Boys/Girls State Weight on Admissions

J

Jacobko75

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Nov 16, 2021
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71
Hello,

I've seen and heard from a lot of places that boys/girls state is held in extremely high regards to West Point admissions. I unfortunately missed out on this opportunity as I am area commander of my school districts JROTC (15 school's jrotc programs, roughly 8,000 cadets), so I instead attended JCLC (JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge, a summer leadership camp for jrotc, consists of various outdoor activities such as obstacle courses, water survival training, rappeling, first aide, archery, and various other team sports). JCLC and Boys State occured at the same time.

I was in charge of this 5 day/night camp. I primarily lead the day to day stuff which consisted of batallion formations, delegating responsibilities to company command, handing out awards, instructing how to do events, etc. I had nothing to do with the planning of events or anything like that however, that was done by the Army Instructors.

I am curious whether or not my JCLC experience would be considering equivalent to the boys state experience in the eyes of the admissions team. Ultimately it does not really for matter for me this late in admissions, however I have a younger friend in a similar position as me that'll be applying for the class of 2027 and has has been asking me for advice on which to choose. He's highly interested in both programs, so ultimately his sole deciding factor is the weight that each would hold on admissions.

Thank you all in advance.
 
Boys/Girls State is fairly well distributed throughout the US and many/most prospective cadets will at least have had a chance at it.
On the other hand, the percentage of High Schools with JROTC is not high and the number of applicants that could potentially get
JCLC is thus pretty small. Admissions is much more likely to understand an event that is so widely distributed across the country.
 
I see, so I should recommend him to go to boys state over jclc as they'd have more understanding of it?
 
My DS was XO of his NJROTC unit this past year. Last summer he had the same dilemma. Leadership Academy was the same week as Boy's State. DS chose Boy's State. It was not even a close decision. He got a lot out of Boy's State. I would have to say it was maybe the best experience in his entire life so far. Go for it!
 
Jacobko75 said:
Hello,

I've seen and heard from a lot of places that boys/girls state is held in extremely high regards to West Point admissions. I unfortunately missed out on this opportunity as I am area commander of my school districts JROTC (15 school's jrotc programs, roughly 8,000 cadets), so I instead attended JCLC (JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge, a summer leadership camp for jrotc, consists of various outdoor activities such as obstacle courses, water survival training, rappeling, first aide, archery, and various other team sports). JCLC and Boys State occured at the same time.

I was in charge of this 5 day/night camp. I primarily lead the day to day stuff which consisted of batallion formations, delegating responsibilities to company command, handing out awards, instructing how to do events, etc. I had nothing to do with the planning of events or anything like that however, that was done by the Army Instructors.

I am curious whether or not my JCLC experience would be considering equivalent to the boys state experience in the eyes of the admissions team. Ultimately it does not really for matter for me this late in admissions, however I have a younger friend in a similar position as me that'll be applying for the class of 2027 and has has been asking me for advice on which to choose. He's highly interested in both programs, so ultimately his sole deciding factor is the weight that each would hold on admissions.

Thank you all in advance.
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All I can say for you is Boys' State worked wonders for me... I put in a lot of effort at Boys' State and was fortunate to be elected Lt. Governor. It helped more than I will ever know as I had two Academies of choice appoint me.
(Of course there's a little more to me than Boys' State and being Lt. Gov, but it gave me a huge leg up and lots of leadership experience to note in essays, interviews, etc.)
 
Jacobko75 said:
I see, so I should recommend him to go to boys state over jclc as they'd have more understanding of it?
Click to expand...
I would say yes and have him go to Boys State. I've been exposed to literally thousands of successful Service Academy
candidates over the years and have never encountered the JCLC before but I have certainly seen a lot of Boys/Girls State
graduates.
Does your JCLC have representatives from the academies ask to attend? Our Boys State has representatives from the Academies
including a regional admissions rep from USNA along with reps from the services for ROTC.
 
I can only speak to Boys State as our son was not in ROTC. I personally think it was a game-changer for him. He was elected Governor, then attended Boys Nation, yet another incredible experience and opportunity. He also made life-long friends and met several men who have become mentors to him. It was great resume, essay, and interview experience and it also led to other doors being opened.

I have no idea how heavily admissions weighs it. BUT, you should choose the one you think you would get the most from and be able to contribute to in a meaningful way.

