I was former Civil Air Patrol (Semper Vigilans!) and also went to Boys State, so hopefully I can offer a little insight. In terms of your application, it’s no contest that Girls State will have a much higher impact on your WCS than encampment staff - there’s a reason your candidate application specifically asks if you’ve been to Boys/Girls State. When I was at West Point for a candidate visit, I was told that Boys/Girls State was one of the most impactful aspects on the “leadership” portion of your application (I have no verification of this though, just word of mouth, so take it with a grain of salt). However, beyond the application benefits of each activity, it’s really up to you which you think would be more beneficial personally. I did both encampment and Boys State, and for me, Boys State was much better than encampment - I learned a lot more, I made way more personal connections, and I just plain had a lot more fun at Boys State than I did at encampment. If you’d like more details, I can definitely share, but that’s just my two cents.
