ACA Future School Counselors Essay Competition

ELIGIBILITY, RULES AND CRITERIA

The American Counseling Association Future School Counselors essay competition is open to counseling graduate students in master’s degree and doctoral degree programs working toward a career in school counseling at the elementary, middle school or high school level.

• Essayists must be enrolled in counseling-related graduate studies in the fall of 2024.
• Essayists must be American Counseling Association student members.  Join or renew your membership.
• Essayists may enter only one of the following two awards tracks: the 2024 American Counseling Association Future School Counselors essay competition or the 2024 American Counseling Association Tomorrow’s Counselors essay competition.
• Previous American Counseling Association Future School Counselors essay competition Grand Prize awardees are not eligible to submit an essay. Previous winners of ACA Future School Counselors essay competitions in other categories (First Place through Honorable Mention) may submit for the 2023 Future School Counselors essay competition.
• Essayists submitting to the American Counseling Association Future School Counselors essay competition must certify that they are working toward a career as a professional school counselor at the elementary, middle school or high school level.
• Only one essay can be submitted by each American Counseling Association student member.

All entries will be read by a team of experienced professional counselors and evaluated in terms of how effectively each essay addresses the subject and offers provocative insights into the profession of counseling and its future.

Judges will want to see ideas well explained and supported. They will be evaluating how effectively the essayist presents his/her view and how interesting that position will be to the counseling community at large.

The decisions of the judges are final. There can be no substitution of prizes.

HOW TO APPLY

• Submit an essay of 500 words or less, addressing the theme:
  
  How can school counselors help students address personal/social issues that are impacting their success in school?  What do you believe is the most pressing issue and how will they be able to demonstrate and document their effectiveness?

• It is recommended that awards program entrants write their essay in a software program of their choice, save it and then copy and paste the essay into the online submission form. Keep a copy of the essay in case there is a problem in the electronic transmission of the awards entry.
• Neither the American Counseling Association nor the American Counseling Association Foundation is responsible if an entry does not reach the Awards program submission queue.
• All entrants, by the act of entering, grant the American Counseling Association and the American Counseling Association Foundation the right to publish their name and their essay as part of the post-competition publicity on  CT Online.
•  Check ACA membership status.
• Submit an essay meeting all award requirements.