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Standout by Building Gallery Your passion project could be the edge that sets your application apart. Passion Project A passion project is a self-initiated project built around something you care deeply about. It doesn’t need funding, a team, or fancy tools—just your curiosity, creativity, and commitment. Importance Effectiveness A Self-Driven Project Can Turn a Good Application Into a Standout One 5 Reasons Passion Projects Are a Game-Changer in Your Personal and Academic Journey Endless Possibilities & Opportunities Passion Project Resource Center Overview Examples Steps-by-Step Passion Project Passion Project Passion Project Read More Read More Read More Explore Passion Project Categories STEM & Innovation Showcase your problem-solving skills and curiosity through science, coding, and tech. Business & Entrepreneurship Lead, build, and solve real-world problems while learning how to create value. Social Impact & Advocacy Use your voice and actions to create change in your community or beyond. Creativity & Communication Show how you think, express, and connect — through media, arts, or storytelling.

Rec Letter 101 Guide It’s that time of year where everyone has to request letters of recommendation, except now it’s extraawkward since you can’t even ask in person! Here’s everything you need to know about letters of recommendation. What are letters of recommendation? (Yes, this is a 101 post, so EVERYTHING you need to know will be included) Letters of recommendation (in the context of applying to college) are letters written by other people, which support your college application. They’re written by your teachers and guidance counselors, but sometimes also by coaches, bosses, and even your peers. Colleges use them to learn about you as a student, but also about your personal qualities (the transcript can tell them how you are as a student). According to Yale, recommenders “write about such things as your intellectual curiosity, energy, relationships with classmates, and impact on the classroom environment. Obviously it is important to ask for recommendations from teachers who know you well.” As a rule of thumb, most schools ask for 2 teacher recommendations, 1 guidance counselor recommendation, and some schools will allow you to submit an extra recommendation (from a coach, boss, peer, etc.). How do I pick which teachers to ask? In general, it doesn’t really matter what subjects they teach. What’s much more important is your relationship with the teachers. This teacher should be able to talk about to your personality, work ethic, and interests beyond simply saying that you got good grades. Do: pick a teacher that you have rapport with, or who is involved in some way outside the classroom (perhaps they are your sports coach, or your supervisor for one of your clubs). Don’t: pick a teacher just because you aced their class. If the teacher doesn’t have anything interesting to say about you, even though you did well in their class, it would be better if you picked another teacher. What if I’m kinda quiet and don’t have a great relationship with any of my teachers and it’s kinda weird now that we’re online?: ideally, the teachers that you are asking for a rec are involved outside of just a single class. If you see them in a club, or a sport, then continue to build your relationship once school reopens (hopefully). Alternatively, you could build a relationship with your senior year teachers, and ask them to write your recommendation. If neither of these work, then don’t stress. Even if your relationship with the teachers isn’t the best, you can greatly improve their recommendation by giving them the tools they need to write you a glowing letter. Okay, okay, tell me. How do I get my teachers to write me a banger rec? First, you want to include a brief resume. This should have your ECs, academic stats, awards, and anything else that you're proud of or want to include (whether those are your interests that aren’t fully fleshed ECs, like reading, woodworking, fitness, etc. or any extenuating circumstances) You also want to prepare a Q&A letter that will help your recommender truly personalize your rec. I was lucky enough to have my teachers explicitly state what they wanted me to write about, but here’s the gist of the questions. “Is there anything specific you would like me to write about?” (If you want them to address something you find important, here is the place). “Describe any important or relevant extracurriculars and what you’ve learned.” This is important because your teachers probably don’t have a great idea of what you do outside of class, and can use this information to talk about it in a more insightful way. “Describe how you did in my class, as well as any challenges faced or obstacles overcome. If there is a single time that you felt like you excelled in the class, then describe it.” Reminder: your teacher probably teaches a lot of students. This is more to jog their memory so that they can