In pictures: The modern-day beauty contest

But in the end it is another contestant, Molly, who is victorious and will take home a sizeable cash sum for university.

This method of paying for education is troubling to Dr Lesley Pace, who teaches gender studies at the University of Louisiana.

"They are evaluated on their appearance - their poise, how they carry themselves in a bathing suit. None of these things seems to be indicative of your capacity intellectually.

"So do you look pretty enough to get an education? That doesn't make a lot of sense to me!"