i Editor's Letter: iWriters competition is now closed

Thanks to the hundreds of students who entered our iWriters competition, which is now closed. As ever, half the entries arrived in the last 24 hours. A few of you trailed in late with lame excuses, the worst of which being "I didn't hear about it in time". A deadline is a deadline, he says, staring daggers across the i newsroom trying to burn urgency into an un-named hack. Safe to say "my wi-fi wasn't working" has become the 21st century "the dog ate my homework".

Many of you feel passionate about the need for arts and culture in a recession. Others mourn the decline of the high street – even if you're not quite sure why. At first glance, a few too many attempts at the tricky subject of EU membership became essays rather than opinion columns. For the latter read our own Dominic Lawson, who tackles the ostensibly hare-brained idea of using an advertising campaign in Bulgaria and Romania to persuade citizens of these fine nations not to come to Britain when border restrictions are relaxed next year.

Many are clearly worried you are not studying the right subject, a sad reflection of an ever more precarious jobs market for graduates that will result in the inexorable decline of non-vocational subjects. All of you are convinced that you work hard enough though!

Of the five subjects I offered you, the one that proved most difficult was "a defence of modern football". Perhaps this just speaks for itself.

Anyway, time for me to shut up and get reading. The best columnists will have their work published in i, with a follow-up opportunity to write on a different subject in "real time" in the spring. Thank you for your extraordinary response.