The college application process may feel overwhelming, but your DECA experiences have already given you a strong foundation for telling your story.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind and ideas on how to leverage your DECA story for your college admissions process.
Getting Started with the College Process
College application season can feel overwhelming, especially when you are trying to figure out how to fit years of experience into a few short sections. For DECA members, the good news is that you probably already have more to talk about than you realize.
Whether you have competed at your first district conference, served as a chapter officer, attended ICDC, or led an initiative within your association, DECA gives you experiences that can help tell your story beyond grades and test scores.
As you begin your applications, take some time to reflect on everything you have accomplished through DECA. Instead of simply listing your titles or awards, think about what you actually did and what you learned from those experiences.
Position Your DECA Experience
When adding DECA to your activities section, focus on your impact. Colleges may not understand every DECA acronym or officer position, so give them the information they need to understand why your experience mattered.
A few things to highlight include:
- Leadership: Officer positions, committees or projects you helped lead.
- Competition: Awards, advancement or skills developed through your event.
- Impact: Membership growth, funds raised, events planned or people reached.
- Commitment: The number of years you participated and how your involvement grew.
- Skills: Public speaking, teamwork, marketing, finance, entrepreneurship and problem-solving.
Most importantly, be specific. Instead of writing that you “helped plan DECA events,” explain what you organized, your role and the result.
DECA + College Board
DECA members also have another resource supporting them along the way: College Board. As one of DECA’s partners, College Board is working with DECA to connect academics, career preparation and opportunities after high school. College Board’s involvement is another example of how DECA connects what members do today with where they want to go next.
As application season begins, do not underestimate your DECA story. The experiences, skills and memories you have built can become some of the strongest parts of showing colleges who you are and what you will bring to their campus!
