<p>A colleague's son is in 8th grade and was told to join the scouts become an Eagle Scout . boast his chances for ivy school admissions. Is Eagle Scout the latest admissions hook? Is it that easy to become an Eagle Scout (I thought it took years)?</p>
<p>You don't "become" an Eagle Scout.. you earn the award (or at least you're supposed to earn it). And it's not something you should do for the award either.</p>
<p>It is not easy to become an Eagle Scout. It would be a dumb move to become an Eagle Scout purely to boost college admissions chances.</p>
<p>Places like Ivies get applications from thousands of high stat Eagle Scouts, so no, being an Eagle Scout will not guarantee admission to an Ivy. Yes, some Ivy students are Eagle Scouts just like some Ivy students are valedictorians or have 2400 SAT scores. However none of those things guarantees Ivy admissions.</p>
<p>I understand ..I think. Im only relating something I was told, which seemed strange. I have Ds and know nothing about scouting or the Eagle Scout. I assumed it took years to earn, but this kid (v good student w/o other meaningful ECs), was told it would greatly increase his chances for admission into selective schools.</p>
<p>I know a lot of Eagle Scouts. Their admit/reject patterns were really very similar to those of their friends who did not join scouts at all or had never completed the Eagle.</p>
<p>I thinking Boy Scouts is great, by the way. My son's troop was fantastic, and his experiences were a very important part of his life for all of the middle/junior/high school years. But I would dissuade anyone from joining just to get another feather in the cap for college applications. For starters, being an active member of an active troop makes it very difficult to do a lot of the other activities kids do in order to pad their resumes. Do it for personal growth, friendship and fun, or don't do it at all.</p>
<p>Ah, the power of undying tales and myths. :)</p>
<p>Just to give you a barameter. Our S is an Eagle with Gold Palm and everything from Class officer to the congressional record. Very strong (others call it killer) Resume, nearly a 4.0 u/w Full IB 2150 on one sitting of SAT.</p>
<p>He is not applying to ANY Ivy schools because he is a middle class kid with no athletic hooks, legacy or other things that make him a given. He is applying to some very selective schools but we don't consider him a shoe in. </p>
<p>He started cub scouts in first grade and move to Boy Scouts in 5th Grade. Made Eagle in 10th after a two year Eagle project. Frankly I can't imagine starting Scouts in 8th grade with an eye toward Eagle. It isn't diffiucult but it is time consuming and there is no way he would have had the same high school experience if hadn't started before middle school.</p>
<p>On the other hand, a bunch of my s fellow eagles were doing some college tours together. I ran across an Admission Dean for one of the schools we were to tour and told her I was bringing a bunch of Eagle Scouts to her campus. She gave me her business card, wrote her nickname on it and told me to call to let her know when we were coming so she would meet with us personally. She was prepared/eager to do some nice things during their visit.</p>
<p>This was a selective University not Ivy or Very Selective. So being an Eagle Scout does look good, but it won't muscle you into Yale or Stanford.</p>
<p>S was an Eagle Scout and while it shows leadership and can only help improve an application, I wouldn't call it a hook by any means. I do have a friend who has sent several kids to medical school and she said one of our state med schools only wants to know two things about your high school record - class rank (particularly helps if you were val/sal) and if you were an Eagle Scout or received GS Gold Star. Again, that's a state medical school, not an Ivy. The benefit of one of these ranks in Scouting, IMO, is that it requires substantial persistance to earn it. I believe the stats are that something like only 2% of Boy Scouts earn Eagle. If you can show that level of persistance for scouting, you are probably going to be impressive in other areas as well.</p>
<p>This will not answer your questions, but I have heard during an Eagle Court of Honor that only 2% of boys that ever start in scouting become Eagles and on the other hand 90% of man that are in leadership positions (CEO, congressman and so on) are Eagle Scouts.</p>
<p>Both of my Ds have their GS Gold awards (similar to Eagle) so I raised a similar question to an adcom from Berkeley. The adcom said it's definitely a plus to be considered on the app. I agree with 2vu0609 though that it's a plus but not a 'hook'.</p>
<p>I only wish!</p>
<p>Scouting, especially to the Eagle level, or extensive experience in OA, is a good, solid, EC, particularly for the student who can demonstrate a passion for something they did in scouting - through an essay, interview or recommendation. I don't think an active Scout with Eagle status and OA membership needs many more ECs, especially if they do a lot of camping and really enjoy the community service aspect of Scouting - because that kind of involvement covers so many bases - leadership, community service, etc. That does not make it a hook, just a good, solid EC.</p>
