Any long term activity and every leadership initiative is considered a positive but scouting isn't something which makes you stand out.

I know several eagle scouts, most were good students with dedicated parents who drove them to activities, helped them with their projects, made donations to their fundraisings and took them on scouting trips but none made it into a top 10 school.

Anonymous wrote:My husband was a scout master, and our son was an Eagle Scout. It's invaluable because the Eagle process demonstrates grit, determination, and long-term planning to achieve a goal (much like meeting the requirements for a major at college). Colleges can count on those applicants to be self-starters and to follow through on tasks they take on, which many American youth can no longer do.

This is what people tell themselves. Tons of activities show that kids are self starters, follow through on tasks, plan long term, have grit and determination, etc. Any kid with a nonprofit shows this.

It definitely shows some positive things but it also definitely doesn't outshine other long term sustained ECs that show impact, leadership, service, etc. In fact, many kids who do service work have very significant impact compared to a scout who does something like fixes a broken bridge or cleans up an overgrown area.

Anonymous wrote:If no any other national award, will it help for selective schools? Does it count as honor or EC?

It doesn't count for much, reflects more on father's interest than child's.

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Anonymous wrote:I follow a former college admissions counselor on Instagram and he just today gave his out of ten rankings for different activities- none scored a ten, but Eagle Scout was one of the few 9s he gave.

Can you share where to see this?

I follow so many of these accounts- sorry, I can’t find it or I’d link it. But Eagle Scout is super hard, shows years of dedication and work. I would agree that it’s gotta be a boost!

Its not that impressive. The projects I've seen have been things like, build a bench or put shelving into a storage shed. A lot of scouting hours and badges can be faked.

Spoken like someone who is truly clueless.

Eagle is very difficult to achieve, and it's likely AOs know that. Only 2 - 6% of those who enter Scouting achieve that rank, depending on the year. Less than 1% of the entire youth population of the country earns it. Of the 21 total merit badges needed, 13 are specifically Eagle-required, many with significant time and effort involved. Eagle projects must demonstrate meaningful leadership skills to be approved.

Regardless of impact on college admissions, it's an achievement one carries through one's life. It's not uncommon for obituaries to note the attainment of the rank.

Less than 1% of total youth earn it because most kids drop scouting well before high school. It is for weird kids Who they heck wants to dress up in creepy uniforms as 16 year olds?

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Anonymous wrote:I follow a former college admissions counselor on Instagram and he just today gave his out of ten rankings for different activities- none scored a ten, but Eagle Scout was one of the few 9s he gave.

Can you share where to see this?

I follow so many of these accounts- sorry, I can’t find it or I’d link it. But Eagle Scout is super hard, shows years of dedication and work. I would agree that it’s gotta be a boost!

Its not that impressive. The projects I've seen have been things like, build a bench or put shelving into a storage shed. A lot of scouting hours and badges can be faked.

Spoken like someone who is truly clueless.

Eagle is very difficult to achieve, and it's likely AOs know that. Only 2 - 6% of those who enter Scouting achieve that rank, depending on the year. Less than 1% of the entire youth population of the country earns it. Of the 21 total merit badges needed, 13 are specifically Eagle-required, many with significant time and effort involved. Eagle projects must demonstrate meaningful leadership skills to be approved.

Regardless of impact on college admissions, it's an achievement one carries through one's life. It's not uncommon for obituaries to note the attainment of the rank.

Who cares about how difficult it is to get, that’s not how you evaluate an extracurricular activity. What does it show colleges, that you’re great at grinding useless tasks for years? Please.

Isn’t difficult grinds the type of ECs that get DCUM parents excited? Nationally placed math/science competitions, etc? And what are travel sports besides useless grinding over an entire childhood? Hell, what’s taking 15 APs, most being outside your child’s future career, than useless grinding? Parents on this board *advocate* unceasing, years-long, grind.

Is Eagle Scout going to be your silver bullet into the T10? Probably not. But for some schools, it’s a solid EC & a worthwhile accomplishment if your kid is into outdoors stuff. Additionally, I’ve yet to meet an Eagle Scout adult that doesn’t perk up meeting other Eagle Scouts. So there’s an existing Old Boys (maybe “& Girls” soon) Network too. Again, might not get you the job but might get you in the door.

My husband was a scout master, and our son was an Eagle Scout. It's invaluable because the Eagle process demonstrates grit, determination, and long-term planning to achieve a goal (much like meeting the requirements for a major at college). Colleges can count on those applicants to be self-starters and to follow through on tasks they take on, which many American youth can no longer do.

DS is so close to his so we are pushing him to stay in and finish so it can go on the app. He’s not likely to have a zillion things to list on his app so this would be useful.

Anonymous wrote:It’s still a helpful thing to have on there. It represents leadership skills, longevity in an activity, etc. I’d list the Eagle designation as an honor and scouting in general as an EC.

