When University student Andrea Baker was crowned Miss Central Pennsylvania last month she won about $2,000 in scholarships, hundreds of dollars in prizes and the admiration of many. But Baker said not everyone is impressed by her title.

"All some people see is the bathing suits. They see the gowns but they don't see the time and research that goes into it and the friends that are made there," said Baker (sophomore-French and integrative arts).

But for thousands of women, the benefits outweigh negative attitudes they might encounter. More than 2,000 pictures are submitted each year for the Miss Teen All American competition, said Marie Sweeney, president of the Sweeney Group Inc., the contest's sponsor.

"It is their way to break into the professional world," Sweeney said, "They want to be models, they want to be actresses and this is the way to do it."

Although some pageants are changing and focusing more on intelligence, motivation and knowledge of issues, people outside the pageant system often look at the competitions as trivial and degrading, said Kirsten Border, Miss State Capital and one of Baker's competitors in the upcoming Miss Pennsylvania competition.

"When I first meet people, I don't say, 'Hi, I'm Miss State Capital,' because right away their image of me could really bottom out," Border said.

Border said people do not realize that the contestants in some pageants are successful in other areas of their lives. Border is a violinist, a candidate for a master's degree at Western Maryland College and works full time as an account services assistant at an advertising agency.

She said competing has given her valuable communication skills and boosted her confidence --rewards that are worth juggling an already busy schedule to stay involved.

"I work all day at my job and for my classes and then I still have to work out," she said. "I'm always the last one to leave the gym at night, and when I'm done with that, I have to practice. I go home late and pull out my fiddle."

Border said Miss Pennsylvania, a level of competition in the Miss America Scholarship Pageant, is different from some of the more traditional pageants because each contestant has to research an issue to address if crowned. She has spent the past few years educating children on the importance of voting.

But Mike Johnson, associate professor of sociology and women's studies, said the focus on issues may just be a mask to distract people from the actual nature of beauty pageants.

"We are always told beauty is only skin deep, but beauty pageants say, 'No it does matter, you can get money for college if you look good,' " Johnson said.

He said in an ideal situation, whoever is most qualified would win regardless of what they look like.

"Anything that emphasizes the importance of physical appearance is harmful no matter what gender is involved, but the idea is much more institutionalized for women," he said. "Beauty pageants are a perfect example."

Julianne Hetrick (freshman-nutrition) said contestants should have to look fit because they are serving as role models who should encourage people to strive for good health.

"You don't want a role model who is wobbling her way around the stage," she said. "You want a fit, healthy model for little kids to imitate."