+ Which region should I apply from?

• Asia Pacific (including East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, NZ & AU): Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, China (including special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau), Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, North Korea, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam.

• North America: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Canada, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America.

• Europe + Russia + Central Asia: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan.

• Latin America: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, México, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela.

• MENA + Africa: Angola, Bahrain, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Rwanda, Somalia, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

+ What is the competition format?

The Harvard Crimson Global Essay Competition (HCGEC) 2024 will run across February through March, and is split into the regional and global rounds. In the regional rounds, individuals will compete against others within their own region for a spot in the global rounds. In the global rounds, the top participants from each region will compete against each other to win HCGEC 2024!

+ When is HCGEC 2025?

Regional Stage 1: Registration Period

• Webinars to answer any questions, clear doubts and discuss important topics (TBD).
• Release of the FIFTEEN essay topics. Five for Creative, Argumentative, and Journalistic, each.
• Submission links will be open as and when participants submit their essay.
• Participants will receive the submission forms as they register.

Regional Stage 2: Submission

• Registration for the Essay Comp closes on Friday, January 31th 2025, 23:59 pm (GMT+0) time.
• Participants are required to submit their essays by Monday 17th 2025, 23:59 pm (GMT+0) time.

Global Stage 1

• The top 15 regional round submissions from each of the 5 global regions, will be announced on Friday, February 28th 2025, 23:59 pm (GMT+0) time. These individuals will be invited to participate in the global final round.

Global Stage 2

• The global finalists will be submitting their cumulative final essay of 1250-1500 words by Wednesday, March 5th 2025, 23:59 pm (GMT+0) time.

Global Stage 3

• The winners will be announced by Friday, March 15th, 2024.

+ WHAT ARE THE KEY DATES?

October 1st: Early Bird Registrations open

December 15th: Early Bird Registrations close

Decemeber 16th: Regular Registrations open

January 31st: Registrations close

February 10th: Prompts Announced

February 17nth: Regional Essay submission deadline

February 28th: Global Finalists announced

March 5th: Global Essay submission deadline

March 15th: Global Winners announced

+ How do I submit my essay?

Essays must be submitted via the Typeform link which will be provided to you in the same email communication as the prompts release.

In case you don't receive an email, reach us at info@essaycomp.org.

For more submission information, make sure to read the submission guidelines.

+ What time zone are the dates displayed in?

All dates and times are expressed in GMT+0 time.

+ Am I eligible to apply?

To apply, you must be aged 13-18 and currently enrolled at a secondary education institution.

If you have recently completed secondary or high school, and have not yet enrolled into university at the time of the global competition in February 2024, you are eligible to apply.

+ How much is it to register for HCGEC 2025?

The registration fee is US$20 per student.

+ How do I pay for registration?

By credit card through Stripe on the HCGEC website.

+ I have not received my registration confirmation

Every participant will receive a confirmation email post registration. Please check your junk email. If you still have not received, please email info@essaycomp.org.

Please send your query on time. As the deadline grows closer, it might take longer for us to respond.

+ Can I submit an essay for more than one topic?

No, the competition will only accept one essay entry per person. Each participant is restrained to submitting only one essay on one topic.

+ Will the essays be checked for plagiarism?

Yes, all submissions will be run through Turnitin to check for plagiarism. Your submission should be your original work. Any plagiarised work will be disqualified from the competition.

+ Will I be notified if my essay was flagged for plagiarism?

No, participants will not be notified if their essay has been marked as plagiarized and disqualified.

+ Will I receive feedback for my essay?

The top 15 regional finalists will receive feedback on the rubric grading. Global finalists in addition to their rubric will receive points of qualitative feedback.

Unfortunately we will not be providing scores, marked judging rubrics, or written comments for first round submissions as we do not have the capacity to provide this to everyone due to the immense amount of submissions.

+ How do I know HCGEC has received my essay?

Upon your submission, we will be sending you a confirmation email within 2 days. If you don’t receive it, email us on info@essaycomp.org.

+ Who will I be competing against?

In the regional round, submissions will be evaluated with the other submissions in each region that have chosen a prompt within the same category: creative, argumentative, or journalistic. The top five (5) creative submissions, top five (5) argumentative submissions, and top five (5) journalistic submissions per region will be identified and invited to elaborate on their essays for the global final round.

The top 15 submissions from each region will be announced and their authors invited to the global round.

In the global round, the top 25 argumentative, 25 creative, and 25 journalistic submissions will be evaluated within each category. The top three (3) winners from each category will receive incredible prizes!

+ Can I request an extension?

No, to ensure the competition is fair to all students, there will be no extensions. Any submission made after the regional submission deadline and the global submission deadline will not be considered.

+ What is the maximum word count?

Regional Round: 500 words

Global Round: 1000-1500 words (cumulative essay)

+ Do titles count towards the word count?

No, titles are not included in the word count.

+ Where can I find the bootcamp information?

Bootcamps are exclusive to registered participants and information will be sent via the email address you registered with.

+ Is it mandatory to attend all bootcamps?

While it is strongly encouraged for all participants to attend each of the bootcamps, they will be available in an on demand basis to view at your convenience. You may therefore view all or only those that appeal to you the most.

+ Are bootcamps recorded?

Bootcamps will be available recorded and on-demand for those who have registered for the competition.

+ I am not receiving emails, what’s going on?

Make sure to check your spam if you have used the correct email address. Registrations are not accepted from school emails and competition emails will be blocked. The competition is not responsible for changing your registration email address.

+ Can teams participate?

No, teams will not be able to participate.

+ Do I have to quote my sources?

Participants are strongly encouraged to use original work, especially considering each submission is a maximum of 500 words for the regional qualifying round. If you must use facts, be sure to cite your sources.

+ How do I cite my sources?

At the end of your essay you should include a list of references in MLA style.

+ Are citations counted towards the word limit?

No, citations will not be counted towards the word limit.

+ Can I submit more than one essay?

No, each participant will only be able to submit one essay.

+ What documents do I need to submit?

Your essay in a word document .doc

+ What happens after I have submitted my application?

You will receive a confirmation email that your submission has been received.

+ What happens if I submit more than the maximum number of words in my essay?

Aside from the title and citations (if required and encouraged to keep very brief), anything over 500 words will not be accepted.

+ What if I submit two or more entries?

If you submit more than one entry, your first entry will be the only one considered. Please do NOT submit multiple entries.

+ May I use an essay that I’ve written previously?

Yes, as long as it was personally written by YOU. Turnitin checks submissions against content from students and from universities around the world.

+ When will I receive the link to submit my essay?

All registered participants will receive the link to submit their essay after registrations close on January 31st, 2024.