Agree -- DS was also used his project as a short answer for an application question. He also chatted about his project in the interview. A good interviewer will use it as an easy ice breaker question with a student

Useful in the other parts of the application. My kid had great service essays because he really served in Scouts. He has had very good interviews after all the boards of review and his speech. Someone told my husband at the start of scouting that he thought Scouts was really the best program to prepare a young man for life and this has rung true.

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Anonymous wrote:I follow a former college admissions counselor on Instagram and he just today gave his out of ten rankings for different activities- none scored a ten, but Eagle Scout was one of the few 9s he gave.

Can you share where to see this?

I follow so many of these accounts- sorry, I can’t find it or I’d link it. But Eagle Scout is super hard, shows years of dedication and work. I would agree that it’s gotta be a boost!

Its not that impressive. The projects I've seen have been things like, build a bench or put shelving into a storage shed. A lot of scouting hours and badges can be faked.

Sure, Jan.

It’s unlikely to make a difference at the end of the day. It’s nice but it’s no magic activity that is better than anything else.

DP

+1
It shows sustained commitment. But no more than a black belt in martial arts.

yea, it didn't help my kid. DC had super high stats (1590 SAT, 4.0unwgpa, 4.92 wgpa at a magnet program), a couple of ho hum activities as far as top colleges are concerned, but was an Eagle Scout. Denied at the top tier schools. It didn't help that DC was a cs major.

Still, DC is doing great at internships (several offers) and interviews really well. They have good leadership skills, and they do think Scouts was helpful.

I'm just thankful for the Scouts because it was the only thing that he did that got him outdoors and active. They loved the camping trips.

Well that's the reason to do it because they loved it. Not for the college app.

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Anonymous wrote:I follow a former college admissions counselor on Instagram and he just today gave his out of ten rankings for different activities- none scored a ten, but Eagle Scout was one of the few 9s he gave.

Can you share where to see this?

I follow so many of these accounts- sorry, I can’t find it or I’d link it. But Eagle Scout is super hard, shows years of dedication and work. I would agree that it’s gotta be a boost!

Its not that impressive. The projects I've seen have been things like, build a bench or put shelving into a storage shed. A lot of scouting hours and badges can be faked.

Spoken like someone who is truly clueless.

Eagle is very difficult to achieve, and it's likely AOs know that. Only 2 - 6% of those who enter Scouting achieve that rank, depending on the year. Less than 1% of the entire youth population of the country earns it. Of the 21 total merit badges needed, 13 are specifically Eagle-required, many with significant time and effort involved. Eagle projects must demonstrate meaningful leadership skills to be approved.

Regardless of impact on college admissions, it's an achievement one carries through one's life. It's not uncommon for obituaries to note the attainment of the rank.

Who cares about how difficult it is to get, that’s not how you evaluate an extracurricular activity. What does it show colleges, that you’re great at grinding useless tasks for years? Please.

Anonymous wrote:I was an Eagle Scout and I wished all we ever did was take badass backpacking trips into the national parks near where I grew up. That’s a heck of a lot better than all those meetings doing merit badges and planning projects to do stuff like plan an annual cookout or put up new park signage.

Fake troll post

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Anonymous wrote:If DS is 15 then can he still join the Eagle Scout?

Absolutely, he can. But he won’t have enough time to become Eagle Scout. If that’s not his goal, there are still a lot of fun.

Any way to speed up the process?

No. There are minimum time requirements once a Scout reaches 1st Class as far as their leadership positions.

The Eagle requirements, outside of the final Board of Review, must be completed no later than the day before the Scout's 18th birthday. I think I saw one kid do it in about 3.5 years and he was Highly Motivated, including back-to-back weeks at scout camp over the summer to make the most of the merit badges. I believe he also had a summer birthday, so a bit more time than his peers with birthdays in the winter or spring. I may be wrong about the birthday, though.

I'm the advancement chair for our troop and an Eagle parent.

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Anonymous wrote:I follow a former college admissions counselor on Instagram and he just today gave his out of ten rankings for different activities- none scored a ten, but Eagle Scout was one of the few 9s he gave.

Can you share where to see this?

I follow so many of these accounts- sorry, I can’t find it or I’d link it. But Eagle Scout is super hard, shows years of dedication and work. I would agree that it’s gotta be a boost!

Its not that impressive. The projects I've seen have been things like, build a bench or put shelving into a storage shed. A lot of scouting hours and badges can be faked.

Spoken like someone who is truly clueless.

Eagle is very difficult to achieve, and it's likely AOs know that. Only 2 - 6% of those who enter Scouting achieve that rank, depending on the year. Less than 1% of the entire youth population of the country earns it. Of the 21 total merit badges needed, 13 are specifically Eagle-required, many with significant time and effort involved. Eagle projects must demonstrate meaningful leadership skills to be approved.

Regardless of impact on college admissions, it's an achievement one carries through one's life. It's not uncommon for obituaries to note the attainment of the rank.

It doesn’t matter.

Colleges care about impact and involvement in the community, not raking up hours and badges. Parroting some general knowledge about citizenship in community, society and world means absolutely nothing.

Get involved in a meaningful way to make a difference in your community instead of grinding for Eagle Scout.