The ability to articulate what you contributed and gained is important.
 
I think the Boys/Girls State is more popular in some states/locations than others. It's not a big deal in California - most high schools don't know what it is, I've only heard of it in this forum. In some locations, there's really no one who can sponsor and whoever can/may sponsor don't advertise it.

Here where we live, it's probably easier to find a coding group or a Robotics club than a Boys/Girls state participant.

Be a leader and do good in your community in whatever opportunity presents to you. Or start/organize your own community service club.
 
Candd82026 said:
I think the Boys/Girls State is more popular in some states/locations than others. It's not a big deal in California - most high schools don't know what it is, I've only heard of it in this forum. In some locations, there's really no one who can sponsor and whoever can/may sponsor don't advertise it.

Here where we live, it's probably easier to find a coding group or a Robotics club than a Boys/Girls state participant.

Be a leader and do good in your community in whatever opportunity presents to you. Or start/organize your own community service club.
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If you know of a local American Legion post, they would be the sponsor for your communities youth. I try every chance I have to talk to my students about the program.
 
Heatherg21 said:
If you know of a local American Legion post, they would be the sponsor for your communities youth. I try every chance I have to talk to my students about the program.
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That is what my son did in Connecticut but a week after he was selected, it was cancelled- another Covid casualty. Curiously, Connecticut Girl's State was conducted remotely like the NASS. I had been familiar with the program because it was considered an honor to get selected at my high school in Florida and so I helped my son find information on it which was difficult because the closest post was temporality closed. I was very disappointed for my son that Connecticut did not seem to place the same value as Florida did and I later researched that Boy's states went off if not in person, remotely last year. He was still able to apply for the Samsung scholarship through his selection and was a selected a departmental finalist.
I think it is a great program and there was a documentary made on Texas Boy's state which gives a little insight to those who are interested learning more- here's the promo for it:
 
Boys State. 100% without question. It is specifically recognized by all academies, but more importantly, it will make you a better citizen by increasing your awareness of how our government works.
 
There are automatic WCS points for attendance at Boys/Girls State, so it can be very important. The points fall in the Leadership category so if a candidate does not have a great deal of points from other leadership activities, Boys/Girls State can be a game changer.

The best source for input on whether to attend Boys/Girls State or another activity is your RC. As the person who calculates the WCS score, they are in the best position to determine the value to an individual candidate. But as a general rule of thumb choose Boys/Girls State for most candidates.
 
Another upvote for Boys/Girls state over JCLC, agree with all the reasons above.

My DD was able to do both, because she was selected for JCLC rising Jr year lucky her!

I advise reserving a line on the master/proforma resume (which includes notes, wish items, etc on everything you might pull from for customized resumes) with something like "JCLC, 1 of x selected from my HS and earning x leadership position for All-District JCLC leadership of over x JCLC participants and x total JROTC cadets. Selection based on x, y, and z. Declined due to Boys State attendance. Again, this is just for the master notes resume. If you are going to JCLC, you probably already get 2 SA application fill-in-the-bubbles: JROTC participation and JROTC officer position.
 
Candd82026 said:
I think the Boys/Girls State is more popular in some states/locations than others. It's not a big deal in California - most high schools don't know what it is, I've only heard of it in this forum. In some locations, there's really no one who can sponsor and whoever can/may sponsor don't advertise it.

Here where we live, it's probably easier to find a coding group or a Robotics club than a Boys/Girls state participant.

Be a leader and do good in your community in whatever opportunity presents to you. Or start/organize your own community service club.
Click to expand...

This is spot on. Boys/Girls State is a great experience/opportunity. It's specific importance, however, is relative to other experiences available and sought after in your state/region. An opportunity to look different from a leadership perspective, may also be highly valued. Your FFR should be able to provide insight.
 
Our understanding is that Boys State provides the same number of leadership points as earning Eagle Scout.
Boys State. Hands down.
However, it would not hurt to have your kid reach out to his admissions RC (not the FFR but the actual admissions person at West Point) to help him make the decision. Otherwise, Boys State.
 
HCopter said:
Another upvote for Boys/Girls state over JCLC, agree with all the reasons above.

My DD was able to do both, because she was selected for JCLC rising Jr year lucky her!

