Eagle Scout rank as a hook for admissions

[Anonymous]

Very interesting. Thanks for posting.

Eagle Scout is one of the only things you can do as a teenager that stays on your resume your entire life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its really dated. And the organization is reprehensible.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boy Scouts is a disgusting organization. Gross. Can’t imagine being a part of that. Eagle Scouts kids are amazing and none of that mess is their fault, but why continue associating with an organization that abetted horrific behavior for decades. Yikes.

+1 I would never let my kids join this organization. I am surprised parents are okay with this in 2020. Yuck

[Anonymous]

Organization is currently hiding behind bankruptcy like the gross cowards they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting article:
https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2020/10/14/can-being-an-eagle-scout-help-you-get-into-college/

In short, it won’t make up for a weak package or poor scores. But it can help push an applicant over the edge, given the multi year commitment required to attain the rank.

Excellent article that features specific feedback from 17 universities. Now that Scouting is co-Ed, it will be great to see girls attaining the Eagle rank (the first cohort were granted this year).

Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award has been considered by those familiar with both organizations to be at least an equally impressive achievement. I certainly spent as much effort on my Gold Award as my brother did earning Eagle. It was something I was very proud of and put on my college applications and early resumes. If I had to do it over again I would definitely choose to stay with the Girl Scouts organization. I guess it's good to be let into the boys' club if you want to be, but I would rather girls' organizations were given the same value in society as boys'. Or that both of those options were equally available and valued.

My values do not line up with boy scouts and if I had a daughter I would not be encouraging her to join them. Some girl scout troops have a greater emphasis on crafts and cookies, etc., but if you are serious about outdoorsmanship those kinds of opportunities can be found throughout girl scouts. I'm not sure why older girl scouts are not as well-regarded as older boy scouts. They have the same requirements for community service, etc.. As a young woman my girl scout troop was the place where I had the most useful experience practicing leadership skills, trying entrepreneurial ventures, and developing an understanding of health and wellness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Organization is currently hiding behind bankruptcy like the gross cowards they are.

Why in earth do you think Boy Scouts National has deep pockets? It doesn’t. And it is as deserving of reorganization under the Bankruptcy laws as any other entity. Without it, none of the suing parties will get anything.

[Anonymous]

Boy scouts and the Eagle process were the best thing for my son in HS. Our troop had great families we still socialize with. The dads camp together even though the "boys" are out of college.

I have no idea the effect it had on his apps but his essay was all about Philmont. He was not the strongest student so it probably highlighted his other strengths nicely. I doubt it is so different than any other activity a kid is very involved in the leadership of.

[Anonymous]

I believe earning Eagle Scout helped my DS get into W&M. His grades and test scores were below the medium for admitted students. He's caucasian, full pay, graduated from a FCPS high school. According to Naviance, he should have been rejected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Boy Scouts is a disgusting organization. Gross. Can’t imagine being a part of that. Eagle Scouts kids are amazing and none of that mess is their fault, but why continue associating with an organization that abetted horrific behavior for decades. Yikes.

+1 I would never let my kids join this organization. I am surprised parents are okay with this in 2020. Yuck

LOL. Lots of boys still participate, and it's far from the impression that you have of it. Lots of educated progressive people have their sons involved in Scouts. Just because the national organization may take one position does not mean that local troops take those positions. And the women's groups were urging the Boy Scouts to allow in girls, and so the Boy Scouts did so a few years ago. (BTW, the leader of the Girl Scouts was very upset and made some ad hominem attacks on the Boy Scouts.) And the Mormon Church recently disassociated with the Boy Scouts for becoming too progressive in their view.

My 17-year-old son is currently working toward his Eagle rank. He completed a big community service project that he planned all on his own. I told him he'd be a great project manager in the workplace someday. He's learned tons of skills through scouting, and has done a lot of camping and hiking. He's gained a lot of leadership experience along the way.

If you only read a few random articles a year about the Boy Scouts, then you are not in a position to opine on the entire scouting experience. It's a great opportunity for boys to learn skills and gain leadership experience. Unlike so many activities, it does not require athleticism (although lots of athletes participate). Also, it's a very affordable activity for those who do not have means (although plenty of very wealthy troops in NW DC and Bethesda, etc).

[Anonymous]

