CPCB Essay Competition
A Platform for Creativity
About the competition
College Prep and Consulting is offering a rigorous, high-level essay competition with various prompts developed from subjects including social justice, current events, philosophy, culture/art, and business/entrepreneurship. Winners will be given the opportunity to take their passions to the next level by expanding on their essay ideas as projects with qualified experts.
The registration fee has been waived for this upcoming round.
Prizes and placing
1. First place: 100% scholarship for full Capstone project ($1500 value), $500 cash prize
2. Second place: 100% scholarship for full Capstone project ($1500 value), $250 cash prize
3. Honorable award (people's choice): $250 cash prize
The honorable award is selected based on popular voting. Participants are encouraged to share their essays to gain votes. Once submissions close, voting will become available.
100% scholarships for Capstone projects are awarded to the first two winners in addition to cash prizes. A full Capstone project (10 total sessions) is valued at $1500. Capstone projects are products of collaboration between the mentor and student which provide a venue for passions to be displayed outside of a scholastic setting. Students ultimately decide which direction to take their project, but expert mentors aid with developing foundations through directed research and refining the final product. The two selected experts shown below will each lead one project.
Preston Johnston
Preston Johnston is a PhD student in political science at MIT, where he focuses on comparative political economy and political methodology. Preston graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with a degree in Politics and a certificate in Statistics and Machine Learning. He is a Walter A. Rosenblith Presidential Fellow.
Isabel Griffith-Gorgati
Isabel Griffith-Gorgati is a first year PhD candidate at Northwestern University studying English. Isabel graduated from Princeton with a Degree in English and a certificate in Spanish with the highest departmental honors. She is a Thomas H. Maren Thesis Prize recipient, a Pyne Prize nominee, and a Mellon Cluster Fellow in Global Avant-Garde and Modernist Studies.
Essay Requirements
Participants must be in grades 7-12. Write an essay between 550 and 750 words in which you clearly argue a position on one of the following prompts. Elaborate the reasons for your position and consider alternate views. Be sure to include a proper header and title.
Social justice:
1. What are the most pressing priorities for advancing social justice in the United States today?
2. To what extent, and in what ways, should social activists and/or non-profit organizations work with major political parties to advance social justice? Should the relationship be primarily collaborative or adversarial?
Current events:
1. Will major technological changes in the next few decades help or hurt democracy?
Philosophy:
1. Nowadays, does luck or hard work play a larger role in personal success?
2. If you had the option, would you choose to be immortal?
Culture/art:
1. How will the onset of artificial intelligence that can create visual or written artworks change art and personal expression?
Business/entrepreneurship:
1. Assume that you have been given $100 million to develop a startup business from scratch over the next five years. What would be your business idea? Explain primary risks associated.