bccdhppy

I heard that Upenn likes the applicants having debating experience/debate team president? is that true
Please comment on that

tenebrousfire

it doesn't hurt your application to provide evidence that you can speak well

srrinath

I have no idea what grounds such a rumor was based on but this is probably a classic case of association being mistaken for causation. Most debaters (especially captains or presidents) are logical and well-informed creatures. Those are skills that pay off in many areas of one's academic life and hence lead them to score well in school and on standardized testing and such. You may be skeptical of this, but I've found this to be overwhelmingly true of most half-decent debaters. So UPenn, like any other college, takes a student not for being a debate captain alone but for showing (in various parts of an app) the skills that debate captains have and that colleges want. And of course, as explained above, your oratorical prowess isn't exactly a turn-off.

SusieBra

Srrinath: That's a great comment.

I was a debate captain in HS, but a lot of people do debate in HS. It's ultimately about the skills that you derive from the experience.

Debate isn't for everyone and it ISN'T necessary to get into Penn.

Do whatever you're passionate about. That's what counts.