Um, no. Spoken as retired military and currently working in the DoD. Do it only if you like it.
Based on your questions and comments , it sounds like it is something that you really do not want to do, so I’d look for something else that you may enjoy doing . Achieving Eagle is a time consuming process. If you don’t feel like you can commit to the level of work involved , don’t pursue it .
@janeausten1 could you please stop spamming threads?
There have been numerous threads on this over the years. Put eagle scout in the forum search function. You may also get some where people list them on results threads.
Thank you for your advice !
You have to have good grades, rigorous classes and test scores, etc, and then extra curriculars to make it to top schools.
It may be that your troop did not have academic super stars as eagle scouts.
It is true that the academic stars usually do debates, model un, olympiads, orchestras, and varsity sports rather than scouting.
However, if you are stellar in academics and like scouting, becoming an eagle scout will be helpful.
The following is from five years ago.
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/15-560-outstanding-high-school-200307
Thank you for your advice!
If you don’t care for your scout troop look for another.
My son loved scouting and made Eagle just before his 17th birthday. He continued to participate weekly in scouting until he turned 18, earning 3 palms. Scouting offered him his first job, tons of volunteer hours, leadership experience, public speaking experience, etc. As a matter of fact he was awarded the Traditions Fellowship at Cornell (which covers some of his loans) because of his work and volunteer experience with the Boy Scouts.
First, the advice to only stay in Scouts and earn Eagle for its own sake (not because it may look good on a resume) is very sound. Do it for you, do it because you want to. Nothing you do just because it looks good turns out to be particularly rewarding or fulfilling.
Now I do believe my D’s GS Gold (and Silver/Bronze) made a difference in her admission to an Elite school–but not because she had a box checked or a line on a resume. But because it showed a long term commitment to something bigger than herself, provided an opportunity for a lot of community service time to a meaningful project with impact she was passionate about (to include continued work after she earned her award). to be trite, it wasn’t the destination that mattered but the journey. And her ability to translate that journey into a meaningful essay that set her apart.
I think that applies to any EC–do what you love, do it the best you can, and then convey that in your applications. Box checking and resume padding is transparent and many times doesn’t deliver the intended results.
I will say, the box check for Eagle/Gold, does make a HUGE difference for the Service Academies.
I will throw this out to regarding essays and service. At admitted student night for same school, on campus, a high ranking dean or assoc dean of admissions goes thru all the test scores/GPA/class rank stats and how large the % of the new class was in the top 1/2/5/10% nationally in all the categories–then says that is not why you got in, we turned away an almost equivalent # of kids who had same type scores/grades/rank. It was your essays, service, etc–the things that set you apart and your ability to convey that. why the school was a good fit for you and more important why you were a good fit for the school–do you add value (value we can’t necessarily find in another) to the campus
I am a current Eagle Scout applying this fall. As many have stated above, earning Eagle Scout is not a “golden ticket” to top schools. Unless you have other solid ECs, excellent esays, and stellar test scores and grades, you can forget about the “non-negotiable” goal of going to a top school. However, earning Eagle Scout does display commitment, service, and leadership, so it is a significant and very solid extracurricular. One of the better ones in my opinion.
@T26E4
I agree. The OP should keep an open mind. I remember having a similar mentality freshman year. I was far smarter than my peers, but by the end of sophomore year I had an enormous revelation: I was a big fish in a small pond. As soon as I looked beyond my school, I realized every school had kids like me, some even better. While its good to be ambitious when it comes colleges, as the time to apply comes closer, the OP should be more realistic and less arrogant. Or else he might be in for a rude awakening.
Do you play a sport? I think Boy Scouts can be a good alternative athletic EC for brainy kids with rigorous academic schedules.
I know two kids who got into Harvard this year from my hometown in Michigan. Scouting is kind of rare here-very liberal town. Both were Eagle Scouts.