.webp)
So you are applying to DECA’s competition and want more information? DECA is one of our partners and we’ve been there so we thought give you our take on DECA.
As enticing as that thought is, it's tough to find the right information or have the willpower to go through with it. Moreover, starting a business can be daunting, especially for aspiring entrepreneurs because there are challenges and obstacles every step of the way.
Ever since I was young, I wanted to have my own business, but it's tough when you're still in high school or college. I did not know how to set up a business model nor how much effort goes into it.
Launching a successful business requires the perfect blend of marketing, management, finances and most importantly, the right guidance. Nowadays, the best way to do it is by joining an entrepreneurship program. For aspiring entrepreneurs looking to turn their ideas into feasible businesses, DECA High School Programs provide you with an effective roadmap.
This guide is brought to you by BETA Camp, another program helping young people explore entrepreneurship, with fully-virtual programs that assist with building your very own startup.
It will cover everything you need to know about the DECA High School Program, including reviews, fees, dates, and more. With the correct information, you can finally embark on your entrepreneurship journey.
The key difference between DECA High School Program and other programs is it’s a well-rounded educational experience that prepares students for success beyond college. DECA's commitment to constantly updating its curriculum to align with the latest industry trends gives students a competitive edge in today's ever-changing job market.
Overview
The DECA High School Program is a dynamic and engaging program for high school students to empower the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators. It offers hands-on experience in business, marketing, and entrepreneurship through interactive competitions, projects and networking opportunities.
“Distributive Education Clubs of America" was the initial acronym for DECA, which was founded in 1946. Although the organization's name has changed its name to An Association of Marketing Students, it still goes by DECA. Its activities and programs are continually updated to better prepare students for the modern workforce as technology and educational research develops.
More than 3,200 schools across America take part, making DECA one of the best liked organizations for high school students. With its stellar reputation and prominent alumni section, DECA has garnered the trust of high school students everywhere.
DECA allows its members to engage in realistic business scenarios and compete with other aspiring entrepreneurs across the country. You'll have the opportunity to meet successful entrepreneurs and even the chance to win awards, recognition and scholarship money.
The best aspect of DECA is that it has a strong community, and there are a lot of great networking opportunities from being around other ambitious students. Some of them become great friends for the rest of their lives. One of my closest friends right now is someone I met at a DECA competition in Grade 9.
Key Features
Hands-on Experience
A big part of becoming an entrepreneur is being ready to dive into the business world, and the DECA High School Program offers you just that.
It offers a unique and engaging approach to learning by providing hands-on experience. DECA hosts interactive competitions and projects, so students can apply the things they have learned in the classroom to real-world scenarios.
DECA's hands-on experience is much like what BETA Camp does through its programs. BETA Camp prides itself in being a hands-on virtual fellowship taught by industry experts and leading CEOs.
This hands-on approach enhances students' understanding and helps them to retain the knowledge they have acquired. Additionally, the hands-on experience allows students to develop valuable problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.
Here are some examples of DECA competitions that members can take part in
- Business Growth Plan
- Professional Selling
- Retail Merchandising Series
- Virtual Business Challenge-Fashion
- Virtual Business Challenge-Sports
- Financial Consulting
- Stock Market Game
- Innovation Plan
- International Business Plan
- Marketing Management Team Decision Making
- Start-up Business Plan
- Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making
- Community Awareness Project
- Virtual Business Challenge-Restaurant
- Virtual Business Challenge-Hotel Management
Growth Through Unique Challenges and Experiences
Growth is often found at the junctions of challenge and experience. It's in the moments when we push ourselves out of our comfort zones and tackle new and unique challenges that we truly have the opportunity to grow.
DECA's High School Program was developed to provide students with these opportunities. With interactive competitions and projects, students are given a chance to tackle new and exciting challenges that push their limits and help them grow. With today's evolving workforce, staying ahead of the curve is more important than ever.
So what are DECA challenges? Essentially, DECA teams up with corporate partners to offer numerous challenges precisely created to test the members' knowledge and skills regarding that topic. Here are some examples of DECA Challenges:
- Digital Presentation Skills: Create a one-to-two-minute digital presentation
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I): Build a unique DE&I strategy
- Entrepreneur of Tomorrow: Pursue and pitch a brand new product idea
- Ethics in Leadership: Create a one-minute public service announcement video about the importance of ethics
- Lead4Change: After completing a series of classes on 21st Century Skills, finish and submit a community service project in teams
Awards and Scholarships
Not only can you win prizes through DECA's competitions, but DECA members can also win awards, giving their college applications an edge over others.
But the good news doesn't stop there. Each year, DECA members receive more than $200,000 in scholarships through its scholarship program. These scholarships are merit and performance-based and are funded by DECA's corporate partners.
Some of these scholarships include:
- Marriott International: Five $2,000 scholarships to DECA members interested in hospitality and tourism
- Publix: Five $1,000 scholarships to members who are Publix associates
- Whataburger: Five $1,000 scholarships to members interested in the restaurant/food service industry
- College scholarships: Schools like Johnson & Wales University and Berkeley Colleges also offer scholarships to DECA members
Networking Opportunities
Now, one of the most important things for any entrepreneurship program is networking. DECA allows you to connect with like-minded individuals and students, some of whom may become future business partners, college roommates or friends.
But that's not all. DECA also helps you connect with successful business professionals and industry leaders, many of whom are DECA alumni.
It is important for students to research the quality and quantity of networking they can get at each program. For example, at BETA Camp - students get two mentors per start-up - allowing more diverse viewpoints to be expressed and helping students build connections much easier.
Logistics
There is no cut-and-dry pricing for DECA High School Programs. But here's the usual quote for individual DECA membership (students, advisors, alumni and professionals) dues. $10 USD (plus the applicable chartered association dues. Look on your association's profile page, you may find the dues listed there.)
