Stay Teen's Project Future Essay Contest

Deadline: 
September 30, 2015
Maximum Award: 
$1000
Eligibility: 
See comments
Comments: 
You must be between the ages of 13 and 19

StayTeen.org is running an essay contest for high school students, they are a part of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, a nonpartisan non-profit based in Washington, D.C.

 

Essay Topic:

When you think about your life, where do you want to be in 5 years? In 10 years? In 25 years? We all make decisions about our health and in our lives that can help set us up on a path towards a successful future or that can derail us from our goals. What does preparing for a healthy future mean to you? What steps are you taking to be the best you can be? Perhaps there are people in your life who provide information or guidance as you work towards a healthy future. If so, what advice or counsel do they give to you and do you agree with what they say? If you have to make difficult decisions regarding your health or your future, what information do you use to make those decisions?

Eligibility:

The contest is open to entrants between the ages of 13 and 19 as of 11:59 p.m. ET, September 30, 2015 who reside within the United States. Certain eligibility restrictions apply, as described in the full contest Terms & Conditions.

Judging:

  1. Judging will be completed by a panel of qualified judges who are employed by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, with each judge scoring each essay independently.
  2. Only judges can award points.
  3. The eligible Entrant whose essay earns the highest average score from the panel of judges will be awarded First Place, the eligible Entrant whose essay earns the second-highest average score from the panel of judges will be awarded Second Place, and the eligible Entrant whose essay earns the third-highest average score from the panel of judges will be awarded Third Place.
  4. In the event of a tie between two or more essays earning one of the top three average scores, winners will be selected by the highest score in the Material Organization category. If there is still a tie after applying the above criteria, the judges will confer and select the winner(s) from among the tying Entries.

Contest Rules:

  1. Participants must write on the official topic and incorporate at least one of the specified themes into the essay.
  2. Each entry must include a title page that includes the title of the essay along with the entrant’s first name, last name, date of birth, email address, phone number, city, state, and name of high school (if applicable). This title page is required whether the entry is submitted via post or via web.
  3. Essays may be typewritten or legibly handwritten and must be double-spaced.
  4. Essays must be between 500 – 1,000 words. Every word in the body of the essay is counted. This does not include the cover page, essay title, or any citations.
  5. Any quotations or copyrighted material used in the essay must be identified properly. Failure to identify non-original material will result in disqualification.
  6. Essays must be written in English.
  7. Mailed entries should be stapled together in the upper left-hand corner with the cover page attached.