An essay competition is the cheapest extracurricular there is. It costs nothing or close to it, you can enter from anywhere with an internet connection, and a shortlist from a Cambridge college or a Yale journal reads on an application exactly the way it sounds. It also does something a summer program cannot: it proves you can think in the subject you say you want to study.
The catch for students outside the US and UK is eligibility. Plenty of famous competitions are closed to you, from the Scholastic Awards, which exclude students abroad, to the Royal Economic Society's Young Economist, which requires a UK school. So every competition below passed one test first: a student from any country can enter. Then we sorted them by major. Each one links to its page in the Borderless extracurricular database, where the deadlines are kept current.
📈 Economics
LSESU Economics Society Essay Competition
Run by the LSE student economics society with the support of the LSE Economics Department: up to 1,500 words on one of five prompts, open to all secondary students, completely free. Prizes are certificates plus £50 for each prompt winner and £100 overall. Entrants came from more than 60 countries in the latest cycle; the 2026 deadline was September 1, with results in October.
Marshall Society Essay Competition, Cambridge
Cambridge's economics society runs a free competition for anyone who has not yet begun university, with no citizenship or residency rule. The 2026 round offered six prompts, closed on August 30 and announced winners by the end of September, with the winning essays published in the society's magazine, The Dismal Scientist. Almost 1,500 entries came in from around the world.
Harvard International Economics Essay Contest
Run by the Harvard Undergraduate Economics Association for grades 9 to 12 anywhere in the world: about 1,500 words on one of the year's prompts, free, with the top entries judged by a Harvard economics professor and the winners published. Prompts are released in October or November, the deadline falls in January, and results come in the spring.
Nottingham-World Bank Asian Economics Essay Competition
For students in Asia specifically: a free competition co-organised by the University of Nottingham Malaysia and the World Bank, now in its 13th year, on a theme in Asian economic development. Pre-university and high school students from Asian countries enter in English, with prizes up to RM1,000. The 2026 deadline was August 14.
If economics is your subject, the John Locke and Sidgwick prizes in the all-majors section at the end both have an economics category.
⚖️ Law
Columbia Undergraduate Law Review High School Essay Contest
Up to 1,500 words with Chicago citations, submitted as a PDF, open to current high school students anywhere. No fee. The winner and runners-up are published by the review. The 2026 deadline was June 26, with decisions by the first week of August.
Princeton Legal Journal High School Essay Contest
A longer piece, 1,500 to 3,000 words in Chicago or Bluebook style, judged anonymously. International students are explicitly welcome. There is a $15 fee, and the top three essays are edited and published in the journal. The 2026 deadline was May 15, on a theme of religious liberty in US law.
Harvard Undergraduate Moot Court Legal Essay Contest
The quickest entry on this list: an 850-word essay on the published prompt, open to grades 9 to 12 worldwide, free, no legal background needed, $100 first prize. Submissions are capped at the first 100 received, so the October 2, 2026 deadline may close early.
Robert Walker Prize for Essays in Law, Trinity College Cambridge
Up to 2,000 words on a legal topic that matters to modern society, for students in their final or penultimate year of school from any country, free, with separate UK and international divisions so you compete against other international entrants. First prize is £300 and second £200 in each division, and the top ten in each are invited to a ceremony at Trinity. Entries rose from 244 in 2024 to 365 in 2026; the 2026 deadline was April 2.
LegalEagleBee Policy Brief Competition
The closest thing on this list to what law students actually write: a five to ten page policy brief with MLA or APA citations on one of five civil rights or social justice topics, for grades 9 to 12 and gap-year students worldwide. The $10 registration fee funds the organiser's scholarships. In 2026, registration closed August 15, briefs were due August 22 and winners were announced by September 30.
🌍 Politics and international relations
R.A. Butler Prize in Politics, Trinity College Cambridge
Up to 3,000 words for students in Year 12 or equivalent when the questions are released in March, and Trinity says students from any country are most welcome. Free. First prize is £600 and second £400, split between student and school, with around 40 commendations. The 2026 deadline was July 31 at noon UK time.
Harvard International Review Academic Writing Contest
An 800 to 1,200 word essay on global affairs in junior (grades 7 to 8) and senior (9 to 12) divisions, open to US and international students. Registration carries a fee, which the contest page does not state up front. Medals go to the top 3, 10 and 20 percent, and finalists defend their essays live on a virtual Defense Day. Two rounds a year: the summer 2026 deadline was August 24, and the fall round closes January 2, 2027.
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs High School Essay Contest
Free, up to 1,500 words on the journal's annual theme, open to grades 9 to 12 and gap-year students anywhere. The deadline is March 1 every year.
