The Concord Review Program
The Concord Review has published the academic history research of secondary students since 1987 and accepts roughly 5% of submissions. Our year-long program supervises students through every stage of a 5,000 to 10,000 word paper: a weekly Sunday seminar, plus unlimited personal supervision between sessions — led by the Harvard- and Yale-trained mentor team behind our John Locke results.
- Program Starts
- Week of Aug 24
- Weekly Seminar
- Sundays 4–6 PM GST
- Tuition
- $4,000/year
- TCR Acceptance Rate
- ~5%
The Journal
What is The Concord Review?
The Concord Review is the only journal in the world that publishes the academic history research of secondary students. It has appeared quarterly since 1987, and its standards are those of a university press: papers of 5,000 to 10,000 or more words, including endnotes, on any historical topic, ancient or modern, concerning any country.
The journal officially states that it accepts roughly 5% of submissions, and the average published paper exceeds 8,000 words. That combination of selectivity and length is exactly why a serious attempt takes a year, and why we built this program around sustained supervision rather than a short course.
Submissions are considered on a rolling basis against quarterly deadlines, so a student who starts in August can target the deadline that suits the state of their paper rather than racing a single date.
The journal at a glance
Source: tcr.org. The ~5% acceptance rate is the journal’s own officially stated figure.
Rolling quarterly deadlines
Each submission carries a $70 fee, which includes a subscription to the journal. Full requirements at tcr.org/submit.
The Program
Why a Year?
An 8,000-word sole-authored history paper is a marathon, not an essay. Compressing it into a term produces the thin, hurried work the journal declines. We map the whole year to the quarterly deadlines, so every stage gets the time it actually needs.
Weekly seminar, unlimited supervision
The class meets every Sunday from 4:00 to 6:00 PM GST, capped at 8 students. Between sessions, supervision is unlimited: students send drafts, sources, and research questions to their supervisor whenever the work raises them, and receive individual feedback with one-on-one calls as needed. A year-long research project does not confine its problems to a two-hour weekly window, so neither do we. This is the structure of a university dissertation supervision, applied a few years early.
The Month 1 → 12 Roadmap
Month 1
Choosing a historical topic that can sustain a year of work, and narrowing it to a question worth 8,000 words of answer.
Month 2
Reading what historians have already argued about the topic, and finding where the paper enters that conversation.
Months 3–4
Systematic work with primary sources and scholarly literature, building a research file deep enough to support a long paper.
Month 5
The citation apparatus The Concord Review expects, built alongside the research rather than bolted on at the end.
Month 6
Turning findings into an original historical thesis that can carry a paper of this length.
Month 7
The architecture of a long-form paper: section order, evidence placement, and narrative shape.
Months 8–9
Writing the full paper in supervised stages, balancing narrative history with analysis.
Month 10
Reworking the draft at the level of argument and organisation, not just sentences.
Month 11
Editing toward the measured, scholarly register of published Concord Review papers.
Month 12
Formatting, final checks, and submission to the next quarterly deadline.
Straight Answers
What We Guarantee, and What We Don’t
The Concord Review’s own coaching services state that they cannot guarantee publication. Neither do we, and you should be wary of anyone who does. At a ~5% acceptance rate, honesty about the odds is part of taking the work seriously.
The guaranteed outcome
- A finished, publication-quality history paper of around 8,000 words
- A year of weekly seminars and unlimited personal supervision
- University-level research skills: historiography, primary sources, Turabian endnotes
- A substantial sole-authored work the student can point to, published or not
The upside
- Publication in The Concord Review itself
- The Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize, awarded each year to the strongest published papers
- A distinction the journal notes many admissions officers recognise
- A submission the student may note on university applications, in the journal’s own wording
We sell the paper and the skill. Acceptance is the upside, and we prepare every submission as if it will be read against that ~5% bar.
Fit
Who Is This For?
No research experience is expected — teaching the craft of research is the point of the program. What we do ask for is genuine curiosity about a historical question and the willingness to stay with it for a year.
- Best started in
- Years 10–11
- so the finished paper exists before university applications — younger students with strong writing are welcome after a conversation
- Prerequisites
- None formal
- comfort reading serious non-fiction matters more than any prior research experience
- Weekly commitment
- 5–7 hours
- the 2-hour Sunday seminar plus 3–5 hours of independent reading and writing, heavier during research and drafting months
Unsure whether your child is ready for work at this length? Message us — we will tell you honestly, including when the answer is “wait a year.”
Enrollment
One Program, One Price
A single year-long enrollment covers everything: the full Sunday seminar series from the week of August 24, and unlimited personal supervision through to submission.
The Concord Review Research Program
Sundays 4:00–6:00 PM GST · Online · Starts week of Aug 24 · 8 places per cohort
- 72 hours of live Sunday seminars across the year
- Unlimited personal supervision between sessions
- Class capped at 8 students
- Full curriculum from topic selection to submission
- Turabian endnotes and annotated bibliography training
- Submission strategy for the quarterly deadlines
The Record
Results Our Writing Students Earned
See the full year-by-year record →Your Supervisors
Supervised Like a Dissertation
The program is supervised by the mentor team behind our John Locke and HIR results, including Matt Mauriello (Harvard; 100% of his John Locke students shortlisted) and Netra Easwaran (Yale, B.A. Political Science). Each student works with a supervisor experienced in long-form academic research, from historiography to Turabian endnotes.
Meet all our writing tutorsCommon Questions
What is The Concord Review?
The Concord Review, founded in 1987, is the only journal in the world that publishes the academic history research of secondary students. It appears quarterly and accepts roughly 5% of submissions, a figure the journal states officially. Published papers average more than 8,000 words and use Turabian endnotes.
Is The Concord Review worth it for college admissions?
The journal itself is careful on this point. It notes that many admissions officers are familiar with its work, and that students may note a submission on their applications. Beyond that, a completed sole-authored research paper of around 8,000 words is rare, verifiable evidence of academic ability, whether or not it is ultimately published.
How long is the paper?
Submissions run 5,000 to 10,000 or more words, including endnotes. The average published paper exceeds 8,000 words, which is why we structure the program across a full year rather than a term.
Can you guarantee publication?
No, and you should be wary of anyone who does. The Concord Review’s own coaching services state that they cannot guarantee publication, and neither do we. What we guarantee is the supervision and a finished, publication-quality paper. Acceptance is the upside.
What topics qualify?
Any historical topic, ancient or modern, concerning any country. The paper must be the student’s sole-authored work in English. Our first month is devoted to finding a topic the student can care about for a year and a research question that can carry the length.
How much time does it take each week?
Plan for five to seven hours: the two-hour Sunday seminar plus three to five hours of independent reading, research, and writing. The load is not uniform — the primary-research months (roughly months 3–4) and the drafting months (8–9) run heavier, while topic-selection and revision phases run lighter. We tell families this up front because the program only works if the weekly hours actually exist.
What year groups is the program for?
Most students start in Years 10 or 11 (US grades 9–10), which means the finished paper — and any publication decision — lands before university applications are written. Years 12–13 students can absolutely do the work, but the admissions timing is tighter. Younger students with unusually strong writing are considered after a conversation with the family.
What does unlimited personal supervision mean?
In addition to the weekly Sunday seminar, students may send drafts, sources, and research questions to their supervisor at any point between sessions and receive individual written feedback, with one-on-one calls arranged as the work requires. There is no per-hour cap. A year-long research project does not confine its problems to a two-hour weekly window, so neither do we.
Want the full picture? Read our realistic guide to getting published — what gets accepted, the 12-month plan, and a Turabian primer. Then print the free research prospectus template and keep the Turabian cheat sheet and archives directory beside your drafts.
The Year Begins the Week of August 24
Sundays 4:00–6:00 PM GST, live on Zoom, capped at 8 students. Twelve months later: a finished, publication-quality history paper.