<p>Does anyone have an opinion about the inclusion of beauty pageants on applications? specifically Americas Distinguished Young Women (formerly Americas Junior Miss- in the same family as Miss America). Will this be seen as an older version of toddlers and tiaras or will it be judged as a fun EC- a way to meet other bright , ambitious girls, and maybe earn some scholarship $. Is it a hick EC? I'm not talking about the Univeristy of Oklahoma here- I know they will appreciate it, I mean Ivies!</p>
<p>I honestly don’t know. And personally, I’m of two minds about it.</p>
<p>On one hand, I have seen many women who emerge from pageant competition with a great deal of poise. They often seem just about unflappable under pressure. Which is great.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I find some validity in many of the widespread criticisms of pageants: they’re superficial; they’re artificial; they’re somewhat disingenuous. (Really, do other purported scholarship organizations require their applicants to walk around in bathing suits?) </p>
<p>When I was at Harvard a generation ago, I knew a young woman who participated in pageants in the Miss America organization in her home state. There was a feature about her in The Crimson. But a lot of us, including me, thought the whole pageant thing was a little…lacking in gravitas.</p>
<p>Here’s what I’d tell my own daughter if she asked. If you’re going to apply to Ivies and their peers, you need to present the best version possible of yourself. If what you do is pageants, then that’s who you are. Some people will appreciate the value that pageants have for the girls and women who participate, and other people will disparage them. This is true of people in both New Haven, Conn., and Norman, Oklahoma. But since presenting the best possible version of yourself is a pageant contestant’s bread and butter, take a shot. Like pageant judges, the admissions committees might appreciate you, or they might not. And they might prefer you, or they might prefer somebody else. And the very same thing that’s true for a pageant contestant is also true for a lyric soprano or a debater or a lacrosse player.</p>
<p>I appreciate your post!</p>
<p>Thank you. I actually spent a pretty long time on that one!</p>
<p>I suspect that the Ivies have a good sense of these types of pageants so I wouldn’t worry too much about the reaction. As Sikorsky says, there are going to be people who dismiss them as well as those who exalt them. The key would be how you present your experiences in your application. What did you learn about yourself? How did you grow as a person? etc. As long as you don’t come off looking or sounding like some air-headed version of Honey Boo-Boo you’ll be fine.</p>
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<p>I wasn’t aware there was any other version!</p>
<p>RE: Honey Boo-Boo</p>
<p>From what little I’ve seen, air-head would be a major improvement.</p>