Scholastic Awards 2027: individual entry or senior portfolio?
For Scholastic, start with your region’s actual deadline and the work you already have. There is no single national submission deadline that every student can safely follow. Seniors can consider a portfolio, but six rushed pieces are not automatically a better entry than one carefully finished work.
An award can bring recognition without a scholarship payment. Choose the entry route for the strength and purpose of your work, while keeping any possible money out of a guaranteed college budget.
Who can enter the 2027 awards
The 2027 participation terms require grades 7-12, age 13 or older at entry, and qualifying school attendance and residence in the United States, its territories or military bases, or Canada excluding Quebec. Virtual-school and boarding-school regional rules differ. A U.S.-accredited school abroad does not by itself establish eligibility.
The calendar confirms entries opened October 1, 2026. Regional deadlines begin December 1; some extend to January 4, 2027. Art and writing deadlines may differ for the same student. Use the provider’s region locator before making a schedule.
Compare the work, cost and scholarship route
The entry instructions list $15 per individual entry and $40 per portfolio, with need-based fee waivers available. Portfolios are for current seniors. The 2027 scholarship announcement specifies six works plus artist/writer and personal statements for portfolio consideration: Gold Medal Portfolio awards are $12,500 and Silver Medal Portfolio awards are $2,000. These are selective awards, not payments for entering.
On a smaller screen, scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| Decision | What to check | Useful next step |
|---|---|---|
| Individual work | One piece in the appropriate category | Choose a finished work that stands on its own |
| Senior portfolio | Six works and required statements | Evaluate how the collection fits together before paying |
| Special scholarship | Some routes require a theme or additional statement | Read that award’s requirements rather than assuming automatic entry |
| Entry cost | Fee or applicable waiver | Include the payment or waiver step in completion tracking |
Choose a portfolio with a reason for every piece
Lay out candidate works without ranking them by the time spent making them. For each one, write a sentence explaining what it contributes: an approach to form, a question explored, a different technique, or a meaningful development. If several pieces do the same job, decide whether repetition strengthens the collection or merely fills a slot.
Ask a reader or viewer to describe what they notice before you explain your intention. That response can reveal an unclear sequence or a weaker piece. Use the statements to provide useful context, not to insist that an unfinished work should be judged as successful.
For visual entries, documentation matters. Review the uploaded image at a readable size, check cropping and lighting, and verify that the file represents the work accurately. For writing, read the final formatted file rather than trusting the editing window.
Finish the consent and entry steps
The participation terms require the student and parent or guardian to agree, retain the student’s copyright while granting a broad nonexclusive license, and prohibit AI-generated work. Read those terms together before submission. Confirm any permissions needed for material depicted in the work.
Check the category, statements, deadline, payment or waiver, and agreement status. Save your own copies of the work and confirmation. An educator helping with entries should verify the student’s actual portal status rather than assuming payment alone completes a submission.
For another competition with a different judging and funding structure, see the Bennington Young Writers guide. Official Scholastic sources checked October 29, 2026.