When Nichol Barlett first submitted her portfolio for the Miss Pennsylvania U.S.A. Pageant in July, she hoped only for acceptance in the pageant.

But this weekend she will actually compete.

Barlett (sophomore-health policy administration) is no newcomer to beauty pageants, having competed twice in the Miss Pennsylvania America Pageant.

"(The pageants) helped me get over being nervous and showed me what the judges were looking for," she said.

The pageant will run from today until Sunday in the Main Ballroom of the Palace Inn at Monroeville. More than 70 contestants from across the state will compete.

Barlett said she first became involved in beauty pageants in her senior year of high school through an advertisment in a pageantry magazine.

A childhood dream since she was four, Barlett said she competes to set an example for young girls.

"I want to be a role model for little girls who have the dream of competing in beauty pageants," she said.

The Miss Pennsylvania U.S.A. Pageant is the official preliminary to the 1991 Miss U.S.A. Pageant seen on national television. The pageant is open to everyone between the ages of 17 and 26.

Applicants for the pageant must submit an entrant portfolio to a state committee, which selects the most qualified applicants to participate. The event will not include a talent show, only a personality interview, swimsuit portion and evening gown portion.

Barlett is a volunteer consumer chairperson for the Organization for Town Independent Students.

In addition, she is a member of Alpha Epsilon Delta, a pre-med honor society, and sits on the Health and Human Development Student Council, which works with the dean of that college.

Judith Falce, OTIS president, said Barlett is a very involved student.

"She has really taken a lot of initiative to do things (for OTIS)," she said.

Barlett is also pledging Gamma Sigma Sigma, a student service organization, where she helps a woman with multiple sclerosis through physical therapy.

Stacy Keeports, president of Gamma Sigma Sigma, admires all the activities Barlett in which is involved.

Referring to the pageant, she said it is not as important as all the other things Barlett does.

Barlett resents the notion many people hold of beauty pageant contestants as air heads. She points out that it takes a lot of time and dedication to compete in a pageant.