YRIS High School Essay Contest
The Yale Review of International Studies takes essays under 1,500 words on international affairs from high school students, with no fee and no country restriction, and pays $250, $150 and $100 plus publication. The prompt for 2027 will be posted in April with a June 30, 2027 deadline.
Yale Foreign Policy Initiative High School Essay Contest
A second Yale route: an annual essay on a contemporary global issue, open to high school students of every grade and every country, reviewed by Yale students and faculty, with a cash prize and publication. The prompt and deadline are posted on the initiative's site each year.
Columbia Political Review High School Essay Contest
Open to high school students from across the world; the winner and honourable mentions are published on the review's site. The 2026 round drew 1,650 entries, so this is one of the larger fields.
The Politic High School Essay Competition
Yale's political journal wants investigative journalism rather than argument: 800 to 1,200 words on an issue in your own community, with at least three sources including one primary. Ages 14 to 19, domestic and international, with a $20 to $30 fee and financial aid on request. The inaugural 2026 deadline was August 21, and the top ten are considered for publication in print.
🏛️ History and classics
Julia Wood History Essay Competition, St Hugh's College Oxford
Pick any historical topic you like and argue it in 2,000 to 4,000 words. Open to sixth-form equivalents worldwide, including gap-year students who have not started university, with no fee. In 2026 there were 1,039 entries, up from 707 the year before, with one winner, four runners-up and 62 commendations, all published by name. The 2026 deadline was July 22, and the next round launches in early 2027.
Mary Renault Classical Reception Essay Competition, St Hugh's College Oxford
St Hugh's sister prize, on the same rules and timeline: 2,000 to 4,000 words on how classical antiquity has been received or reworked in any discipline, from literature to film, for pre-university students in Years 12 and 13 or the equivalent. Prizes of up to £300.
Robert Robson Prize for Essays in History, Trinity College Cambridge
Trinity's history prize is for students in Year 12 or the international equivalent when the questions are released in March, from any country, with the eligibility rule strictly enforced. Essays are on modern politics and world affairs, entry is free, first prize is £600 and second £400, each split between student and school, and the deadline is late July at noon UK time.
💭 Philosophy
Think Essay Prize, Royal Institute of Philosophy
A free philosophy prize for ages 15 to 18 worldwide: 1,200 words on one of six prompts, submitted by email, with the winning essay published in Think alongside work by professional philosophers.
Cambridge Re:think Essay Competition
Up to 2,000 words in junior (11 to 13) and senior (14 to 18) divisions, free, with prompts across philosophy, science and the social sciences. Ten gold, ten silver and ten bronze awards per division carry cash prizes of $150, $100 and $50, and the 2026 ceremony was held at King's College Cambridge. More than 13,000 essays came in from over 50 countries in 2025. One caveat: the organiser also sells paid research programmes, and the "scholarship" part of each prize applies to those.
🗺️ Geography
Royal Geographical Society School Essay Competition
Run with the Financial Times: up to 1,000 words on a current geographical question, free, for students aged 16 to 18 anywhere who study geography as a subject in their final two years, whether A Level, IB, Scottish Higher or the equivalent. The next deadline is November 9, 2026.
🔬 Science and medicine
ASHG DNA Day Essay Contest
The American Society of Human Genetics runs a free 750-word essay on an annual genetics prompt for grades 9 to 12 worldwide, judged by geneticists in three rounds. Essays are submitted by a teacher, so ask early. The contest opens in January.
Neuroethics Essay Contest
Co-hosted by the International Neuroethics Society and the International Youth Neuroscience Association, free, with a high school category of up to 1,000 words and $500 for each category winner. Open worldwide; the 2026 deadline was August 21, with winners announced in November.
✍️ Literature, languages and creative writing
Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award
The Poetry Society's award for ages 11 to 17 is open worldwide and free; international entrants submit one poem of up to 40 lines. A hundred winners are published each year, and the top 15 attend a writing residential in the UK, though travel for international winners is not covered. More than 28,000 poems were entered in 2025. The 2026 deadline was July 31.
Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize, Kenyon Review
One unpublished poem, free, for high school sophomores and juniors only, with no geographic restriction stated. The winner is published in The Kenyon Review and receives a full scholarship to a Kenyon Review Young Writers workshop. Submissions open every November 1 to 30.
Bennington Young Writers Awards
Fiction, nonfiction or poetry, up to 1,500 words, for grades 9 to 12 worldwide, free, with a teacher or mentor as sponsor. Prizes per category are $2,000, $1,000, $500 and $250, plus Bennington tuition scholarships for winners and finalists. It opens September 1 and closes November 1 each year.