I advise reserving a line on the master/proforma resume (which includes notes, wish items, etc on everything you might pull from for customized resumes) with something like "JCLC, 1 of x selected from my HS and earning x leadership position for All-District JCLC leadership of over x JCLC participants and x total JROTC cadets. Selection based on x, y, and z. Declined due to Boys State attendance. Again, this is just for the master notes resume. If you are going to JCLC, you probably already get 2 SA application fill-in-the-bubbles: JROTC participation and JROTC officer position.
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Unfortunately my position required me to attend jclc and while I believe I gained a great deal from it, it appears it was not the best of circumstances when solely regarding maximizing chances of appointment.

At least I can advise my friend applying next year to maximize his chances, he'll be a batallion commander so he'll still be checking off those boxes for jrotc officer, and can get benefits from boys state. Our jrotc program is very close with the our local American legion post, so I doubt we will have a problem getting him sponsored.

Just this year they helped us by collecting and donating nearly 300 worn out/battered American flags to our school's jrotc to ceremoniously retire for our service learning project.

Regardless, thank you all for your answers. I found what I was looking for.
 
Jacobko75 said:
Hello,

I've seen and heard from a lot of places that boys/girls state is held in extremely high regards to West Point admissions. I unfortunately missed out on this opportunity as I am area commander of my school districts JROTC (15 school's jrotc programs, roughly 8,000 cadets), so I instead attended JCLC (JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge, a summer leadership camp for jrotc, consists of various outdoor activities such as obstacle courses, water survival training, rappeling, first aide, archery, and various other team sports). JCLC and Boys State occured at the same time.

I was in charge of this 5 day/night camp. I primarily lead the day to day stuff which consisted of batallion formations, delegating responsibilities to company command, handing out awards, instructing how to do events, etc. I had nothing to do with the planning of events or anything like that however, that was done by the Army Instructors.

I am curious whether or not my JCLC experience would be considering equivalent to the boys state experience in the eyes of the admissions team. Ultimately it does not really for matter for me this late in admissions, however I have a younger friend in a similar position as me that'll be applying for the class of 2027 and has has been asking me for advice on which to choose. He's highly interested in both programs, so ultimately his sole deciding factor is the weight that each would hold on admissions.

Thank you all in advance.
Click to expand...
I did not attend Boy State the summer if my junior year, but I was still able to get an appointment. You can compensate by fulfilling various leadership positions.
 
Jacobko75 said:
Hello,

I've seen and heard from a lot of places that boys/girls state is held in extremely high regards to West Point admissions. I unfortunately missed out on this opportunity as I am area commander of my school districts JROTC (15 school's jrotc programs, roughly 8,000 cadets), so I instead attended JCLC (JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge, a summer leadership camp for jrotc, consists of various outdoor activities such as obstacle courses, water survival training, rappeling, first aide, archery, and various other team sports). JCLC and Boys State occured at the same time.

I was in charge of this 5 day/night camp. I primarily lead the day to day stuff which consisted of batallion formations, delegating responsibilities to company command, handing out awards, instructing how to do events, etc. I had nothing to do with the planning of events or anything like that however, that was done by the Army Instructors.

I am curious whether or not my JCLC experience would be considering equivalent to the boys state experience in the eyes of the admissions team. Ultimately it does not really for matter for me this late in admissions, however I have a younger friend in a similar position as me that'll be applying for the class of 2027 and has has been asking me for advice on which to choose. He's highly interested in both programs, so ultimately his sole deciding factor is the weight that each would hold on admissions.

Thank you all in advance.
Click to expand...
I also am a District Commander, a little smaller than your district with only 11 schools but I would say Boys State, I went last year and it was an amazing time that really helped with both my understanding of government but my community and West Point wants to see Boys State, also District Commander is also another check on the Candidate Activities Record. If you do well at Boys State you can possibly go to Boys Nation like me which was one of the best experiences I've ever had. I would talk to the Cadre for the district and explain to them and try to go to Boys State. Thats just my personal opinion, best wishes!
 
Look for Boys State dates in other states!! You can attend programs elsewhere that may work better with your schedule. For example, our DD was a U.S. Senate Page and it conflicted with our state's program. So, she self-sponsored and went to Pennsylvania's that was later in the summer.
 
Its also okay to do what you want to do ... if you have invested time in JROTC its okay to continue in that program and everything in your life doesn't have to be about optimizing for college.
 
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