The Boy Scouts will be a transformed organization a year from now, because it will lose an overwhelming majority of its assets to pay deserved compensation to victims of things that went on in the 80s and before. It will probably lose 2/3 of its members in the process, made worse by COVID. Local sponsors are going to begin dropping soon, because of the unavoidable liability and PR difficulties that will become clear when over 25K claimants are announced in late November. As a long time volunteer, I have to accept that the majority of the public does not believe the organization needs to or should survive. Even terrorists condemn any one or thing which has had any arguable connection to child abuse. The seemingly extreme comments shared above are,unfortunately, reflective of a majority view. These people do not even want to hear about the secure practices in place or the great non-abuse record of the last two decades. My thought at this point is that those of us involved locally may need to re-evaluate whether this is worth doing any more in the face of such condemnation. I spend 20 hours a week on Scouting and do not want it to lead to personal liability when an enterprising parent sees me as a nice bank account for them. Any allegation of abuse, no matter how evidence-free or far fetched is instantly believed and the accused is ruined. We probably have 50 families involved in our group. Someone is going to realize they can make money off of this and blow it all up. For those of you who posted positive things about the BSA, thank you. However, if your words have meaning, you need to back them up through financial or other activity. This organization is being taken down quickly by the tort industry and is about to go under water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Boy Scouts will be a transformed organization a year from now, because it will lose an overwhelming majority of its assets to pay deserved compensation to victims of things that went on in the 80s and before. It will probably lose 2/3 of its members in the process, made worse by COVID. Local sponsors are going to begin dropping soon, because of the unavoidable liability and PR difficulties that will become clear when over 25K claimants are announced in late November. As a long time volunteer, I have to accept that the majority of the public does not believe the organization needs to or should survive. Even terrorists condemn any one or thing which has had any arguable connection to child abuse. The seemingly extreme comments shared above are,unfortunately, reflective of a majority view. These people do not even want to hear about the secure practices in place or the great non-abuse record of the last two decades. My thought at this point is that those of us involved locally may need to re-evaluate whether this is worth doing any more in the face of such condemnation. I spend 20 hours a week on Scouting and do not want it to lead to personal liability when an enterprising parent sees me as a nice bank account for them. Any allegation of abuse, no matter how evidence-free or far fetched is instantly believed and the accused is ruined. We probably have 50 families involved in our group. Someone is going to realize they can make money off of this and blow it all up. For those of you who posted positive things about the BSA, thank you. However, if your words have meaning, you need to back them up through financial or other activity. This organization is being taken down quickly by the tort industry and is about to go under water.

You say "tort industry," I say "deserved compensation for years of covering up sexual abuse."

Potato-potahto

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Boy Scouts will be a transformed organization a year from now, because it will lose an overwhelming majority of its assets to pay deserved compensation to victims of things that went on in the 80s and before. It will probably lose 2/3 of its members in the process, made worse by COVID. Local sponsors are going to begin dropping soon, because of the unavoidable liability and PR difficulties that will become clear when over 25K claimants are announced in late November. As a long time volunteer, I have to accept that the majority of the public does not believe the organization needs to or should survive. Even terrorists condemn any one or thing which has had any arguable connection to child abuse. The seemingly extreme comments shared above are,unfortunately, reflective of a majority view. These people do not even want to hear about the secure practices in place or the great non-abuse record of the last two decades. My thought at this point is that those of us involved locally may need to re-evaluate whether this is worth doing any more in the face of such condemnation. I spend 20 hours a week on Scouting and do not want it to lead to personal liability when an enterprising parent sees me as a nice bank account for them. Any allegation of abuse, no matter how evidence-free or far fetched is instantly believed and the accused is ruined. We probably have 50 families involved in our group. Someone is going to realize they can make money off of this and blow it all up. For those of you who posted positive things about the BSA, thank you. However, if your words have meaning, you need to back them up through financial or other activity. This organization is being taken down quickly by the tort industry and is about to go under water.

[Anonymous]

I know kids with Eagle Scout who got into UNC, Michigan. And kids with Eagle Scout denied ED at EWM, and went to college a significant step down.

It seems to be one of those things that shows significant commitment outside of school, like being all district/all state/ SRO in music, marching band for 4 years with a leadership position, all district/all state sports in a non-recruited athlete, etc. it’s impressive and probably helps. But it doesn’t make up for bad stats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Boy Scouts will be a transformed organization a year from now, because it will lose an overwhelming majority of its assets to pay deserved compensation to victims of things that went on in the 80s and before. It will probably lose 2/3 of its members in the process, made worse by COVID. Local sponsors are going to begin dropping soon, because of the unavoidable liability and PR difficulties that will become clear when over 25K claimants are announced in late November. As a long time volunteer, I have to accept that the majority of the public does not believe the organization needs to or should survive. Even terrorists condemn any one or thing which has had any arguable connection to child abuse. The seemingly extreme comments shared above are,unfortunately, reflective of a majority view. These people do not even want to hear about the secure practices in place or the great non-abuse record of the last two decades. My thought at this point is that those of us involved locally may need to re-evaluate whether this is worth doing any more in the face of such condemnation. I spend 20 hours a week on Scouting and do not want it to lead to personal liability when an enterprising parent sees me as a nice bank account for them. Any allegation of abuse, no matter how evidence-free or far fetched is instantly believed and the accused is ruined. We probably have 50 families involved in our group. Someone is going to realize they can make money off of this and blow it all up. For those of you who posted positive things about the BSA, thank you. However, if your words have meaning, you need to back them up through financial or other activity. This organization is being taken down quickly by the tort industry and is about to go under water.

The Scouts currently have the strongest anti abuse policy if any organization. Individual adults can never be alone with the kids. What liability are you concerned about? Not excusing 30 years ago but so much has changed.

[Anonymous]

^^ Many Boy Scouts groups banned gay Scout leaders. Big scandal in CA about 5 years ago.