I am posting this under secrets because I don't want anyone knowing that I am doing this at this stage. I will post under my real name once the Pageant gets going. I am super nervous because I have never competed in anything like a pageant and I have no idea what to expect.

I got a call back a couple of weeks after I submitted my application for the Miss USA pageant. They said they liked what they saw, and they gave me a phone interview. They screened me and said they want me going to a face to face interview this Saturday.

She said "Dress to impress". Does that mean a cocktail dress or business suit? I asked the phone caller and she said "you can always bring something to change" so she never really answered my question.

She asked me " What charity do you want to work for" and " If you were a superhero, what power would you want?' What kind of other questions do you think they are going to ask me?

Should I do full face/makeup for the interview, or natural?

Please don't give me away if you know who I am. I haven't told any of my family or real times friends incase I don't even make it past the first interview.

Wouldn't you have to become MISS _____ insert state before applying for Miss Usa? And before that Miss ____ whatever state you live in?


I would show up in a suit and bring a dress to change into. I would do full hair and make-up.

Well yes, I would have to do Miss ____State. I was just mentioning the Organization.

Thanks for your advice.

I used to judge pageants for a different circuit but I am familiar with the Miss America circuit as well. For Miss America, they do interview the day of the pageant. Is this a preliminary interview or the actual interview used for your overall pageant day score?

In America, they generally don't wear suits. I've seen a lot of business-looking dresses, pencil skirts with nice tops, etc. Since USA is a lot flashier than America (thanks Donald Trump), I would venture to say they dress similarly. With that said, I would go with a full face of makeup, but use a more neutral color, not so much stage makeup.

As for other questions, we used to ask about role models, if you could have lunch with any famous person past or present who would it be and why, and the rest of the questions generally come from the biography you provide or are in reference to your platform.

I need to pick a Platform. I didn't even know what that was until I just googled it right now.

Does anyone have a good place to begin? I would like to maybe talk about childhood obesity, dance in some form, or veterans.

Well, what are you passionate about?

Make sure the topic is much more defined than say just "veterans." You really need to know your platform inside and out. Mine would be something along the lines of preventing teenage crime and incarceration [through mentoring programs.]

I really like Charity Navigator for finding charities that use their funds wisely. Once you pick an area of interest and have a list of a few charities in that field, you could see how they rank here and choose one (or a couple) of those to discuss.... unless you're just supposed to talk about the issues in general and not about specific charities, in which case you can ignore the link for your purposes. I'm interested to see what you decide on, I think I'd be hard pressed to find just one area!

The new Miss America's platform is children of incarcerated felons. She picked the platform because her father spent time in prison. It was a cause that was very close to her heart. So, pick a platform that means something to YOU, personally. Something you have some passion for. Not just something trendy, like childhood obesity, which although noteworthy, is kind of being overused as a pageant platform.

If you decide to incorporate dance into your platform, also make it about something special, something that touched you or affected you in the dance world.

Interview clothing should be something pretty and dressy, but not too business, not too sexy and not too churchy in a color that really flatters you. Full make up and hair but not too heavy or stagey for interview.

PRACTICE!! Get someone to rehearse a question and answer session with you. Make eye contact. Smile! Don't slouch, don't giggle and don't cross your legs. Cross your ankles, instead. Much more flattering! You can gesture with your hands a little but try not to do so too much and don't lock your hands in your lap either. make it a happy medium. Relax and try to enjoy yourself!

Good luck, kk~

I guess the things I am passionate about aren't really "problems" for a platform to raise awareness. I don't really have something "tragic" that happened to me, except my Grandpa died of a stroke. He meant the world to me, but I don't know enough about strokes to use that as a starting point.
Because he was a "vegetable" in the hospital bed for over a year, I would really like to maintain good medical care for people who don't have the ability to say anything. My grandpa couldn't talk to tell us what was wrong, we had to rely on nurses to give him the best care.

I am passionate about providing children with a healthy lifestyle consisting of a good diet, and a passion of physical activity such as dance, gymnastics, etc.

At least there isn't "talent" for this competition, so I don't need to get my pointe work up to par

www.letsmove.gov

I'm not sure if you have to pick a specific charity or non-governmental organization or what, but the above is the government's website promoting healthy lifestyles in children. Poke around on there maybe?