Before you stroll down the treacherous path of producing work for competition, it couldn't hurt to read through a few articles about the pitfalls and the damaging effects caused by spec work and spec-based design contests. I learned the hard way. This is the number one thing I wish to GOD somebody had taught me when I was back in school!

Check with your local AIGA and Art Director’s Club chapters for local contests. The fees will be lower, you’ll be more likely to win, you won’t get taken advantage of by the aforementioned spec-contests, and your work will be exposed to local design firms who might be hiring.

There are several other student competitions as well that have national exposure. CMYK magazine and Creative Quarterly are two that I've been published in with fairly low entry fees.