specifically write YOUR letter (especially since you’ll probably be out of their class by the time they actually write it). Sure, but we’re online right now. How do I actually ASK for a rec? If your classes are still online, my personal recommendation would be to stay behind, and just ask like you would if you were in person. Ask if they would be willing to write a letter of recommendation for you, and give them a couple reasons why you think they would be a good fit--perhaps you two have a good relationship, or you’ve really been challenged by the class, etc. "Hi Mr. Smith, I've really enjoyed your class and it's one of the reasons I want to major in Chemistry at MIT. I feel like you made it real and exciting and so much more than just an academic subject - it’s become a passion of mine. Would you be willing to write a recommendation letter for my college application?" "Here's a resume for your reference. Just a heads up – I'm planning to apply to eight colleges and several scholarships as well, so I will probably be coming back to you for more copies in the next couple of months. Let me know if you have any questions. I really appreciate you doing this – at selective schools like MIT, a detailed and specific recommendation letter can make a big difference. Thanks again!" Okay, I asked for a rec and they said yes. Now what? Let your recommenders know what colleges you are applying to, as well as the earliest deadline. It’s okay if you don’t have a full list, you can always update them later. The important part is that your teacher knows the latest by when they can get their recommendation in. Nowadays, however, most recommendation letters are done digitally, so the teacher only has to submit one copy and a system will automatically send it to every college. Every school is different: figure out what your school does. Follow up with your recommender as the deadline gets closer. Ideally, your recommender will get it in much before the deadline, but following up ensures that you don’t stress if they submit it the day of or even late. Do I need 1 STEM and 1 humanities rec? Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't matter much what subjects your recommenders teach. It may be a bit strange if you apply for a STEM major but only have humanities recs or vice versa, but in general, pick teachers that you have a good relationship with. The only time where you should actively seek 1 STEM and 1 humanities rec is if a specific school asks for that. What about my counselor rec? You would go about a similar process--send them your resume, a quick Q&A sheet about yourself (minus the specifics about your class), and check in with them to make sure they get your rec in on time. To be completely honest, counselor recs don’t matter much unless they’re highly positive, address extenuating circumstances, or negative. Highly positive: if your counselor describes you as one of the brightest kids to ever come through the school, or if you are literally a ray of sunshine that is kind to everyone and is loved by everyone, then colleges will make note of that. This is somewhat hard to convey in your own essays because it seems like bragging. Address extenuating circumstances: by having your guidance counselor explain circumstances, it gives more credibility to the issue, and also indicates that the impact was significant enough to be worth explaining. Negative: negative recommendations are extremely rare, but even a single one can sink your entire app. Admissions officers want kids whose teachers/counselors will advocate for them wholeheartedly. Do recommendations even matter that much? Similar to the guidance counselor rec, these recommendations don’t matter too much unless they’re highly positive, address extenuating circumstances or are negative. How do I avoid getting a negative rec?: first and foremost, if a teacher ever seems hesitant to write you a rec when you ask them, it would probably not be best for them to write it. Good teachers will decline to write you a rec if they feel they cannot talk about you in a good way. The best way to ensure that you avoid a negative rec is by picking teachers who you are close with, and have a lot to say about you. Okay, last question, I swear. What the hell is the FERPA thing? FERPA is used to protect the privacy of students' educational records. In the context of letters of recommendations, FERPA gives you the right to view your letters of recommendation once you have been admitted to college. However, most teachers and schools require you to waive your FERPA rights, essentially meaning that you agree to not view your letter of recommendation. This shows that you trust your teacher and seems more honest to admissions officers. In fact, admissions officers will usually be concerned if you don't waive your FERPA rights. It signals that you don't trust your teachers. ***Start asking for recs soon, pick teachers who you have good relationships with, give them the tools they need to make it specialized, and avoid getting a bad rec.

