Barnard College Essay Contest Records

The Barnard College Essay Contest was created in the fall of 1991 in order to “highlight the voices and literary talents of a broad spectrum of young women” (“Barnard College Essay Contest: A Brief History”; 2003; Essay Contest; box 4, folder 51: Barnard College Archives, Barnard College). Female 11th graders at any of New York City’s public high schools could enter the competition, and each entrant was told to write an essay of 500 words or less on a woman she admired. Essay contest winners were selected by members of Barnard’s English department and Barnard alumnae writers. The top four winners received unrestricted cash prizes of $1,000, $500, $300, and $200, respectively. The first place winner’s high school English department also received $500. Approximately 25 other notable entrants would be given certificates of merit each year. A day of writing and college-related workshops was provided annually for the top four winners and certificate of merit recipients in their senior years of high school. Until 2001, the New York Times (which helped sponsor the contest) often published the top four essays in its Op-Ed section on Mother’s Day, helping gain publicity for both the contest and college in addition to honoring young writers. Beginning in 1998, the CBS Foundation provided funding for the Barnard College Essay Contest as well.

The New York Times stopped providing funding for the contest in 2001, ceasing publication of the winning essays in the paper’s Op-Ed section as well. Despite this major publicity loss, the Essay Contest remained popular, receiving 716 entries in 2002 (its highest volume of submissions at the time). At the same time, however, Barnard shifted its focus toward improving young writers through workshops rather than competition. The Young Writers Conference—a day-long event featuring writing workshops for high school sophomores and their teachers—later took the Essay Contest’s place. The exact year that the essay contest ended is unknown, but the records housed in the Barnard College Archives run through 2003.