College Essay Contest 2016-17

Open to all undergraduate students currently enrolled at WaCLA institutions

Submissions must address, in no more than 500 words, the following prompt:

A liberal arts education is characterized, in part, by the idea that understanding many different ways of knowing helps students develop into effective and responsible members of their communities.  Choose a current issue in your community and explain how you think about it as a liberally-educated citizen.

Eligibility:

The essay contest is open to all undergraduate students currently enrolled in WaCLA member institutions. Entrants will be divided into two categories: students who have freshman or sophomore standing at their institution and those who have junior or senior standing.

Prizes:

Awards are made in two categories: freshmen/sophomores and juniors/seniors. Two awards are made in each category: $1,000 for first place and $750 for second place. Winners will be announced by June 10, 2017.

Deadline and Submission Instruction:

Each WaCLA institution will set its own deadlines for the essay contest and will select up to three campus essays to be submitted to WaCLA for statewide adjudication in each category. For specific campus deadlines and information, please contact the campus representative. Campus representatives can be found here. The deadline for campuses to submit the essays they are nominating for statewide consideration is May 2, 2017.

You can read the winning essays from previous contests: 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16.

On behalf of WaCLA, thank you for participating!

Michael Zimmerman, Vice President for Academic Affairs

The Evergreen State College

Documents

Mission Statement:

The Washington Consortium for the Liberal Arts (WaCLA) is an association of Washington state public and private higher education institutions, organizations and individuals promoting the value of a liberal arts education to the people and communities of the state.