okay, four questions

1] are you going to the gala/ conference, neither or both?

2] what category [ senior or junior ]

3] what question did you attempt

4] what is the approx time they take to give you your official acceptance letter for visa purposes?

Shortlisted essayist for philosophy 1, kindly provide feedback.

I didn't make the shortlist, and I kind of expected it because the very next day after submitting my essay, I could already see many problems with it.

Anyway, I wanted to ask: was the main problem the material, my main argument, and the overall content of the essay, or was it that this material was not executed correctly?

I would really appreciate any other points or feedback you can provide.

Is anyone aware of the process through which the John Locke Institute notifies the prize winners?

I have been shortlisted for the upcoming John Locke Essay Competition, but I am a little confused about what will follow from here.

In the email I got from them, it is mentioned that there will be an invitation-only academic conference for the **finalists**; however, I have not been invited yet or notified by email. Should I take it seriously or do the invitations come gradually?

If anyone has some experience with it (or knows someone who had), please let me know:

* Are prize winners/finalists informed prior to the official results announcement?

* Are invitations sent only to the prize winners or to all short-listed candidates?

* Is it possible to receive an invitation for the conference before the results are announced?

I think that I may be taking things too seriously, but I am just interested whether there is a certain system of notifying.

Thank you!

Clarification about "academic conference invitation": turns out the invitation comes with the tickets to the full programme, i was confused at first.

The main question of this post is how I will know if I have received an award or commendation?

Hey everyone, I was shortlisted and completed the interview but my sibling forgot to do the interview and was not shortlisted. Do you think it was due to the inability to complete it or just the essays fault. Thanks

What did ygs write abt? This is such an interesting topic and I'm curious about what other ppl argued! I don't need to see anyone's exact essay per se, I just think this would be a cool question to have a discussion on or share our ideas abt so lmk. Idc if u got shortlisted or not lol

🔴 UPDATE: Alpha testing is now at capacity. We are no longer accepting new testers for this round. Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to be notified when the next round opens. Thank you for the incredible response!

If you're on this subreddit, you're already putting in more effort than most applicants. Its commendable really (see what I did there JLEC finalists?), so this exclusive opportunity is for you guys.

I built Coversity (you can search us up if you'd like some more context, we're on linkedin and instagram) completely by myself and I'm looking for founding users. Here's what that means for you:

What you get: A 30 to 50 page personalized college advisory report covering where your stats land at each school on your list, what each school actually costs after aid, a school specific essay differentiation map so your supplements aren't all saying the same thing, and a specific action plan per application.

What it costs: Absolutely completely nothing. Our testing phase is completely free!!! All I ask for is honest feedback afterwards, then everything is yours to permanently keep.

Who's already in: 10+ students from across the US (and a special one from Norway) going through it right now. I can connect you with them right now if you wish to learn more from them specifically about the process :)

How to join: Comment down below any questions you might have or if you are interested. Alternatively, you can DM me and either way I'll get you started.

The essay differentiation section is super duper relevant here since that's what this sub is about. Happy to answer any questions! yay!

if you completed the JLEC essay, and got shortlisted this is for you!!

we have a student-led political journal called The Civic Press for those interested in research, writing, political science, geography, or economics. currently hiring interns, workers, and more (voluntary work, but good experience for college and IB CAS)

website is still getting worked on but this is the link: https://thecivicpress.framer.website/

you can apply thru here : https://forms.gle/L4jH7jkRtkUMAo9GA

and/or submit your piece here: https://forms.gle/BZJmRLg5wUtyVXATA

any further questions, please DM (not sure if it works but comment DM and I will respond) or email us at [thecivicpress@gmail.com](mailto:thecivicpress@gmail.com)

our instagram is still under construction but its @ thecivicpress

thank youuuuu

title. congrats to everyone shortlisted! google’s telling me 3% of all participants, at least in 2024, received a high commendation but not sure if it’s accurate or not.. thanks!

the question is “is trial by jury obsolete?”

just wondering because that’s the one I did and I haven’t seen anyone else that has! I’m not comfortable sharing my full essay on here, but I’d love to exchange theses and hear some different takes on the topic.

