Contest Eligibility
1. I am a high school student. Am I eligible to enter the contest?
-- No. You must be enrolled in a college degree-granting program. High school students do not qualify to enter the essay contest.
2. I am entering graduate school next year and have already been accepted, but I am currently not enrolled in school. Am I eligible to enter the contest?
-- No. Only currently enrolled students in a graduate or undergraduate degree program may enter the contest.
3. I have a bachelors or masters degree but am now enrolled in college for a different bachelor’s degree program. Am I considered a graduate or undergraduate?
-- Students that currently have any bachelor’s degree will be considered a graduate student.
4. I am enrolled in medical school or law school. Am I eligible to enter the contest?
-- Yes, you can enter the contest as a graduate student. However, medical residents are not qualified to enter.
5. Do I have to be a U.S. citizen in order to be eligible?
-- No. Foreign students who are enrolled in an accredited degree program are eligible to enter the contest. U.S. students who are studying abroad are also qualified to enter the contest.
6. I won in a previous year. Am I eligible to enter the contest?
-- No. Past winners are not eligible to enter the KaiserEDU essay contest.
Essay Requirements
1. Do citations count towards the 1,000 word count?
-- No. The 1,000 word limit applies to the essay itself. The reviewers carefully check word count and will disqualify submissions that exceed 1,000 words.
2. What is the preferred format for citations?
-- Please use endnotes for citations. Citing others’ ideas and words as well as data and statistics is required. For more guidance on endnotes, see the list of resources at the bottom of this page.
2. I completed a related assignment for school. May I submit it for entry?
-- If you have written a paper for class that is specific to this question, you may adapt it and submit it as long as you are the sole author, and it meets all of the essay contest requirements.
3. I wrote a similar piece for my school paper, or a magazine. May I submit the same piece for this contest?
-- No, previously published work is not eligible for this contest.
Submission
1. The website says all entries are due 5 p.m. ET on Monday, March 12, 2012. Can I submit beforehand?
-- Yes, you may submit your essay anytime between January 18th and 5 pm ET, March 12, 2012. We do encourage you to submit after you have carefully edited and read through your final essay and feel it is your best work. Spelling errors and grammatical mistakes will be taken into consideration, and you will not be able to make changes to your essay after you have submitted it. We suggest submitting your essay 24 hours prior to the deadline in case complications arise and will give you time to contact our team, kaiseredu@kff.org.
2. How do I know that my essay was submitted successfully?
-- You will receive a confirmation email from KaiserEDU.org with an essay ID number within 24 hours of submitting your essay. If you do not receive an email, please check your SPAM folder or contact us at kaiseredu@kff.org.
3. Oh no! I pressed submit and there’s a technical problem, what should I do?
-- You must contact us at kaiseredu@kff.org so a member of our team can help you prior to the March 12, 5 p.m. ET deadline in order for your essay to be counted. We encourage you to submit before the last minute to ensure your essay is counted.
4. When will we be notified of the winners?
-- Winners and entrants will be notified by May 1, 2012.
Disclaimer:
By participating in this contest, entrants (a) agree to be bound by the contest rules and by the decisions of Kaiser Family Foundation, which are final in all matters relating to the contest; and (b) acknowledge compliance with the contest rules. The Kaiser Family Foundation reserves the right to reject any entries that it deems to be out of compliance with these rules.
Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
By entering the contest, you confirm that the essay submission is your own original creation. All submissions become the property of the Kaiser Family Foundation and will not be returned.
Employees (and their immediate families i.e., parents, spouse, children, siblings, grandparents, step parents, step children and step siblings) of the Kaiser Family Foundation are not eligible to enter this contest.
The Kaiser Family Foundation reserves the right to contact faculty or administrators at any entrant’s school to confirm enrollment and eligibility. In the event that enrollment cannot be confirmed, the entrant may be disqualified from the contest.
Contest winners agree to except where prohibited, allow the Kaiser Family Foundation to post their essays on the KaiserEDU.org website and use their names and essays in promotional materials for publicity purposes without additional compensation. The Kaiser Family Foundation will give appropriate attribution to the author in all such cases.
Resources:
The following resources may be useful as you research and write your essay.
Health Policy and Health Reform
Kaiser Family Foundation Health Reform Source
http://healthreform.kff.org/
KaiserEDU.org Health Reform Tutorials
http://www.kaiseredu.org/Topics/Health-Reform.aspx
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.healthcare.gov/
The Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.hhs.gov/ociio/
The Commonwealth Fund
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/
Alliance for Health Reform
http://www.allhealth.org/index.asp
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
http://www.cms.gov/
National Association of Insurance Commissioners
http://www.naic.org/
National Governors’ Association
http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.b14a675ba7f89cf9e8ebb856a11010a0
Engelberg Center for Health Reform
http://www.brookings.edu/health.aspx
Tips for Writing An Essay and Citations:
There are many resources available to assist you in preparing a essay and citations. Below, are just a few useful websites. In addition to these resources, you may want to contact your school’s writing center for assistance in preparing a essay.
American Psychological Association Style Guide
http://www.apastyle.org/
The Center for Writing Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/citation/mla/
Chicago Manual of Style Online
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
Doc Scribe’s Guides to Research Style
http://www.docstyles.com/
If you have further questions about the guidelines, eligibility, submission requirements, or an application issue you may contact us at Kaiseredu@kff.org . We cannot answer questions about the content of your essay.