<p>My H and I have no experience with Boy/Girl State/Nation and we don't know anyone who has.</p>
<p>Our son has been selected from his HS to attend Boys State for free (local American Legion is paying his way).</p>
<p>What are the benefits? What do kids do there?</p>
<p>We are going to let him go. We just don't know much about it. All we know is that it wil be held at a college in our state (kids stay in the dorms) and will last a week.</p>
<p>Jlauer - Congrats to your son! Yes! He should definitely attend & it will surely be a wonderful experience! The kids set up their own gov't (local/county/state) -- it can sometimes be a little kookie! They can elect to have a newspaper & may learn a lot about lobbying! If he goes in w/ the attitude of jumping in, he really can't go wrong! Plus, IMHO, it's great prep experience for college! That's my rah! rah! I do know of kids who were bored, but boredom is a product of the feeble mind... also IMHO.</p>
<p>Big time honor that should be highlighted on the app.</p>
<p>My son opted to do Boy State instead of governor's school. He really was never big on the "camp" thing and honestly agreed to do it because it would look so good on college apps. He was pleasantly surprised at how much he enjoyed it and how much he got out of it--even stated he wished it had lasted longer which he had never said before about any summer program. They learn about government--run for office, manage elections, set up budgets for their "town", etc. According to him, in his education he really never got much education on local and state government and this was all new information. The Legion men who ran the experience were wonderful with the boys. When they came back the boys went to a Legion meeting and spoke to the group about their experience--first time I had heard my son do any real public speaking and I was so impressed. In short --- a great experience, take advantage of it.</p>
<p>Absolutely a fantastic program.</p>
<p>I attended CA Boys State last summer, and it was the ultimate of learning experiences. There was nothing like being able to interact and learn from other kids around the state...all with different and conflicting ideas.</p>
<p>The most beautiful part is that everyone starts on equal footing, there is no "popular" kid at the start of the program... it's a race of interaction and ability to work with others.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your son's nomination. It is a great honor. Our DD was nominated by the faculty at her school last year and she had a fabulous time! It was a one week program that was loaded with lots of fun and learning as the girls were divided into twelve different 'cities' that come together to form a 'state' and the 'state' is then divided into two political parties. My DD was elected senator and she was just so thrilled. The day we picked her up, we drove straight to West Tennessee to drop her off for another five weeks at Governor's School. She developed strong friendships during those weeks and speaks with several of those friends on a daily basis (IM, e-mail, phone). Three of those friends have spent several days at our home and she has spent time at their's. I really believe it is a wonderful thing, not just for the students but for the parents, too. Granted, it was very hard on DH and me when we dropped her off on day one. She is our one and only and we just didn't know what to expect. After two or three days of moping about, we decided she was having a great time and we should, too. We went to dinner, movies, the driving range, etc. I hope your son goes and thoroughly enjoys himself. Let us know!</p>
<p>one of my friends went to boys state, and all they did was steal toilet paper, play sports, hunt the very few women they did see to extinction, and one kid ran for office as the Triple Nipple Threat (I know him too, and its true)</p>
<p>My son was also selected to attend Boys State in Florida this June. Where would this type of activity be listed on a college application? Is it considered under Honors/Awards (as a state-level honor) or Extracurricular Activities?</p>
<p>My son went and had a great experience. It was very different for him because he had to leave for a day to attend the funeral of one of his high school classmates. When he returned he said that the boys were marvelous in letting him share his grief and sadness. They were all very supportive. He would have participated in things more fully if he hadn't all of that hanging over his head and would have loved to go back at a different time if possible.</p>
<p>I work in a semi-rural school district in WI. The high school graduates about 120 kids a year. A number of years ago, a student from that high school was admitted to Harvard which was unheard of from that school. He was in the top 5%, but at that time the school had no APs. He was not National Merit and his ACT was less than 32 but I don't know what it was exactly. The Harvard admissions officer stated he had to go back 40 years to find another student admitted from rural WI. When I asked the counselor what he thought had been the hook, he told me that the boy had been elected to and attended Boys Nation and he thinks that helped him tremendously.</p>
<p>okay...dumb question...
What is Boys/Girls State (or Nation)? Never heard of it before. Thanks.</p>
<p>*Volunteer Girls State (VGS) is a leadership and citizenship training program offered to young women in Tennessee by the American Legion Auxiliary. Nationally recognized as one of the top Girls State programs in the nation, Volunteer Girls State provides girls the opportunity to form and run a mock government by meeting, living, and working with other young female leaders from across the state. All events and activities that delegates experience or participate in are designed to demonstrate, foster, or provide opportunities to practice good citizenship and leadership and instill a sense of pride in our state and country.</p>
<p>Volunteer Girls State is a one-week program offered to young women who are rising seniors and takes place on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University. The mission of Volunteer Girls State is to provide a practical application of Americanism and good citizenship. The entire program, as sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary, is a non-partisan, non-political attempt to teach and to instill in the young women of Tennessee a love of God and country.*</p>
<p>The above excerpt taken from: <a href="http://www.volunteergirlsstate.org/about_vgs.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.volunteergirlsstate.org/about_vgs.html</a></p>
<p>Boys State is one of the highlights of our son's life so far. He had a fantastic time. It really left a deep and lasting positive impression on him. It allowed him to mingle with some of the top boys in the state. He wouldn't stop talking the entire time about his experience in the two hour car ride home. I think he came home from the experience with a greater confindence in himself too. He made many many friends while there that he still keeps in touch with via email/PM, etc. He did list it on his college applications. I think Boys State is looked upon favorably by colleges, maybe not the ultimate honor or award, but positive. If your son should be one of the two fortunate kids from your entire state to be selected to Boys Nation, now that would be looked upon very very favorably by colleges. He did end up writing a few of his college essays on his experience at Boys State. All in all, I would highly recommend Boys and Girls State.</p>
<p>In Bill Clinton's Book, My Life, he shows a picture of himself at National Boys State (two delegates from each state are selected for National Boys State). In the picture, he is standing near JFK, waiting to shake his hand. </p>
<p>My son attended Boys State here in New Jersey and it was an incredible experience for him. As he is majoring in Political Science, I believe it was a huge boost for him. He was elected State Assembly Speaker and he loved serving. Plus it was free!</p>
<p>He was accepted ED at UVa.</p>
<p>Correction - Boys Nation - as Lukester said in above post. My apologies.</p>
<p>Wow! Thanks for to everyone for their input. We're glad that he was selected to go!</p>