<p>I recently placed in the top 10 at the national high school debate tournament, and am nationally ranked in two different debate events. Is high school debate success looked upon more favorably by college admissions people than other extra-curricular activities like sports, band, yearbook, etc? I also have 730CR/730M/720W SAT scores, 800 Am Hist / 760 Lit SAT subjects, 4 AP 5s and 3 AP 4s, and a 4.18 / 4.0 (weighted) GPA. Will my debate success help or make no difference in admission compared to similar academic profiles? </p>
<p>There was an article in the Times about how being the captain of your speech and debate team is regarded higher than being the captain of a varsity sport. </p>
<p>Colleges look at how well students can articulate their thoughts and perform under pressure. Placing top 10 in the national high school debate tournament is a HUGE deal and colleges will be VERY impressed by that. On your application, you should put that close to the top, as it looks amazing. </p>
<p>This could honestly be a deciding factor in how admissions looks at your application. Congrats!</p>