<p>That’s a shame, aunt bea.There are so many worthwhile volunteer opportunities for young people. I don’t see why your son stayed in Scouting if he had a Scoutmaster he didn’t respect, hates camping and is with a group of scouts who don’t care for it either, and found the scouting rules difficult and ridiculous.
My daughter quit Girl Scouts after eighth grade because she wasn’t enjoying it for a variety of reasons. She worked on a community helpline for two years and joined an environmental service club, which she found much more personally rewarding.<br>
Kids need to follow their hearts. If something doesn’t feel right they should not be afraid to take a new path.</p>
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<p>What schools? I find it hard to believe that this is the case at the schools my S applied to, for example. I think it would be helpful for people to know which schools are particularly scout-friendly, so to speak.</p>
<p>^ I’m curious where Eagle doesn’t make a whole lot of difference. In a world where most kids just stick with what’s at the hs, this represents a longer commitment and meeting adult expectations. In itself, it’s not a magic key. But presented well, it can sure beat class prez in charge of prom dec or founding the pie club. It’s all in what’s done, how presented and the impact. I’ve seen some where the kid painted park benches- versus others where they took on larger responsibilities, coordinated, managed.</p>
<p>I like Moonchild’s example of how her D quit, but picked up something committed and challenging (and more satisfying,) in its place.</p>
<p>I find that hard to believe as well, Consolation. I can’t imagine the very top schools doing this, as they have so many talented and accomplished students from around the world vying for so few spots.
I cringe when reading a comment like marybee’s above because it encourages people to participate in GS and BS for the purpose of college admissions and not for the fit of the activities or mission of the organizations. It’s one reason young men, like aunt bea’s son, feel they need to stay involved in Scouting long after their interest leaves them.</p>
<p>lookingforward, I find it hard to believe that schools such as the Ivies, the U of C, Carleton, Pomona et al put the Eagles and Gold Awards kids in a separate pile and give them extra consideration, that’s all. For that matter, I doubt that they put the NMFs in a separate pile either.</p>
<p>Not saying that it carries no weight.</p>
<p>Agree. No separate piles, IME. Someone else made the comment advisors said it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference. I find that a generalization. </p>
<p>No separate piles either, for lots of impressive sounding achievements. Holistic.</p>
<p>For the record, I quit GS because they wouldn’t recognize accumulated effort that should have moved me up. Saw it as one of my first stands.</p>
<p>@Studious – I would just list your troop as an organization you belonged to, and leave it at that. Include the many good works and volunteer hours. Whether you were a Life or Star or Eagle is really not particularly important in your case; you have a lot of good to show them so don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. (My oldest was also Life-but-not-Star)</p>
<p>@auntbea – if the Scoutmaster is actually preventing your son from timely advancement, and you have the documentation to prove he’s done everything but not had a Board of Review, take it further up the food chain. Scouting is damaged by SM and ASMs who decide their rules are the only rules. Look up your council in the phone book and find out who is in charge of the district. Hope he’s having fun at Philmont. Mine still wears his belt and gets lots of conversations from other old Scouts about NM.</p>
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Although I sincerely doubt that the top-tier schools “separate” the Gold Award/Eagle Scout applicants for preferential admissions treatment, it’s almost certainly viewed as a “substantial” extracurricular activity that contributes to the strength of an application. </p>
<p>When it comes to discussing the value of the Eagle Scout award in the admissions process, I can only share one data point (my own). I included it on my college applications to all of the top schools…and did very well in the admissions process. I have no idea whether it “made the difference” between acceptance and rejection. For me, scouting was a valuable experience for so many reasons (exposure to community service, leadership experience, teamwork, wilderness experience, confidence, camaraderie) – far more important than its potentially positive effect on college admission.</p>
<p>As an alumni interviewer for a top-tier university, I was happy to ask an interviewee questions about meaningful extracurricular activities…particularly ones that featured community service. It gave me a handle on what motivated the student and how he/she was “wired.”</p>
<p>For the record, I didn’t get involved (or remain involved) with the Boy Scouts in order to pad my college app. Life’s too short to waste time participating in extracurricular activities that one dislikes.</p>
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<p>It makes me a little disappointed to read the OP’s question, though. Perhaps I’m reading too much into it, but the OP seems to imply that all he received/learned from the achievement…wasn’t enough. If the experience was worthwhile, who cares what your friends or a bunch of people on the Internet think?</p>
<p>@lookingforward: Is Life Scout really such a big deal that it would be a travesty to omit it from my applications? If I do leave it on, I’ll certainly add a line explaining why I quit. Also, why would Scouting come up in an interview? It doesn’t seem like a topic that would arise very organically. </p>
<p>@greenbutton: That’s probably what I’ll do. Or something along that line.</p>
