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Testimonials

Our students know that TDI is unique. Hear what they have to say below!

An Unparalleled Debate Camp Experience

The Debate Intensive has a wonderful staff that is unrivaled in terms of knowledge, skill, passion, dedication, and an eagerness to teach.

— David Si, Debate Intensive ’17

The amount of zeal and credibility the instructors have is unmatchable; they’re always willing to help and know what they’re talking about. The instructors are also much more experienced because they follow the circuit closely. Additionally, you can talk to them about anything and it’s not awkward, unlike other camps.

— Jason Yang, Debate Intensive ’18

Lab was always a friendly environment, and provided me with a lot of examples, and great teaching, and really helped me improve on my skills as a debater.

— Tanish Kumar, Debate Intensive ’18

I definitely think that all the knowledge that the instructors gave was very useful, especially since they have tips and tricks that helped them become so successful. I wouldn’t have learned so much without the intensives and I definitely think I improved a lot thanks to them.

— Nihar Abhyankar, Debate Intensive ’18

Through daily debates, in-depth intensives and tailored drills I improved and grew tremendously not only as a debater, but also as an individual.

— Lena Mizrahi, Debate Intensive ’17-’18

The clear cut no-nonsense direction that The Debate Intensive is all about getting better. The Debate Intensive breeds champions in a way that other camps just can’t. TDI puts improvement in front of all else, which means debaters become extremely good extremely fast.

— Dylan Liu, Debate Intensive ’18

If you want to see immediate improvement, you have to attend the Debate Intensive. They’ll prepare you well and give you all the necessary skills to succeed on the circuit.

— Jason Yang, Debate Intensive ’18

TDI makes you better. Period.

— Linus Epstein, Debate Intensive ’18

The Debate Intensive’s welcoming atmosphere and skilled staff combine to produce a camp experience like none other. Thanks to TDI I feel confident in my abilities as a debater for the upcoming season. I would recommend TDI to anyone who simply wants to improve in debate as much as possible.

— Kavin Kumaravel, Debate Intensive ’16-’18

The Debate Intensive was an extremely beneficial experience for me. Through daily debates, in-depth intensives and tailored drills I improved and grew tremendously not only as a debater, but also as an individual.

— Lena Mizrahi, Debate Intensive ’17-’18

It’s apparent that The Debate Intensive staff’s determination, passion, and love is unique.

— Vivian Nguyen, Debate Intensive ’18

TDI Versus the Competition

Having been to camp two times previously, I can guarantee your other options as a student won’t have the same caliber of instructor quality, as much one on one attention, and definitely won’t have such a student-driven curriculum.

— Srivatsav Pyda, Debate Intensive ’16

Lab leaders were fantastic – they were incredibly helpful and balanced being serious and productive with being light-hearted and fun to be around. They were all incredibly knowledgeable and their different areas of expertise complemented each other really well (not to say that each wasn’t well-versed in many subjects). Our intense focus on drills and practice rounds made this camp significantly more helpful than others and was a departure from the norm for other camps.

— Gautam Iyer, Debate Intensive ’18

TDI was more debate-focused than the other camps I’ve been to, so I definitely learned the most… My instructors were all super thoughtful in their feedback and gave me great advice.

— Frances Zhuang, Debate Intensive ’17

Having been to camp two times previously, I can guarantee your other options as a student won’t have the same caliber of instructor quality, as much one on one attention, and definitely won’t have such a student-driven curriculum … I was able to drive the curriculum almost completely, which I was never able to do at previous camps.

— Srivatsav Pyda, Debate Intensive ’16

This camp was great and a lot better than any others I attended.

— Karthik Krishnan, Debate Intensive ’17

I think the intense focus on drills and practice rounds was very helpful – it was much more interactive than camps typically are.

— Ari Azbel, Debate Intensive ’17

TDI stands out from other debate camps… It is one of the unique debate camps which focuses a lot more on you!

