National Judging Process 2008

Miss America is both a business and a culturally specific brand that transcends being just a beauty pageant. Miss America herself is a critical member of the Miss America Organization marketing team and works to advance the business of scholarship and community service for women. The Miss America judging system distinguishes Miss America via a form of Olympic scoring where each contestant competes against ONLY herself.

Preliminary Competitions Scoring

The Miss America Preliminary Competitions and their weighted score values are:

• Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit - 15%
• Evening Wear - 20%
• Talent - 35%
• Private Interview - 25%
• On-Stage Question – 5%

Finals Competition Scoring

The scoring for the Miss America Finals Competition is weighted accordingly:

• Composite Score - 30% (Top 16)
• Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit - 20% (Top 16)
• Evening Wear - 20% (Top 10)
• Talent - 30%  (Top 8)
• On-Stage Question (Top 8)
• Final Ballot – Each judge ranks the Top 5 contestants in the order he/she believes they should each finish.  The outcome of the pageant is based solely on the point totals resulting from the final ballot.