Entry Rules

• Each entrant must be a current ACA member (student or professional). Non-members may join here.
• Only ONE of the two competitions may be entered. Either:
  • ACA Foundation Graduate Student Essay Competition, or...
  • Ross Trust Graduate Student Essay Competition for Future School Counselors
• Entrant for either competition must be a student currently (Fall semester or quarter 2009) taking one or more graduate level courses at an accredited college or university.
• In addition, for the Ross Trust Graduate Student Essay Competition entrant must certify that he or she is working toward a career as a professional school counselor at the elementary, middle or high school level. Graduate students planning on a career in other areas of counseling are not eligible to enter the Ross Trust Competition, but may enter the ACAF Graduate Student Essay Competition if they meet the other eligibility rules.
• An original essay, the work of solely the entrant, must be submitted. Submitted essays must be 600 words or less in length and address one of the subjects listed on the entry form. Essays must be submitted using the online entry form. Emailed, faxed or mailed submissions will not be accepted. No entries will be returned.
• Submitted essays should be written with the recognition that winning essays will be published in Counseling Today. Academic essays with footnotes are not appropriate. All submitted essays become the property of the American Counseling Association. Neither ACA nor the ACA Foundation can be held responsible for any entries that are not received correctly via the entry form. Please retain a copy of your entry essay in case there should be a transmission problem.
• Entrants must not have won a cash or scholarship grant award in a past Graduate Student Essay or Ross Trust Competition.
• Awards will be based on an evaluation of the essays received as judged by one or more panels of experienced counseling professionals who are members of the American Counseling Association.
• Essay evaluations will be based on how well the chosen subject is addressed, if the ideas are presented clearly and well supported, how well the essay shows insight into counseling, its challenges and future, and the overall interest level of the essay for a counseling professional.
• The decisions of the judges are final.
• All entrants, by the act of entering, grant the American Counseling Association and the ACA Foundation the right to publish their essay and photo as part of the post-competition publicity in the ACA’s Counseling Today monthly magazine and on the ACA and ACA Foundation websites.
• There can be no substitution of prizes.
• Each ACA member may enter only one competition, and is limited to one entry for this competition period.
• Your entry must be received no later than midnight, December 14, 2009.