Essay Contests?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi, I have a question about national essay contests -- the National Peace Essay Contest, Swackhamer, Ayn Rand, Diversity, etc. To clarify, I wouldn't do anything "to get into college." I'm genuinely interested in the topics of some essay contests -- like the importance of immigration in the US or analyzing Ayn Rand's books -- and the chance to win $1000 prize money's always good... so I'll probably enter a few. But out of curiosity, do big-name colleges (Ivy League and the like) see essay contests as a "good EC"?</p>

<p>Thanks! :)</p>

2

<p>yep i wanna know too!</p>

3

<p>it seems like if you won something in them you could put it down as an award, but i'm not sure if it could be considered an extracurricular activity. of course, if entering contests improves your writing ability or something, you may be able to stretch it, who knows.</p>