How to reach us
The support team behind this international portal handles everything from eligibility checks and how-to-enter questions to prompt clarifications and school-cohort coordination for the LSESU Economics Society Essay Competition. There is no registration to complete — the five essay questions are already public, entering is free, and you submit through a link we send on WhatsApp. WhatsApp is the primary channel — message us with your topic area in the first sentence and we will respond within one working day, in either Mandarin or English depending on which you write to us in.
Scan the QR
WhatsApp is the fastest channel for almost any question. Open WhatsApp, scan the QR on the right, and message the support advisor directly. You will get a personalised reply within one working day — usually much sooner during the busy pre-deadline weeks.
Five topic areas
The five areas below cover most candidate and parent enquiries. Tell the advisor which area your question falls under and the conversation moves faster.
Can I enter?
Grade equivalence across school systems (IB / A-level / AP / gaokao / national curricula), country eligibility, and edge cases for students between programmes or in gap years.
How do I enter?
There is no registration and no account to create. The five essay questions are already public on this site, entering is completely free, and there is one entry per person — we walk you through how it works and how to message us on WhatsApp to receive your submission link when your essay is ready.
Clarifying a 2026 question
Procedural clarifications on a prompt — for instance, “does Question 4 cover wealth as well as income?” — are forwarded to the prompt-setter via the editorial committee. The support team cannot share substantive guidance on how to argue a prompt; that is by design.
Technical & format help
Getting the submission link we send on WhatsApp, file-naming convention, format spec questions, what to expect after you send your essay, and integrity-check results. Resolve technical issues earlier in the week than the 72-hour pre-deadline window if you can.
Programmes & cohorts
School coordinators submitting a cohort of five or more students together receive a spreadsheet template; there is no registration and entering is free for the school and the students, with submission handled as a batch over WhatsApp. Optional paid coaching programmes are also arranged through this channel — a 15-minute discovery call before any commitment.
When you can expect a reply
Standard reply window
Within one working day for every message, in both Mandarin and English. Most messages are answered the same working day — how-to-enter questions and eligibility checks typically within a few hours during business time.
Pre-deadline weeks
The 72 hours before 1 September are predictably busy. Submission-link and file-format questions receive priority handling; substantive questions about your essay’s argument or content cannot be answered at any time (judging is blind and the support team is operationally independent of the assessors).
Working hours
The support team works to Beijing time business hours (Mon–Fri, with periodic Sunday cover in the run-up to 1 September). Messages sent outside working hours are queued and answered when the team is next active; the one-working-day commitment runs from the next business-time start.
Languages
Send your message in Mandarin or English — both are handled by the same team and there is no quality difference between the two reply channels. Other languages are not supported; please translate your question into one of the two working languages before sending.
Quick self-serve routes
Many common questions are answered faster by the existing pages on this site. Check the most relevant one before opening a WhatsApp conversation — your question may already have a complete answer.
Master FAQ
Fourteen most-asked questions across eligibility, how to enter, preparation, and awards. The fastest single read for new candidates.
Open FAQ →Format & rubric
Complete rules — 1500 words, Harvard, Times 12pt, 100-point rubric breakdown, integrity rules, submission specification.
Read rules →How to enter
A clear walkthrough of how to enter — no registration needed, the five questions are already public, entering is free, and you message us on WhatsApp for your submission link, plus school cohort submission.
How to enter →If you spot an error on this site
This site publishes facts about the Essay Competition, sourced from the LSESU Economics Society’s official guidance. If you find a factual error on any page — wrong deadline, wrong word count, outdated tier description, broken link — please flag it via the WhatsApp channel above. We will verify against the primary sources (lsesuesec.org and the official published essay questions) and correct the entry within one working day.
Material corrections are dated and noted in the page footer; minor wording fixes are made silently. Where this site and the Society’s official page disagree, the official page — published on lsesuesec.org — takes precedence.
Six questions about reaching us
If your question is about the competition itself (rules, awards, how to enter), the dedicated master FAQ answers fourteen of the most common ones in detail.
Why is WhatsApp the primary channel and not email?
Will the support team review my essay draft?
Can the team confirm whether a specific argument in my essay is “correct”?
What’s the fastest way to get a complete answer?
I’m a parent asking on behalf of my child — is that fine?
How are my personal details handled when I enter?
About this portal
One scan, one reply
Scan our WhatsApp QR and start the conversation. Mention the topic area (eligibility, how to enter, prompts, submission, coaching, or school cohort) and the advisor will route the message correctly. We respond within one working day; most messages get a same-day reply during business hours.