<p>Hi guys.</p>
<p>I am from Canada and i am part of the deca business club (deca.org). Just wondering is it famous in america ?</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of it…</p>
<p>DECA is one of the biggest student business organizations in the world. It’s also the only competitive high school business organization that offers recognition on the international level. There are high school chapters in all fifty states plus Mexico, Germany, Canada, Guam, and other countries.</p>
<p>If you’re only in it for college apps and “fame”, I suggest you quit right away. Winning on the international level (assuming that’s what you’re aiming for) takes a lot of study, practice, and sacrifice like any other EC. Go find something you care about and invest your time in that. It’ll be much more rewarding and interesting for you. Whether or not it’s a “famous extra curricular in America” is not the point. </p>
<p>Of course, if you do actually enjoy it and you like the competition and the conferences, by all means go ahead…and I apologize for sounding like a dick. But the way you phrased your question felt more like an inquiry based on interest for padding your application than your interest for DECA itself.</p>
<p>At my school, DECA is a cult. It would be insulting to suggest that you’re doing it for the “fame”.</p>
<p>Just in case you want an opinion from somebody who isn’t an enthusiast, my school also has a DECA group. It’s a decently sized group of people who are familiar with each other. They go to a lot of competitions that are at least at the state-level, and I think if there are national-level competitions, they go to those too.</p>
<p>familiar extracurriculars (my opinion of what everyone knows about, in order):
Sports
National Honor Society
Mock Trial
Debate Team
Humanitarian Club
Service Club (like Key Club)
FIRST (science-y people will definitely know it)
Virtual Enterprise teams (i guess DECA is part of that?)
Academic Teams not mentioned above</p>
<p>i think virtual enterprise teams is run by deca ? dont know but i cant believe its not famous ?? . coz i competed at the international level at states in Louisville, Kentucky last April and over 60-70 thousand ppl attended maybe even more i would say. and in general DECAs high School Division includes 185,000 members in 5,000 school</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.deca.org%5DDECA%5B/url”>http://www.deca.org]DECA[/url</a>] I am actually going to a deca meeting tomorrow lol.</p>
<p>siglio21, your list just seems to be what you’ve heard of. Like I don’t know of any high schools with a Mock Trial team, but almost every high school in my county and a few to the south has an active debate team. And the debate team at my school is much more active than the NHS. And my school has DECA, though I never knew what it was about.</p>
<p>About 14000 DECA students and advisors were present at the 2010 ICDC.</p>
<p>High school students will have a skewered perception of the popular or famous ECs based on their own interests. For example, a math/science kid will be familiar with Mu Alpha Theta, Sci Oly, USAMO, AMC, FIRST, and so on while a philanthropist knows Key Club, Leo Club, Interact, Octagon, ACS, etc. It doesn’t matter if DECA (or FBLA, BPA, FFA, and HOSA for that matter) is “famous” with a bunch of high school students. What matters is how admissions officers view that EC, because they’re the ones who make the decision.</p>
<p>At an information session with Dartmouth, my regional representative said that adcoms are very familiar with all ECs, from sports to JSA to Octagon. The only exception would be obscure clubs with no affiliation outside of your school, like Kitten Lovers Club or Global Leadership Club or whatever. So if you’re worried that adcoms won’t recognize “DECA” on your application, don’t be. Most of them have reviewed thousands of applications before yours and have a general idea of what it is.</p>
<p>But ultimately, you shouldn’t be worried about having a “famous” EC. Do what you care about; your genuine interest will come through in your application. The international DECA champion who led a statewide project is just as impressive as the nationally ranked debater and the published poet who began a non-profit based on his love for poetry. Adcoms will recognize the individual merits of each activity and the effort that comes with accomplishing it. Don’t invest your time in something you don’t care about just because it’s “famous”.</p>
<p>@billy</p>
<p>the order is based on my perception of what people are most familiar with
the items, i think most people know about</p>
<p>But what are you basing that on?</p>
<p>^It’s just his opinion</p>
<p>His opinion on what “everyone” knows the most? I’m just pointing this out so the OP isn’t discouraged.</p>
<p>I mean he states it pretty clearly in his post</p>
<p>DECA makes some good points but skirts the issue a bit. So to answer your question concisely, OP, yes. DECA is well-known by adcoms.</p>
<p>It’s weird, my HUGE school (4500+) kids with TONS of clubs (200+) has never had DECA. But this year, my friend took up the task of creating one. I’m pretty sure he’s just doing it to pad his resume though; he’s going into a completely unrelated field. (medicine) ._.</p>
<p>My question is how good DECA actually looks, because in my area at least it is well known, but not necessarily difficult. I just got back from state, got a 100 on the roleplay and the highest score in our category for the test. Although my parter and I are smart, we didn’t study at all besides on the bus ride to the competition. And we are definitely not thattt smart, a lot of the questions were common knowledge. Another illustration of this point is that when my mom was in it she said it was for the kids who knew they weren’t going to college. They learned about marketing or business and went straight to that field. </p>
<p>So how impressive is DECA? I just passed up a trip to nationals because it would mean missing a lot of school (and a lot of money) for something I don’t see as that helpful.</p>
<p>Actually, I am a state officer for DECA, and I know for sure that DECA looks GREAT to colleges. It’s especially helpful if you have a state leadership position because only like a hundred or something students in high school can call themselves state officers. </p>
<p>Also, the conferences are really fun AND its really easy to win even at the state level, especially in noncompetitive states, so its definitely a good opportunity for college! I mean, last year as a freshman (I’m currently a sophomore), I won first place in my event (about 30 other competitors) without even taking a marketing class.</p>
<p>You should consider running for state office too. I did it, and it doesn’t take too much time if your parents can help you with the costs (flyers, food, candy, giveaways, raffles, posterboards, decorations, and other campaign materials)…and also if you prepare your answers in advance, especially about your weaknesses. For example, I was not involved in my chapter at all before running for state office (just a regular member…who sometimes showed up to meetings :P), but I was able to cleverly turn that into a positive trait by saying that, as a state officer, I would make sure to give everyone a chance to participate in DECA equally. (You can make up lots of campaign promises because most people know the actual position doesnt actually involve a lot of things that you can do.)</p>
<p>So in conclusion, yeah DECA is really good for colleges and I know lots of people in my school in DECA who got into Wharton and Harvard and other top colleges. If you run for state office, you can get an extra bump too, because not many people have state leadership positions. :)</p>
<p>I was an active member back in the day, and to hear state officers make empty promises…does not sound like leadership material. Just my two cents.</p>
<p>DECA is well-known. Is it appreciated? In my opinion, No.</p>
<p>I have hundreds of members at my school. They are all known for drinking and drugs on DECA trips. I don’t see it as much of resume booster unless you actually do something. Have a leadership position or do a chapter project, thats when it starts to become an impressive extracurricular</p>