— Anonymous, Debate Intensive ’17

It was an amazing experience and unlike other debate camps, the instructors take their time to make sure you improve and learn as much as possible.

— Kristen Lu, Debate Intensive ’16

An Innovative, Effective Curricular Model

Unparalleled to any debate camp experience I have had… I got to learn a lot more than I could have at any other camp.

— Victor Luo, Debate Intensive ’16

Unparalleled to any debate camp experience I have had… the variety of arguments I was exposed to and the depth at which they were discussed in such a short amount of time was beyond comparison… I got to learn a lot more than I could have at any other camp.

— Victor Luo, Debate Intensive ’16

I appreciated the tailored nature of curriculum; every day seemed to exactly match my goals for the year and helped me identify my own weaknesses to improve them. The instructors were incredibly receptive to my needs, adapting drills and research to my ideas and thoughts on the topic. Moreover, the camp fostered argument innovation, opening up new directions that I didn’t see in the topic … The research I crafted alongside the staff, the practice debates I had with other students, and the drills were invaluable in shaping my debating abilities for the coming season. The close-knit nature of the camp combined intense work with a sense of camaraderie that I thoroughly enjoyed.

— Alex Zhao, Debate Intensive ’16

The Debate Intensive taught me not only base technical skills that will help me in every round, but knowledge of certain positions, their strategic merit, and how to execute them effectively in the current meta-game of high school LD. The intensives allowed me to tailor the curriculum to my unique needs and improve my skills in different areas.

— Jack Wareham, Debate Intensive ’16

The Debate Intensive is by far the best camp I’ve attended. All of the instructors were extremely qualified and always willing to work with students. The core curriculum ensures that every student receives a well-rounded debate education, and the evidence packet allows students to focus on argumentation as well as research.

— Madeleine Conrad-Mogin, Debate Intensive ’17-’18

TDI was the camp that finally forced me to step outside of my comfort zone and run all sorts of arguments. Everyone nowadays touts that flexibility is the name of the game, but only TDI takes that motto to heart. It’s not easy to expand your argument base because that takes COURAGE and determination to try something new. But if you’re willing to take that step, TDI is your best bet. They’re the game changers…

I started out not being a fan of the “can’t write your own cases” thing, but I have truly learned to appreciate the starter packet. For starters, it made it so that I didn’t have to write prep myself for most of the camp, so I could focus more time on drilling with coaches. Much more importantly, it forced me to be SO much more efficient and strategic during the 1ar. Everyone already had case negs prepared that made the 1ar hell. It has also forced me out of my comfort zone and now I am comfortable running DAs and Ks. I am now a HUGE fan of the starter packet method and I 10/10 recommend it. It’s genius!

— Kevin Li, Debate Intensive ’17

The starter packet was incredibly helpful. As a whole, debate camps often put too much stress in the first few days researching positions. Having a position when you get to camp is extremely helpful, and makes practice debates dramatically better.

— Dylan Liu, Debate Intensive ’18

I really liked doing practice debates. The experience of debating made me much better than just lectures and drills and I feel like I got more argument and strategical experience. The judges really helped understand what arguments to go for and the right strategic moves. I also really liked how they explain how to run the arguments better than you are or to the full capacity that they can be run.

— Nihar Abhyankar, Debate Intensive ’18

I think that the practice debates were incredibly helpful in not only judge feedback, but also normalizing the actual act of debating and making it seem less stressful.

— Vasanth Kumar, Debate Intensive ’18

Expert Instruction for Every Debater

The lab was incredible. Second lab had an outstanding lineup. Each uniquely good at something, created a specialized, and diverse group. Lab time was incredibly helpful, and also well paced.

— Dylan Liu, Debate Intensive ’18

The lab instructors have been some of the most motivating people that I have ever met in the debate community.

