AFSA National High School Essay Contest
Catalog organization: American Foreign Service Association
Compiled by: ExtracurricularHub Editorial Team — editorial policy
Last updated
What Is AFSA National High School Essay Contest?
AFSA's annual contest asks eligible grades 9-12 students to research and write an original 1,000-1,500-word essay about U.S. diplomacy and the Foreign Service. The completed 2025-26 prompt asked students to argue whether U.S. global leadership could be sustained with fewer soft-power tools and diplomatic resources. Students needed a title, word count, standardized citations and bibliography, varied credible sources, a teacher or sponsor, and an anonymous essay file without their last name, school, or city.
The winner received $2,500, a covered Washington, D.C. trip for the student and parents from within the United States, and a covered Semester at Sea educational voyage; the winner's school received ten books. AFSA screened essays for excessive AI-generated content and interviewed the top five finalists about their own analysis. The March 1, 2026 deadline has passed and the 2026 winner is posted. The next prompt, eligibility, awards, sponsors, and deadline are not yet announced.
AFSA National High School Essay Contest Key Facts: Cost, Deadline, and Eligibility
| Cost | Varies — see Cost and funding |
|---|---|
| Format | Online |
| Eligibility | Grades 9–12 |
| Application deadline | Dates not announced |
| Listing last updated | August 30, 2026 |
Program details shown here reflect the current catalog record.
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How to Apply to AFSA National High School Essay Contest
Open the application for AFSA National High School Essay Contest