Frequently asked questions

Manuscript Preparation

A. Yes. You are strongly encouraged to develop an essay you have written for school.

A. We publish essays written on topics in philosophy, history, art history, literature, politics, public policy, and sociology. However, many important academic inquiries often involve multiple fields of study across traditional academic disciplines. Essay topics and questions must be academic, answerable, and specific to be examined in a 5,000-word essay.

Examples of inappropriate topics

• What is justice? This question is too broad to be adequately examined within the length guideline.
• Can Ayurveda and allopathy work together? This topic would be suitable for a publication in health and medicine but not for a humanities and social sciences journal for high school students.
• How political relationships and economic motivations shaped the experiences of foreign-born NBA players? This topic would be appropriate for journalistic writing but not for academic writing. It has little relevance to scholarship in the humanities and social sciences or demand rigorous academic research.

A. A margin of 10 percent of the 5,000-word limit is acceptable (4,500-5,500 words: excluding the abstract, footnotes, and bibliography). No exceptions to this rule. You are advised to create an initial draft exceeding the final word count for thorough editing and refinement. Strategically plan your objectives to align with the length guideline.

A. Students interested in economics are advised to pursue interdisciplinary research encompassing public policy, history, and other areas conducive to textual analysis. The publication process is designed to cultivate foundational academic writing skills applicable across various humanities and social sciences disciplines. Heavily quantitative economics essays are not accepted.

A. Exploring masterpieces and their creators is advisable, as they are readily available references.

A. No. While collaborative research is highly valued in academia, the benefits of co-authorship at the high school level are limited. Writing is inherently a solitary activity, and it is most beneficial to engage in it on your own.

A. You must be in high school while writing the essay. Essays composed during high school can be submitted post-graduation. The September issue represents the last opportunity for students to have their essays published before starting university in the fall.

Timeline

A. Submissions are welcomed year-round. Manuscripts are evaluated in the order of their receipt, and the editorial decision typically accompanies a timetable for revisions. To benefit from the continuous submission period, it is advisable to submit your manuscript at the earliest opportunity. Speculating about the publication timeline for a specific issue is discouraged as the variability in submission volumes and the unpredictable nature of the revision process can render any forecasts unreliable.

A. The decision on a manuscript is reached within 2-3 weeks of submission. The author of a selected manuscript will be notified in that time frame. The revision timetable included in most acceptance decisions means that obtaining final approval for publication may take several additional weeks. If you don’t hear from us, it is likely that your essay was not successful. Accepted manuscripts will be published in one of the forthcoming issues. For example, an essay submitted in July, if selected, will be published in the September, December, or March issue. If not selected, it will be permanently excluded from further consideration. We are unable to offer a specific timeline for submission and publication as the representation of disciplines and revision timelines are some of the many factors considered in the publication of each issue.

Review & Decision

A. To be published in The Schola, an essay should meet several general criteria:

• the analysis is rigorous and the argument is logical;
• the essay is well-researched, using a variety of academic sources;
• the topic and/or findings are academically interesting.

All manuscripts are read by the editorial staff. Submissions failing to adhere to the guidelines are rejected promptly. Then a decision is made from among three possibilities:

• accept, with or without revisions;
• invite the author to revise and resubmit the manuscript before a final decision is reached; the invitation is made once and does not automatically lead to acceptance;
• reject, typically on grounds of insufficient conceptual understanding or major analytical problems, lack of originality, insufficient general interest, or otherwise inappropriate.

A. The acceptance rate – the proportion of manuscripts chosen for publication from all submitted manuscripts – may seem straightforward. However, the publication process is more complex than that. We don’t disclose the acceptance rate due to various factors: manuscripts are seldom accepted without revision; submission quantities differ greatly among disciplines; only one essay per discipline (or branch) is published to ensure a wide variety of topics are curated in each issue; conditional acceptances are rescinded if revision fails to address editorial concerns; both subpar and excellent manuscripts outside the journal’s scope are rejected. In short, the manuscript acceptance rate is neither a useful guide to the publication process nor a valid measure of a journal’s rigor. The manuscript selection process is distinct from the university admissions process.

Additional Questions

A. Prospective authors should meticulously review our website to grasp the journal’s focus. In addition to the submission guidelines, which offer comprehensive instructions on manuscript preparation, Author Spotlights offers insights into the research and publication process from the perspective of published authors. Reviewing published essays is beneficial for students as it aids in refining their work and familiarizes them with the journal’s standards, including understanding the different types of essays, steering clear of topics that have been previously published, and discerning the caliber of research expected. Subscribe & Submit enables students to access published essays and submit their manuscripts at a later time.

A. No. Once the submission process is complete, your submission is locked and you are NOT allowed to make changes to it. You may revise and resubmit your essay, only if you have been invited to do so.

A. Yes. Each submission requires a non-refundable fee of $180.

A. For alternative payment methods, please get in touch with us. We will provide an invoice link that allows you to make payments using a credit card.