First-year essay prompts 2025–2026 - Common App Here is the full set of essay prompts for 2025–2026 Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome? Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you? Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more? Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

Review the terms and conditions for using Project NextgenEd. Understand your rights, responsibilities, and our policies for accessing this website. Project NextGenEd: Terms & Conditions and Liability Disclaimer Effective Date: July 18, 2025 1. Introduction Project NextGenEd ("we," "our," or "the Program") is a nonprofit, student-led initiative offering free guidance and educational resources for students navigating the college admissions process. This document governs your use of our services, website, and all materials, and constitutes a legally binding agreement between you (the user, student, parent, or legal guardian) and Project NextGenEd. By accessing or participating in Project NextGenEd services, including viewing resources, joining workshops, or receiving advice, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to these Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and Liability Disclaimer. 2. 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How to get into an Ivy League (Full Course) This is your full step-by-step guide to getting into an Ivy League school in 2024. From building your college list and crafting a spike to writing standout essays and preparing for interviews, this course covers every part of the application process. Whether you’re just starting or finalizing your Common App, this is everything you need to compete at the highest level.

American Rocketry Challenge (ARC) Location: Varies by year — most stages are local qualifying launches nationwide; the National Finals take place at Great Meadow, The Plains, Virginia Cost: Entry fees, rocket parts, and practice flights typically cost between $800 and $1,000 per team (practice launches, motors, materials), plus an estimated $365 fee for attending the Finals and travel expenses Contest Date: Registration opens in December, The National Finals will occur on May 16, 2026 Application Deadlines: closes on December 6, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET Eligibility: U.S. teams composed of middle school or high school students (grades 6–12). Teams must be sponsored by a single school or U.S.‑based non‑profit youth organization (e.g., Scouts, 4‑H, Civil Air Patrol) ARC is the world’s largest student rocketry competition, inviting teams to design, build, test, and launch a model rocket carrying an egg payload to precise altitude and duration requirements. Beyond STEM learning, it fosters teamwork, engineering design, and problem-solving skills, and offers scholarship opportunities, national recognition, and for finalists, a chance to compete internationally at the Paris Air Show. Learn More Please note: This information is compiled from publicly available sources and may change from year to year. Dates, locations, fees, and other details are subject to updates—please verify all information directly on the official competition website before applying.

Top 30 Mistakes WARNING! If you don't have a solid list of potential topics or a rough outline of your essay, STOP READING NOW. Seriously. Don't start with lists of rules or errors because they will feel limiting or excessive, and will likely stifle creativity and actually focus your attention and energy on what you shouldn't be doing rather than devoting it to creating new ideas or topics. Ok, do you have a rough draft or an outline or at least some topics? Really? Good. Read on, and remember that these are just guidelines, so if you really want to break one of these rules, you can. Just recognize that it's risky to do so and you will need to write a really great essay to make the risk pay off. If you're interested in a professional essay review, feel free to PM me for more details - this is the best way to make sure your essay passes muster. 1. Don't choose a common topic. It's possible to write a good essay on a common topic but so much more difficult because of the sheer volume that comes in. These include the standard sports injury/championship, mission trip, divorce, moving to a new city, death of a grandparent, and slightly meta "getting into this college would be the culmination of my dreams" essays. To a lesser degree, this also includes "soup du jour" essay topics like cryptocurrency, social media, or whatever else is trending. Yes, it is theoretically possible to have a good essay on any of these common topics. But every AO rolls their eyes and dies a little inside every time they have to read another one. 2. Make sure you write about something that is actually important to you. Full meta essays about college applications/grades/tests feel like they are clever and creative, but they aren't that distinctive or original. And there's no way the college application process is that big of a part of who you are because you've only been doing it for ~7 months tops. People who write about this are trying to project intelligence and depth, but it does the opposite. Other people write about things they think AOs want them to write about. What they actually want you to write about is YOU. 3. Use caution when writing about super polarizing or sensitive issues. Be careful not to come across as too dogmatic, political, religious, cult-like, overly