10 Summer Essay Contests For Middle School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 3 hours ago
- 7 min read
If you’re a middle school student looking for avenues to develop your skillset, participating in essay contests can prove to be greatly beneficial. Through your participation, you stand to develop abilities like critical thinking, research and analysis, structured writing & presentation, and communication skills. The competitions also aid and encourage originality, cognitive ability and argumentation skills. In the process, students not only build an impressive academic repertoire but also develop an interest and curiosity towards various fields of knowledge.
From political essays to narrative fiction, a range of varied subjects fall under the purview of essay contests. In this manner, they serve as platforms for middle school students to both discover new interests and nurture existing interests.
10 Summer Essay Contests For Middle School Students
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Not specified
Cost/Stipend: Free
Dates: March 9 – May 17
Application Deadline: April 26 (submission deadline)
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–8
Lumiere’s Junior Scholars Essay Contest is an international competition for middle school students intent on challenging themselves by writing an essay on a subject of their choice from a list of 5 prompts. You are expected to undertake research and holistic analysis and your submission must reflect your intellectual independence and persuasion skills. Your essays will be judged based on originality, analytical rigour, citation of evidence, structure of writing and presentation.
Through the contest, students also get the opportunity to showcase their creativity before an esteemed judging panel of professors and researchers from top universities like Cambridge, Oxford, Columbia, Brown and Dartmouth. The top 6 participants (1 Gold winner, 2 Silver winners and 3 Bronze winners) will share prizes or scholarships worth $11,000, and separate scholarships for top submissions.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Not specified
Cost/Stipend: Free (Extra fee for late submissions, as mentioned here.)
Dates: February 2 – October 3
Application Deadline: March 31 (registration) | May 31 (submission)
Eligibility: Students under age 15 (Junior Category)**
The John Locke Institute Global Essay Prize is an established essay writing contest open to participants below 19 years of age. Students submit essay responses to questions related to economics, history, international relations, law, philosophy, politics, psychology, public policy, science & technology, or theology. Your essay will be judged based on fixed criteria including originality, argumentation, persuasive force, writing style, and structure.
The judging panel includes eminent academics from Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Princeton and other top universities! The top 3 essayists gain exciting prizes, with $5000 scholarships awarded to first-place winners and a separate Grand Prize reserved for the best entry in each subject!
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Not specified
Cost/Stipend: $45 – $85 depending on registration period
Dates: January 15 – March 20
Application Deadline: January 15 (priority) | March 1 (regular) | March 15 (late) | March 20 (submission)
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–8 (Middle School Category)
The Harvard Political Review Essay Competition is a global essay competition that urges middle school students to engage with social and political issues, ranging from global political dynamics to local community challenges. You can compete as an individual or as a member of a team not exceeding 5 people. Individuals or teams must choose one prompt from a list of 5 prompts, focused on subjects like education, economics, history, and more!
All participants are awarded with a certificate of recognition. Individuals or teams scoring above the merit award threshold qualify for the country and regional awards. The top 8 globally ranked individuals or teams are recognised as global winners and the top 3 essays are featured on the distinguished Harvard Political Review’s website.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Not specified
Cost/Stipend: Free
Dates: January 15 – July 31
Application Deadline: May 10 (submission deadline)
Eligibility: Students ages 11–13 (Junior Division)
Cambridge’s Re-Think Essay Competition is a highly competitive global essay competition for middle school and high school students. Focused on nurturing critical thinking and intellectual exploration, you are expected to engage with subjects ranging from political populism and open borders to AI systems accountability and moonshot scientific projects. Your writing will be judged based on originality and quality of writing, with a focus on language use, flow of ideas, and overall engagement with the chosen prompt.
The judging panel comprises members from leading professors and researchers from universities like Cambridge, MIT, Harvard, Stanford and Oxford. In 2025, the contest received 13000 submissions, out of which 1300 Honorable Mentions and 33 award winners were recognised by the judging panel. The award winners are also invited to an awards and dinner ceremony at the University of Cambridge, where they gain by interacting with distinguished peers and established public figures.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Not specified
Cost/Stipend: Free
Dates: February 25 – July 1
Application Deadline: April 8
Eligibility: Students ages 13–19
Open Letters is an opinion-writing competition by the New York Times that invites public-facing letters from middle and high school students about issues they care about the most. Each open letter, not exceeding 500 words, will be expected to be addressed to a specific audience with a call to action, thereby focusing on advocacy and persuasive skills. Your writing must focus on its theme, curation, commentary, audience, and language.
