It was ok, there were parts I really loved, like the Bridgerton Sisterhood Tea, but a lot I didn't like. There were a lot of technical issues, music going out, skipped rehearsals because we couldn't access the hall. We were told there would be a shuttle to and from the hall and the hotel so my mom didn't rent a car and that was a disaster for her as construction even shut down local public transit. There was definitely no shuttle or any other means to go other than a taxi. They changed the s Show more

It was ok, there were parts I really loved, like the Bridgerton Sisterhood Tea, but a lot I didn't like. There were a lot of technical issues, music going out, skipped rehearsals because we couldn't access the hall. We were told there would be a shuttle to and from the hall and the hotel so my mom didn't rent a car and that was a disaster for her as construction even shut down local public transit. There was definitely no shuttle or any other means to go other than a taxi. They changed the scoring on us just before the pageant!!! They didn't even tell us, I had to find out from another contestant during a chatgroup!!! I feel INCREDIBLY cheated by that! I was told it was 50% interview, 25% evening gown and 25% athletic wear, but just before the pageant we found out they were adding preliminaries with composite scores. That meant interview was only 25%, evening 37.5% and athletic 37.5%. I feel that was really poorly done. I spent a year focusing on my interview only to have it not count the way the site said it would. The official hair and make-up sponsor was a nightmare. I mean NIGHTMARE. My mom asked for light make-up, and they did full out, even fake lashes, she wasn't happy when she came back to pick me up (she wasn't allowed to stay in the room while they did it since it was too small). When she left the second day they laughed and said I looked fine and they would do my make up that way again because they liked it. She would give them pictures of hair styles but they didn't follow them. They did our hair and make-up at 6 am and it had to last all day, they were supposed to do touch ups, but didn't always do them, sometimes they just left and didn't bother to come back. No changes, you had to wear that style for all competitions. I was told this was a pageant that focused on college prep and financial literacy to avoid student loan debt, but I never got any training on financial literacy and didn't see anything at the pageant about student loan debt. I was looking forward to that. I prepared a lot to speak about it and answer questions and learn, but didn't get anything. I was also told this was a natural pageant. But the photogenic winners in my category had super air brushed photos, not what I was expecting. I had a natural photo because I was told that was what they wanted and was disappointed to not be able to be competitive against airbrushed glam photos. Most of all, as a Junior High contestant, I felt not really welcomed at the pageant. Our age group was not invited to the first few days of competition, including one of the big parties. We weren't invited on the bus tour, but told we could participate in that if we bought separate tickets (tickets the older girls got for free) but weren't given the matching shirts and things the older girls had, even when we paid the extra fee. It felt like they didn't want us on it. It just felt like we were tag-a-longs and not real contestants. Their interviews were panel and much longer than ours, we had round robin and only 60 seconds for each judge! We were told it would be livestreamed or videoed but wasn't and photos were banned. They had plans for photos of us taken in our evening gown but the photographer didn't bring his backdrops. Worst of all during technical issues the official coach/emcee brought a girl from our age group up to the podium during the pageant, in front of the judges and audience and let her speak for a few minutes about her platform and what she would do as queen ... but none of us other girls got that chance. It REALLY made me feel like they wanted her to win and not us. She got highlighted and a chance to shine in front of the judges, an extra interview that the rest of us didn't get. Why didn't the rest of us get to do that too? Also there was a lot of awards issues. My friend was given a medal, but then they took it back and gave it to me. And I was supposed to have earned a crystal sisterhood award for referring a girl to the pageant but didn't get it until a month after the pageant.Show less

Year 2 with MCU was amazing!! I had the honor of walking away with the social media award and 2nd runner up!! While there were a few personal hiccups on my end, I'm so happy I came back to compete!!!

It's an honor to be a national sponsor of the Miss Collegiate USA Pageants. Each year, they highlight each state and regional titleholder, as well as the national queens on social media, marketing and throughout the nationals week. We sponsor the Mental Health & Wellness Day during nationals and truly believe that beauty queens from this system embody beauty inside and out! Way to go, MCU!

I had an amazing time competing while representing the state of Maryland!! I will definitely be coming back!!!