dramatic, aggressive, racist, sexist, or argumentative. Often you come across as somewhat crass or blunt simply because you don't have the space to explain your complex views fully enough and the topic is so delicate. Other times your opinions clash with the deeply held views of whoever is reading your essays. Again, it's possible to write good essays on delicate topics, but it's risky - just like killing a fly in your grandmother's house with a baseball bat. 4. Don't curse too much, try too hard to incite pity or catharsis, be overly pessimistic / self-deprecating, talk about your forays into illegal/unethical activities, or do anything else dark, depressing, or weird. You want to stand out as unique, but not like this. You can curse a little and brush up against dark or challenging material, but you want your essay to portray a positive view of you. 5. Avoid using too many big words. Do not, repeat, DO NOT touch that thesaurus. You want this essay to be your voice. You're smart and you want the AO to know that, but they will already see your SAT verbal score and your transcript, so you don't need to hit them in the face with a thesaurus. Using too many big words sounds unnatural and makes it sound like you're trying to be impressive rather than expressive. Instead of coming away with "wow this guy is really passionate and a creative writer" they might just find you insincere, boring, and uninspiring. Big words in excess drain emotion and jar the reader out of the story and remind them that they're sitting in a windowless room evaluating essays. They are WAY overused in these essays too, and often evoke a "here we go again" sigh. You can sound full of yourself and arrogant as well as out of touch. Remember that you want to be likeable, personable, and charismatic. These will be more impressive to an AO than people who try too hard to impress with intellect and vocabulary. 6. Take time to edit & review your essays. I've seen essays list the wrong school. I've seen a student literally misspell her own first name in the essay. I've seen essays that scream that English is not your first language so loudly they are hard to get through. You don't want any of those. Review your essays, revise them, and get someone else to help give you feedback too. 7. Don't make your essays low effort or last minute rush jobs. Too many bright students are used to churning out an essay in a couple hours and getting an A almost by default. Or they're used to putting things off until the last minute but succeeding anyway because they're very bright. Or maybe they're shotgunning too many schools and are already sick of it. Or maybe they don't actually want to go to that particular school so they don't really try. Whatever the reason, this is a recipe for disaster on college application essays because they are supposed to be much more than the typical writing you produce. They should be thoughtful, introspective, expressive, creative, inspiring, interesting, and revealing. You won't get that kind of compelling writing in a single draft or with a lazy approach. Usually, when an essay was thrown together with little effort or very quickly, it shows. That always communicates that you either don't care enough to give it the time and effort it deserves, or that you aren't capable of better. Either way it's a fast one-way ticket to the waitlist. 8. Don't try to write about your entire life from a 30,000 foot view. You simply don't have space to say everything about yourself, so don't try. Pick a few attributes and try to tell one story that showcases those. If you bite off more than you can chew, you probably won't end up saying anything really compelling about yourself. The more you zoom out, the more every student looks the same. It's only when you talk to them, get to know them, spend time with them, learn about them, and engage them that you start to see how different, vibrant, interesting, talented, and incredible they are. So give the AO an opportunity to get close to you in the essay. Go small. Zoom in on one story, not your whole life. Don't use an introduction, just jump right in and let the story fill in the details as you go. 9. Don't use pithy aphorisms, clichés, or generalities even if you made them up they're original to you. Don't try to include wholesome sounding life lessons or broad sweeping statements about the world or humanity. None of these: "I learned more from them than they did from me." "By striving to achieve greatness we can become more than we ever thought possible." "Only by helping others can a person truly realize their potential in the world." "I am far stronger than I knew and I'm excited to face the next set of challenges." Those are all the worst and are an instant eye-roll and "not this again" sigh. 10. Don't fail to complete a portion of the application. On multiple occasions I have been reviewing an app and the next section loads and it's empty or the essay is only partially complete. I refresh the page and still get just half an essay. I reach out to the admins to make sure there's not a clerical or systems error. Then I ask them to check the student record and if possible follow up with the student to make sure they completed the section. Sometimes we get a response with the missing section and sometimes we don't. It's hard for this to turn out well. Many schools would not be this gracious and would simply move on to the next app. If you're paying the app fee, get your money's worth by actually filling out the whole thing and completing your essays. 11. Don't be so academic or stick too close to the prompt. Some prompts are more dangerous for falling into this mistake, but so often students are conditioned to answer questions directly and fully like they would for school. The prompt is primarily there to get you to talk about yourself not to assess your ability to answer a question completely and fully. So if it asks why you want to go to X school, don't write 500 words praising the school for being so awesome. They already know how awesome they are. What they want to know about is YOU and how YOU fit the school. Make sure your response addresses the prompt and that it's clearly written for that school, but don't treat it like an exam question. Think of it more like someone asked you that question on a date to find out more about you. Let the response be more reflective of you than it is of the prompt. 12. Don't steal an essay that isn't yours. Sometimes this works and you take credit for a well-written and proven essay. But there is also the risk that you could get caught and there is no statute of limitations on this. If they discover it 25 years after you graduate, they can still cancel your degree. It's just not worth the risk. Not only is it riskier than most students realize, it's also not as effective. What was a powerful and compelling picture of one student might not work or fit for you. Holistic review means that everything is considered together in evaluating applications. When things don't fit, it raises a variety of concerns and the total picture of the applicant just isn't as strong. 13. Avoid overused words, especially SAT words - plethora, myriad, ameliorate, etc. These don't make you sound smart. They make you sound fake and basic. Use words that you would use to talk about yourself to a friend or on a date or in a job interview. 14. Don't use a template from a book, or model your essay after someone else's. One of the admissions officers that contributed to The New Rules of College Admissions tells the story of how one year she and her colleagues read many essays that all talked about a genie granting wishes and how the wishes embodied the student and his/her ambitions for college and life. They scratched their heads over the striking similarities until one of them found a book published that year that had a successful essay example that was the genie essay. This didn't end well for those students. 15. Don't go over the word limit. AO's have to read a ton of essays and if yours is demonstrably longer, it's going to be annoying at best and detrimental to your rating at worst. Many application review systems will automatically truncate responses at the word limit, so the end may not even show up. 16. At the same time, don't write an essay that is less than about 60% of the word limit. Unless you have a really clever, amazing, and heretofore unseen idea that requires this, you should aim for 80-100% of the word limit. If you're less than 60%, it just looks lazy, uninspired, aloof, and disengaged. 17. Avoid giving off bad vibes. This includes excessive bragging, self-absorption, entitlement, snootiness, arrogance, bravado, presenting an abrasive personality, or anything else that indicates you will struggle to fit in to a vibrant community and flourishing student body. Most of the major problems colleges deal with are related to a very small minority of their students. So it saves a lot of big headaches to screen these people out in the admissions process. Make sure your essay says "plays well with others" and not "social pariah bound for arrest or expulsion." You want to come across as interesting, likeable, fun, clever, creative, and upbeat. Let your SAT and grades showcase how smart you are. 18. Avoid pitymongering, humblebragging, being a victim, depressed rants, passive aggressive or reverse psychology attempts (e.g. "I just know I'm going to be rejected"), self-deprecation that goes too far, or generally an overly negative attitude. This should be a showcase of your strengths, the very best you on your very best day. Avoid putting others down, diving deep into personal conflicts (one essay I read was about a student's best friend abandoning her and how she cut her out of her life), showing inability to work with others and airs of superiority, paranoid defensiveness, or general toxicity. 19. Don't go overboard with fluff or exaggeration. AOs are pretty familiar with common accomplishments and what typical high achieving students look like, so don't try too hard to stretch things. They're also pretty familiar with BS because so many students try to pass it off as legitimate in their applications. 20. Don't use the essay to explain the reason you don't have a 4.0. Don't make excuses, blame others or society for your shortcomings/struggles, gripe about injustices in your life, etc. The essay is a space for you to showcase your personality, skills, abilities, accomplishments, talents, strengths, and potential. Don't waste it on justifying your faults. 21. Make sure every essay you write says something meaningful about YOU. So many well-written essays end up being less impactful because they fail to say anything about the student. If you tell a story, make sure it shows something compelling and insightful about you. No matter what the prompt is, the essay should be something only you could write because of how much it shares about you. 22. Don't simply rehash all the other stuff in your application. Essays take a lot of time to review, and AOs do not appreciate redundancy. If you do write about something already listed in your application, make sure it adds more information and shows more of your personality, character, ability, etc. 23. Don't discuss or complain about your mental illnesses or other limitations. If you want to address extenuating circumstances, you can do so in the additional information section or have one of your recommenders explain it on your behalf. Note that even here you want the focus to be on how you've overcome challenges, grown through them, and what you've learned in the process. The essay shouldn't be wasted just trying to get you back to par with "normal" applicants, instead it should show how you are unique, awesome, and desirable as you are. 24. Don't try too hard. This includes overdone attempts to impress, to be unique, to write well, to sound smart, to be funny, to make light of something serious, to be creative etc. It's a little hard to define exactly what constitutes trying too hard, but AOs know it when they see it. When you aren't yourself and it's not your voice, it's always going to be a worse essay. "Go home and write a page tonight and let that page come out of you. Then it will be true." - Langston Hughes. I'm taking that quote out of context, but if you go read the full poem, Theme For English B, you'll see exactly what I mean. 25. Don't recycle an essay that was clearly written for something else. This includes submitting an essay that was done for a class in school, making bad and obvious copy/paste errors, or shoehorning a different application essay in. All of these result in an essay that just doesn't feel right. It isn't necessary to be married to the prompt as noted above. But it is necessary to make the essay polished and specifically oriented to that prompt or college. 26. Don't get cute with fonts, presentation, etc. This means no secret codes, wingdings, mirror writing, weird poetry, Elvish, Klingon, Morse code, all caps, or arranging the words to form a pattern or picture. I have seen or heard of all of these and they never go well. Write the essay in English unless it's an international or multilingual school in which case you should write in the language you would be using there. Don't try to impress AOs with how well you know French. AO's don't have time or patience for that – they'll just skip over it and move on. Don't write illegibly or incoherently either. Use proper grammar, syntax, and diction – but remember to use your own voice. Do not cite sources or do anything too academic. This is an essay about you, not a documented research paper. But it still needs to be easy to read. An AO with hundreds of essays to read will appreciate it. 27. Don't regurgitate the prompt in your introduction. This is boring, commonplace (thanks freshman English teachers…), and wasteful of your precious word count. Keep your essay unique and interesting. Don’t be bland, predictable, or too straightforward. Don't answer the prompt like you would on a test in school. Instead, tell a story about your life or write in a way that showcases your personality and the things that make you unique. 28. Don't put down or belittle the college. Some students do this because it's not their first choice, they legitimately feel like insulting the institution, they want to intimate that the college is somehow "beneath them", or someone is making them apply. Whatever the reason, it will only make you look petty, negative, and self-absorbed. If you give off the sentiment that you don’t want to attend that college, the AO will probably oblige you with a rejection letter. 29. Don't tell a story or write an essay that doesn't have a point. Some essays seem aimless and just ramble until the word limit is fulfilled. I think many students are used to doing this in school to BS their way through an essay assignment of a given length. Others don’t know what they want to say in the first place and end up rambling a lot and saying nothing. Remember that the focus of the essay (regardless of the prompt) is to reveal yourself to the AO. Get them to like you, be curious about you, and leave with a positive impression of you. 30. Never start with a definition, especially for a word most people already know or a big obscure word that doesn't have any personal meaning or connection to you. An alarmingly high number of applicants do this and it starts you off with a sigh from your AO. It's overdone, pedantic, and worthless. It says nothing about you. It does not make anyone actually want to keep reading. You should also avoid starting out with a quote, especially one that is inspirational, philosophical or by a famous person like Lincoln, Franklin, Jobs, MLK, Einstein, or Gandhi. Students think that borrowing from or attaching themselves to a famous author, philosopher, statesman, or businessman will give them cache, rapport, or credibility. It would be somewhat weak even if it wasn't overdone. The essay is supposed to showcase you – not the famous person, and quotes cut into your word count. Most great essays don't start with a quote, especially a lame one.

The Most Common After reviewing hundreds of college applications, I’ve noticed the same mistakes pop up in rejected files again and again. In this video, I break down the most common errors that silently kill your chances—and explain how to avoid them. If you’re applying to competitive schools, you need to watch this.

