English teachers, principals, guidance counselors, and after-school leaders are invited to nominate up to five outstanding students to apply for admission to Juniper. Nominating students for Juniper is a fantastic way to acknowledge and support young writers! We look for young writers who would benefit from joining a dynamic community of creative young people dedicated to exploring craft, process, and imagination.
While nominations are not a guarantee of acceptance, they bring talented students to our attention who may not have otherwise found our program. Admission and scholarship awards to Juniper programs are competitive and based on the strength and promise of the student's application. We encourage you to review our application guidelines with your nominated students!
We are grateful to all the schools and teachers who bring talented young writers to our attention. Thank you for bringing this unique opportunity to the attention of your students.
Nominations for summer 2025 programs close on February 21, though we recommend nominating students by February 7 to give them plenty of time to prepare their applications.
A Note on Recommendation Letters
Nominators may also serve as references for students who choose to apply for admission to Juniper! When a student is filling out their application, they will be prompted to submit an email address for a teacher who has agreed to provide a recommendation. The reference will receive an email from Submittable with instructions on how to complete the recommendation letter.
We ask our references to speak to the following qualities in the student in their recommendation letter:
- Enthusiasm for creative writing
- Interest in a pre-college experience
- Maturity, interpersonal and collaborative skills
- Classroom participation
- Ability to adapt to a residential learning environment (for the residential Juniper Institute for Young Writers)
Recommendation letters are due within seven days of application submission, and an application is not considered complete without a recommendation letter. Recommendations are submitted in confidence; students are not able to view the recommendation letter in the Submittable application.
A Note on Homeschooling
We encourage homeschooled students to apply to the Institute. A recommendation should come from someone who knows the young writer’s work, their level of interest in discussion, and how they could add to a writing community like Juniper.