— Vasanth Kumar, Debate Intensive ’18

My lab leaders were amazing! It was especially helpful that each leader specialized in a certain area because they were able to go very in-depth on each topic. My lab leaders made great effort to make themselves available to us outside of lab to prep, drill, or go over material.

— Felicity Park, Debate Intensive ’18

My lab leaders were very easy to talk to and ask for help. I felt encouraged to engage in as well as outside of lab time with my mentors.

— Monie Choi, Debate Intensive ’18

It’s apparent that The Debate Intensive staff’s determination, passion, and love is unique.

— Vivian Nguyen, Debate Intensive ’18

It is a chance to learn from amazing counselors… I learned things that I didn’t even know existed!

— Joshua Chung, Debate Intensive ’16-’17

The personal attention and level of commitment from the staff stood out to me. TDI took the time to instill hard work while leaving enough room for relaxation.

— Barry He, Debate Intensive ’17

Drilling was especially helpful compared to other camps because they usually don’t teach as complex stuff in their lectures or a bigger environment in 12 person labs can be intimidating to ask questions in or respond to others.

— Nirmal Balachundar, Debate Intensive ’16

The camp session felt very personalized and addressed the specific issues I had, helping me to improve.

— Yeji Cho, Debate Intensive ’16

I enjoyed how approachable each instructor was and the time that was dedicated to helping me become a better debater rather than solely a better researcher.

— Edwin Fan, Debate Intensive ’17

The Debate Intensive has a wonderful staff that is unrivaled in terms of knowledge, skill, passion, dedication, and an eagerness to teach.

— David Si, Debate Intensive ’17

A Fun, Pressure-Free Learning Experience


The sense of community and belonging here is refreshing, especially considering that debate can often feel overwhelming. I am beyond happy that my last time at camp was spent at TDI.

— Julia Meraji, Debate Intensive ’17-’18

I appreciated how TDI was willing to accommodate my needs. Too often, it seems as though other camps are dismissive of students who are feeling sick or overwhelmed. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had access to considerate staff members that were willing to address my concerns. I believe this made my experience at debate camp that much more enjoyable… TDI offers the most fulfilling and educational experience that I simply didn’t get at other camps. The level of attention that students receive at TDI puts other camps to shame… In addition, the sense of community and belonging here is refreshing, especially considering that debate can often feel overwhelming. I am beyond happy that my last time at camp was spent at TDI. I would not have considered going anywhere else, and I thank the staff members for delivering such a memorable experience.

— Julia Meraji, Debate Intensive ’17-’18

I like the balance of educational activities like labs and fun activities, because they make the learning much more fun and allow me to learn more.

— Arjun Garg, Debate Intensive ’18

Lab is fun and very thorough. The lab leaders have a lot of patience. I am appreciative of how they ensure that everything makes sense.

— Kabir Dubey, Debate Intensive ’17-’18

I looked forward to coming to lab every single day because my lab leaders made sure to always thoroughly explain concepts to us and always answers questions that we may have!

— Steven Dykstra, Debate Intensive ’18

I enjoyed meeting people like me and being able to engage in open and intellectual conversations with them… I would not be able to find that anywhere else.

— Sri Mannava, Debate Intensive ’18

I enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere in camp. Everyone comes to camp having almost the same goals, so it creates an environment where everyone wants to learn. My most memorable experiences at camp have been the mentor time and the labs; not only do we get specialized help on certain things we know we struggle with, but also a broad understanding of new topics we have no familiarity with.

— Sonal Sharma, Debate Intensive ’18

Friends and fun… Honestly it isn’t like any other camp!

— Melissa Qin, Debate Intensive ’16

I didn’t really know many people from the west coast considering I live in Florida, but TDI was a great place to meet new friends.

— Ari Azbel, Debate Intensive ’17

I liked how pressure free it was. Usually, debate communities are very pressuring and you feel worried about not understanding things but TDI was open to many questions and would explain without limit so that we can understand fully.

— Christine Youn, Debate Intensive ’16

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