<p>After a few years of observing this mania, I think the only true "hooks" are recruitable athletics (and that only works if the schools that YOU want attend actually want you for athletics enough to truly recruit you), money (as in lots of it, development level bucks), and URM status combined with solid academic achievement. Everything else, even those national level ECs that everyone seems to have, I think just piques the interest of the admissions folks, gives them that little 2 sentence blurb they need for each to student in order to prove they are building a class of many very different individuals.</p>
<p>In my opinion it helps, but only somewhat. It will never be a substitute for an excellent transcript. One can be a C student and become an eagle scout, BTW. I believe it is just as good an EC as a student who played a sport for 4 years (not discussing recruited athletes). Some schools (not talking about Ivies, but just good colleges) do list the number of eagle scouts in each freshman class. Another advantage of becoming an eagle scout is that this award can only be earned before age 18, but some people place it on their resume for a lifetime. There are many employers who would prefer to hire an eagle scout.</p>
<p>I liked cangel's way of contextualizing this: it's basically one of those ECs that also has the possibility of award/recognition built in (like being in district or all-state orchestra; a regional drama competition, etc.). But it's basically a regional-level achievement, not a national or even state-level honor. Scouting can be a wonderful experience, but you'd be crazy to do it for resume enhancement.</p>
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Ah, the power of undying tales and myths.
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<p>xiggi, in some part of the country, in some endeavors, and among a crowd of a certain age, being an Eagle Scout does get one some extra attention. That is no doubt the reason for the lingering "myth".</p>
<p>Last year my son had an eye injury, related to a scout camping trip. The resident opthamologist who treated my son told him that he got his residency largely because he is an Eagle Scout. The supervising physician said he chose him for an interview because he thought being an Eagle said a lot about him.</p>
<p>But I still saw no evidence last year that being an Eagle Scout was a significant help for admission to elite schools.</p>
<p>When my physician husband typed his CV after residency, the only achievement from high school that made the cut (and he had many) was his Eagle Scout rank. Our 13 yo is on his way, but he would not be able to work toward Eagle if he were in a club sport, or other activity with high time requirements. It's a worthwhile and respected goal. But a hook? May depend entirely on the background of the person reading the application.</p>
<p>My son also is an Eagle. He loved scouting and spent his summers backpacking. His essay was about being in a thunderstorm at 11,000 feet while backpacking. He attends a competitive school, but not super competitive. He did get a nice merit award from them and the Eagle may have been a factor in that as he didn't have anything super outstanding on his application. </p>
<p>For those interested in applying for a military academy, having the Eagle will give you an automatic bump in rank upon admission. I also have heard that it helps in networking. Guys who are in hiring positions and are Eagles will often always interview applicants who have it.</p>
<p>Midmo, I agree that many view Eagle Scouts very positively, and rightfully so. The question about its value for college admissions is also easily answered by the circumstances how one starts the quest towards becoming an Eagle Scout. Isn't it all about the journey and not the destination?</p>
<p>My high school physics lab partner was an Eagle Scout. He murdered his entire family our senior year.</p>
<p>It's hard to separate the reasons why someone was "chosen" or not. There are plenty of stellar Eagle scout applicants that also have many other outstanding qualities. There are many stories of "I was hired/admitted because of this or that" but it doesn't mean that is a hook. How do you know they wouldn't have been hired/admitted anyway, because of some other compelling reason?</p>
<p>Honest to God truth: I was hired for my first professional job; later on, my boss told me the main reason he wanted me for the job was because of my "work experience" while in college. ... I basically slopped beer and wine in a campus watering hole. </p>
<p>I'm not comparing the two (Eagle scout and bargirl), but my point is- would I have been offered jobs without the bar experience? Probably.</p>
<p>I so agree with Midmo. A former friend was an Eagle, He stayed active in camping and environmental issues. He became head of public health in his state. He was never packaged; his interest was integral to his identity.</p>
<p>In my area, I never met a boyscount.</p>