International High School Writing Contest
Free and open to high school students worldwide across five categories: short story, flash fiction, poetry, critical essay and dramatic script, with up to five entries per student. Gold Medallion winners are published.
Pulitzer Center Fighting Words Poetry Contest
Poems that respond to a current event or global issue, open to school students and young adults worldwide, free, with a $300 first prize, publication and free workshops. The next deadline is May 10, 2027.
JASNA Essay Contest
For readers of Jane Austen: an annual essay on her work with a high school division open worldwide, no membership required, and prizes of $250 to $1,000 plus a society membership and Norton Critical Editions.
Anthem Essay Contest
The Ayn Rand Institute's long-running contest on the novel Anthem, open to middle and high school students worldwide who are enrolled in school, with scholarship prizes of up to $2,000. The 2026 deadline was May 31.
Trinity College Cambridge Languages and Cultures Essay Prize
For students who love a language: up to 3,000 words for Year 12 or equivalent students worldwide, with no citizenship restriction, on a theme in language, culture or literature that draws on a literary, artistic or cinematic work.
New York Times Open Letters Contest
The Times's Learning Network invites teenagers to write a public letter to a person or group about an issue that matters to them, judged as opinion writing. Free, like everything the Learning Network runs; the 2026 contest opened on February 25.
New York Times Tiny Memoir Contest
A true story about a meaningful experience in exactly 100 words. The 2026 round opened on September 16 and is free to enter.
Pulitzer Center Local Letters for Global Change
Write a letter to a local representative about a global issue in one of five topic areas, judged by grade level, open to school students worldwide, with a $300 first prize per category and publication. The deadline is November 14, 2026.
Edinburgh Award for Flash Fiction
For older students: an international competition for writers aged 16 and over, published or not, with stories of up to 250 words on any subject and a £2,000 first prize. Entry is £10 per story, with free entry through a bursary if you apply between May 1 and June 30.
The Queen's Commonwealth Writing Competition
The oldest international schools' writing competition in the world, run by the Royal Commonwealth Society since 1883 for young people across the Commonwealth's 56 countries: up to 1,000 words in English, one entry per person, submitted online.
🌐 All majors
The John Locke Global Essay Prize
Whatever you plan to study, this one covers it. The John Locke Institute runs one prize across ten subjects, economics, history, international relations, law, philosophy, politics, psychology, public policy, science and technology, and theology, with three questions in each. You write 2,000 words on one of them. It is open to students from any country under 19 at the deadline, entry is free, and the prizes are serious: $5,000, $2,000 and $1,000 scholarships per category, a $10,000 grand prize, and an invitation for every shortlisted entrant to the awards weekend. The 2026 cycle ran registration from February 2 to March 31, submissions from April 1 to May 31, a shortlist on July 7 and awards on October 3; the institute reported more than 63,000 entries from 191 countries in 2025. Two Borderless students were finalists: Michelle from Slovakia, who went on to Columbia, and Sarah, who got a full scholarship to NYU Abu Dhabi.
The Sidgwick Prize
A younger, smaller cousin of John Locke with one unusual feature: every entrant gets written feedback from Cambridge academics. Students aged 13 to 18 anywhere in the world submit up to 2,000 words in one of eight disciplines, from philosophy to art history. There is a £12 entry fee (£20 for late entries in the first half of July).
Harvard Crimson Global Essay Competition
Free, for ages 10 to 18 worldwide, in three tracks: creative, argumentative and journalistic. You register, receive the prompts, and submit a 500-word essay; the top 30 per region, ten per track, advance to the Global Finals with nine days to expand it to 1,000 to 1,500 words. Prizes go up to $1,000.
Minds Underground Essay Competitions
A set of free competitions from a UK organiser covering more than 18 subjects, from STEM and medicine to law and the humanities, for ages 8 to 18 worldwide, with a senior track aimed at Year 12. Each entry is 1,000 to 1,500 words with Harvard referencing, you can enter more than one subject, and winners receive prizes and application support. Questions for 2027 are released in November and December 2026.
Start your own journey
Every competition above has a deadline, a word limit and a house style, and most of them fall in the same three months. The students who win are the ones who picked two or three in their subject and gave each one a proper draft.
Kai, the Borderless AI college counselor, keeps that plan for you. Tell Kai your intended major and your grade, and it pulls the right competitions from the extracurricular database, turns each deadline into a task, and works through the essays with you alongside your applications. It is free to use.
Start with Kai, and read the stories from students who did it.
