Who gets their kid into boy scouts to look good on a college application?! Let your kid do what they enjoy.

Anonymous wrote:Old guys with power who set your compensation, endow university fellowships, or approve layoffs like Eagle Scouts. Outsized proportions of POTUSs, military generals, and C-suite of F500 companies attained Eagle Scout.

I mean, you can tell yourself it doesn't matter....but it sort of does. So you do you.

A young woman who has "Eagle Scout" on her resume is going to probably at least get an interview from me. She's definitely an interesting person who's seen some stuff.

They are fading out pretty quickly. And old guys with power aren't running college admissions. And by the time someone who has a cub scout aged kid are in the workforce, nearly all of these old guys will no longer have influence. It was a thing when BSA was one of the few youth orgs around. If your kid is interested in it, great--it's like other activities with a sustained interest component. Most of the guys I know who were Boy Scouts who are now in their 50s are not impressed by it--my DH who was an Eagle Scout wouldn't let our kids sign up because of the issues associated with BSA.
Girl Scouts have a better reputation.

Eagle scout is just another EC.

Old guys with power who set your compensation, endow university fellowships, or approve layoffs like Eagle Scouts. Outsized proportions of POTUSs, military generals, and C-suite of F500 companies attained Eagle Scout.

I mean, you can tell yourself it doesn't matter....but it sort of does. So you do you.

A young woman who has "Eagle Scout" on her resume is going to probably at least get an interview from me. She's definitely an interesting person who's seen some stuff.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I am late to the game but I met a parent who told me to sign up for cub scouts with her kid so the boys can ear badges and become Eagle Scouts and put that on their college applications.. I was a bit shocked that a parent of a 4th grader is planning to do this.. is this a thing? Kids do scouts for college applications? Cub scouts gets you into an Ivy ?
Do kids do anything just for their own interest or love/passion? Or is it only because of what would look good on their applications?

Did you just time travel here from the 18th century? Of course this is a thing! Has been for a long time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here- so Eagle Scouts is a big boost?

In many situations yes. But do you realize how much time and commitment it takes over many years to achieve this?

It’s a boost because of a kid who actually does the work on his own and achieves it has demonstrated discipline, focus, persistence etc. If pushed through/effort done by the parent… it screws with your self worth.

Sounds like the BSA haters are out in force again. Eagle Scout status provides a huge and lifelong benefit that temporarily popular activities do not provide. This is because Eagles are hard workers and contribute to the group goals of employers. When my colleagues and I see a resume of an Eagle it always goes into the "interview" pile. We are not persuaded by resumes from officers of the "ally of the latest and most-popular grievance group" student groups. We do not hire folks who will try to tear us apart from the inside and insist on raises because of their laziness.

Eagle Scouts isn’t compelling on its own. Like others have said, there are so many Eagle Scouts and only so many spots. Student must still have most rigorous course work, and offer something the school needs and wants.

Only a few colleges care about Eagle Scout status. The best school that cares is Ole Miss (University of Mississippi).

Mom of 1 Eagle Scout, 1 Scout, and 1 Scout drop-out here. Scouts has been great for my kids, but as you can see, each has had their own path/level of commitment. I do not believe there is any special consideration in the college admissions process given to Eagle Scouts over other committed extracurriculars.

This has been a thing for a very long time. I think most kids drop out and I don’t think it gave any of the Eagle Scout kids I knew a big boost.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges don’t care if you are an Eagle Scout.

Not to mention that I’ve known five or six Eagle Scouts - and every single one of them has been a weirdo.

You’re vile. Utterly.

My eighty year old dad was always super impressed by seeing Eagle Scout an application or resume. (He also was very swayed by someone being president of their student body.)

I'm not sure many other people care.

Anonymous wrote:I think the whole Eagle Scout thing is something of the past - like '50s-'70s relevant. Now it's just a semi-militaristic joke. Maybe if you want to go into the Army it's a good choice to spend your life on it.

Hogwash. It’s more about being outdoorsy and self sufficient than being militaristic. Tell me you haven’t been near a Boy Scout troop without telling me…

I think Eagle Scout can demonstrate certain traits to college admissions that are also available through other avenues like work history, sports, volunteer organizations, or whatever.

You are looking for:
Dedication over many years
Advancement within that space
Leadership
Personal growth
Community service

Eagle Scout is an independent stamp of all of those at a glance. But it's not the only way to show them! If a child has a particular interest in scouts, that might be the right path. If they have interest elsewhere, they can show those traits there. If the kid is too young to know, enroll them in several options and let them decide when they get to middle school.