The Concord Review:
a complete guide.
The Concord Review is the most respected place a high-school student can publish a history paper, and one of the most misunderstood. This guide explains what it is, why admissions readers take it seriously, how selective it really is, and what a competitive submission actually looks like.
Most "research opportunities" marketed to families are programs you pay to enter. The Concord Review is the opposite: a journal you submit to, and one that says no far more often than yes. That single difference, an external standard a student either meets or doesn't, is what gives it credibility that a certificate of attendance never has.
What The Concord Review is
Founded in 1987, The Concord Review is an independent quarterly journal that publishes academic history papers by secondary-school students from around the world. It is not tied to a school, a university, or a college-counseling company. It exists for one purpose: to recognize history writing by teenagers that is genuinely worth reading. Its strongest essays are also recognized with the Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize.
Because it has done this consistently for decades, the journal has become a known quantity to the people who read university applications. A submission to The Concord Review is shorthand, understood without explanation, for "this student wrote a real history paper."
Why it matters for admissions
A serious history paper is one of the few application artifacts that is slow to produce and nearly impossible to fake. It reveals how a student reads sources, builds an argument, and handles evidence, exactly the capacities a selective university is trying to predict. Aiming a paper at The Concord Review puts that work in front of an outside standard, which is what makes it credible.
It is worth being blunt about the limits. A submission, or even publication, does not guarantee admission anywhere, and anyone who tells you it does is selling certainty they don't have. The honest value is the work itself: the skills are real, they transfer to university, and a finished paper gives an admissions reader a concrete reason to remember an applicant. For where this sits among the alternatives, see our guide to research opportunities for high school students.
How selective is it, really
Selective. The journal receives many times more submissions than it publishes and accepts only a small fraction each year. Parents sometimes hear "journal for high schoolers" and picture something easy to get into. The reality is the reverse: the acceptance bar is one of the highest a secondary student will encounter, which is precisely why the attempt is worth making even when the answer is no.
What a competitive submission looks like
The essays the journal publishes share a recognizable shape. A strong submission is not a longer school essay; it's a different kind of object:
| Element | What strong submissions do |
|---|---|
| Thesis | A specific, arguable claim, not a survey of a topic |
| Sources | Primary and secondary sources, read closely and cited in full |
| Length | Substantial — typically several thousand words, often 5,000+ |
| Voice | Measured and scholarly; claims are proportioned to evidence |
| Apparatus | Proper footnotes or endnotes and a real bibliography |
Check tcr.org for the journal's current length, fee, and deadline requirements, those specifics change, and the journal is the only authority on them.
How to write something worth submitting
The work breaks down into a few honest steps, none of which can be skipped:
- Find a real question. Narrow, contestable, answerable from sources a student can actually reach. (Our guide on how to choose a research topic covers this.)
- Read before arguing. Primary sources first, then the scholarly conversation around them, so the thesis answers a question historians actually debate.
- Draft for length, then cut for force. A journal-grade paper is built over many revisions, not written once.
- Cite as you go. Footnotes are not decoration; they are the evidence that the argument is the student's own.
- Get an experienced reader. Someone who has read history at a high level, who will push the argument rather than just fix commas.
Common mistakes
- Choosing a topic that's too big. "The causes of World War I" is a book; a publishable essay answers one sharp question inside it.
- Summarizing instead of arguing. The journal publishes arguments, not encyclopedic overviews.
- Thin sourcing. A handful of websites is not research; primary sources and serious scholarship are expected.
- Submitting a first draft. Competitive essays go through many rounds with a demanding reader.
Where Path to University fits
Path to University is an online research-writing program, independent of The Concord Review. Our Introductory Writing Program takes a student from a blank page to a finished 1,500–2,000 word research paper. Our Advanced Writing Program expands a manuscript to a 5,000–6,000 word history paper at journal standard and submits it to The Concord Review, National History Day, and the John Locke Institute on the student's behalf. We prepare the work to the bar; the journal decides. The student writes every word.
Frequently asked questions
What is The Concord Review?
An independent quarterly journal, founded in 1987, that publishes exemplary academic history papers written by high-school students. It is the only journal of its kind with that track record, and it is not affiliated with any school, university, or program.
How selective is The Concord Review?
Very. It receives far more submissions than it can publish and accepts only a small fraction each year. That selectivity is exactly why a serious submission carries weight: the bar is real, not nominal.
Does my child have to be published to benefit?
No. Writing to the journal's standard is the point. A paper good enough to submit honestly is already a strong piece of work, and the discipline of aiming at that bar improves a student's writing whether or not the essay is accepted.
What subjects does The Concord Review accept?
History, broadly defined, which includes political, economic, intellectual, and the history of science and ideas. If a question can be argued from primary and secondary historical sources, it likely fits.
How long is a Concord Review essay?
Substantial, typically several thousand words, often 5,000 or more, with full citations. These are not five-paragraph essays; they are real history papers with a thesis, evidence, and apparatus. Always check tcr.org for the journal's current length, fee, and deadline requirements.
Can Path to University help my child submit?
Yes. Our Advanced Writing Program is built to take a manuscript to journal standard and submits it to The Concord Review on the student's behalf. We are independent of the journal; we prepare the work, the journal decides.