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My high school physics lab partner was an Eagle Scout. He murdered his entire family our senior year.
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<p>Well, there you have it. Proof that being an Eagle Scout is synonymous with being a murderer. I would hardly call that a hook. Hahah - sarcasm everyone.</p>
<p>Being an Eagle Scout has many benefits, some of which are tangible. There are other awards and scholarships that can be earned by being or in pursuit of becomming an Eagle. I know of several awards which I qualified for by my work through scouting. If the military is of interest to him, Eagle scout is an automatic extra rank (or two, depending on which service) for those enlisting. The service Academies also value Eagle Scout as an EC.</p>
<p>Being an Eagle would most likely not be a hook at a selective to ivy leage school. Let's face it, there are quite a few Eagle scouts and a most of them apply to college. It is however a very encompassing EC with a TON of opportunities to branch out into other things (backpacking/camping, community service, leadership, civic involvement, environmental activities/awards, etc). There is also the heritage. Many leaders are eagle scouts. All of the men who landed on the moon were Eagles. It is respectible and fairly well known (especially compared to some programs that are easily as difficult, but not known).</p>
<p>I is not impossible to earn Eagle Scout starting from 8th grade. Both myself and my former roommate did it. However, it is not easy. I wound up turning in the last paperwork 3 days before the cutoff date (my 18th birthday). I joined for the fun of camping. Later, I realized how good of an EC it could be. I finished my Eagle requirements out of a combination of wanting to reach my goal, trying to get a resume point, and the realization that if I just missed getting Eagle I would regret it.</p>
<p>I DO NOT reccomend joining the Boy Scouts just for a resume point, however if it is something that would interest him anyway, GO FOR IT.</p>
<p>I agree that it helps in networking. Man do like to brag about their Eagle Scout award. My own DS has been invloved in scouting since grade 1, and I do hope he will earn his Eagle. Just for his own self esteem.</p>
<p>My son is an Eagle.</p>
<p>OP's friend should be aware that by not starting in Scouts until 8th grade, he would already be behind to earn an Eagle by college application time. Most Scouts go from Webelos to Boy Scouts at the end of 5th grade, and would already have 3 years worth of badges, experience, and hopefully be moving up the rank and leadership ladders. It's not impossible to make Eagle starting as a Scout in 8th grade, but it would be even more difficult than for an average scout.</p>
<p>Eagle is helpful but it's no guarantee of college admission. My son figured it would be his "hook." He went to his first college interview, casually mentioned his upcoming Eagle ceremony, and the interviewer said, "Great! You're the third Eagle I've met this weekend!" So.... Eagle doesn't hurt, but he should only try for it if he really likes camping, hiking, etc. Its too much work if you don't really enjoy it.</p>
<p>An Outside Magazine article years ago suggested Boy Scouts offer the "Bald Eagle" for former scouts who had aged out of scouting and had regrets about not finishing their Eagle. Quite humorous, and the response from reader mail was very much in favor of vitalizing this opportunity. Don't think it was adopted.</p>
<p>I agree with most of the posters here. I don't think that it is a good hook necessarily. My personal experience has been that it doesn't seem to make much of a difference for college admissions. </p>
<p>That being said, one of my classmates who was awarded at the same ceremony I was, joined Scouts simply to earn Eagle Scout for his resume/college application. He joined incredibly late--I think something like the summer before his Junior year--but he managed to blaze through the first couple few ranks easily. He didn't earn Eagle Scout before the college application process, but I think that his experiences at camp outs and summer camps helped him realize the true value of Scouting. He decided to see it through and earn Eagle Scout. My point is that there are many benefits to scouting/putting forth the effort needed to earn Eagle Scout besides the point on a resume. </p>
<p>The worst thing that one can do is rush through scouting at a young age. People who earn Eagle Scout before high school miss out on a lot. </p>
<p>The fact that someone is an Eagle Scout tells you nothing about their character necessarily. Some Eagle Scouts do bad things, but then again so do members of any group.</p>
<p>All you people with opinions, if being an Eagle was, or was not, a hook, how would we know?</p>
<p>It's a good EC. The end.</p>
<p>Interestingly, I went to one scholarship interview (which I recieved) where the interviewer mentioned that he was impressed by OA, but never mentioned Eagle. I thought that was a bit odd, but his comments (he was in OA and an Eagle, IIRC) were clearly based on his experiences.</p>
<p>Eagle scouts are too numerous for Eagle rank to be a hook. On the other hand, as several replies have said, it isn't a walk in the park to become an Eagle scout. That's a great thing to do if your kid likes it, but do it, if at all, because it is meaningful to him. Or do something else that is more meaningful to him.</p>
<p>I would NOT advise starting scouts in 8th grade to become Eagle. I think it works out best if they are pretty much done by 8th or 9th grade....I know of some "Eagle by 14" Troops, and I think that is pretty ridiculous, but by 9th or 10th grade, high school things are going to take up a lot of time.</p>
<p>"One can be a C student and become an eagle scout, BTW."</p>
<p>I think this is a key point. The Eagle rank is not an academic achievement. It says something about perseverance and character, though, which (in my opinion) makes it a very good EC. I would also reiterate something I mentioned on an old thread, about how very selective schools may not see as many Eagles as you might think:
1. First, as I noted, the Eagle rank is not an academic achievement. As a result, a substantial percentage of Eagles are not looking at selective schools in the first place.
