My daughter does DECA and won internationals this year, but I don’t know if she should continue in DECA. I feel like it doesn’t hold as much weight as speech and debate, science research, etc. Plus, it takes up a lot of her time. What do you think?
If she enjoys it then of course it’s worthwhile.
There’s a vast difference between DECA and science research. My niece did DECA all 4 years of HS because she wanted to work in marketing. She got a DECA scholarship that helped pay her way through college. She continued through college going to some yearly DECA event to be able to renew that scholarship each year. So for her, I’d say it was more worth it than an unrelated EC that she wouldn’t have liked as much. She got internships and a coop in her major, and has worked in that field ever since. She believes DECA helped her get there.
One of D16’s classmates was admitted to HYPSM this year as an international… It was his achievement in DECA that got him there. With that one data point, I’d say that DECA holds a lot of weight.
Does she want to do it? If so, then yes, worthwhile. The end.
Is DECA an acronymn? What does it stand for? This has always puzzled me. I’ve looked over their website, and they talk about their “brand” and so on, but no hints as to what the name means.
from wikipedia
“In 1991 when the DECA acronym was changed the organization decided to no longer have DECA stand for Distributive Educational Clubs of America, as DECA was becoming international.”
I can’t say the former name clarifies anything for me.
To the OP, if your daughter finds DECA enjoyable and she is getting something out of it (friends, focus, skills) then it’s great. If she is doing an EC for college admissions, that makes for a long high school year. I’ve met and mentored robotics teams and you can tell almost immediately who is on the team because they want to be there, who is there because a friend is on the team, who is there because they think it looks good for colleges and finally who is there because the parents think it looks good for colleges. Some of the latter two may even be a team leader but there’s a lack of joy in them - they like having the leadership position but they just rather be somewhere else. It’s pretty sad to watch.
OP: why do you ask? Are you asking because you’re ranking so-called “prestigious” ECs in order to best present your daughter to competitive colleges? In the other post from this account, your daughter seems conflicted. Again, liking DECA but worried she’s missing out b/c speech or debate might “look” better.
You know what looks best? Something, anything, authentic. A person can work at Burger King and be more authentic than some resume padding robot kid. Please teach this to your daughter.
If she enjoys it and is doing well then why rock the boat?
@SlackerMomMD I’m not entirely what they do now, but when my sister was in DECA in the early 80’s, it was somewhat vocational in nature at our HS. Through DECA she got a job in an area she was interested in and she took a DECA class for credit as a compliment to that. She was NOT college-bound and did actually work at the job for many years (dental assisting). By the time my niece was in high school DECA was made up of college-bound kids interested in business careers. Same HS. I don’t recall any competitions but there were projects involved. She did not get work as a part of the HS program, her HS job was completely unrelated.
In any case, I agree that if the OP’s D is enjoying DECA, then it’s worth it. It’s not all about prestige.
@sseamom, the website mentions marketing, entrepreneurship, finance and management as well as high school and college level competitions. I can sort of see how it can be vocational in nature (if you’re going into a trade, you may want to learn about how a business works). I just don’t know what “Distributive Education” means - it sounds vaguely Amway-ish to me.
Ah, I did some research, and it DID start out as a vocational program. That’s what “distributive education” was-vocational ed. It was still called “Distributive Education” in the 80’s, though they were starting to just call it DECA at least at our HS, and it was ONLY offered for vocational reasons. No one on the college track was in the program. It was even offered as an option for kids at risk for dropping out. It’s obviously changed quite a bit since then.
I am smiling here as my experience was the same as @sseamom’s in terms of what being in DECA meant back in the 80’s. I was happy it existed, I spent a lot of money on junk food at the DECA run student store.
Fast forward and it’s a totally different animal. I am quite sure one unhooked white boy I know, leveraged it into Stanford. He did very very well with DECA, national competitions, showcases etc. Not the DECA I remembered at all. Now a junior he already has not only a summer paid internship but the promise/guarantee of a job post graduation.
He did it because he loved it. And that’s why it worked for him. No ulterior motive involved.
My son has enjoyed his DECA experience. He will compete again next year as a senior. It is a very popular club at his school, maybe the most popular by sheer attendance. The kids at his school take it pretty seriously and there is a kid going to UPenn next year that was one of the leaders of DECA from his school, so I am sure it helped on his application.
Winning internationals is great accomplishment! I hope you celebrate this with her. We were pretty proud of our kid for just placing at nationals.
As far as college applications, I suspect it holds more weight for business majors.
Participation in speech and debate and DECA are both pretty common activities (http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/will-dropping-speechdebate-hurt-admission-odds/), winning state, national, and international competitions in these activities is less common. Still school related activities have less impact than out of school activities like scientific research that results in publication in a peer reviewed journal.
Many students go through activities that “look” good but are not really committed them. But in your D’s case, since she has already won accolades, it is quite evident that she is serious about her commitment to DECA. You could talk to her and find out if she ready to commit to the activities you mentioned.
If they’re super passionate about it, go for it. But in my experience, 90% of the students don’t take it seriously, giving it the rep of a fluff EC anyone can join. In contrast to forensics and debate, where you really practice and perform at dozens of events throughout the year.
And correct me if I’m wrong, but DECA competitions during senior year happen too late to use for college applications.
I vote with the parents who in early posts are focused on what she wants, not what “looks good” on a college application. Encourage her to continue if she enjoys it, let her drop it if it no longer interests her. Remember academics count a lot more than EC’s as well. Don’t forget to let her enjoy her HS years instead of treating them as only as step into the “right” college.
Yeah, I’ve talked it with D. She was elected to officer at school and she’s planning on going for states as well so I think she’ll continue. Plus, she’s only a freshman so she has more time to decide.
@OldFashioned1 The competition part of it happens later in senior year, but you can still participate throughout senior year and learn more.
I think it’s a fine EC for kids that aren’t into STEM type clubs. Some kids take it pretty seriously, and some not as much. Even if you only half heartedly belong, you are still exposed to business concepts and terms that you might not think about prior to enrolling in college.