U of MN has an Honors program in the College of Science and Engineering which looks for students with high test scores, excellent grades, and challenging coursework. I’m not sure they even look at ECs when considering accepting students into the program. My daughter was in the program and loved it. She is now 24, married, and pursuing a PhD.
Great kid.
Sorry to add this realistic counterpoint, but it may help him narrow down college targets.
No idea what colleges you have in mind. If by “top” college, you mean a holistic most- or highly-competitive (let’s say top 25,) does he have any math/sci ECs? These schools will look for that sort of experience, testing his interest, and especially for engineering, the collaborative mindset certain sorts of activities show. Even “tinkering.”
The problem is the fierce competiton from other kids who seemingly did it all. There will be many great engineering programs that won’t expect this. Others can advise you on those.
It’s not as simple as Eagle vs 20 hs clubs. (And the impact of Eagle depends on his project.) The top colleges will want to see interpersonal/peer skills and other attributes, as well. If he’s a junior now, he could find a way to fine tune. Look at what the colleges say they value and “look for.” This is’t about helter sketer piling on clubs. It’s about reflecting what improves your shot at a “top” college.
Look at the Common App, look at supplements from various colleges he may be thinking of, see what they ask. And see if some have an additional engineering supplement.
Best wishes.
ps. If you’re worried some college may see an issue with “suddenly” signing up, consider how they react to the opposite: not having the right range of ECs that show what they need to see. It’s far risker to assume joining the right things, getting in some comm service, etc, is “padding.” I don’t know why so many assume valid experiences would ever be dismissed.
It’s a long time ago now, but a young woman I know got accepted at HYP–all 3 of them. Her classmates were stunned because as far as they knew, she had very limited ECs. It turned out that her parents spoke very limited English and she had a brother with Down’s syndrome. Taking care of him and helping her parents navigate the system to get appropriate care for him was her principal EC. Very few of her classmates, if any, knew that.They found out when she won a major scholarship for kids from poor families.
Our son was accepted to several “top” universities with exactly one club, one sport, and one EC (Boy Scouts). No college seemed to have a problem with this despite the competition from his rigorous high school. Quality will always trump quantity.
Also, don’t misjudge Scouting as “one” EC when, in reality, it is years and years of many deep ECs: miles of hiking and strenuous physical activity, hundreds of hours of community service, serious outdoor and survival skills, and all the other skill sets acquired in pursuit of the many badges required for Eagle Scout. Depending on the focus and quality of your son’s troop, he should be able to show significant hours and genuine effort in many extra-curricular activities as well as leadership within his troop as he progressed toward the achievement of Eagle. For example, our son did not start a sport until high school, but his troop heavily focused on its outdoor program, and he had earned special awards for hiking (over 500 miles) and swimming (instructor level) which spoke to his athletic ability even though he couldn’t list formal participation in a single team or club sport until high school. It should be pretty easy to mine his Scouting career for ample evidence of significant ECs. Good luck to him; he seems like a fine young man.
I’m on a scholarship committee in my town and we are always impressed by the kid who takes care of his grandmother before and after school or who takes on the homemaking responsibilities because the parent(s) are working. It’s a whole lot harder to do that than work on a yearbook.
Maybe OP will tall us what possible colleges.
IMO, engineering schools are not as holistic as some others. They like specific ECs, and boy scouts is one of them. Daughter’s STEM school gives $2500 to Eagle Scouts/Gold Award recipients, I think because earning those awards shows dedication, following through on projects, organization and other traits an engineer needs.
Taking care of the brother IS an EC.
I do alumni interviews. I had a student that didn’t appear to have many ECs. But we were talking about that…and it turned out that he watched his little brother after school. His parents were getting divorced and he started to notice his brother falling through the cracks. So he started making sure he did his homework, and also signed him up for a baseball league. He took him to practices and games.
So not only did he babysit his brother, he showed leadership in making sure his brother had opportunities and support.
Family Support (9-12 grades, 20 hours/week): Care for significantly disabled brother, including getting him up for school, feeding breakfast and getting dressed and on bus. After school, help him with snacks, recreation and cook dinner. Perform xxxx medical procedures daily.
Eagle Scout IS also a big deal… for people who apply to the Service Academies (e.g., West Point), Eagle Scout is a significant leadership boost…it includes teamwork, service and leadership over a long period of time.
Also have him apply to his Big State U…they will have engineering and will have good scholarships and will mostly admit on GPA/SAT/ACt numbers.
@ChoatieMom He would have to have significant sports involvement as well to really be competitve for a Service Academy.
Most do, @bopper, that is true. But if he is fit and can pass the CFA and has performed well in physical activities over the long haul in Scouts on top of his impressive academic record paired with the character and integrity traits he has shown in caring for his disabled brother, he can demonstrate the fitness, leadership, and teamwork required to be competitive. Our son has roomed with a cadet for the past two years who came to West Point with no team sports participation, but has done very well due to a high level of physical fitness and a resume like the OP’s son. Though sports prowess among cadets is the general rule, the OP’s son appears to be a very attractive exception–and there are exceptions. We just don’t know what shape he’s in or the physical rigor/requirements of his troop; troops vary greatly. If he is fit and has any interest in a service academy, he should be encouraged to apply.
Of course, it’s an EC. Valid and good.
The bigger question is whether a competitive college will find his math-sci experiences (other than classes) sufficient to choose him for their engineering program (whether or not it’s ‘direct admit.’) The more competitive the college is, the more applicants with the right patterns of experience they have. That’s what he’s up against. This isn’t about just filling out the Activities section, showing how your time was spent. Rather, showing them you’re ready, in various ways that specificall relate to stem/engineering.
This goes beyond character.
Posters here likely know of colleges that accept more kids without a background that includes engineering or math-sci ECs. It would be good to share those ideas.
Our son was accepted to the honors program at Georgia Tech without any engineering or math-sci ECs. He was a film kid who rowed, but he was very strong in math. GT does not get the love it deserves as a top-notch engineering school, so it is not as crazy-competitive as similar programs that are more popular here on CC. I would take a look at it, @chaphillmom.
These are not T20 schools but my S was accepted to engineering programs at ohio state, u of Rochester, case western reserve university, and lafayette without a single math or science related EC. All with merit. His ECs were a varsity sport and marching band. Wasn’t in a single high school club.
My engineering D was accepted to Drexel, IIT (full tuition academic scholarship) and a few state schools with no math/science ECs. She was involved in orchestra and art. She decided late junior year to pursue engineering. When she got to college she did not struggle to keep up with her peers who had done robotics and coding and whatever.
If there is not a place for your son at some amazing school, then I despair of the whole system. He will be just fine!
Can you tell us what schools he is considering?
Hi- slow response from me, the OP! 
I’ve been overseas for work and forgot to log in for the last week or so. I really do appreciate the advice and kind words of everyone. To answer some questions that have come up in the comments- he is considering the local university (NC State) as it has a decent engineering program. I think his odds of getting in are good. He has also looked at programs like Georgia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western, Franklin Olin. We’ve talked about long shots like MIT, but he won’t qualify for need-based aid and I’m not sure we would want to pay that kind of college cost, even if he was accepted.
He isn’t interested in a service academy, but will be trying for NROTC. He is quite fit, but I don’t know that I would say he is extremely athletic.
I really like @bopper (s) comment about writing out the family responsibility to make it clear what it entails, similar to a resume description, and @ChoatieMom (s) reminder that Eagle Scout is more than a single EC.
Thanks again to everyone for the ideas for different schools and approaches.