ICC Scholarship Essay Contest

WHAT: 

The International College Counselors Scholarship Essay Contest provides two (2) $250 scholarships.

Eligibility criteria: 

All high school freshmen, sophomores, or juniors can participate. Students from public and private schools, homeschool, and international students are eligible.

How to Enter: 

All entrants must write an essay of 500 words or fewer that addresses the following topic: 

There are two ways to enter:

Entries must be online or postmarked by April 18, 2025.

Details: 

Two winning essays will be selected: one (1) from a student in Miami Dade County, Broward County, or Palm Beach County; and one (1) at-large winner from anywhere in the world, domestic or international, including home-schooled students.  Both winners will receive a $250 scholarship provided by International College Counselors and payable to the winner or the college/university or certified trade school in the United States.

One submittal per contestant.

Winners will be notified no later than the week of June 1, 2025.

Winners names will be posted on the website: http://www.internationalcollegecounselors.com

Purpose: 

The goal of the International College Counselors Scholarship is to increase awareness of the value of higher education among students.

Submission Guidelines

• All essays submitted by mail must be accompanied by a completed Official Student Registration Form available here: Scholarship Application Form
• The entry form must be signed by the student’s legal guardian in the space provided.
• Privacy of contestant information will be strictly safeguarded, will not be published (except to announce name and schools of winners), and will not be used for any purpose not strictly related to this essay contest.
• Homeschooled and international students may apply as long as your course of study is equivalent to that of a junior in high school.
• It is not necessary for a student to have a sponsoring teacher in order to participate in this contest.
• A copy of the two winning 1^st place essays may be submitted to local newspapers or other news sources for possible publication.
• The use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT in composing an entry is strictly prohibited. Essays must be the original work of the student; previously published content will result in disqualification.

Judging

• Entries will be judged for the accuracy and relevance of content, originality, clarity, insight, and the quality of the writing (including spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.). The winners will be selected by the International College Counselors Essay Contest Judging Committee.  Decisions of the Judging Committee are final.
• Entries will be judged anonymously and will not be returned to students. Each essay submitted must be the work of one student and may not be the collective work of more than one student. By submitting an essay, applicants certify that their essays are original, authored solely by them and that in writing their essay they did not plagiarize or otherwise infringe upon the rights of any third parties.
• Winners will be notified by mail, phone, and/or email.  We apologize in advance that we won’t be able to respond to everyone who is not selected as a finalist due to the number of entries we expect. We wholeheartedly appreciate your participation, and we wish we could let everyone know how much we liked his or her thoughts.

Privacy/General Policies

International College Counselors does not share personal information provided explicitly through this web site, or gathered implicitly via web server log files, with any other entity for any purpose whatsoever, with limited exception including announcing the winners of the annual International College Counselors Scholarship essay competition.

Winners are responsible for providing their mailing addresses and other necessary information in order to receive any prizes. Winners agree to allow International College Counselors to post their names on any of ICC’s affiliated websites and social media. Winning essays may be posted in their entirety on any of these websites with full credit given to the author. International College Counselors may notify a winner’s school and/or local newspaper of the student’s accomplishment. Winners will be solely responsible for any federal, state or local taxes

Email Policy: 

Students and parents have the opportunity to receive free blogs from International College Counselors and may opt in or opt out at any time on the Scholarship Entry Form. ICC will not share or sell your personal information. Students and/or parents may discontinue receiving the newsletter at any time via the Contact Us form on this website.

contact us: 

Use the International College Counselors Contact Us form to contact us with any and all inquiries about the scholarship or write to [email protected]