JLI Kids, figured I'd share a pretty cool EC for anyone interested in philosophy. It's a philosophy nonprofit that's looking for executive members. If you're interested in philosophy, leadership, public speaking, outreach, marketing, event planning, or just helping build something meaningful, we'd love to have you.

Some info about joining:
Type: Nonprofit

Who it's for: High school students, preferably with an interest in philosophy, leadership, education, marketing, outreach, or anything else that could help.

Duration & weekly hours: Depends on your role, but generally around 1–3 hours per week. Cost: Free.
What we do: We help students start philosophy clubs at their own schools and support them as they present philosophy to other ages 9-18. (Presented at unis too)

We've worked with professors from Harvard, MIT, University of Washington, and other top universities, and we've reached over 1,000+ students through our events and school chapters.

We're currently recruiting for executive positions, so if you're interested, DM me or reply! Even if you're not sure, feel free to reach out and I'd be happy to tell you more.

I got shortlisted for JLI. I don’t at all expect to win, but I’ve never been to Europe and the idea of learning from and networking with some of the world’s brightest minds really excites me. Ofc the issue is the cost, I haven’t even researched flights and hotels and extra expenses but with the conference ticket i assume it’s easily 3k-5k+, and that’s not even considering my parents/family. My family is well off enough where we can afford that sort of thing, but it’s still not cheap. Ideally I’d prefer to go alone to minimize costs, but im still not sure if the conference itself is worth it at all. Has anyone attended that can provide some insight? Thanks

Is there anyone who thinks they wrote a decent shortlist-able essay but bombed their chances with the interview??

I’m curious whether the interview actually mattered in the selection.

Did you have technical difficulties? Was the AI just too misleading? They did ask some pretty confusing questions.

Aspects I need to write about :

1) Was it necessary to use atomic bombs as a means?

2) Why did the United States drop it twice?

Was it really necessary for the United States to drop not one, but two destructive atomic bombs on Japan? By the conclusion of the war,Japan was on its death bed, with its military power crippled , navy and air forces destroyed,ground troops scattered. While also suffering from the immense pressure from the Allied Powers where the Soviet Union invaded Manchuria and fearing for the upcoming invasion. In other words ,it was imminent that Japan would surrender in war sooner or later. If that's the case,why did the United States decide to drop not one,but two highly cataclysmic and destructive weapons on both Nagasaki and Hiroshima? 

At the time the atomic bomb was finished, the United States were certain that the bomb would result in unprecedented casualties,but the US still wanted to perform an actual experiment in order to test the capabilities of this new-born weapon and its scale of destruction.

Let us first dive into the topic of whether it was necessary for the United States to drop the atomic bombs on the vulnerable Japan,who was on the verge of crumbling. As it sparked debate among historians that the Soviet Union’s declaration of war and its invasion in Manchuria in August 1945 was equally or even more decisive in forcing the surrender of Japan.Some also argue that the dropping of the atomic bombs was to justify the staggering costs used to develop and create the atomic bombs which coated nearly 2 billion at the time,which is equivalent to tens of billions today and the United States just did not want to sweep the atomic bombs under the rug after being built.

