Frequently Asked
QUESTIONS

Registration PHASE

    • APAC (including East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, NZ & AU): Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, China (including special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau), Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, North Korea, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam.

    • North America: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Canada, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America.

    • Europe + Central Asia: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan.

    • Latin America: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, México, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela.

    • MENA + Africa + Russia: Angola, Bahrain, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Rwanda, Somalia, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

  • The Harvard Crimson Global Essay Competition (HCGEC) 2027 is split into Regional and Global rounds. In the Regional Round, students compete against participants within their assigned global region. The top 30 regional submissions from each of the 5 global regions (the top 10 in each of the three categories) advance to the Global Finals, making 150 global finalists in total!

  • HCGEC 2027 runs from October 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027. Key dates include:

    • Registration: Open Oct 1, 2026 – Feb 10, 2027

    • Regional Essay Submission: Due Feb 23, 2027

    • Global Finals Submission: Due Mar 19, 2027

    • Winners Announced: Mar 31, 2027

  • All deadlines are 23:59 (GMT+0) on dates specified below.

    • 1st Oct: Early bird Registrations Open ($15 fee)

    • 15th Dec: Early bird Registrations Close

    • 16th Dec: Regular Registrations Open ($20 fee)

    • 30th Jan: Prompts Announcement

    • 10th Feb: Regular Registrations Close

    • 23rd Feb: Regional Essay Submission Deadline

    • 10th Mar: Global Finalists Announcement

    • 19th Mar: Global Essay Submission Deadline

    • 31st Mar: Global Winners Announcement

  • Yes, if you are between 10 and 18 years old and currently enrolled in secondary or high school during the competition window (February–March 2027). If you have already graduated high school, you remain eligible provided you will not begin university studies prior to September 2027.

  • You may be classified as ELL if you meet all of the following requirements:

    • Do not come from a First Language English speaking family

    • Have not spent more than one period of primary or secondary schooling in an education system where English is the language of command

  • The registration fee is US$15 during the Early Bird period (ends December 15, 2026) and US$20 for Regular registration (ends February 10, 2027).

  • By credit card through Stripe on the HCGEC website.

  • Every participant will receive a confirmation email post registration. Please check your junk email. If you still have not received, please email info@essaycomp.org.

    Please send your query on time. As the deadline grows closer, it might take longer for us to respond.

  • In the regional round, your essay is evaluated against other submissions from your region that chose a prompt in the same category: creative, argumentative or journalistic. The top ten (10) creative, top ten (10) argumentative and top ten (10) journalistic submissions from each region will be invited to develop their essays for the global round.

    This means 30 finalists from each region, and 150 global finalists in total.

    In the global round, the top 50 creative, 50 argumentative and 50 journalistic submissions are evaluated within their category. The top three (3) winners in each category will receive incredible prizes!

  • No, teams will not be able to participate.

  • English Language Learner (ELL) participants are eligible for the ELL award AND they are also considered for global prizes.

    Their essays will be evaluated alongside all other submissions, so they have the opportunity to win beyond just the ELL category.

  • Bootcamps are exclusive to registered participants and information will be sent via the email address you registered with.

  • While it is strongly encouraged for all participants to attend each of the bootcamps, they will be available in an on demand basis to view at your convenience. You may therefore view all or only those that appeal to you the most.

  • Bootcamps will be available recorded and on-demand for those who have registered for the competition.

  • All HCGEC live webinars are exclusive to HCGEC participants.

    All participants shall receive the invite to all the live webinars on their registered email Id.

Learning RESOURCES

  • Essays must be submitted via the Typeform link which will be provided to you in the same email communication as the prompts release.

    In case you don't receive an email, reach us at info@essaycomp.org.

    For more submission information, make sure to read the submission guidelines.

  • No, the competition will only accept one essay entry per person. Each participant is restrained to submitting only one essay on one topic.

  • Yes, all submissions will be run through Turnitin to check for plagiarism. Your submission should be your original work. Any plagiarised work will be disqualified from the competition.

  • No, participants will not be notified if their essay has been marked as plagiarized and disqualified.

  • The top 30 regional finalists will receive feedback on the rubric grading. Global finalists in addition to their rubric will receive points of qualitative feedback.

    Unfortunately we will not be providing scores, marked judging rubrics, or written comments for first round submissions as we do not have the capacity to provide this to everyone due to the immense amount of submissions.

  • Upon your submission, we will be sending you a confirmation email within 2 days. If you don’t receive it, email us on info@essaycomp.org.

  • No, to ensure the competition is fair to all students, there will be no extensions. Any submission made after the regional submission deadline and the global submission deadline will not be considered.

  • Regional Round: 500 words

    Global Round: 1000-1500 words (cumulative essay)

  • No, titles are not included in the word count.

  • Participants are strongly encouraged to use original work, especially considering each submission is a maximum of 500 words for the regional qualifying round. If you must use facts, be sure to cite your sources.

Essay SUBMISSION

  • At the end of your essay you should include a list of references in any style of your choice. All types of citation formats are accepted.

  • No, citations will not be counted towards the word limit.

  • No, each participant will only be able to submit one essay.

  • Your essay in a word document .doc

  • You will receive a confirmation email that your submission has been received.

  • Aside from the title and citations (if required and encouraged to keep very brief), anything over 500 words will not be accepted.

  • If you submit more than one entry, your first entry will be the only one considered. Please do NOT submit multiple entries.

  • Yes, as long as it was personally written by YOU. Turnitin checks submissions against content from students and from universities around the world.

  • All registered participants will receive the link to submit their essay after registrations close on February 10th, 2027.

  • Make sure to check your spam if you have used the correct email address. Registrations are not accepted from school emails and competition emails will be blocked. The competition is not responsible for changing your registration email address.