<p>How is being a Girls Scout viewed in admissions, paticularly to Ivy League schools? Now, don't say that it's bad choosing an EC because of what colleges think. I want to be a Girls Scout, I just want to know how colleges will look at that. Also, what if I receive a Gold Award, the highest honor, would that be considered a strong EC and accomplishment?</p>
<p>I have been a girl scout since I was 5 years old and I'm now in my last year as a junior (I'm 16 now). I have earned to Bronze, Silver and Gold Award but it took me a year to prepare for the Gold Award (last year) and then the first half of this year to complete it.
The Gold Award is a wonderful accomplishment but I'm guessing many Ivy League bound people earn their Gold Awards and Eagle Scout Awards. I can't say for sure though. I don't know how it would look to join your junior year though. It might look like you rushed to do something at the last minute.</p>
<p>S is an Eagle Scout - he actually finished the project paperwork during the admissions cycle but was at least able to say it was pending on the ED apps. I don't know how admissions offices view it - it cannot hurt, assuming GPA and SAT/ACT scores are sufficient. Some schools (I know the service academies, Texas A&M) view recipients of these awards quite highly. For any highly-selective school, I would hope they value it and it's at least a tie-breaker when they make their admission decisions.</p>
<p>If you are already in HS, completing all the requirements may be tough. It will take a great deal of commitment and effort, and if you want it, I say go for it. It isn't impossible, our troop had a Scout who joined in late MS/early HS and completed his Eagle just before he aged-out.</p>
<p>I will say as a Scouter and as an adult that anyone with a BSA Eagle Scout or GS Gold Award gets my respect and attention. (this includes resumes/job applications.) It's one of the few things I believe a teen can accomplish that is truly meaningful post-high school.</p>
<p>The work that you need to do to get a Gold Award or become an Eagle Scout is what helps during the admissions process. You are independently planning, organizing, implementing a major community service project, working with city or state bureacracy if there are permits involved, showing your leadership skills. You could do this without it being a scout project, but scouting gives a nice "structure" to the project. I think that the planning and carrying out the project - and the many hours of community service involved - help more than the Gold Award notation. The Eagle Scout notation itself may help - people are more familiar with Eagle Scouts.</p>
<p>A girl could join Girl Scouting at the beginning of her junior year of high school and finish the prerequisites for a Gold Award and then finish the Gold Award project by the September 30 after her senior year if she worked very hard on it. You would want to be sure to have the Gold Award project approved by your committee by the fall of your senior year, so you can describe an approved Gold Award project currently in progress when you are applying to colleges. It is nice that the Girl Scouts give you to the end of the GS program year to finish. (til the Sept 30 after your senior year - no worries if you have already turned 18)</p>
<p>A boy can't join Boy Scouting late and become an Eagle Scout. In Boy Scouting, you must earn earlier awards to ultimately become an Eagle Scout. In Girl Scouting, it is not necessary to have done a Bronze or Silver award as a 4th-6th grader or a 7th to 8th grader. Each award is self contained. You need the Career Award and the Leadership Award and a number of badges (interest projects), etc., before you can start on your Gold Award, but all of the prerequisites could be done during one year if you really put your mind to it.</p>
<p>My daughter did earn her Bronze and Silver before her Gold, and I think that's a good way to do it - I am just describing what is possible to do.</p>
<p>MidwestMom2Kids_, what about someone who is ready to finish her junior year? Could I join now and, if I worked very hard on it, could I finish my service project by the end of my senior year? What assitance does Girl Scouts provide when the girls are doing their service projects? Also, if you have a service project in mind, can you propose it now or do you have to wait until the fall?</p>
<p>Thank you for the help, by the way.</p>
<p>Olive_Tree: Yes earning the Gold Award can be done in one year's time. My daughter pretty much did just that except she had previously completed the 3 IPP's that you earn during Step 2. She did those earlier since she actually decided to "Go for the Gold" during her freshman year, but got busy and didn't get to work on the Gold until her senior year. Another girl, who was the guest speaker at the Council Gold Award Ceremony where my daughter rec'd her Gold Award, did complete the Gold Award entirely during her senior year. Texas A&M University was so impressed with the leadership and community service this girl had shown while she was working on the Gold Award, that they actually awarded her a 4 year full-ride scholarship while she was still working on her Gold Award Project. This is a rare occurrence, but my daughter has rec'd 3 scholarships based on her Gold Award experience. So I say go for it! Just know that you will need to be committed in order to complete it. Also, be sure & tell your Girl Scout representative right away what you want to accomplish so you will get their help immediately. You will need to complete a Girl Scout Gold Award Orientation of some sort that your Council will require. This will give you the training you need to do the Gold. Good luck!</p>
<p>You don't need to be a Girl Scout to do projects like these, and what college wouldn't want to consider Jenna, Shanna, Kristen, Kristin or Kaylee?<br>
2008</a> National Honorees</p>
<p>Sorry to bring this post up, but I wanted to know more about this. I’m a sophomore right now and I want to plan a community service project, and I just thought that doing it through the Girl Scouts working for the Gold Award would make it easier on me and give it more of a structure. Is it a bad idea to join now, as a sophomore about to finish 10th grade? What other time commitments will be required of me as a Girl Scout if I join now, is it just the Gold Award?</p>
<p>I think the value of the Eagle/Gold Award has diminished significantly in the last decade or two. </p>
<p>It is definitely a plus on the application - something like 98% of kids in Scouts don’t get to the highest level. However, it won’t make you stick out and it is in no way a hook.</p>
<p>i’ve heard that it actually does give you a boost.
i wouldn’t say it would make up for a major weakness in your app but it would certainly give you the boost over a slightly lesser qualified candidate.</p>
<p>the thing is though if you’re just joining now it doesn’t show commitment so it doesn’t hold as much weight as it could.</p>
<p>on the other hand there are some BIG scholarships you can get for this award if thats important to you.</p>
<p>So what if I wasn’t a Girl Scout and didn’t get a Girl Scout Gold Award, but I made a successful Gold Award-worthy project on my own? Would that still be as impressive as a Gold Award and would I get scholarships for that?</p>
<p>With all the hundreds of thousands of applicants for college admission, I hate to say it, but being a Girl Scout isn’t going to help you a bit. A lot of people think it will, but that’s really not so. Same holds true of cheerleaders, perhaps more so. Anyone can be a cheerleader, it’s just an extra-curricular activity. It doesn’t mean anything on a college application.</p>
<p>Yeah, I can’t imagine being a Girl Scout is all that helpful for admissions. It’s obviously not a bad thing to do, but I think it’s probably unlikely to give you much of a boost.</p>
<p>i dont kno if there are specific scholarships out there for just any project.</p>
<p>it’s what you do that counts not what your “title” is. that said girl scouts can give you the opportunity to contribute to a lot of community service so it’s helpful in that respect.</p>
<p>My eldest (in fact all 3 of my daughters) has been a Girl Scout since Kindergarten and she has earned the Bronze, the Silver and the Gold. The last being while she was away at boarding school and the project was here in her home town. I certainly hope that the extreme organization that went into planning and running a project from 100 miles away is not lost of the colleges. She also completed it in less than a year, as the deadline for scholarships was 11/30. </p>
<p>In fact one of her college essays is what it means to be a Girl Scout beyond cookies and Brownies, as her other friends dropped out. I am not sure that joining the girl Scouts to complete a Gold Award is as well looked upon as someone who has clearly dedicated her life to the organization, but it still shows the effort put forth to earning it.</p>