CHANGE MY LOCATION
Critical thinking, public speaking are skills that interest colleges
SEE HOW THIS STORY DEVELOPED
Related Topics: BALTIMORE
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Students who choose debate over sports or music programs could move to the top of the college application stack.
“I can’t say we would differentiate between someone who did debate and someone who didn’t, but those who do build skills that are very advantageous to the college experience,” said Louise Shulack, director of admissions at Towson University.
“Speech and debate over somebody who was in another type of extracurricular activity is great to see.”
Debate skills can enhance a student’s application, but “it also depends on the student’s overall background and application packet,” Loyola College spokeswoman Courtney Jolley said.
Debate participation is “valuable” to an application, she said.
Participation in debate also may improve admission into scholarship programs, said Barbara Greenfeld, associate vice president of enrollment services at Howard Community College.
The college’s competitive James W. Rouse Scholars Program would look for applicants involved in such an activity, she said.
“We would see debate as a very, very favorable activity especially because of the preparation required and the critical thinking involved,” Greenfeld said.
Comments from Examiner Readers
11:49 AM MST on Wed., Jun. 27, 2007 re: "Critical thinking, public speaking are skills that interest colleges"
Report as inappropriate
Examiner Reader said:
Interesting article, Ms. Peirce. Finally, somebody is stepping up, encouraging students to focus on academics rather than sports. Thank you for publishing this article- I enjoyed reading it!
101 agree | 97 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree