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  • About RCS England

royal college essay competition

  • Rosetrees Essay Prize

The RCS is pleased to announce the winners of the Rosetrees Essay Prize 2018. The winning essays below were selected from a field of 19 applicants in answer to the following question:

‘Describe how your research project will contribute to improvements in patient care within the next five years?’

Miss Natalie Allan MRCS

"Defining Molecular Signatures to Personalise Management of Patients with Early Breast Cancer"

Runners up:

Ms Vanessa Brown MRCS

Can beetroot juice improve fitness before and outcomes after major surgery?

Mr Paul Vulliamy MRCS

Zombie platelets trigger dysfunctional blood clotting after major trauma

Fellows were awarded their prizes at the RCS Diplomates’ Ceremony in March 2019 and we congratulate them  on their achievement.

About The Rosetrees Trust

The Rosetrees Trust is a family charitable trust established in 1987 with the aim of supporting the best in medical research and that which is likely to lead to early diagnosis, treatment, therapies and medication. The Trust has supported the College’s Surgical Research Fellowship Scheme since 2000 and is particularly interested in helping surgeons develop the practical application of their skills and experience for the direct benefit of patients.

Supporting RCS fellows and members

Each year the RCS awards a range of annual prizes, grants, bursaries and fellowships to support travel, education and research, details of which can be found on Surgical Awards and Grants .

These awards are only possible through the generosity of individual donors, legacies, charitable trusts and companies. If you would like further details on how to establish a named prize or award please contact us on 020 7869 6086.

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  • Faculty of Natural Sciences

The RCSU Science Challenge

royal college essay competition

About the Competition

The Science Challenge is back for another year of giving young scientists the opportunity to show off their science communication skills! Keep reading to find out how to enter!

The Science Challenge is RCSU’s annual science communication competition. It gives young scientists the opportunity to develop the skills to talk about science in a way that is engaging and fun to people who don’t necessarily have a science background.

The competition involves producing a short piece of science communication, in answer to one of four questions set by our guest judges. With exciting prizes and a wide range of interesting questions, perfect for showing off your skills, this year’s Science Challenge promises to be a very exciting competition!

Key Information

Competition Opens: Friday 1 March 2024 Submission Deadline: Friday 26 April at 17.00 Awards Ceremony: TBC

How to enter:

Details on how to apply will be published soon. Stay tuned!

Eligibility:

The Science Challenge consists of two categories: School Students and Imperial College Students. We're proud to announce that this year the competition will be opened to all Imperial undergraduates and Master's students. We would love to receive an entry from you if you are

  • A school student in your last four years of secondary education (Equivalent to UK year 10 - 13).
  • Currently enrolled as an Imperial College undergraduate student or Master's student.

Entries are welcome from schools in the UK and internationally. Imperial undergraduates will answer the same prompts as the school students but will be judged separately. While multiple entries will be accepted from each school, only one winner/runner up will be allowed per school per question.

Note: This is an individual competition so we will not be accepting team entries this year

In our  Eligibility Information  Document, you can find out accepted entry formats as well as terms and conditions.

"Science does not exist in a vacuum and science communication allows the translating of knowledge to different fields in order for it to be applicable in our daily lives." - Science Challenge Participant 2021/22 

What will I have to do?

That is a great question, we're glad you asked! The competition involves producing a short piece of fun and engaging science communication that someone without a scientific background can not only understand but enjoy!

Some of the prompts will specify a type of communication (i.e. written, video, etc..) and others will leave it up to you. An indication of what typically constitutes a 'short' piece of science communication is:

  • Written entries: 1000 words max.
  • Video entries: 3 minutes 30 seconds max.

It's often the case that the best (and most fun to make) pieces of science communication are ones that are outside of the box, so we hope this inspires you to get creative!

Why do we do this?

Science is part of everyone's lives in some way or another, but for many people just hearing the word is enough to spark an intense combination of anxiety, anger and nausea. 

A common sentiment is that science is only for scientists to understand; not everyone needs to or even can understand it, but that couldn't be further from the truth. In reality, science is just the window that lets us see into how all the things around us work and why they work that way. The problem is, with the way that science is presented in popular media, that window gets covered in dust and dirt for most people; making it impossible to see through. The job of science communicators is to clean that window; making what initially seemed distant and unattainable, into something interesting, exciting, approachable and fun.

We hope to inspire those who take part in the Science Challenge to explore, develop and use their scientific skills along with their passion for their corner of science to help others see what all the excitement is about.

Why should I enter?

We think there are too many great reasons to enter the Science Challenge to even begin to count, but here are some of the best ones:

  • You will have the opportunity to discover where the science you've learned from textbooks sits in both science more widely and in society.
  • You will get the chance to develop the skills to communicate science in concise, engaging, and creative ways; a crucial skill for all careers in STEM.
  • Prizes include publication of written work, a trip to the House of Lords and free tickets to the Cheltenham Science Festival*.
  • You will have the opportunity to discuss the areas of science you're most interested in with more freedom (and fun) than an exam question or presentation.

Further information

Judges and questions.

Find out more about our guest judges for this year's competition, including the questions they are setting for entrants.

Find out more

Past winners

Discover past winners of the competition, including questions asked by our guest judges.

Royal Commonwealth Society.png

MEET THE WINNERS OF THE QUEEN'S COMMONWEALTH ESSAY COMPETITION 2022

The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC) is the world's oldest international schools' writing contest, established by the Society in 1883. With thousands of young people taking part each year, it is an important way to recognise achievement, elevate youth voices and develop key skills through creative writing. 

Each year, entrants write on a theme that explores the Commonwealth's values, fostering an empathetic world view in the next generation of leaders and encouraging young people to consider new perspectives to the challenges that the world faces. Themes have included the environment, community, inclusion, the role of youth leadership, and gender equality. 

In the past decade alone, this high-profile competition has engaged approximately 140,000 young people, over 5,000 schools and thousands of volunteer judges across the Commonwealth. 

This year, the competition theme was 'Our Commonwealth', reflecting on our Patron Queen Elizabeth II's seven decades of service to the Commonwealth as an inspiring example of the steadfast commitment and important contribution we can all make to our societies.

We were thrilled to receive a record-breaking 26,322 entries to the QCEC from every Commonwealth region, with the winners and runners-up from New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and India. Find out more about this year's winners below and watch their reactions on discovering this significant achievement!

Sawooly's photo_edited.jpg

Sawooly Li 

Senior Winner 

Age 17, New Zealand 

Sawooly Li is a 12th grade student from Rangitoto College in New Zealand. Reading and writing have always been second nature for her—a way of expressing visions, thoughts, and emotions. She loves drawing inspiration and learning from other great writers and their works. Both reading and writing are things which Sawooly aspires to continue far, far, into the future.

Sawooly also has a love for maths and physics, and is heavily involved in such areas in her school, running clubs and participating in competitions. Fostering a strong sense of community, she also leads several in-school organisations, such as UN Youth and UNICEF. In the winters, Sawooly enjoys snowboarding in New Zealand’s beautiful mountains with friends and family.

Read Sawooly's winning entry, 'Willow Trees and Waterholes' .

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Madeleine Wood

Junior Winner 

Age 14, Australia 

Madeleine is 14 years old and lives in Melbourne, Australia. She is in grade 8 at Camberwell Girls Grammar School.

She loves travelling, particularly through Europe, and enjoys visiting the museums, historical landmarks and cities in each country. It is from these experiences that she gained a love for ancient, medieval, and renaissance history.

She is also an avid reader, plays the violin and spends much of her time playing basketball or swimming.

Read her winning poem, 'Catalina' .

Amaal pic.jpg

Amaal Fawzi

Senior Runner-up

Age 17, United Kingdom

Amaal Fawzi is a 17-year-old girl who was born in Egypt, raised in Lebanon, and now lives in East London. She has an Iraqi father and a British mother, and because of the education system in Lebanon, she has started university a year early! She studies English Literature with Creative Writing and has been writing poetry for many years, though she wouldn’t say she’s been writing poetry well for all of them.

Most of the poetry and prose she likes to write is concerned with culture and identity. Her years in Lebanon formed the majority of her character and cultural experiences, so learning to interact with that in the UK has been a very interesting season. It makes for a lot of writing material, and she’d say that the way she writes is always personal and drawn somehow from her own life.

Read Amaal's poem, 'Nursing Homes' . 

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Maulika Pandey

Junior  Runner-up

Age 13, India

Maulika Pandey, is an 8th grade student from Aurum the Global School.

She has always enjoyed writing since she was a child as she feels writing gives her the power to express her feelings in a creative way. Maulika also enjoys sketching and playing the guitar. Basketball is her favourite sport.

She aspires to be a successful entrepreneur but will definitely continue writing in the future.

She is a dedicated advocate for anti-bullying and body positivity.

Read her entry titled, 'The Molai Forest' .

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  • SKIP NAVIGATION
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  • General adult prizes and bursaries

Prizes and bursaries

Oral and poster presentation prize.

The poster prize winner will receive £150.

Three shortlisted applicants will be selected for oral presentation and will receive free registration at our Faculty conference for the day on which they make their presentation. In addition, the winner will receive £150.

Who can enter?

All psychiatrists in training grades and consultants in their first year of practice.

Where will it be presented?

Faculty Annual Conference (usually held in October)

  • The prize is awarded on the basis of originality and relevance to general adult psychiatry of submissions for poster presentations and a short oral presentation to the judging panel
  • The judging panel will consist of the Faculty Academic Secretary and other elected members of the Faculty Executive.

Closing date

The submission closing date is 5pm on Monday 31 July 2023.

Submissions

Submit your abstract

Oral and poster presentation prize winners

Oral presentation:.

Winner – Dr Joanne Zhi Qiao Hew for Evaluation of the new medical assistant role in Cumbria, Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Trust (CNTW)

Poster presentation:

Winner – Dr Joanne Rodda for Systematic review of the use of virtual and augmented reality in undergraduate psychiatric education

Winner – Dr Nicole Needham for The acceptability and feasibility of sexual health screening in psychiatry inpatients

Winner – Dr Will Marsh for Understanding and improving psychiatric trainee experience and confidence with regards giving evidence to Mental Health Tribunals: a quality improvement project

Joint Winners – Dr Gabriela Di Scenza for Analysis of penetrating neck injuries at a South London Trauma Centre before and after the first national lockdown

Dr Tobias Rowland for Implementation of a MOSAIC (Multidisciplinary One Stop Assessment and Intervention Clinic) within a Home Treatment Team

Winner – Dr Pranav Mahajan for Food for thought: highlighting the importance of weight and nutrition in patients under the Early Intervention in Psychosis Service in Sheffield

Medical student essay prize

£250 plus two days’ free registration at our conference plus one night's accommodation, and standard advance travel within the UK if the conference is face to face (receipts required).

Two runners-up

(Awarded at judges’ discretion): two days’ free registration, plus one night's accommodation, and standard advance travel if the conference is face to face. 

The conference prize package is for the year in which the prize is awarded and cannot be carried over.

Who can enter

All clinical medical students in the United Kingdom.

Where presented

Our Faculty residential meeting.

  • The format of the prize will be an essay of up to 3,000 words (excluding references) on a subject set by the Faculty each year.
  • Please use double-spacing and font at 12 pt
  • Marking will be based on content, presentation and scientific merit. Criteria for judging will include clarity of expression, understanding of the literature and evidence, cogency of argument and overall ability to convey enthusiasm and originality within a set word limit
  • Entries will be shortlisted and judged by a panel appointed by our Executive Committee. Should a minimum standard not be achieved, prizes may not be awarded
  • The winning essay will be published on our website.

Essay title

The essay title for 2024 is 'The future of psychiatry in a digital world'.

11.59pm on Sunday 25 February 2024

Please email  your essay, and a 250-word summary.

Medical student essay prize winners

Catriona McVey for Neurodiversity in doctors and its impact on their profession

Not awarded

Winner – James Nicolson for Psychiatrist: brain, mind or soul doctor?

Winner – Muhammad Shaikh for Without Social Psychiatry, there is no Psychiatry

Oliver Middlemiss Prize

Oliver Middlemiss suffered from a crippling and disabling form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). He was bright, able and many of the people who worked with him and knew him well were deeply surprised when he took his own life in July 2019. Only those closest to him knew of his suffering. Oliver was committed to his recovery and to making a difference to other OCD sufferers, especially those who had lost hope. To this end and in his name, the family and friends of the late Oliver Middlemiss have introduced a prize to encourage interest and to raise awareness of OCD amongst clinicians and researchers by rewarding a piece of work on OCD.

The winner will receive £350 and may have the opportunity to present their work at one of the seminars run by the Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders (OCARD) Network.

Annually. The outcome will be announced in December each year.

Anyone submitting a poster relating to OCD to the General Adult Faculty Annual Conference or the RCPsych International Congress whose work is accepted for presentation.

The scope of the prize would include all clinical or research posters on the topic of OCD.

The work could draw from multiple data sources, including medical research, anecdotal evidence and media representations.

A shortlist of 3-5 posters will be made for the final award.

The work will be judged by a prize panel comprising of 1-2 members of the OCARD Network; an OCD researcher; a close relative of Oliver Middlemiss and an OCD patient.

Finalists will be asked to allow their research to be referenced on a website.

Closing date and submissions

Check our annual faculty conference (see our News, reports, and resources page ) and International Congress  pages for relevant documentation.

  • Awards for training, education and exams

The clinical radiology undergraduate essay prize

Member benefits

The clinical radiology undergraduate essay prize is for an essay either on a topic relevant to clinical radiology or describing a personal experience of working in a department of clinical radiology during an elective period or vacation.

Funded by the family of Dr Steven Carstairs, this is one of two prizes intended to enhance medical students' experience of clinical radiology.

Eligibility

UK medical students

Applications should be submitted by email to [email protected] no later than Thursday 29 February. The Royal College of Radiologists' clinical radiology undergraduate committee will consider the applications and decide on a winning essay. Their decision is final and binding. Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application as soon as possible after the decision.

Applications should include:

An indication of which prize the application is for.

The student's full name, permanent address, and medical school.

The essay, should not exceed 4000 words including references and tables. Please note only the first 4000 words will be assessed.

A supporting statement from a Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists, who is aware of the student's work, confirming the essay is the original work of the applicant.

Assessment criteria

Background information/research

Relevance of subject matter

Essay structure and presentation

Quality of report

Conclusion.

Enquiries should be directed to  [email protected]

Find out about all our awards for training, education and exams

royal college essay competition

Fitzwilliam College Year 12 Essay Competitions

  • Calls for Papers
  • External events

Fitzwilliam College Year 12 Essay Competitions

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, is delighted to announce its 2022 essay competitions, aimed at providing students in their penultimate year of education (Year 12 in England and Wales, S5 in Scotland, Year 13 in Northern Ireland) with an opportunity to engage with their interests beyond the classroom.

This year there will be competitions in Ancient World & Classics, Archaeology, History, Land Economy, and Medieval World, with a range of questions in each category.

The prize fund (per competition) is £300 with a first prize of £200 and highly commended applicants being awarded a £25 book voucher, awarded at a prize-giving ceremony in the Summer.

The deadline for all competitions is 6pm on Tuesday 1st March 2022, and there is a word limit of 2,500 words .

Further information and questions for each category can be found on the website:  https://www.fitz.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/opportunities-prospective-applicants/essay-competitions.

Image details: This image is licensed under the Creative Commons   Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International  license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fountain_pen_writing_(literacy).jpg

royal college essay competition

Prizes for students

The RSM has numerous prizes and awards aimed at students. By submitting an application, you will have the chance to present at a meeting, add to your CV and open up more career opportunities.

Please note this page is updated regularly.

All submissions must be sent in by 11.59pm on the stated deadline date.

Generally prizes, awards or travel grants must be claimed before the end of the academic year in which they are gained (30 September).

For more information or help please contact [email protected]

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology Section: Travelling Fellowship Bursary

Submission deadline : Wednesday 1 May 2024 

Open to : British based ophthalmologists travelling abroad and foreign ophthalmologists travelling to the UK

Prize : Bursaries can be submitted up to the value of £1,000

Ophthalmology Section: Students and Trainees Prize

Submission deadline : Thursday 11 April 2024 

Open to : Medical students and doctors in training

Prize : Best Poster: £150, Best Paper: £150 and one year's membership to the Royal Society of Medicine.

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Section: UMAX Poster Prize

Submission deadline : Tuesday 20 February 2024

Open to : All trainees without dual qualification including undergraduate students as well as singly-qualified and second degree medical and dental students

Prize : 1 year's RSM membership

BSHNI annual oral presentation

Submission deadline: Sunday 12 May 2024

Open to: All delegates. The presenting author should register for the meeting and  will receive a complimentary conference dinner invitation.

Respiratory Medicine

Student Prize

Submission deadline: Wednesday 24 January 2024

Open to: All current UK medical students and FY1 doctors who completed the research whilst at medical school

EDI in medicine essay prize

Submission Deadline: Friday 10 May 2024

Open to: Current UK medical students

Leadership and Enterprise Prize

Submission Deadline: Friday 24th May 2024

Venous Forum: Annual Meeting Prize

Submission deadline : Thursday 11 April 2024

Open to : Medical students and trainees

Prize : Oral: 1st: £250; 2nd: £200; 3rd: £150, Poster: £200

"It’s a great privilege for our team to have been recognised by this prestigious award from the RSM Surgery Section and reflects the dedicated work behind this exciting innovation."

See more from prizes and awards  or hear from  previous prize winners.

Medical School Expert

Medicine Essay Prizes (7 Competitions For Year 12 and 13’s)

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Every article is fact-checked by a medical professional. However, inaccuracies may still persist.

Having a medical essay prize on your CV looks absolutely fantastic when it comes time for you to apply to medical school.

In such an overcrowded marketplace, anything that sets you apart from the crowd in a positive manner is sure to drastically increase your chances of getting an offer.

Although when I was applying to medical school I hadn’t managed to win an essay competition (despite my best efforts!) hopefully you’ll have more luck than me!

To save you some research time, I’ve compiled a list of 7 medicine essay competitions that you can enter this year.

Competitions that if you win will skyrocket your chances of application success.

INCLUDED IN THIS GUIDE:

The Libra Essay Prize

The Libra essay prize is an annual essay prize for all students in years 12 and 13 looking to prepare for university.

Libra Education themselves describe it as:

“An excellent way for 6th-form students to demonstrate that they have the makings of a scholar, the Libra Essay Prize offers a chance to prepare for the academic rigour required by university assignments and provides a great accomplishment to discuss on a personal statement or at an interview.”

Students are free to choose any subject from a list of categories (one of which being science) and then have to write an essay with a title containing a chosen word.

The small pool of words you can choose from change each year but are all generally quite abstract so you can connect and use them in creative ways.

The essay has to be between 1,500 – 2,000 words, with Harvard style referencing which isn’t included in the word count.

Libra accept entries from all over the world, but the essays must be written in English.

First prize wins £50, second prize £30, and third £20, all paid out in book vouchers. There’s also Commended and Highly Commended entries for each category.

Minds Underground Essay Competition

Minds Underground is an online learning platform, designed to support and enhance the learning and problem-solving of determined young students.

Every year they run a medicine essay competition, primarily aimed at year 12’s (although they do say younger or older students are also welcome to apply).

To enter, you have a choice of three questions, to which you need to write a 1,000 – 1,500 word answer.

“Should all healthcare be free? Discuss.” “What goes wrong for cancers to develop?” “Tell us about a key development/invention that you think has been most influential to medicine.” – Past Minds Underground medicine essay questions

If you’re feeling ambitious, students are permitted to enter an essay for more than one subject- so you could have a crack at the psychology or science one too!

Helpfully, under each question Minds also give you a few pointers to get your creative juices flowing.

Newnham Essay Prizes

Newnham College of the University of Cambridge runs a medicine essay competition with a twist:

Only female students are allowed to enter.

Again, students have a choice of three differing questions.

For example, the questions in the 2021-22 competition were:

  • How realistic is it to develop a small molecule therapy for Covid-19? Could such a therapy be rolled out in a timeframe that it could have an impact on the current pandemic?
  • Sleep deprivation in clinical health settings. Does it matter?
  • Looking to the future. Will stem cell therapies be outpaced by machine-brain interfaces for the treatment of retinal disease?

Newnham do give you a bit more of a range when it comes to the word count, accepting anything from 1,500 to 2,500 words.

There’s a generous £400 prize for first place, £200 for second and £100 for third.

Unfortunately for you as an individual though, prize money is split 50:50 between the essay prize winner and the funding of resources for their school…

John Locke Institute Essay Competition

“The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style. “

The John Locke Institute arguably gives away the most generous prize out of any competition on this list.

You get a scholarship worth $2,000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute program, as well as an invitation to their prize-giving ceremony in Oxford.

The essay questions for each subject are published in January, with the deadline for submission generally being in late June.

As well as the opportunity to secure the prize for medicine, the candidate who submits the best essay overall will be awarded an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship- which comes with a $10,000 scholarship to attend one or more of their courses!

American Society Of Human Genetics Essay Contest

Although this next essay competition comes from America, it’s open to students worldwide.

The American Society Of Human Genetics supports national DNA day through its annual DNA day essay contest: commemorating the completion of the Human Genome Project in April 2003 and the discovery of the double helix of DNA in 1953.

The contest is open to students in grades 9-12 worldwide and asks students to “examine, question, and reflect on important concepts in genetics.”

With a limit of only 750 words, not including reference lists, this is a short but sweet chance to bag yourself a considerable cash prize for your efforts.

In addition to the personal prize money, the ASHG will also provide you with a $1,000 grant towards genetics research or teaching materials.

Although it is a worldwide contest, so undoubtedly will have plenty of entries, there are also 10 honorable mentions up for grabs (in addition to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place) that all come with a $100 prize too.

Immerse Education Essay Competition

Immerse Education run summer programs for over 20 different subjects in Oxford, Cambridge, London and Sydney.

The reason why students get so much value from these courses is because they’re immersed in centers of academic excellence whilst learning from experts in their chosen field.

The good news for you is that their essay competition gives you the chance to attend one of their summer school programs for free.

10 winners receive a 100% scholarship and runners up are awarded partial scholarships of up to 50% to study their chosen subject.

According to Immerse, around 7% of entrants receive scholarship funding to attend a program- which is pretty good odds if you ask me!

“There is no downside to entering the competition. If you win, it is awesome. If you don’t win, you gained an experience. Entering the competition and working as hard as I did for it was one of the most gratifying experiences.” – Pedro L (100% scholarship winner)

You can find the full list of essay questions, in addition to top tips for writing academic essays (as well as the terms and conditions for the competition), simply by signing up via Immerse’s website.

The RCSU Science Challenge

The Royal College of Science Union (RCSU) is a student union at Imperial College London and run an annual science challenge open to both home and international school students.

The focus of the challenge is communicating scientific concepts in a non-technical manner, so that people without a science background could still understand and enjoy the content.

The big twist with this essay competition is that you don’t actually have to enter an essay!

The idea is to produce a ‘short piece of science communication’ which can be an essay or can be a short video in answer to one of the four questions set by the judges.

Written entries must be less than 1,000 words, whilst video entries must be less than 3 minutes and 30 seconds long.

For this competition, it’s really all about short and snappy responses that will captivate the reader whilst answering the question in a precise but easy to understand manner.

We hope to inspire those who take part in the Science Challenge to explore, develop and use their scientific skills along with their passion for their corner of science to help others see what all the excitement is about.

Why You Should Enter Medicine Essay Competitions

I think it’s fair to say that competition to get into medical school in the UK is insanely high- and it’s only getting worse.

With such large numbers of incredibly qualified candidates, medical schools have to find some way of differentiating them.

One way to make it easy for a university to pick you is to stand out from the crowd by having a medical essay prize on your application.

An essay prize demonstrates your dedication to the subject, scientific knowledge and an ability to write expressively and persuasively- all ideal qualities when it comes to being a doctor.

You may surprise yourself.

Often, not as many people as you might think enter these competitions.

royal college essay competition

Simply by writing the essay, you’re also going to greatly increase your knowledge about that particular topic, which can still come in really handy at interview.

Even if you don’t win, just discussing the fact you entered still looks good in the eyes of an interviewer.

It shows that you’re willing to go above and beyond your school curriculum, to explore subjects you’re interested in and that you’re a highly motivated candidate.

How To Increase Your Chances Of Winning An Essay Prize

Although when I was applying to medical school I didn’t manage to win an essay prize, there are a couple of things I did that would have greatly increased my chances of doing so.

First and foremost, I think you’ve got to cast your net wide.

Don’t limit yourself to just one shot at the target: if you’ve got the time then I’d recommend trying to enter at least a couple of different competitions.

More entries will mean more chances for you to have your essay officially recognised.

Secondly, if you have the choice between entering a local or national competition, I’d always go with the local one.