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Browse top high school competitions in business, STEM, writing, and social impact. Find deadlines, tips, and guides to boost your college application profile. Competitions Jumpstart Your Journey Introduction Discover Competitions help students build skills, earn scholarships, and stand out in college applications across fields like STEM, business, writing, and art. Browse curated competitions in business, STEM, economics, policy, and public speaking to build experience and grow your skills. What is a Competition Why does it matter How to get Started Find your Competition Guide & Learn Learn how to choose the right competitions, meet deadlines, and submit strong, well-organized applications. Business & Entrepreneurship STEM & Innovation Social Impact & Policy Debate & Public Speaking Get tips on pitching, presenting, working in teams, and understanding what judges look for to improve your chances of success. Learn Now Competition High school students should understand that when building a strong extracurricular résumé, the quality of activities matters more than quantity. Selective colleges tend to favor involvement in prestigious competitions and contests with strong national recognition. Admissions officers are especially impressed by students or school teams that perform well in state or national-level events. Guides How to Win Example & Analysis 101 Guide How to Apply Business & Entrepreneurship Discover The Prestigious List Other The Prestigious List Find your Competition DECA Wharton Global High School Investment Competition Global Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge Diamond Challenge GENIUS Olympiad Business Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship Competition Business Professionals of America - BPA The Blue Ocean Competition Conrad Challenge Youth Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition Other Alternatives Find your Competition Pirates Pitch Competition for High School Students NFTE World Series of Innovation (WSI) tecBRIDGE High School Business Plan Competition The Big Idea Competition High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge (HSUEC) The Harvard Crimson Business Competition Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) National Economics Challenge UDC Entrepreneurship Competition FCCLA Entrepreneurship STAR Event DECA Challenges (Corporate Challenges – High School) STEM & Innovation Discover Now Research & Innovation Math & Computing Engineering & Applied Science Research & Innovation Find your Competition Regeneron Science Talent Search MIT THINK Scholar Program Microsoft Imagine Cup Future Problem Solving Program International Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition BioGENEius Competition Business Professionals of America - BPA Junior Science and Humanities Symposium ExploraVision Space Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition Solve for Tomorrow EngineerGirl Writing Contest Neuroscience Research Prize Engineering & Applied Sciences Find your Competition Aerial Drone Competition Solar Car Challenge Genes in Space Rube Goldberg Machine Contest Australian Space Design Competition Future City Competition Space Settlement Design Competitions Vex Robotics Competitions American Rocketry Challenge RoboRAVE International Bridge Building Competition Math & Computing Find your Competition Canadian Computing Competition ArcGIS Online Competition Congressional App Challenge MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge The Hardest Math Problem Contest Premier Competition Stanford Math Tournament Sir Isaac Newton Exam Social Impact & Policy Discover Environmental Social Impact Environmental Find your Competition Action for Nature International Young Eco-Hero Awards 4-H Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program Envirothon National Ocean Sciences Bowl Shell Eco-marathon River of Words Art and Poetry Contest Earthwatch Student Challenge Awards The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes President’s Environmental Youth Awards Stockholm Junior Water Prize Social Impact Find your Competition Pitch for the Future Diana Award Diamond Challenge Hult Prize Global Youth Award The Prudential Spirit of Community Award Glorian Barron Prize Ashoka Young Changemakers Debate & Public Speaking Discover Full List Full List Find your Competition American Debate League Fall and Winter HS Classic The World Schools Debating Championships National Speech and Debate Tournament Harvard National High School Invitational Forensics Tournament The Cosmos Championship Yale Invitational Tournament of Champions California High School Speech Association NYU Clash of Scholars

The National Young Composers Challenge (NYCC) Location: Orlando, Florida for the Composium (final event); submissions accepted online from across the U.S. Cost: Free to enter—no application fee Contest Date: Winning compositions performed live at the NYCC Composium in spring 2026 (e.g. March 15, 2026) Application Deadlines: October 1, 2025 Eligibility: U.S. residents aged 13–18 at time of submission Composers submit an original orchestral or chamber work (max 5 minutes) for consideration. Six winners (three orchestral, three chamber ensemble) receive honoraria ($1000 for orchestral winners; $500 for ensemble), plus a professional recording of their piece. Winners travel to Orlando to perform at a live Composium—part concert, rehearsal, workshop, and seminar—featuring the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra. Learn More Please note: This information is compiled from publicly available sources and may change from year to year. Dates, locations, fees, and other details are subject to updates—please verify all information directly on the official competition website before applying.