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<p>That is just appalling, and I’d eliminate that college as well. Why grill a kid like that, who has obviously been in scouting long term for the reasons that it exists…camping, survival skills, etc. The condescension is unacceptable; if one advocates tolerance, one ought to be tolerant.</p>
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<p>Congratulations. I hope he gets in to his dream school.</p>
<p>(I wish we could just figure out which one IS the dream school! It changes daily!)</p>
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<p>SM - I don’t think that Life Scout is as big a deal as Eagle Scout, for the same reasons that I would not think that a “Brown Belt” in the martial arts is as impressive as a “Black Belt”. Nonetheless, you spent a lot of your HS time in Scouts and it seems logical to me that you would list that time and experience as one of your ECs. I would simply indicate that you were in BS for x years, but I would not say that you were a Life Scout or why you did not proceed get your Eagle. That would be inviting a question from a college interview. You wouldn’t explain that you quit the school newspaper after your junior year because of a disagreement with the editor would you?</p>
<p>My son wrote about his Eagle Scout project on his college apps. Considering his class rank, I think the achievement helped him get into two schools that were a major reach for him. His project was a 300-foot long boardwalk in a local park. It turned out to be a much bigger project than any of us expected! He had to design it, procure town funding, order materials, organize labor (he enticed younger scouts by providing food), and put in a lot of hard work himself. Even the report that he had to write about the project took a lot of thought and organization. (After seeing him accomplish all of that, it’s incomprehensible to me that mental illness would strike him the next year at the age of 19. At this point, he could not even begin to do what he did as a high school student.)</p>
<p>SM, my comment was about the work you did put in. In a structured organization. Up to you, whether you mention Life or not. I just think including Scouts, (unless it pales compared with other activities,) reflects a commitment you had made, something you were involved in, during the period covered in the CA activities section. Presumably, there are some sort of scouting accomplishments to describe. Only you know. </p>
<p>As for the interview “risk,” I don’t see it. Adcoms may have likes and dislikes but they are supposed to moderate them. Some goofy interviewer who challenges a kid, corners him- is off base.</p>
<p>Meepstar-</p>
<p>Don’t know if you are interested in one of the service academies, but if you are, Eagle Scout is a very definite plus. I would advise any student already in scouting who is trying to get an appointment to finish up their Eagle or Gold Star before they apply.</p>
<p>@Hat: Interviewers aren’t given a copy of my application, are they? I was under the impression that most interviewers have only basic information about the applicant and must ask the applicant for a CV if he/she wants to know more. </p>
<p>@lookingforward: Okay, I will probably list it in some fashion. I just need to figure out how best to word everything.</p>
<p>I would like to respond to aunt bea’s post about her son’s unhappiness with his troop. I think it’s important to note that not all troops (or troop leaders) are the same, and that one can change from one troop to another (assuming there are several near you). It’s also important to look at troops carefully when first joining to make sure that it’s a good fit. And this may seem strange, but the troop that seems really good to the parents may not be the best choice. Parents often are impressed by troops where everything is well-organized, the adult leaders are clearly in charge and controlling behavior, uniforms are spit-and-polish, etc. After all, this is what a really good Cub Scout Pack is like. But for a Boy Scout troop, the number one positive trait to look for (in my opinion) is to what extent the boys actually run the troop. A boy-run troop may not have the smoothest operations, from a parent’s point of view, but it creates the best opportunities for boys to learn.</p>
<p>^^^I agree with this 100%.</p>
<h1>1 Son had an interview at a very selective lac known for its very liberal campus. As it turns out Ad com was an Eagle scout himself and had many questions about his project and leadership roles in the troop. One of the most important questions he asked was: “What has your commitment been to the troop since earning your Eagle Scout award and what have you done to further the strength of the troop?”</h1>
<p>Very interesting! Son #2 all most done with his Eagle project. Scouting is very popular in my area. And we are not in a rural area; popular New York Suburb north of the city.</p>
<p>Also, my selective lac uses a point system to evaluate an application. Gold Star/Eagle Scout receives a set amount of points. It makes no difference who the ad com is or who is doing the interviewing.</p>
<p>UMich: *Are some extracurricular activities rated higher than others?</p>
<p>Specific activities don’t count more than others. In other words, the marching band doesn’t get more weight than the soccer team. However, activities that lead to recognition and awards might get special consideration, particularly those that lead to recognition on the state and national level. Being a state champ in debate or becoming an Eagle Scout, for example, represent a special level of achievement and are considerable accomplishments. Also, many of our programs like to see that at least some of a student’s activities are aligned with their academic area of interest.*</p>
<p>We don’t give points for Eagle, but when the work stands out, it has an impact. Some kids don’t use the description lines. Frankly, some had very simple projects. When the stars align, it is good.</p>