<p>I mean, every 2 in 5 harvard acceptees is a national debater… Don’t schools get bored of ppl being in debate clubs? i mean, i am aware that you need to be nationally recognized for it to work. but it just seems, trite.</p>
<p>Being a member of your school debate team for 4 years usually means you have competed at many levels, and developed your speaking skills, clarity of thought, read philosophy, politics, learned how to think and refute on your feet. Trite would be the last word that comes to my mind. Colleges and businesses seek out students and employees with these skills.
Btw, isn’t everyone in Harvard also a violinist, tennis player, etc.?</p>
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<p>Yeah, right. A lot less people than you think are national-circuit debaters.</p>
<p>What’s trite? Some people enjoy it and follow it. Others are more passionate about other things. Popularity shouldn’t influence your decision on what to do. Nor should you do debate just for college purposes - you won’t get very far.</p>
<p>If you’re only considering debate in order to get a line on your resume, you should do something that’s a lot less demanding. As others have implied, being a top-flight debater involves a huge commitment of time and effort. Not belonging to a “club” that meets for an hour or two every week but instead belonging to a team for which you prepare and train and compete for 20 to 30 hours per week, plus attend summer debate camps for 5-6 weeks. But what you get out of it, if you’re any good at it, is the ability to do research, to read for content, to organize your thinking, to manage your time, and to work as a team. (BTW/ my son was a state champion debater and also competitive on the national level, and he didn’t get into Harvard; but he got into several other high quality schools. Debate was instrumental in his learning and preparing for college, but he never thought of it as merely a resume building exercise. He wasn’t into resume building, period.)</p>