nvc - How To Compete
There are two ways students can enter the competition: through the In-School Qualifying Exam or the National Qualifying Exam. Students who take the In-School Qualifying Exam will have a chance to advance to the Citywide Championship, and students who take the National Qualifying Exam will have a chance to advance to the regional exam. From there, eight Citywide Champions and 42 finalists from the National Qualifying Competition will advance to the NVC Finals! Want to know which method to use? Read below to find out!
Eligibility
The National Vocabulary Championship is open to all eligible students who are in grades 9-12 and between the ages of 13-19. Please see Official Rules for additional eligibility requirements.
National Qualifying Competition
Regardless of whether the NVC is visiting your city, you can still participate in the National Vocabulary Championship. The National Qualifying Competition is open to all eligible students regardless of location.
The National Qualifying Competition offers eligible students across the country the opportunity to compete for a contestant slot at the NVC Finals in Los Angeles. Each day during the month of November 2007, students will be given the opportunity to take the National Qualifying Exam at WinWithWords.com for a chance to qualify for the regional exam. The National Qualifying Exam will consist of 45 multiple choice questions and will be timed. Each student may take the exam only once, and students who elect to take the National Qualifying Exam are ineligible to take the In-School Qualifying Exam (as described below). The top scorers from the National Qualifying Exam will be invited to take the regional exam, which is an in-person exam proctored by The Princeton Review. Offered on January 12, 2008, the regional exam will be similar in format to the National Qualifying Exam, however it will include an essay question that will be scored in the event of a tie.
Forty-two finalists from the National Qualifying Competition will receive a trip to Los Angeles to compete in the NVC Finals in Spring 2008 for $40,000 toward college tuition!
Citywide Championships
The NVC will also be holding Citywide Championships in the following eight locations: Detroit, Nashville, New York City, Northeast Ohio, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Sacramento and St. Louis. If you are a student and live in or near one of these cities/regions, check out the list of participating schools to see if your school has signed up. If it has, then this is another method of entry you can use. Each participating school has an NVC coach, so contact your coach if you are interested in taking the In-School Qualifying Exam for the Citywide Championship.
Each participating school will offer the In-School Qualifying Exam on one day between October 15 and November 2 (exact dates may vary by city/region). This exam will take approximately one hour and consists of 45 multiple choice questions and one short essay question that will be scored in the event of a tie. Approximately 100 top scorers from each city or region (with the exception of New York City, which may include up to 300 top scorers) will advance to their local Citywide Championship where they will compete for $5,000 toward college tuition and a trip to Los Angeles to compete for an additional $40,000 toward college tuition! A minimum of one [1] top scorer from each participating school will advance to the Citywide Championship.
Please note that you are only allowed to enter the NVC by one method of entry. If you take the In-School Qualifying Exam, you are not eligible to take the National Qualifying Exam, and vice versa. Any student who enters through both methods will be disqualified from the NVC.
Game format
Want to see what kinds of questions may be asked at the competitions? Click here to view some sample questions.