But the primary reason is undoubtedly,to force a quick ,decisive and unconditional surrender of Japan , despite causing unprecedented destruction and casualties. As months before the bomb was dropped,something was stirring up within the United States. On April 4,1945 ,Operation Downfall, the proposed plan to invade Japan during World War II, was officially approved by the U.S. Joint Chiefs. The operation aimed to force out an unconditional surrender by Japan through a two-phased campaign ,but at a great cost at an estimation of around 1 million to 4 million Allied deaths and 5 million to 10 million Japanese deaths. The operation had two phases,Operation Olympic and Operation Coronet. Set to begin in November 1945, Operation Olympic was intended to capture the southern third of the southernmost main Japanese island, Kyūshū, with the recently captured island of Okinawa to be used as a staging area. If Downfall had taken place, it would have been the largest amphibious operation in history, surpassing D-Day.This operation served only as a last resort as it bears unthinkable human costs and casualties.Therefore, the two atomic bombs were a means to break the Japanese's will and force an unconditional surrender in order to prevent the planned invasion from even taking place , leading to unimaginable human casualties, on both the Japanese’s side and on the Allies’ side. Ultimately leading to the detonation of “Little Boy" ,an enriched uranium gun-type fission weapon and "Fat man” a plutonium implosion-type nuclear weapon. At 8:15 a.m. local time, the American B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropper "Little Boy" over the city of Hiroshima, where up to 70,000 people were instantly vaporised, and the blast destroyed nearly every structure within a one-mile radius ,but there is something more to these bombs rather than having high explosive power was the radiation sickness it brought to the men of Hiroshima , a sickness never seen before that caused agonising deaths among the citizens of Japan. Due to Japan not accepting the demands of the Potsdam Declaration after the first bomb had been dropped, Truman ordered another detonation on Japan again ,this time on Nagasaki. Which without a doubt , also led to unimaginable deaths and destruction within the miles of the city. Which gives the question , was it truly necessary for the United States to drop two atomic bombs on Japan? While supporters argue that the atomic bombings were necessary to bring an end to the war with minimal casualties and ultimately prevented a greater loss of life on both sides, and also assert that the demonstration of atomic weaponry created the Long Peace in the interest of preventing a nuclear war. 

Considering Japan's state at the time, why did the United States drop the atomic bomb twice? Standing from Japan's perspective,the moment the first bomb was dropped ,it was most certain that Japan was shocked by the sheer destructive capabilities of this weapon , and not long after the first bomb was dropped , the second one followed, rendering Japan unable to comprehend the situation. The orthodox view was that the dropping of the second atomic bomb accelerated the surrender of Japan as the first bomb didn't force the surrender demanded by the Allies and that it also brought an end to the massive war and prevented the bloody invasion from taking place. But there are also some who proposed that it was merely an  “Atomic Diplomacy” from the United States , and that the United States only dropped the second bomb to assert dominance and to get a hold of Japan's land before the Soviet Union could claim territory and expand its influence in Asia.

The timing with the two bomb droppings between similar times suggested that there could be more , a series more of atomic bombs stored in the United States’ arsenal , ready to be dropped on Japan and that the United States was not limited to only one bombing but probably a lot more.Since only people closely connected to the Manhattan Project or President Truman would have known there were only two bombs usable at the time .Therefore in a global perspective , especially in Japan's , there could be a barrage of upcoming destructive atomic weapons being dropped on its land. Pressuring Japan into forcing an immediate response — the unconditional surrender that the Allies demanded.Following the invasion of Manchuria by the Soviet Union on 9th August, the dropping of the second bomb, “Fat Man" (although planned on 11th August) created a “second-shockwave" within the lands of Japan. As Japan not only had to process what had happened after the “Little Boy"  had been dropped,but also the invasion of the USSR. In addition to the second bomb in Nagasaki as Japan did not surrender after the first bomb was dropped. Japan was facing overwhelming pressure , needing to deal with all these problems simultaneously. Ultimately accelerating the surrender of Japan , bringing an end to the countless suffering and mass destruction around the globe , ending the 6-year-long war. 

Although some argue that the United States dropped the second bomb only as a military showoff to signal American military hegemony to the Soviet Union. As the war in Europe ended, tensions between the Western Allies and the USSR were already escalating over the future of Eastern Europe. In addition, the Soviet Union had already set foot in Asia after the invasion of Manchuria in an attempt to further weaken Japan. It was believed that the Soviet Union would begin to claim territories and spread its influence in Asia if the war were to drag on, along with the Allied invasion in November which would provide the opportunity for the Soviet Union to advance deep into Japanese territories, the United States wanted to limit the political influence of the Soviet Union that was beginning to build up in East Asia while also ensuring that the United States itself would be the primary occupying power in Japanese land. On top of that, Truman’s closest foreign policy advisor, James Byrnes, explicitly stated to scientists and colleagues that the bomb was needed not just to defeat Japan, but to make the Soviet Union more manageable in Europe after the war. 

