A) No application is required. Contest is open to students worldwide, except where void or prohibited by law. Essays must be written in English only.
B) Entrant must be a 12th-grader, college undergraduate or graduate student. Verification of school enrollment will be required for all winning entrants.

C) To avoid disqualification, mailed-in essays must include a stapled cover sheet with the following information:

1. your name and address;
2. your email address (if available);
3. the name and address of your school;
4. topic selected (#1, 2 or 3 from the “Topics” tab);
5. your current grade level; and
6. (optional) the name of the teacher who assigned the essay if you are completing it for classroom credit.

D) Essay must be no fewer than 800 and no more than 1,600 words in length, double-spaced. Spelling errors and/or written corrections (by anyone) found on the essay will count against the final grade and should be omitted before submission.

E) One entry per student.

F) Essay must be submitted online or postmarked by April 28, 2017, no later than 11:59 PM, Pacific standard time.

G) The Ayn Rand Institute has the right to provide contest deadline extensions when deemed appropriate.

H) Essay must be solely the work of the entrant. Plagiarism will result in disqualification. Essays must not infringe on any third-party rights or intellectual property of any person, company or organization. By submitting an essay to this Contest, the entrant agrees to indemnify the Ayn Rand Institute for any claim, demand, judgment or other allegation arising from possible violation of someone’s trademark, copyright or other legally protected interest in any way in the entrant’s essay.

I) Decisions of the judges are final.

J) Employees of the Ayn Rand Institute, its board of directors and their immediate family members are not eligible for this contest. Past first-place winners are not eligible for this contest.

K) All entries become the property of the Ayn Rand Institute and will not be returned.

L) Winners, finalists, semifinalists and all other participants will be notified via email and/or by mail by August 3, 2017.

M) Winners are responsible for providing their mailing addresses and other necessary information under the law in order to receive any prizes. Contest winners agree to allow the Ayn Rand Institute to post their names on any of ARI’s affiliated websites. The first-place essay may be posted in its entirety on any of these websites with full credit given to the author.

N) Winners will be solely responsible for any federal, state or local taxes.

Award Deadline: April 28, 2017

Scholarship Value: $20,000

Awards Available: 500

Go to Scholarship Application:
Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest