We believe that the pursuit of academic excellence in secondary schools should be given the same attention as the pursuit of excellence in sports and other extracurricular activities. Our goal is to empower students to achieve their academic potential.
Note: While The Concord Review does not hold formal competitions, selectivity for publication is high as is the evaluation at a level of a 5 or 6 rating (the equivalent of an A or A+ respectively) by the National Writing Board.
National Writing Board Special Program:
Essays submitted to The Concord Review may also be submitted separately to The National Writing Board which, “provides a unique independent assessment service for the history research papers of high school students… [The] papers are evaluated within twelve weeks against an independent academic expository writing standard developed by The Concord Review.” The NWB evaluates student papers in a separate process and provides students with ratings and reports.
Location(s)
Schedule
- Year-Round
Cost/Compensation
- Between $70 -$150: Students must subscribe to the journal as a member at one of three different levels in order to submit a paper.
- National Writing Board Program Fee: US$300
Eligibility Requirements
- Students from every country may submit essays so long as they are written in English.
Deadline
- Essays are accepted on a "rolling admissions” basis and are eligible for the next four issues of the journal. Deadlines to be considered for specific issues are:
Winter issue: August 1
Spring issue: November 1
Summer issue: February 1
Fall issue: May 1
- National Writing Board submissions should be sent simultaneously
Application or Entry Requirements
- Students may submit a paper to The Concord Review if they have completed it before finishing high school.
- Students must be the sole author.
- The paper must be in English and may not have been previously published except in a publication of a secondary school attended by a student.
- Essays should be in the 5,000-7,000 (or more) word range, with endnotes and bibliography. The average paper published is over 8,000 words and the longest paper published was 21,000 words.
- Essays may be on any historical topic, ancient or modern, domestic (U.S.) or foreign, and must be submitted electronically.
- Students may submit more than one essay and essays may be on topics that previously published essays have covered.
National Writing Board Submissions:
- Submission of a student’s essay to the National Writing Board must be completed separately according to the NWB’s own submission guidelines.
- For NWB submissions: three physical copies of the paper, with only the title and the number of words on the cover, should be sent, with the completed NWB submission form, to the National Writing Board, 730 Boston Post Road, Suite 24, Sudbury, MA 01776.
Notifications of Decisions
- The Concord Review submissions: sent out intermittently, often taking months.
- NWB submissions: within 12 weeks of receipt
Financial Aid Details
Other Dates to Keep in Mind
Have other questions?
The Concord Review, Inc., was founded in March 1987 by Will Fitzhugh to recognize and publish exemplary history essays by high school students in the English-speaking world. Over 1,000 research papers (average 8,500 words, with endnotes and bibliography) have been published from authors in 46 states and 41 other countries. The Concord Review remains the only international quarterly academic journal in the world to publish the history papers of secondary students.