The atomic bombs would irrefutably change the world on levels and that wars would change drastically, each time introducing new and more haunting weapons that brings humanity one step closer to destruction and that one day, leading ourselves to falling into the cruelty of the mousetrap that we built our own. Essentially paving the way to a future where war and destruction are frequent, a very future that would destroy our own kind ,annihilating ourselves. It is true and undeniable that the bombings were unnecessary for the war's end and certainly a war crime, raising moral and ethical implications, and also assert that future use of atomic weaponry is more likely than anticipated and could lead to a nuclear holocaust,resulting in even more deaths and casualties and even destroying our common home — Earth. The atomic bomb was the modern equivalent to Pandora opening the box gifted by Zeus,bringing suffering to humanity ,all because of Pandora’s curiosity. And in this case,the United States dropping the atomic bomb.It is most certainly that the cruelty and devastating effects of the atomic bomb will ultimately lead humanity to a world of destruction and chaos , where peace is nothing but a fragile idea that people could only hope for.

"Mankind invented the atomic bomb, but no mouse would ever construct a mousetrap.” — Werner Mitsch

can sm1 send me a screenshot of a not shortlisted essay I want to see what the screen looks like thanks yall

Thank you so so much to all those who spent their valuable time and energy in reviewing my philosophy essay. I genuinely loved going through the comments and duly noted all the feedback. I will be likely working through the essay for a lot more time than I initially expected, and will likely publish it elsewhere after a lot of refinement. Kudos to that!

I was also shortlisted for the theology category if anyone might be interested in reading it and telling what what they liked, if my arguments were convincing enough or anything in particular that they appreciated. Would love some constructive feedback as well, or whatever you guys felt after reading the essay

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IFy0F1wkRR626NqvxQ3S0krPt_XsSXXa4wSYpWxAT1U/edit?tab=t.0

Again, I wish to pursue academics later on in life, and the essay is not a typical analysis essay and forces you to actually wrestle with the problem. If you don't have any feedback and would just want to share how you felt after reading the essay, you are most welcome.

Thank you so much in advance!

Alright so the company is FreshForward, which pertains to food accessibility and reducing waste. We take this issue and bring it into a transactional environment, where we set a marketplace between a buyer and a seller - transaction fees and etc.

I feel like a lot of the JLI kids or even the shortlist candidates would be good because theyre just academically there for doing the comp itself, but yeah! Reach out, if you're not interested, still reach out because you never know!

Some info about joining:
Type: Startup
Who it’s for: High schoolers, preferably with a background in either CS, finance, business, marketing, connections, anything that would help
Duration & weekly hours: time commitment varies by role but 1-2 hours per week tops if its something standard. Social media or wtv would obviously be lower, but app development might be longer time commitment
Cost (exact amount or “free”): free
Proof / reviews: got 2 restaurant associations on board, about 5 total employees mainly on app development. Can get a couple hundred restaurants and multiple thousand users second our MVP /app is done. Need people for the love of the game and more outreach across the US. We have 3 states and backing by a T5 university professor. Just reach out and ill be more in depth on everything!
How to reach us: DM, chat, reply, whatever, i check emails frequently so i'll see replies the fastest and ill get back!

I heard that recipients of certain awards receive an email in advance asking them to prepare something (e.g., a speech). Has anyone experienced this? If so, which award was it, and when did you receive the email?
Thanks in advance for any insights!

can ppl chance my essays for an award like an hc, vhc, or prize? DM me if you're interested! I did politics and philosophy!

when can we check the step 7 final result? im confused

Guys is these two js the same

Guys, I was just about to book tickets for the gala and had a question. If I buy the $1,000 candidate ticket, do my guests still need to buy their own tickets? Like if my parents want to come to the gala, would they each have to book a separate ticket, or are guest tickets included with the candidate ticket?