Summer Seminar or Boys State?

NamD

Candidate
5-Year Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2010
Messages
249
Hello community,
I am filling out my application form for Washington State's Boy State and realized that it begins on June 19th and ends on June 25th. I am attending Session 3 which begins on June 18th.
This question has been asked by other candidates as well, but if I am selected for Boy's state, which program should i attend? Boys State or NASS?Thank you very much. This has made me feel very conflicted as I want to attend both :(
Is there a way to switch sessions?

Dave
 
It if were me, I'd attend the Summer Seminar. Boys State is nice, but I think going to the NASS will give you a better idea of if you want to attend USNA. Especially if you have leadership elsewhere, Boys State is really just icing on the cake.

I went to Boys State years ago (summer of '94 or so). It's just one of many things you can do to try and boost your record. Really, though, the opportunity to attend the SS is ultimately a better deal.

Interestingly...I'm from Maryland, can you guess where we had Boys State in the summer of '94? I'll give a hint-it was at a college in Maryland's capital that is not St. John's.
 
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I'll share with you what my son was told by the West Point Admissions Director for our area..."attending Boys State is viewed by the Academy to be equivalent to being Class President or an Eagle Scout". (That was during our visit and briefing at West Point last year). This year when we met with the same Director at a local college fair his first question to my son was "are you going to Boys State?". I understand this is the Naval Academy forum, but I'm confident they view it with the same high regard. I think my suggestion/advice to you depends upon whether you have already visited USNA or not...if you have already visited and decided that Annapolis is the place for you, I would highly suggest you attend Boys State. If you are unsure, have never visited the Academy and need a more in-depth understanding of the rigors/demands, then perhaps you should consider Summer Seminar. At the very least, I would definitely suggest contacting the Academy and explain your situation and check into switching sessions if possible...that's a win-win for you & no harm in asking! Best of luck to you!
PS...when my son was informed he was chosen as the Boys State Representative for our high school, it was a VERY good day in our house! You should be VERY proud of your accomplishment as well!
 
No question in my mind - do Boys State. Boys State will definitely improve your chances of getting an appointment -improving your overall "score". Summer Seminar is nice and shows interest but you can also do the same thing by visiting the academy and shadowing a cadet either for a day or overnight. if you get in to boys state see if you can switch sessions and explain why. People have emergencies that come up and they have to pull out; you might get lucky. DS was able to do both, but there are alot of real world educational experiences in boys state. also in our state the marines are in charge of groups of boys and do morning PT, room inspections, marching etc... so you do get a taste of military life (albeit a small one).
 
Sorry to say this but "Boys State" is NOT like having your Eagle Scout! Those boys have worked for years to get the rank of Eagle and to say that is not accurate. Boys State is a great honor but Eagle Scout is a bigger one. Choose to go to Boys State and call USMA and ask them if you can switch your summer session. Go to Boys State for the right reason, not because it looks go to colleges!
 
Sorry to say this but "Boys State" is NOT like having your Eagle Scout! Those boys have worked for years to get the rank of Eagle and to say that is not accurate. Boys State is a great honor but Eagle Scout is a bigger one. Choose to go to Boys State and call USMA and ask them if you can switch your summer session. Go to Boys State for the right reason, not because it looks go to colleges!

Just to be clear that I am not giving my personal opinion regarding the Eagle Scout vs. Boys State debate. I am just sharing what we were told by West Point Admissions that being chosen for Boys State holds equivalent weight in Admissions eyes as being an Eagle Scout or Class President. I would hope that anyone lucky enough to be chosen as their school representative would, in fact, be attending for the RIGHT reasons or the school would not have picked them.
 
There are kernals of wisdom in all of the responses, but have you considered contacting your Regional Director (perhaps via your Area Coordinator) to determine whether you can trade sessions so you can do both events. Both events are worthwhile, albeit in different ways. I would have to say that if you have not been to Annapolis I would recommend you go to NASS; personally I strongly believe that it is absolutely necessary that any candidate considering the service academies must do a first person visit to the academy(-ies) under consideration. You need to know what you are getting into BEFORE you make a commitment - the individual schools are very similar, but significantly different, and you need to know whether the environment is going to be compatible with you and vice versa. Best wishes.
 
Thank you all for your responses! it was great to hear both sides.
I do not know if this makes a difference but I was also accepted into West Point's SLS program. For USMA, i am attending session 1 so it wont conflict with any possibility of attending Boys State in June.
I will contact USNA about switching sessions- but who should I contact?
I am meeting my Boys State coordinator tomorrow for an interview. The paperwork has been filled as well (including the spot where it says "I will stay for the entire week of Boys State"). In the end, the real question is if I get accepted into Boys State or not. Boys State caught my attention because so many candidates who were part of Boys State ended up getting their appointments. Also, I have a huge interest in our country's government so it sounded like a good deal to me.
I hope to hear more from the SA community! I am still slightly conflicted...
I am leaning towards Boys State a bit but I still have strong feelings for NASS..

Dave
 
I'll just give you my personal experience...
I applied to NASS, SLS, and USAFA SS, so I could at least get an idea on the Academy lifestyle even if I did not attend SLS for West Point was my 1st choice at the time. I was denied near instantly to NASS and SLS, but was accepted to USAFA SS very late. I was also accepted to Boys State. I felt that one's file could never be too competitive so I chose Boys State and an Academy's Summer Program to go to.
 
Contact your BGO, explain your situation and intent, and ask for contact information for your Regional Director and your Area Coordinator. Personally I would ask your Area Coordinator to request the change.
 
