How hard is it to win a Scholastic Writing Award?

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

<p>Just wondering what your experience has been with this contest. How hard is it to win a Gold Medal? I’m planning on entering a personal essay.</p>

2

<p>Pretty hard. I LOVE Scholastic, but it definitely isn’t easy to win… like <1% of entries win national awards, and generally the entries are all pretty strong. I won a Silver Medal for (an IMO excellent) fiction piece I wrote last year. That’s like the crowning award on my resume.</p>

<p>I wanted to submit a portfolio this year, but I never got around to it. :(</p>

3

<p>Cool! I feel very strongly about my piece so hopefully it can win something
Where can I find an entry form? I looked on the website but can’t seem to find it</p>

4

<p>[Alliance</a> for Young Artists & Writers](<a href=“http://www.artandwriting.org/Awards/HowTo#howtoapply]Alliance”>http://www.artandwriting.org/Awards/HowTo#howtoapply)</p>

<p>You have to fill it out online, then print it up. TBH I’m not sure that they’re up yet.</p>

<p>EDIT: I am so thankful for College Confidential, which introduced me to this contest. If it weren’t for a thread on this forum I read a year or so ago, I wouldn’t have my award! Mad props. :)</p>

5

<p>Okay, thanks so much!</p>

6

<p>It’s very difficult to get the national award, but pretty easy to get the regional “key” awards.</p>

7

<p>^I wouldn’t say it’s easy. It depends, though, on if you have a region or are region-at-large. I think RAL is harder.</p>

8

<p>National Gold Medals are prestigious–they’re decided by a panel of pretty impressive judges. Winning is an honor.</p>

9

<p>OMG thank you so much!</p>

<p>I’ve never heard of these before, and I’m signing up right now! I love writing, and this is a great opportunity!</p>

<p>I’m sure it’ll be hard… good luck to all!</p>

<p>What are you guys going to enter in? I’m going for novel writing, since I have already started a book :)</p>

10

<p>I’m entering short story again, I think. Any award on the national level is very prestigious, I think. At least I’m hoping, because the Silver Medal is my best award of all.</p>

11

<p>Awesome :slight_smile: Have fun and good luck.</p>

<p>I’m also thinking about Poetry and Dramatic writing…</p>

<p>but Novel is my first priority =)</p>

<p>What do you think about their copy right info? If yours wins an award, they “own” it for 2 years, and can pretty much do whatever they want with it. Does that bother you?</p>