You have ideas and plans and goals - so much to offer the world - but how? Each year young women just like you choose to compete in the Miss America system. That's right! Many of them are just like you - yet they know that the Miss America Organization is the single largest provider of scholarships for young women in the world.

Whether you want to become a doctor or a dancer, an accountant or an architect, the Miss America Organization has an opportunity that will help bring you closer to achieving your goals. To become Miss America, a contestant must first win a local competition and then compete to represent her state, a process requiring personal commitment, hard work and talent. A woman may compete as a state titleholder only once at the national Miss America competition. More than twelve thousand young women participate each year in the local and state events, culminating in the selection of 52 national finalists who vie for the Miss America title in Las Vegas. Tens of thousands of volunteers organize the local and state preliminary competitions, promoting community involvement throughout the United States and furthering scholarship and achievement among young women in their communities. If you have commitment, perseverance, talent and ambition, then the Miss America program can help you follow your dreams.

Becoming a Contestant Fast Facts:
To compete, you must -
* Be between the ages of 17 and 24.
* Be a United States citizen.
* Meet residency requirements for competing in a certain town or state.
* Meet character criteria as set forth by the Miss America Organization.
* Be in reasonably good health to meet the job requirements.
* Be able to meet the time commitment and job responsibilities as set forth by the local program in which you compete.