The winners selected by a judging panel composed of New York Times journalists will stand the chance of publishing their submissions on New York Times’ online platforms, with a potential chance to also be featured in print editions. To make the task easier, the organisers have published a list of past winners here.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Not specified
Cost/Stipend: Free
Dates: March 3 – September 29
Application Deadline: May 29 (registration) | June 3 (submission)
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–8 (Middle School grade level)
The John Estey Student Writing Competition calls for submissions from middle school students based on the year’s annual competition prompt. You are open to using the prompt as the opening line, the last sentence or as an inspiration for your submission. Your work can take the form of an essay, fiction or non-fiction story, poem, song, scene, short monologue or any other form of writing.
Participation is capped for students from the same school, as laid out in the rules and guidelines. Authors of the four best essays from the middle school category win $1000 each, and an opportunity to be featured on the American Writers Museum Website!
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Not specified
Cost/Stipend: Free
Dates: To be updated
Application Deadline: April 30 (submission deadline)
Eligibility: Students ages 13 and above
The annual global essay contests organised by the Ayn Rand Institute invite students to read Ayn Rand’s works and respond with an essay that thoughtfully engages with them. The list of works include Anthem, The Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged. Essays are judged based on clarity & organisation of thought and understanding of the subject. You will be expected to emphasise on philosophical questions raised in the selected novel through an analytical lens.
Participants can avail copies of the novel at no cost, with the contest website also offering study resources detailing character analyses, contextual information, and theme explorations. Cash prizes for winners vary on the basis of the selected prompt, with prize pools ranging from $3500 to $40000!
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Not specified
Cost/Stipend: $15–$20 depending on registration period
Dates: October 1 – March 31
Application Deadline: February 10 (registration) | March 19 (submission)
Eligibility: Students ages 10–18
The Harvard Crimson Global Essay Competition (HCGEC) invites essays from students aged between 10 and 18 years of age. You will be expected to choose any one prompt from any of the three categories viz. Creative, Argumentative or Journalistic and submit an essay not exceeding 500 words. Your essay will be assessed as per the following criteria: originality & imagination, narrative craft & structure, character development, thematic depth & insight, and language, style & mechanics.
Authors of the best 30 essays from the prescribed region, 10 from each category, qualify for the global finals. Those who qualify must submit an expanded version of their essays, consisting of not less than 1000 words and not exceeding 1500 words in a period of 9 days. The top 9 global winners win prizes, publication opportunities and international recognition.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Not specified
Cost/Stipend: Free
Dates: To be updated
Application Deadline: June 8 (submission deadline)
Eligibility: Students ages 11–14 (Junior Division)
Bow Seat’s Ocean Awareness Contest calls upon middle school and high school students to explore the importance of oceans in sustaining the environment, protecting life and inspiring humanity. You will be expected to creatively reflect on your personal connection to the ocean, focusing on its myriad roles from climate regulation to food production. Your response to the prompt can take the form of a creative essay, poetry, film, and more!
The winner wins a cash prize up to $1000, with the total prize pool amounting to $2600. Past participants have also gained the opportunity to intern with Bow Seat, serve as a contest judge and become a part of the Future Blue Youth Council!
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Not specified
Cost/Stipend: Free
Dates: June 1 – July 10
Application Deadline: June 22 (submission deadline)
Eligibility: Students ages 13–19
Write The World’s Personal Essay Competition invites young writers aged between 13 and 19 years of age to submit reflective and personal essays. The detailed prompt will be made available here once the competition period opens. You will be expected to curate a personal story, including narrative details, rich descriptions and well fleshed-out characters.
Write The World also invites submissions for other writing contests subject to screen writing, poetry, spoken word, and more! Each competition is presided over by a distinguished writer as the guest judge. Winners share rewards from a cash prize pool of $200 and other in-kind prizes!
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a graduate of Harvard College, where he earned an A.B. in Statistics. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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