speech/debate if I have the opportunity to attend MIT in the future. I’ll PM you my email address soon. Thank you very much! I would love to hear more about the team.</p>
<p>neongreen: I’ve sent a couple of emails. I’ll let you know if I can put you in touch with somebody, but in the meantime I didn’t want you to think I was ignoring you. :)</p>
<p>Take a look at [APDA</a> Web - Home of the American Parliamentary Debate Association | American College Debate Association - Home](<a href=“http://www.apdaweb.org%5DAPDA”>http://www.apdaweb.org). MIT does parli(amentary) and that’s the league it belongs to.Under contact info for the member teams, you’ll find the link to MIT debate’s email address.</p>
<p>This is silly, MIT is not going to ignore debate just because it’s not specifically math and science related. There are a lot of people here that did debate and still do, and other stuff that does not specifically related to math and science.</p>