<p>My son will be a senior in high school in the fall, so he will be applying to colleges in just a few short months. He was never into sports, which is why he joined the scouts and just recently made Eagle Scout, where he earned tons of community service and leadership experience. Will colleges see that as favorable as an EC? Is it a good substitute for sports? His other ECs include ultimate frisbee and art related clubs. Also, does anyone know if colleges give scholarships for Eagle Scouts?</p>
<p>Substitute for sports? That’s not really how it works…but having your Eagle Scout award is an EXCELLENT thing to put on applications, I’m surprised your son’s scoutmaster didn’t mention it, mine sure did for encouragement. Also, there are definitely scholarships out there for Eagle Scouts, as well as a fraternity with many chapters if he’s looking into that.</p>
<p>Eagle Scout is fantastic for admissions. Shows work ethic and dedication :)</p>
<p>“Substitute for sports”</p>
<p>The reason I worded it that way is because 25 years ago when I went on a college interview, the VERY FIRST question they asked me was, “Why weren’t you in any sports?” Honest to god. I’ll never forget it. As if that’s all they cared about. They didn’t even seem to notice my good grades.</p>
<p>@CareerMom66: These days, sports are always nice but almost never necessary. The only exceptions might be specialized sports management programs or things like that. My college’s admissions, all else being equal, would probably prefer an Eagle Scout over a varsity athlete. But all else is never equal, so that’s a moot point :P</p>
<p>I’m an Eagle Scout myself! It’s definitely something notable on the application and gives a bit of character to the applicant. Althoguh I have to admit, I think that the more selective a school is, the less they will care about the rank. Just my hunch. But for most schools it’s definitely something great.</p>
<p>I’ve interviewed several Eagle Scouts as an alumni interviewer. It’s what you say about it that makes it impressive. Some kids could really demonstrate how it stretched them and shaped their ideas. Some kids just explained the nuts and bolts of the project. It was the first group that impressed me.</p>
<p>I’m an Eagle Scout myself. I would say it was probably my second strongest activity.</p>
<p>My opinion is that it’s probably somewhere around the level of Club President. A nice addition if you were involved in Scouts to begin with, but definitely not worth going out of your way to get, i.e. joining Boy Scouts as a freshman or something.</p>
<p>I lost track of how many threads have been made on this particular subject</p>
<p>Let the search function be your friend.
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<p>I’ll echo most everyone’s post by saying yes. Eagle Scout is ton’s of work and dedication. Although the Scouts is seen(by some) as an oldfashioned institution the work involved to become an eagle scout is definitely relevant. Same thing goes with Black Belts. To some, it may be just a title some people like to have and throw out into conversations to impress but to those with legit Black belts, the amount of work and dedication it took to obtain it is not lost on adcoms; especially if you can somehow articulate in an essay how the process of earning said accomplishments has shape you in some way or another.</p>
<p>Although your child has reached an extraordinary achievement, it all goes for naught if he does not mention it, write about it passionately, or talks about it during an interview. Leadership is essential in Extracurricculars, but having only one major activity isn’t all that great. Think of how many other Eagle scouts there are in the country. Now think about all the kids with better school stats. You want a select few highlights, but having only one will not do it for a top tiered school. Did he have any good positions in frisbee club or the other organizations?</p>
<p>
Compared to the number of people who go through Scouting, not a heck of a lot. Also, leadership is a huge component of getting the award. You have to have a leading role in the troop, not to mention the whole plan and lead your own community service project thing.</p>