<p>It would seem that sports and/or music ECs would be held to higher standards considering the level and ubiquity of competition. Sports and music, I think, would also require more time commitment, upwards of three hours or more per day of rigorous training. Why does it seem that admissions favors applicants on debate teams? (As for sports, I am not including sports recruitment cases, only regular, academic applicants who happen to play a varsity sport)</p>
<p>I don’t know whether admissions really favor debate teams or not, but as a person who participates in sports, music, and debate extracurriculars, let me just tell you that I devote the most time into debate–especially when competitions draw near. I’ve stayed at the school until 10pm for a whole week preparing for debate competitions.</p>
<p>Your first assumption is incorrect. Debate is akin to other ECs and is not a “hook” per se.</p>
<p>Debate team certainly is a respected EC - I have many friends who spend hours a night preparing for competitions. That being said, it might not be the biggest hook unless your team has won on a district, regional, or state level.</p>
<p>Kid at my school was amazing at extemporaneous speech. He won all the tournaments he went too, even the ones hosted by Harvard, Yale, and Emory. Tournament of Champions winner last year also. He was president of NHS and most clubs not pertaining to math. Both parents were Harvard Alumni. He graduated #1 in the class. He got outright rejected from Harvard. I think his biggest weakness was math which led to the decision. He ended up at a good state school though.</p>