Although a national prize would look slightly better on your CV, simply due to the number of entries, you’ll have a much higher chance of winning the more local competition.

By local I mean this could be a more regional charity, nearby hospital or university, or even your school.

Even better yet, you could always enter both!

Lastly, I think one of the best ways you can increase your odds of winning a prize is by entering a competition around a topic that you’re genuinely passionate about.

If you’ve no interest in genetics, then I wouldn’t enter the American Society Of Human Genetics’ contest!

Your interest in the subject will come through in your language, depth of knowledge and motivation to go above and beyond for your essay- all of which will put you in a much better position for winning.

Where You Can Find Further Essay Competitions

In addition to the essay prizes described above, there are tonnes of other opportunities available for you to distinguish yourself as a medicine applicant.

Loads of the Royal Colleges run an ever changing variety of prizes and competitions, usually to encourage interest in their specialty.

The opening dates and deadlines for these prizes are always changing so it’s worth keeping an eye out for the perfect essay question or new prize that’s just been announced.

Some of these organisations that run their own competitions include:

  • The Royal Society of Medicine
  • Royal College of Emergency Medicine
  • British Orthopaedic Association
  • British Society for Haematology
  • Royal College of Pathologists
  • Royal College of Psychiatrists
  • British Association of Dermatologists

But there are many more out there. If you have a particular interest in one specialty or area of science then I’d definitely recommend doing a bit of digging to see if there’s a society or organisation related to that field that runs their own competitions!

Final Thoughts

There really aren’t many downsides to entering one of these competitions.

You get a shot at winning, gain a talking point at interview and develop your scientific knowledge (not to mention technical writing skills).

Although you might feel that some of the smaller prizes aren’t worth your time and effort to write the essay, the real value comes from the boost one of these prizes would give your medicine application.

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  • Discover pathology

2022 Paola Domizio Undergraduate Essay Prize winner announced

3 August 2022

This year’s essay prize questions focused on celebrating the contribution of pathology throughout history.

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Congratulations to this year’s Paola Domizio Undergraduate Essay Prize winner, Anamay Shetty. Anamay is a final year medical student at the University of Cambridge, who will be going on to do his foundation training in Aylesbury and Oxford.

This essay question for this year’s prize was 'Which one scientific discovery or pathologist has had the most significant impact on medicine/pathology in the last 60 years?’ Thank you to everyone who took part in the competition and to the judges, Professor Angharad Davies and Dr Alison Finall, who had the difficult task of scoring all of the brilliant essays and deciding on an overall winner.

“The standard of writing in the undergraduate essay competition was very high and reflected thorough research into the topic by the entrants. There was a breadth and depth of understanding of the role of the full range of sub-speciality subjects in pathology. My heart felt congratulations to our winner for an outstanding effort and fantastic contribution.” – Dr Alison Finall, Undergraduate Pathology Education Lead

The Paola Domizio Undergraduate Essay Prize will reopen in Spring 2023. In the meantime, you can read Anamay’s winning essay on our competition webpage . 

We asked Anamay a few questions about this year's prize. 

How do you feel about winning this year’s Paola Domizio Undergraduate Essay Prize? 

I am very glad that the judges enjoyed my submission as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Why did you enter this essay competition?

I heard about this competition from my medical school, and I enjoy writing about medicine, so I thought it was a good fit. The prize money would also go a (small) way to offset the costs from frequent trips home to see my family and London to see my friends!

What course and year are you currently studying and at which university? 

I am a final year medical student at the University of Cambridge, going on to foundation training in Aylesbury and Oxford.

What do you hope to do in the future? 

I don’t know what I want to do yet – I have heard pathology is a good speciality choice.

What do you like about pathology?  

I like pathology because pathology is modern medicine. Prior to pathology developing as a field in the late 19th century, we had made some progress in understanding the body (anatomy, the beginnings of physiology and infectious disease transmission, some bioactive compounds) but we were stuck without a correct theory of how these integrated together. The development of a theoretical base (germ theory, genetic basis of cancer) and the tools (microscopy, IHC, PCR) from pathology meant we could rationally investigate disease and develop treatments which we associate with medicine today.

What would you say to students who are considering entering this competition? 

You should apply for this competition! It is hard to find time to think about medicine broadly in medical school, so it is a great opportunity to write essays like this.

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Thadcha Retneswaran

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