Award Breakdown
This year, 131 Aralia students participated in the competition, with 101 students winning regional/state awards, resulting in an impressive award rate of 77%! Our students secured a total of 141 awards in both art and writing categories, including:
- 41 Gold Key Awards
- 44 Silver Key Awards
- 56 Honorable Mentions
These awards reflect the students’ creativity, hard work, and ability to stand out in a highly competitive field.
How Competitive Are the Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards?
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is one of the longest-running and most respected competitions for young creatives in the U.S. and Canada. In 2024, over 110,000 students submitted nearly 340,000 entries across art and writing categories. Of these, only 50,000 students received regional or state-level awards, and a mere 2,500 works advanced to win national-level recognition.
Based on these statistics, Aralia has estimated the 2024 award rates for reference:
- Regional/State Award Rates based on the number of awarded students: 50,000/110,000 = 45%
Aralia’s student award rate of 76% significantly surpasses the overall competition’s student award rate of 45%.
- Since the competition only disclosed the number of national award-winning works, the national-level award rate is an incredibly competitive 2.7%.
Insights from Scholastic Judges
Aralia’s team includes several instructors who serve as judges for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. According to them, certain categories, such as humor writing and drama scripts, tend to have fewer entries but require exceptional creativity and execution to stand out. On the other hand, categories like poetry, despite their shorter length, are highly competitive due to the depth of skill required to convey meaning in limited words.
Preparing for Future Success
For students aiming to compete in the 2026 Scholastic Awards, our instructors offer the following advice:
Choosing the Right Writing Category is Crucial
When selecting a writing category, Aralia’s instructors recommend that students consider both their writing skills and the competitiveness of each category.
Throughout the years, we’ve found that Humor and Memoir are categories with high award rates among Aralia students. Flash Fiction also boasts a strong success rate.
To prepare for the competition, one of the helpful resources students can use is previous winning works published on the official competition website. Start reading and analyzing these pieces early—this will help you better grasp the judges’ standards.
Rethink Your Approach to Revising Your Work
Revision is a critical part of the writing process. If students master this stage, they can significantly enhance the quality of their work and make their submissions stand out to the judges.
Revisions shouldn’t just focus on simple grammar checks or vocabulary tweaks. Instead, you should refine the overall structure, pacing, and emotional depth of your piece. Make sure every word and sentence serves a purpose.
Planning to Submit in Multiple Categories?
While many students choose to submit entries in multiple categories, not every piece will necessarily win an award. If you decide to write in various categories, it’s essential to dedicate enough time and effort to each one. Consider learning from multiple instructors who specialize in different writing categories and have award-winning experience if needed.
Prepare for Scholastic and Beyond, with Aralia
Our success in the Scholastic Awards is just one example of its commitment to nurturing young talent. We offer preparation programs for Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, along with other prestigious competitions, such as the John Locke Essay Competition, the David McCullough History Essay Competition, and the Ocean Awareness Writing Competition.
With a team of experienced instructors, including university professors, award-winning writers, and competition judges, we provide students with the tools and guidance they need to excel in their academic and creative pursuits.
