@icravedeath You’ll be marked down if one poem is better than the others. Don’t submit as a collection if the poems don’t share the same themes or you might not do as well. I didn’t realize that fact until last year (I used to only do collections) and when I finally submitted individuals I got gold keys for them.
Hi guys! I’m entering my first time this year, so I’m crazy nervous
@FlameAlchemist same!! i entered four pieces and im like watch none of them get in lmao because the comp seems pretty fierce haha. what region are you from?
Midwest. I entered four pieces as well, all writing, mostly because the other stories I prepared were REALLY bad! So, I’ve been worrying about deadlines. I sent in my submission forms a week before the deadline, on two day mail. However, due to Christmas present shopping, they supposedly arrived on the day of the deadline. How do I know if they actually got to the office in time, cause I am freaking out here! What region are you from?
Southeast. I still have to turn in my entries. do y’all know if it would lessen my chances if i didn’t enter as many pieces?I’m not the best writer, so i thought i’d enter as few as possible…
@FlameAlchemist oh my gosh that was literally me! like when i was deciding to choose which works to send in to the comp, i ended up picking four that were alright (and most weren’t tbh). and then i read on a thread that some peeps were entering like 20+ and i was like damn okay maybe next time my bad, lol. and i think i read it within the faq/guidelines on the website that they had to be postmarked by dec 7th (for my region, not sure about the midwest), so i think you should be fine. also, did you by any chance add tracking to your letter (ik that’s uncommon/rare to do), but if you did, then you should be able to see where it’s at / if it arrived / etc. oh, and i’m from the west region at large ! whoa this was long haha
@scenicstars Mine were due on December 1. Do you know if the dashboard changes or not, when they receive the writing? The website said they had to be in the office on or before December 1, so I’m worried that that means that they don’t count postmark. The guy at the post office gave me a tracking number for the package, but I couldn’t figure out how to use it.
@rena1346 I have the same worry as you! I figured I’d only enter my good pieces, but then I looked online and saw that the average seemed to be like nine pieces. I feel like an idiot. Hoping it doesn’t hurt my chances!
From what I’ve heard sometimes Scholastic does not even check to see if you ever sent your forms in! There was a national winner last year who forgot to send the sheet in lol. You definitely shouldn’t worry about it 
@dreamthief001 Thanks so much! I was really stressing. With any luck, they won’t check for me either!
@FlameAlchemist I don’t believe the dashboard changes, because the day I went to the post office to drop off the submission forms and check, I just went online, and clicked that I paid via check. So now, when I look at my works, they say “Your registration is complete!” But like, it said that the day I manually selected the option of payment, so I don’t think there’s an actual change in the dashboard when they receive it. And did you send your submission through USPS or FedEx? Because I might be able to help you with the tracking number (lmao i did so much cyber monday clothes shopping and im constantly looking at where they’re at and when they’re coming haha)
Submitting more pieces doesn’t mean you have less of a chance. I know someone who’s only submitted one collection of poetry; they got a gold medal and then became a National Student Poet that year.
I’m submitting a lot myself, but I go to school for writing and I’m kind of required to submit 10+ things lol
and yeah scholastics doesn’t really check the forms. they get 330,000 submissions so they’re not checking every single one
@shakuton Whoa? A school for writing? That’s so cool, haha, I’ve only heard of schools for music/science/math, haha.
@scenicstars Yeah! It’s the only school in my area for writing, but it’s very worth it haha. We do a lot of cool writing projects and things.
@shakuton That’s seriously dope aha, I wish I could go to one! And I can imagine that being the only school in your area for writing, because I didn’t even know they existed until yesterday, aha. And what kind of projects? Also lmao what region are you from for the scholastic, just out of curiosity?
My Mom helped me track it. Turns out it arrived. . . 3 hours late. I’m thinking of emailing the supervisor for my region to check, just in case. My dashboard says the deadline has passed for my region, so, you know. . . I’m stressing like crazy! By the way, @shakuton , a school for writing sounds so cool! I live in a tiny town, so my school doesn’t even have a creative writing program, let alone a teacher dealing with anything close to the subject. I had to do almost all of the editing for my stories on my own, which makes me very nervous. Also, I’m in the same region as Interlochen, which notches my terror WAY up. I’m trying to convince my parents to let me apply for an arts boarding school (maybe Interlochen), but they won’t let me :(. Wish me luck!
@FlameAlchemist glad you ended up tracking it! but yeah, i think emailing the regional supervisor is a good idea actually, just in case (although i don’t think 3 hours is a huge deal but idk) And I hope you manage to convince your parents to let you apply to an arts boarding school!! lmao it’s out of the question for me, stuck in this avg normal public school system till college haha.
@scenicstars Yeah, I think average school system will probably be for me as well :(. I’m not going to give up, but my parents are really insistent on me staying at my local school. By the way, have you considered talking to your parents about non-art boarding schools like Andover, or Exeter? They tend to have very good art programs, while also having very good opportunities in the regular subjects. They also offer financial aid. In fact, Exeter is the school that I really want to go to. At any rate, thanks for the help! It’s great to meet other awesome writers on the forums!
@FlameAlchemist lol rip our hs careers spent within the avg school system bahaha. and I just googled andover and exeter and they seem pretty great (pretty expensive but pretty great haha the financial aid would def be needed lololol) but the thing is i live in california and (i think) those schools are all in the east coast lol… in any case, i really hope you get to go to exeter! and, ofc, anytime! and lol i totally agree, it’s great to meet other writers within these forums :)
Does anyone know what file format I should upload for writing? word or Pdf? Thank you! First-timer here so nervous about everything.
@1QQ1QQ although i’m a first timer too (super nervous abt the whole comp as well haha), i believe that unless you’re submitting a novel or a dramatic script, word should be fine. but with a novel / dramatic script i believe you need to submit it in pdf format. when’s your region’s deadline for submissions? and good luck!!