CAT fights are so last decade.

Melissa and 11 other beauty queens from NUS, Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), Singapore Management University (SMU) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) are part of inter-varsity beauty pageant Queen of Queens.

Organised by SPH Magazines, the contest is in its sixth year and will be held at Clarke Quay nightspot Zirca on 11 Dec at 7.30pm. The winner will go home with hampers worth more than $700 from sponsors like Maybelline, L’Oreal Studioline and Acne Care.

There are also subsidiary awards like Miss Maybelline New York and Acne Care’s Miss Confidence to be nabbed.

Even though this quartet have only met each other one other time before our photoshoot, they seem like old friends.

They aren’t even the least competitive, despite the finals being less than a week away.

SIM student Wida Alisa Roslan, 22, said: “I think everyone’s quite relaxed. We’re enjoying each other’s company. It’s actually been very fun and I’ve made so many new friends.”

Here’s a look at four of the finalists.

Melissa Koh, 20, NUS

What is a pageant without a cheerleader beauty queen? At 1.6m and weighing 42kg, Melissa cuts a lithe figure shaped by years of practising rhythmic gymnastics and cheerleading.

The business administration undergraduate picked up rhythmic gymnastics in CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh) and St Andrew’s Junior College and cheerleading at NUS.

At her maiden pageant, she clinched second runner-up and Miss Popular titles in NUS’ Miss Bizad last year. Consider it beginner’s luck.

Her winning streak almost did not begin as she had to be “hustled” into joining.

It was a new experience. I thought it would be cool to do something like this when I got into uni.”

Last September, she won a beauty contest organised for business undergraduates at NTU, NUS and SMU.

She was voted Miss Popular at NUS’ students’ union pageant in January.

Her boyfriend of a year is used to the attention she receives from these events.

“Whenever I tell him I’m joining a pageant, all he says is, ‘not again?’ But he’s still supportive.”

Kwan Li Jia, 20, SMU

Drunken parties are not what this 1.7m babe would call a fun night out.

The business management student, who won her faculty’s Bondue pageant last year, said: “I think there are more productive ways of spending time, like curling up with a good book at home.”

If there’s one weakness Li Jia has, it would be her love for fast food.

But the health-conscious 53kg lass only allows herself to indulge in it once a week.

To keep fit, Li Jia runs and skips rope. She also uses resistance bands to tone her body.

“In the past, I only exercised during PE lessons,” said the alumnus of Anglican High School and Victoria Junior College.

It was the 2007 New Paper New Face modelling contest – Li Jia was a finalist – which prompted her to take charge of her fitness, or lack thereof.

“Looking good was the biggest motivation to start exercising.”

Those who want to impress this single lady should preferably have a goatee and hair pulled into a bun, channelling the scruffy Japanese look.

Someone who looks like local actor Pierre Png would also be ideal.

Wida Alisa Roslan, 22, SIM

The beauty queen blood runs in the family.

Wida’s mum was crowned charity trust fund Tabung Amal Aidilfitri’s ambassador last year.

Soon after, Wida – who is 1.6m and 42kg – was named second runner-up in SIM’s University of London’s pageant.

The Nanyang Polytechnic IT graduate is studying information systems and management at SIM.

Don’t be fooled by Wida’s willowy figure, as this gung-ho cutie is an avid sailor and swimmer.

But her love for water sports almost caused her to drown when she was 16.

ldquo;It was the test date for my sailing licence. My boat capsized and I was supposed to turn it over using my body weight, but I couldn’t. I was struggling and panicking, and drank a lot of sea water. I even got stung by jellyfish. In the end, I had to be rescued.”

Wida was also part of alma mater Yio Chu Kang Secondary School’s track team.

Her adventurous streak is shared by her boyfriend, who is two years her senior.

He’s so random. Just the other day, he told me we’re going Las Vegas in February.

And it wasn’t even a question. Knowing him, I’d probably know about our trip the day before.”

Ong Shi Yun, 19, NTU

So you want to be a beauty queen? Better start dressing like one.Shi Yun would never be caught dead without eyeliner, which she says makes “a huge difference” in defining the peepers.

The economics major, who is 1.66m and 55kg, was the first runner-up of her university’s union pageant this year. It was also her first beauty contest.

“Ever since I joined the pageant, I make sure I look good all the time.”

This means not wearing nylon running shorts except in the gym and on the track.

But Shi Yun – who studied at Presbyterian High School and Temasek Junior College – say looks aren’t everything.

She needs someone wacky, just like her.

“I need someone who can be crazy with me when I am. He should be humorous and good-looking like (local actor) Tay Ping Hui.”

But one thing Shi Yun cannot tolerate is a guy who’s more self-conscious than she is.