DECA competitors have to pay a membership fee (depending on the school, but for me, it costs around $20-$50). They also have to pay fees for each competition they attend and associated fees such as food, housing, and competition costs.
But for these to even be applicable, you must know how to bring DECA to your classrooms. It's done in 6 simple steps that you can find here. But for your convenience, here's a tl;dr.
- Meet DECA's requirements
- Meet your association's requirements
- Obtain school approval
- Officially request to start a chapter by filling out a request form
- Once approved, submit your list of members
- Make contact with your chartered association and bring DECA to your classroom
If you've gone through these six steps, congratulations! You've finally got DECA at your high school.
But with BETA Camp, you can forget a lot of these hassles. BETA Camp is easy to get started and easy to build upon. Instead of going through the 6-step hassle, you can just go to their website and sign up for any of BETA Camps programs today.
Pros and Cons
DECA High School Programs is a comprehensive entrepreneurship camp that provides students with a wealth of business, marketing, and entrepreneurship knowledge. But like anything else, it has its upsides and downsides.
Some of the pros of the DECA High School Program include the following:
- Personal and Professional Growth - DECA's biggest plus is how many opportunities it offers students to develop their leadership skills, expand their knowledge, and build confidence. It also provides opportunities for community service, further enriching students' overall educational experience.
- Evolving Curriculum - DECA offers a constantly evolving curriculum to align with the latest industry trends, making sure students receive a balanced education that prepares them for success in college and beyond.
- Competitive Edge - Everything DECA leads up to is the competitive edge it provides to its members. With DECA's hands-on experience, personal and professional growth opportunities, and evolving curriculum, students gain a competitive advantage in their college applications and today's job market.
Some of the cons of the DECA High School Program include the following:
- Time Commitment - By participating in DECA's program, you're committing a significant portion of your time to it, as students must balance their regular coursework with additional meetings, competitions, and projects.
- Cost - There are costs associated with participating in DECA's program, such as competition fees, travel expenses, etc. Even though the normal member fee per member is only $10, there are association fees. (For example, due to the added association costs, the annual cost to be a Pennsylvania DECA member is $16.)
- Limited Availability - DECA is not available in all schools, so students may need to attend a different school or participate in the program through an online platform if their school does not offer it. And it's a pretty big process to get it running in your school.
Who is it for?
The DECA High School Program is for students in grades 9-12. The program may be a good fit for anyone interested in learning more about entrepreneurship. DECA membership is available for students with career interests in marketing, finance, entrepreneurship, hospitality, and management.
For the most part, the students in DECA are ambitious and community-oriented students interested in learning about business, winning awards, and developing presentation skills. This fantastic blend creates an exciting community and an environment for growth.
3 Things you might Love about DECA
There are many things to love about DECA High School Programs, but here are three main benefits:
- Unique Competitive Environment - DECA students are surrounded by a unique and challenging competitive environment that allows them to showcase their skills and knowledge. Competitions are designed to mimic real-world business scenarios, and students can work with others to develop creative solutions to business problems. And that’s not all! Multi-leveled competitions mean that students have the opportunity to compete (and travel) internationally with their friends.
- The DECA Club Structure - DECA is not merely a competition. It’s a club with myriad traditions. Schools within the DECA system are encouraged to build their own DECA traditions and host in-school events. DECA’s club structure offers students numerous opportunities to build relationships with like-minded students and industry professionals through interactive competitions, projects, and community service.
- Signature DECA Identity - DECA provides students with a sense of belonging and identity within the club. Their signature “DECA Diamond” pose that students make with their hands for photos shows the club's unity. Even thoughDECA traditions may vary from school to school, this pose brings all together.
How does it compare?
DECA High School Program is a well-regarded entrepreneurship and business program, but it's not the only one. Here are some of the similar highly regarded programs and how they compare with DECA's.
Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is a student organization that offers education, competition and networking opportunities for high school students interested in business and entrepreneurship. While FBLA provides valuable experiences, it lacks the comprehensive curriculum and hands-on experience that DECA offers.
Programs such as BETA Camp offer similar values, but BETA Camp programming is fully-virtual, and the focus is more narrow; on building a revenue-generating startup instead of having a broad focus like the DECA High School program.
But much like DECA. BETA Camp also emphasizes the community aspect of the program, focusing on sharing resources and alumni interactions.
Young Enterprise (YE) provides students with the experience of creating a business from the ground up and offers education in entrepreneurship and business skills. While YE offers a unique experience, just like FBLA, it does not provide the comprehensive curriculum and hands-on experience that DECA offers.
Is it worth it?
Looking into DECA High School Programs, it's no doubt that joining DECA can be extremely beneficial for high school students who dream of having their own businesses.
You'd be gaining the skills, knowledge, and experience that top companies look for in their applicants. And who knows? You might even win scholarships that help you pay for your college education.
Plus, DECA isn't just for high school students. Even as a college student, you can keep on participating in DECA programs.
You can also look at some reviews from DECA alumni here.
Final Verdict
The DECA High School Program offers a unique education in entrepreneurship and business skills. It provides students with an interactive curriculum, hands-on experience, a competitive environment, and numerous networking opportunities. DECA simply prepares students for success in today's job market and provides them with the skills and knowledge they need to pursue their entrepreneurial aspirations.
But it's imperative to research and evaluate whether the program aligns with your goals and whether it is justified for your needs. Even though reviews might say DECA programs are a wise investment, your priorities should come first. It may also help to talk to their alumni or to reach out to the program organizers to ask questions and learn more about what you can expect if you decide to enroll.
The featured image and other pictures are from DECA website.