2. Many scouts do not earn their Eagle until after college applications are due.
3. Scouting is more popular in rural areas and small towns, and thus the boys are less likely to be looking at highly selective schools.
4. High academic achievers will often choose other ECs. It is difficult (although not impossible) to be a varsity athlete or competitive musician while also earning Eagle rank.</p>
<p>There are about 50,000 Eagle Scouts per year. While those students should feel proud of their achievement, numbers like that will not make Eagle Scout rank a hook for college admissions at all.</p>
<p>It is still a very nice achievement, and many colleges do count how many eagle scouts are in every entering freshman class, and some do publish these numbers in their marketing material. You might find that the eagle scout will receive some community service, or leadership scholarships from a potential school. If that student were not an eagle, perhaps they would be offered some other merit award to attract them, and enticing them to matriculate to that same school.</p>
<p>In our area, some parents who value Scouting highly do not allow their sons to get a driver's license until the Eagle rank is earned. Certainly gets a 16-year-old boy's attention!</p>
<p>raimius:</p>
<p>Totally off topic but - what does one do with a scholarship when they're attending the Air Force Academy? Do you just keep it as cash in your pocket since all of your school expenses are already paid?</p>
<p>My son obtained a very sought after internship in Accounting with a top company where the interviewer asked him several questions about his Eagle Scout award--it seemed to be the one thing that seperated him from many of the other applicants, and he believes it helped him in being selected. I have since heard from another man high in the Business hierarchy that he will always take a double look at applicants with their Eagle award because it says a lot about that individual and their work ethic. So, maybe it doesn't help too much as far as college admissions, but it may mean much more out in the real world.</p>
<p>Ivy? Really, there is more to it than a BSA title.</p>
<p>I asked my alma mater's admission's director about the effect of Eagle -- 5% of the review he said. "And, would that include other EC's?" I followed up. No more than 15% for EC's.</p>
<p>Each school has their own formula. But, I still believe that Ivy schools are so inundated with the applications, that they have to weed a first group with ease (and there are some easy admits as well) -- and those are probably bad grades or SAT's/ACT's or both. </p>
<p>By the time they get to the BSA item, I am sure it has little to do with admission formula.</p>
<p>For cold steel-like formula for Ivies, go to: <a href="http://hernandezcollegeconsulting.com/resources/calculator.html%5B/url%5D">http://hernandezcollegeconsulting.com/resources/calculator.html</a></p>
<p>I'm quite sure the Ivy League colleges don't use a formula for admission in the sense indicated here.</p>
<p>Gotta like camping to enjoy Boy Scouts. If the boy enjoys it then there is no reason not to join scouts in 8th grade, especially since he has no other ECs. He can easily make Eagle by age 18. However, if he doesn't like camping then he should wait until high school because usually there are lots of opportunities for ECs in high school.</p>
<p>With regard to the comments about getting Eagle before high school... We turn out quite a few Eagles in our 60 boy troop every year and while all of the Eagles perservered to get through all the badges and worked hard on the Eagle project, I think that those few who truly took on the leadership of the troop and made scouting a part of their high school experience got the most out of it. We had several who blew through by age 15 (and we have a 12 year old right now who is a Life scout, using patrol leader to move from 1st to Star at age 11, and den chief to move from Star to Life just recently). However, leadership at age 12 is not the same as leadership at age 16, and it is the process of years of leadership that develops skills. The ones who make Eagle early and then drop out are missing out on the extra years of training. Personally, I think BSA should change the leadership requirements to a year for each rank.</p>