<p>Reminds me of a discussion that I had with my D when she was little: “He’s a boy and he’s your friend. So he must be your boyfriend. (Howls of protest from her!)” LOL!</p>
<p>Ask someone in Irving Baelor, then please report back here who you asked and what their answer is. That will end this.</p>
<p>Baelor: I am putting my head in the lion’s mouth, but why so angry?</p>
<p>I worked in the field of child sexual assault and by far the greatest sexual abuse of children is girls by heterosexual males. I know the media doesn’t make it look like this, but it’s true.</p>
<p>My S point blank refused to participate in a group he considered homophobic and bigoted. He has always been an atheist.</p>
<p>As a more mature person, I can acknowledge the Scouts for the good they do, be happy for the young men who have benefitted, and see that attaining Eagle Scout is an accomplishment to be noted, although it is not a hook.</p>
<p>As for a “quantifiable achievement” my S’s many hours practicing the violin are all that allowed him to even compete for All-State (which he did not make; many violinists in NY.) He did make all county and it is obvious how many hours had to go into that. But violinists are also appreciated in med school to become surgeons.</p>
<p>I would not participate in any organization that did not welcome gay youth. (No, S isn’t gay, though he said many people thought so just because he carried a violin case around.)</p>
<p>Here on LI we don’t even know any scouts. I think regions do make a strong difference here. I’m sure there are some, but not among either of my kids’ friends. BSA are prohibited from using school buildings for their meetings because of discriminatory policies and there were several law suits dealing with that. It’s not just the anti-gay policies. The non-establishment clauses of the Constitution in terms of religion were used in law suits. BSA chooses to keep their religious (here I agree with Baelor) requirements etc. rather than use public spaces as is its right.</p>
<p>I have had 4 children do the college applications, so I have seen a fair amount of" hooks".One of my sons had a 4.0 at a private school ,dad graduated from Harvard ,and danced for 9 years at New York City Ballet School ,the Harvard of ballet schools (you audition to get in)and planned to participate in the Ballet Club at Harvard ,where there are few classicially trained male dancers .We were sure this skill would get him in,yet he was waitlisted.Even with solid academics ,it’s hard to know what’s a “sure thing”.There are alot more Eagle Scouts than male ballet dancers .I am glad he spent those 9 years at ballet,as that has given him a great pride and confidence he will use for the rest of his life.He went to Tufts and he is living on his own now,with a job and shared apartment in NY (we don’t subsidize him any longer }so it all worked out.Ironically ,his sister is attending Harvard this fall without any real hook !! I think demonstrating a passion for living and intellectual curiosity are more important.</p>
<p>^^^I thiink legacy is technically a hook. Maybe a “tip factor”</p>
<p>I think the OP wasn’t using “hook” in the technical sense. They were just asking if the award is worth putting on the application. I think, with a few detours, this thread has pretty much covered every angle of that.</p>
<p>After all, the OP appears to me to be a kid with very few posts on the site. Not necessarily an admissions terminology expert. But he sure stirred up a lot of pages of commentary.</p>
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<p>The only sure thing is that isn’t any sure thing…</p>
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<p>There’s no anger; there never was. I love the BSA. I do not get angry very easily.</p>
<p>If you want to see me angry, I can let you know how. But you probably wouldn’t like it very much, especially if you think my posts right now indicate anger.</p>
<p>As I think I said, way back in the thread, being an Eagle Scout by itself is not going to be a hook for a highly selective college. Lots of boys who are not top students become Eagles, if they are willing to put in the necessary work and show the necessary leadership. The skills they learn will help them in life whether they go to college or not. But if a boy is a top student and an Eagle Scout, I think that will help him with some colleges, at least if the admissions officers understand what it’s all about.</p>
<p>As for the debate over whether BSA is a “religious organization”…well, it’s kind of a semantic argument that’s a bit pointless. The bottom line, on which I think everybody agrees, is that BSA has certain religious requirements which result in the exclusion of some people. These requirements are legal, because BSA is a private organization–but they caused BSA to move out of public entities like schools because of this issue. BSA isn’t a church, but it isn’t entirely secular, either.</p>
