Who is Eligible?
Students are eligible to participate if they are:
- In grades nine through twelve in any of the fifty states,
- the District of Colombia,
- the U.S. territories,
- or if they are U.S. citizens attending high school overseas.
Students may be attending a public, private, or parochial school. Entries from home-schooled students are also accepted. Previous honorable mentions are eligible to enter. Previous first-place state winners and immediate relatives of directors or staff of the Institute are not eligible to participate.
Students must choose a contest coordinator who can review the essays and act as the key contact between participants and the Institute. It is to the student's advantage to have a coordinator review the essay to make sure it is complete, has all the necessary forms, is free from typographical and grammatical errors, and addresses the topic. See the coordinator" target="_blank">http://www.usip.org/programs/projects/coordinators">coordinator webpage for further information about the contest coordinator.
We encourage students of all backgrounds and ability to participate in the contest.
