<p>I’m in a similar situation–I’m very dedicated to debate, but I’ve never won anything of significance. (And I’ll never qual to Nationals, either: my district is one of the most competitive in the country for LD, and while I wouldn’t say that I’m bad by any means, it isn’t going to happen). A Yale professor once wrote, however: </p>
<p>“The Wall Street Journal report did specifically highlight a “consistent trend”—one that forensic coaches have known for a long time—that dedicated participation in drama and debate has significantly increased the success rate of college applicants at all schools which track such data. State and national award winners have a 22% to 30% higher acceptance rate at top tier colleges and being captain of the debate team “improved an applicant’s chances by more than 60% compared with the rest of the pool,” according to the report. This is significantly better than other extracurricular activities that tend to recruit from the same pool of students as forensic teams such as school newspaper reporter (+3%), sports team captain (+5%), class president (+5%), and band (+3%). Even without winning major awards, participation in speech and debate develops valuable skills that colleges are seeking out and that is reflected in the above average acceptance rate (+4%). Colleges and universities today are looking for articulate thinkers and communicators who will become active citizens and leaders of tomorrow.”</p>
<p>If you can become an officer in your team, it’d help tremendously. </p>
<p>I’d presume that being named an Academic All-American would also help, but you’d need a certain number (~800ish) NFL points in addition to a certain GPA and score on the SAT. </p>
<p>And States this year is yet to happen–you may still do well. </p>