Students interested in attending Missouri Boys State are encouraged to apply. Local high school counselors and principals will make recommendations to local American Legion representatives, so it is important for students to express interest in Missouri Boys State to their local school officials.

Applications are accepted in the first quarter of each year. The American Legion Boys State District Chairman makes the final decision on who will attend Missouri Boys State. The Missouri Boys State Board of Directors reserves the right to accept or reject any application as they deem appropriate.

In the actual selection of students as citizens of Boys State, merit and ability are the basis for selection. Students are NOT selected based on economic status. Boys State is NOT a program for underprivileged students, nor is it a recreational summer camp.

American Legion Posts or other community-minded organizations pay all fees, or 'tuition', with NO EXPENSE to the student or his family.

In order to secure equal representation from all areas, American Legion Departments assign quotas to high schools and American Legion Districts throughout the state of Missouri. These quotas are based on school enrollment and district population.

Eligibility Information:

The following basic criteria must be met for eligibility under guidelines set by The American Legion and the Missouri Boys State Board of Directors:

Each candidate must be between the ages of 15 and 19 by June 13, 2009. Each candidate must have successfully completed his junior year in a Missouri high school and have at least one semester of high school remaining after the close of the Boys State session.

In addition, Missouri Boys State proudly offers participation to selected sons of our active duty armed forces families serving overseas. The Board of Directors recognized that talented U.S. citizens living abroad do not have ready access to programs such as Missouri Boys State. In the spirit of "taking care of our own" and the long heritage of The American Legion, the Missouri Boys State Board of Directors unanimously agreed to open Missouri Boys State to sons of military families serving overseas.

This initiative was begun in 2003 with a single citizen from Osan High School, Korea and continued in 2004 with two citizens from Kadena HS, Okinawa, Japan and Farragut HS, Rota, Spain. These future leaders were able to interact and compare experiences from the various Missouri locales to foreign postings of our armed forces.

Missouri Boys State places no Missouri residency restrictions on DoDEA students. A limited number of available seats will vary from year to year. Further, these limited seats do not displace any of the 960 seats available each year to Missouri high schools. Funding for both the program fee and transportation are the responsibility of the overseas sponsor. Missouri Boys State closely coordinates with the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) in that MBS outlines the qualifying criteria, identifies the number of seats available and the DoDEA determines which qualified overseas DoDEA high schools may nominate applicants. All other eligibility criteria remain the same.

Qualifications:

Only young men exhibiting qualities of leadership, character, scholarship, and citizenship should be considered candidates for Boys State.

Potential leaders come from all facets of a high school’s student body. Some may not necessarily be recognized as the best scholars. However, those students who excel in Civics, Government, American History, and Political courses will be better suited for the curriculum offered at Boys State. Boys State is NOT a program for underprivileged youth.

Each candidate must agree to participate for the entire week of the Boys State program. Arriving late, leaving early or leaving and returning will NOT be allowed. There are no exceptions to this policy. Those individuals who cannot commit the entire week need not apply.

Get the Official Missouri Boys State Application

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