DECA (Ontario DECA & provincial chapters)
Business and marketing competitions with regional, provincial and international rounds
Why It Matters
Highly regarded by business, commerce, and economics programs - especially Ivey (UWO), Rotman (UofT), and Schulich (York). Ontario DECA alone has close to 300 school chapters, and its provincial competition in Toronto draws thousands of students.
How to Start
Sign up through your school's business department. Many Ontario high schools have DECA chapters, and some other provinces have their own DECA associations. Regionals run in the late fall and winter, written events are due in early January, and the Ontario provincial competition is in February. Top finishers advance to DECA's international conference (ICDC).
Commitment
- High commitment: several hours a week, often with evenings, weekends or travel.
- Best starting grade: G9
- G9 is ideal - the more years of DECA competition history you have, the more impressive.
Programs It Supports
- Business
- Commerce
- Economics
- Marketing
- Entrepreneurship
Majors it supports
- Economics – high 80s to low 90s at top schools
- Marketing – high 70s to high 80s
- Entrepreneurship – high 70s to high 80s
Universities where it fits
Our profiles for these schools suggest DECA (Ontario DECA & provincial chapters) as a good fit for their applicants.
- University of Waterloo – Waterloo, ON
- Queen's University – Kingston, ON
- Western University – London, ON
- Carleton University – Ottawa, ON
- Wilfrid Laurier University – Waterloo, ON
- University of Windsor – Windsor, ON
- York University – Toronto, ON
- Simon Fraser University – Burnaby, BC
- Concordia University – Montreal, QC
- University of Calgary – Calgary, AB
- Mount Royal University – Calgary, AB
Similar extracurriculars
- Junior Achievement Canada – Run a real student company for a semester
- Start a Micro-Business or Side Project – Launch something real, even at small scale
- Investment / Finance Club – Manage a mock portfolio and study markets
- Enactus Canada – Use business skills to create community impact
- School Store Manager – Run the daily operations of the student 'Tuck Shop'
- School Event Sponsorship Lead – Secure funding from local businesses for school events
- Investment & Stock Market Club – Run virtual stock trading simulations