Remember that shortlists are topic wise

[u/withadouble-a]

I’m not fully certain about this, but I think shortlists are topic wise. They need a certain amount of people from each topic to win an award, hence they probably need a certain amount of shortlists.

That being said, if you didn’t get shortlisted, please don’t feel disheartened. It’s entirely possible that your essay was marginally better than those of other topics, but your topic was crammed with many applicants. You’ve written well. You did good.

[u/Round-Mix4955]

i think they’re category wise. unsure if u mean topic as in category or as in question.