<p>So I have done absolutely no ec's my freshmen or sophomore year but I'm interested in doing deca as a junior. People say it's not that hard to get to state (in illinois) How hard is it for someone who's fairly smart (top 1% rank) and a good public speaker? Also, are there seperate competitions for novices?</p>
<p>Depends on your region. I'm not familiar with Illinois, but I can tell you that some states (e.g. California) don't need you to qualify to attend state. You just need to be able to pay the ridiculous price of attendance...</p>
<p>I won Top 10 at ICDC my freshman year...it's not half as impressive as people think it is. As long as you are a semidecent speaker and you can BS coherently, you can go far. </p>
<p>I actually quit DECA after my freshman year though to focus more on FBLA...which I've also won something for at Nationals. I'd say both are actually surprisingly similar in terms of competition.</p>
<p>Are you a junior this year? If so, many states that require you to qualify have already had their regional CDCs.</p>
<p>I'm talkin bout next year</p>
<p>It depends on your state/region. I live in Seattle, so there are a huge amount of kids competing. Both years I've been in DECA I've made it to state, but I'm also going to major in marketing communications so I'm really interested and involved with the concepts around DECA already. Basically to be good at DECA you have to be confident, articulate, very quick on your feet, professional, and great at memorization (vocab, concepts, etc). I'm sure you'll do great!</p>
<p>I think it really depends on which category you're in. The marketing tests and roleplays are usually easy. I only know this because I've met people at DECA state conferences who have said they've never taken a marketing course. The principles of finance sector is probably the hardest but still not very difficult. I took a financial accounting course at my local CC because I wasn't offered accounting at my school and I made it to states last year, and state finals this year. </p>
<p>If you know your topic and have confidence to perform in the roleplays, you shouldn't have a problem getting to states.</p>
<p>By the way, this is in New Jersey</p>
<p>it's ridiculously easy</p>
<p>The female judges have been easier than male judges, at least in my experience. Pray for women next year!</p>
<p>I'm from Seattle too and it's really easy. Every year my school sent probably send 80% of our kids to state and the 2 years I did DECA I double qualified.Now if you can get to nationals, that is impressive.</p>
<p>^"Getting to nationals" is impressive? Highly doubtful. Many competitors are "bumped up" every year. Further, some states (VA, WA) have large membership, meaning they can send more competitors per event. On top of that, many events (chapter projects especially) tend not to fill up...virtually guaranteeing ICDC qualification.) Let's not forget that several hundred members also go to ICDC without qualifying, such as Voting Delegates, state officers, LEADS participants, and SMA participants.</p>
<p>I don't mean to bash DECA. Much of the same can be said for FBLA, both organizations for which I hold membership.</p>
Congrats on the 137+ IQ!!!