Essay Topics 101 Set Aside The Conventional Wisdom Many students struggle with identifying a good topic for their essay. Conventional wisdom says to start by brainstorming a list of potential topics, and chances are, you have already started a mental list of ideas. You might think you only have a few choices for topics, based on your activities or experiences, based on what someone may have told you, or based on the rough drafts you've attempted. I advise, however, that you put down your list of topics and back away from it. Forget that exists for a moment. Seriously - thinking about this initial list tethers you to certain ideas that might not actually be your best options. Now you can begin brainstorming with a clean slate. Showcase Yourself Start with thinking about what you want to show in your entire application, not just one essay. Every single component in your app has one purpose – to tell more about YOU. Filling out the rest of the application by rote and focusing solely on the essay is short-sighted and will leave so much potential untapped in your application. Don't think of your application like it's presenting you on paper or painting a picture of you. It's more like multiple pictures of you, taken from different angles. Use the various sections of your application to showcase different facets of who you are, specifically your core values, personal strengths, motivations, aspirations, foundational beliefs, and passions. (Note - these things are what people mean when they say your essay should be about YOU.) An admissions officer’s goal is to understand you fully, in the context of your background and the rest of the applicant pool. They will begin this with assessing your academic abilities and potential. Then they will evaluate how you will fit into the student body they’re trying to curate. All of this can be somewhat broad and diverse and touch on several institutional goals. But they will dig deep to find out what each applicant is like, what your core values and motivations are, what kind of student you will be, how you will contribute to the vibrant and intellectual campus community they’re building, etc. Your goal with essay brainstorming is to ascertain how to powerfully tell your story in a manner that will fit these criteria. The entirety of your application (again, not just one essay) aims to showcase your abilities, qualifications, and uncommon attributes as a person in a positive way. Before you begin outlining or writing your application, you must determine what is unique about you that will stand out to an admissions panel. All students are truly unique. Not one other student has the same combination of life experiences, personality, passions, or goals as you do. Your job in your application is to frame your unique personal attributes in a positive and compelling way. How will you fit on campus? What personal qualities, strengths, core values, talents, or different perspectives do you bring to the table? What stories, deeper motivations/beliefs, or formative experiences can you use to illustrate all of this? It is always helpful to start with some soul-searching or self-examination. You might not immediately know what you want to share about yourself. It’s not a simple task to decide how to summarize your whole life and be in a powerful and eloquent way on your application. Introspection prior to starting your application takes additional time and effort rather than jumping straight into your first draft. But it is also a valuable method to start writing a winning application that stands out from the stack. Introspection Questions It’s often easiest to start thinking in terms of superlatives -- what are the most meaningful things about you? Here is a list of questions to help you brainstorm broadly before you narrow down your focus for writing: What are your interests? What sparks your curiosity? What topics do you enjoy reading? With whom do you enjoy spending time? Who has impacted your life the most? Reflect upon “superlatives” in your life. What moments were most memorable, formative, enlightening, enjoyable, or valuable? What physical possessions, experiences, dreams, or lessons could make your superlatives list? Stop and think about what things, people, or circumstances in your life are really unique, fascinating, or outlandish. Are there any that really have a lot of "cultural flavor" (whatever your culture is)? Connecting Introspection To Your Essay Once you have finished your soul searching, sit down and make three lists: A list of stories, examples, anecdotes, relationships, etc that you think might make for good essay material. This can include anything from the introspection worksheet, ideas you already have, or whatever else you want to add. A list of things you want to say about yourself in your essay/application. This could be related to your application theme/narrative or whatever else you feel is important. Focus on core values, motivations, personal strengths, foundational beliefs, personality traits, passions, aspirations, etc. Again, the introspection worksheet will ask about some of these. You can also do a Google search for each of those words with "list of" and you'll see tons of ideas and examples, e.g. search "list of core values". A list of potential essay topics or outlines. Aim to have two to three ideas for different approaches you might want to take. It can help to envision how items from lists 1 and 2 will fit into each outline. Once you start a rough draft, you will aim to express the things from list 2 and use the things from list 1 to show and demonstrate them.