I'd recommend Boy's State over NASS. You might be able to get a CVW and be able to experience the academy at a later date. Good luck!
 
Thanks for all the input!
I decided to do Boy's State. I am so determined to make it to Boy's Nation and meet the President :) I am sure Naval Academy will understand that haha :shake:

Just a quick question:
My Boy's State coordinator told me that it isn't exactly competitive to join Boy's State. In washington state, nearly 300 high school juniors apply each year and all of them attend the week long seminar. What is competitive though, is being the top 2 individuals who will get the opportunity to visit DC and the President.
Can anyone verify this? how can Boy's State be compared to Eagle Scout and Class President if it is not exactly "competitive"?
 
Thanks for all the input!
I decided to do Boy's State. I am so determined to make it to Boy's Nation and meet the President :) I am sure Naval Academy will understand that haha :shake:

Just a quick question:
My Boy's State coordinator told me that it isn't exactly competitive to join Boy's State. In washington state, nearly 300 high school juniors apply each year and all of them attend the week long seminar. What is competitive though, is being the top 2 individuals who will get the opportunity to visit DC and the President.
Can anyone verify this? how can Boy's State be compared to Eagle Scout and Class President if it is not exactly "competitive"?

Why would you want to meet Obama ?? :p

-sarcasm intended-
 
So i can shake hands with him and take a cool picture with him...
and possibly convince him to convince Biden's nomination team to give me a presidential nomination :wink:

Hahaha im kidding. Its all about the honor :)
 
So i can shake hands with him and take a cool picture with him...
and possibly convince him to convince Biden's nomination team to give me a presidential nomination :wink:

Hahaha im kidding. Its all about the honor :)

LOL :) That is quite an honor ! Congratulations just on Boys State. Best of luck to you in going after Boys Nation & an appointment to the Naval Academy. Hope I see you there someday!
 
Thanks for all the input!
I decided to do Boy's State. I am so determined to make it to Boy's Nation and meet the President :) I am sure Naval Academy will understand that haha :shake:

Just a quick question:
My Boy's State coordinator told me that it isn't exactly competitive to join Boy's State. In washington state, nearly 300 high school juniors apply each year and all of them attend the week long seminar. What is competitive though, is being the top 2 individuals who will get the opportunity to visit DC and the President.
Can anyone verify this? how can Boy's State be compared to Eagle Scout and Class President if it is not exactly "competitive"?

Must be a regional thing...it was very competitive in this area (NorthEast) and numerous highly qualified students in our school were all vying to be chosen as the rep from our school alone. My DS was not able to "apply" for Boys State--he had to be nominated by his Guidance Counselor and then his resume of activities was reviewed by a separate committee and they made the final decision. If he did not receive this nomination, he wasn't able to attend on his own with us paying his tuition. That may vary in different areas of the US, but that's the way they run it here. As far as why the Academies value seeing Boys State on your application, I believe it's a combination of things. Being handpicked by your school for the honor says something about you and your reputation. Also, after attending the weeklong seminar, I believe you come out with a much better understanding of our government and how it works. Best of luck to you!
 
For me to get selected for Boy's State all I had to do was walk in my school's guidance office and ask. This is because my school basically sends the first 3 (this year just me) that requests to go.

This depends on school.

Now at the two other high schools within my district they had like 3 alternates for each spot.

Now, to get Eagle Scout rank (mine is now pending; waiting for the board).
Is it competitive? No
Did it take much time? yes
Does it show leadership? Probably. Unfortunately I did have the displeasure of knowing someone who had his parents basically do the work for him to get there. But all Eagle scouts had some level of determination (at least to stick around in the troop).
 
Thanks for all the input!
I decided to do Boy's State. I am so determined to make it to Boy's Nation and meet the President :) I am sure Naval Academy will understand that haha :shake:

Just a quick question:
My Boy's State coordinator told me that it isn't exactly competitive to join Boy's State. In washington state, nearly 300 high school juniors apply each year and all of them attend the week long seminar. What is competitive though, is being the top 2 individuals who will get the opportunity to visit DC and the President.
Can anyone verify this? how can Boy's State be compared to Eagle Scout and Class President if it is not exactly "competitive"?

I'm going to California Boys' State and from what I hear that one is the largest (with ~1200 boys). It was very competitive to find a spot and, even thought I would LOVE to go to Boys' Nation, I doubt it is going to happen. While I'm at CA Boys' State I'll just grub for the top positions and hope for the best! :biggrin:
 
hahaha well I am very excited for Boy's State now!
I looked over the statistics of USMA and USNA's appointees and noticed that many of them were members of Boy's State. I did not see any Boy's Nation members though. Do the academies rate them as being the same thing? As my dad said "I think going to boy's nation would help boost your overall file and make it easier for you to get in". Although id love to believe that, I do not. can someone verify this?
 
hahaha well I am very excited for Boy's State now!
I looked over the statistics of USMA and USNA's appointees and noticed that many of them were members of Boy's State. I did not see any Boy's Nation members though. Do the academies rate them as being the same thing? As my dad said "I think going to boy's nation would help boost your overall file and make it easier for you to get in". Although id love to believe that, I do not. can someone verify this?
As noted, Boys and Girls states are very positive things, tho neither is necessary and/or sufficient. But nice pluses. And B/G NATION? Heck, you're likely to end up just like Bill Clinton! :eek::rolleyes::shake:

Seriously, that would be viewed with great favor by USNA and/or Georgetown. And maybe some future secretary of state, even! :confused:
 
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