Let Grow's Think for Yourself Essay Contest Awards $14,000 in Scholarships
Every year, Let Grow asks U.S. high school seniors to think about the importance of independence, curiosity, and open-mindedness in their everyday lives. We will award an $8,000 scholarship to the Grand Prize Winner, and $2,000 each to three Runners-Up.
This is the simplest scholarship anyone can apply for, and our awards can be used for traditional university, community college, or trade school.
Since launching in 2018 we have received over 33,000 entries and awarded $57,000 in college scholarships.
The winners’ essays have been published in USA Today, The New York Post, The New York Daily News, The San Francisco Chronicle, The New Jersey Ledger, The Honolulu Star Advertiser, Quillette, and EdWeek.
Only U.S. students currently in 12th grade can apply. For full eligibility and the Scholarship Rules, click here.
Congratulations to this year's winners!
Scholarship Award Recipients
Grand Prize Winner: Ricardo Martinez, attending University of Southern California
Runners-Up:
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Emma Penton, attending Southeastern University in Lakeland, FL
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Ryan Gomez, attending University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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Madelyn (Ari) Bellissimo, attending University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg
See below for our 2026 Winners!
Watch for the 2027 Scholarship in January
WHAT TO WRITE
Respond to one of the prompts below with a compelling story of independence, thinking for yourself, and personal growth. We want real-life experiences that have helped define your character and beliefs (not your resume or bio, or the personal statement your guidance counselor made you write). We are not looking for a perfectly polished essay with big words and perfect grammar and spelling (so skip the AI, please).
Choose one prompt:
- Describe a time when you suddenly had to do or figure out something on your own. Maybe someone wasn't available to help, plans fell through, or you ended up in an unfamiliar situation. What happened and what did you learn?
- Write about a time someone changed your mind about an idea or belief you strongly held. How did this change happen and what did you learn from the process? Is there anything you'll do differently from now on?
- Write about a time you didn't speak up — or almost didn't — for fear your idea or viewpoint might be unpopular. Was this the right decision and would you do the same thing again?
- What issue did you consult AI on, only to realize you had to think for yourself? How did you realize that and how did things turn out?
HOW TO WRITE IT
Your 600-800 word response must be a personal narrative, written by yourself, about yourself and your opinions.
Please, do not submit your resume, your standard school essay or bio. You might want to check out this short video about Let Grow before you enter, but even if you don’t, please know that we will not consider anything written or submitted by your parents.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS (We want you to think for yourself but also follow these instructions!)
All 2026 rules can be found here.
- Have your essay ready to copy and paste into a text field. Skip any special formatting and no images or hyperlinks.
- To help us judge fairly, do not include your full name within your essay.
- Write at least 600 words but not more than 800 words (title is not included).
- Submissions will be checked for plagiarism and use of ChatGPT or other AI tools. You need to think for yourself, NOT ask AI or someone else to think for you.
COngratulations to our 2026 Scholarship Recipients!
Over 4,000 essays submitted and read by volunteers---thank you to all who entered.
Grand Prize Winner: Ricardo Martinez, attending University of Southern California
Runners-Up:
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Emma Penton, attending Southeastern University in Lakeland, FL
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Ryan Gomez, attending University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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Madelyn (Ari) Bellissimo, attending University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg