There are constantly a ton of competitions going on that students are able to enter and being a part of the ACU Art & Design Department, you could be likely to win. Here is a list of current competitions that are currently open. It benefits you greatly to simply enter and have that experience. Not to mention winning looks awesome on a resume!
Take a look and enter!
AIGA
http://www.aiga.org/competitions/
CMYK Magazine
http://www.cmykmag.com/contests
How Magazine
http://www.howdesign.com/design-competitions/
Art Director’s Club
http://www.adcglobal.org/education/competition/
Communication Arts
http://www.commarts.com/competitions/design
Graphic Competition
http://www.graphiccompetitions.com/