<p>All this about the technicalities is very interesting, but the question comes down to - is it helpful in admissions or not? I would think it depends highly on the admissions personnel. Someone who grew up in the city and has never seen a tree probably thinks scouting is pretty hicksville, while someone who grew up in the forests of Pennsylvania can totally relate. People with political agendas might feel the need to kick the organization and all it’s members to the curb, in an intolerant statement against intolerance, while those who realize the organization is not the complete definition of its members might see past the agenda.</p>
<p>I’ll throw in my $.02.</p>
<p>I am a boy scout soon to be eagle scout. I am not expecting it to get me into harvard while I flunk out of school and bomb the ACT. However I feel that it specifically shows some of my main passions (outdoors and leadership) together and that this can’t hurt. And it complements activities where I am leading or where I am outdoors.</p>
<p>I expect it to help some. Its a comunity service leadership project. I think colleges dig that sort of stuff. :)</p>
<p>All in all the project, like anything else, shouldn’t be done for the app but I think it helps some</p>
<p>I think people get to worked up about the religious and sexuality aspects but thats another thread. (I know they are important issues but…)</p>
<p>It certainly has the potential to be a very strong attribute if the scout makes himself stand out from the other Eagle scouts (i.e. get something ridiculous like 100+ merit badges, have a beyond amazing Eagle project etc.) but sadly, nothing other than perhaps a 50 million dollar gift is a true hook.</p>
<p>Also, in my experiences, scouting was not particularly religious. There were no requirements to Eagle that demanded religion. Many troops have mildly religious policies (i.e. saying a prayer at the end of the meetings/outings) but really, the only religion it doesn’t promote is atheism. And in that case, we could all just be religiously tolerant, and let our minds wander as the other religions say their prayers.
And for sexuality… well I didn’t know any gay kids in my time as a scout. So I was completely unaware of the don’t ask don’t tell policy they had until i read it in the newspaper.</p>
<p>DS made his Eagle review tonight and is now unofficially approved as an Eagle Scout. All that’s left is the formal paperwork. He’s tickled to have reached a higher rank than his father.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your family! I’m sure your husband is pretty tickled, and proud, as well!</p>
<p>Congrats!! This is a great accomplishment!</p>
<p>Congratulations on making Eagle! </p>
<p>I used to tell my son that it’s a “hook” <a href=“his%20father%20would%20kid%20me%20about%20saying%20that”>i</a>* and friends used to say it adds “200 points to the SAT score” <a href=“that%20would%20make%20it%20over%202400!”>i</a>. My son did make it <a href=“and%20did%20great%20into%20a%20great%20college”>i</a>, and it was really a testament to our Troop and the younger scouts who looked up to him. Scouting really is a great experience and it’s really too bad it’s gotten a bad rap <a href=“and%20an%20old-fashioned%20attitude”>i</a>.* But the core of what it’s really all about is just good, healthy fun and helping kids experience opportunities for leadership.</p>
<p>Does very little. </p>
<p>The problem with it is, while reaching the Eagle level is not exactly easy, it does not require any special “skills” that make you standout. Hundreds/Thousands of people reach Eagle every year. You’re better of devoting your time to something else that can generate true rewards/skills… I am not by any means saying reaching Eagle Scout does not require skills or dedication, it just simply isn’t a rare accomplishment that will boost your app much, if at all.</p>
<p>Congratulations! This is a multi-generational national validation of what his peers, parents, teachers, scouters and other adults already knew about your son.</p>
<p>What do they expect you to be able to do if your in high school? Like they expect you to be the best at everything. Hmmm. There can only be so many team captains. Isnt just doing things enough?</p>
<p>Bleedblue, I’m not quite sure what you are getting at. Yes, colleges look for accomplishments. Earning Eagle means the person was able to complete many disparate tasks. Surely, this is a good thing! It also requires commitment and leadership experience. It is not an “end all, be all” or a “hook,” but it is a serious accomplishment. I was awarded a $65,000 scholarship. During the final interview, the first thing the interviewer mentioned as being impressive was scouting related (Order of the Arrow). (I did have very solid academic scores, but that was mentioned later as an “above average for applicants” type thing.) I don’t know if that was the tipping factor, but the interviewer spent a decent amount of the interview talking about scouting.</p>
<p>It might not compare with starting a Fortune 500 company, but how high do you think admissions’ expectations really are?</p>
<p>bleed: Isn’t this enough?
My son enjoyed his scouting experience because he just did. He wasn’t looking to get anything “out of it”. Making Eagle wasn’t such a big deal to him, but being involved in scouting was.</p>