<p>Well I'm an Eagle Scout, 5 years in Boy Scouts. If any of you know anything about it, then you would know that Boy Scouts particiaptes in MANY service projects...but I've never kept track of these projects (probably like 200+ hours, my Eagle Project was about 10 hrs and I've been to over 10 Eagle Projects). Rather than trying to list all of these, how should I show it? I mean, I can't say "various service projects" and try to determine the amount of hours I particiapted...I'm planning to put "Eagle Scout" under awards and writing abt my Eagle Project for one of my essays. </p>
<p>Will colleges automatically assume or know what it takes to become Eagle? And there are so many sub-awards within Boy Scouts and I dunno how to show them this. 5 years of commitment to Boy Scouts, in my opinion, should NOT amount to just simply listing "Eagle Scout."</p>
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I mean, I can't say "various service projects" and try to determine the amount of hours I particiapted.
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<p>why not? It's what I did for Key Club. Write the name of the organization and try to determine number of hours and as a description "various service projects"</p>
<p>It's not like you're the first college applicant to be an eagle scout. Admissions reps are aware of the different types of scouts and determine their importance accordingly. If you feel like elaborating on your activities, just write it down in the additional information section of your college app, it can't hurt you.</p>
<p>Definitely. If you can incorporate the Scouts in an essay and stress its importance to you, you'll be set. If they essays don't work out, the Additional Information section is definitely the place to put that information. Nevertheless, it would be a good idea to stress your major accomplishments as a Scout.</p>
<p>I have a hard time believing your Eagle project only took you ten hours. Are you including all the planning, the contacting, the prep and the managing of the scouts helping you? I think my son spent about 75 hours on his project, at least. But then he had a fairly ambitious one and had about 35 other scouts participating in a two-day refurbishing project. Most of the time, however was the planning and working with the organization he did the project for.</p>
<p>And theoneo - don't be so sweeping with your judgement there. Many, if not most, scouts these days don't agree with the National Orgs. position on gay members - they are from a different generation, and have much more open views. It's sort of like the military in that regard -gay members do exist, but they won't advertise the fact.
Also, where did you get the idea that colleges would hold gayness against you? That is not true at all. It's more likely that they would hold anti-gay views against you.</p>
<p>Actually, carrying out the project itself took over 10 hours. The planning, approval, writing, took FOREVER. My scoutmaster was anal about my write-ups and descriptions. And my project was throughout a course of 5 days scattered throughout a week. I had to refurbish 4 6'x15' (or bigger) wooden doors with water damage, discoloration, etc. And I gotta say that my project was pretty hard. I had to research wood-refurbishing methods and find the right tint for the color, chemical finish remover, finish, etc.</p>
<p>In other words, my project took longer than 10 hours. :)</p>
<p>Theoneo:
That was a bit out of place. You should have thought about commenting before actualyl posting. :/ I was asking for geniune help.</p>
<p>Did you already apply or are you applying next year? What my son did was a separate EC package for Boy Scouts. He wrote up a scouting resume listing the sequence of his positions and ranks plus awards (just major ones, not every merit badge). He included a letter of recommendation from his scout master, who also happened to have a PhD from a major university, and a magazine article on a community service event that he organized as part of his Eagle project. And he wrote his "favorite EC/activity" short essay on scouting, so it made a complete package.
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<p>...which is basically what I did for my applications, and I think it definitely gave me a big boost.</p>
<p>beastmaster, being a Life Scout is impressive, but it doesn't have quite the same "wow" factor (kinda "so close, yet so far"). Only 4% of all Boy Scouts achive Eagle status, after all. Anyway, what you do with BS is just as important as rank, I think. Many peripheral ecs can come from Boy Scouts- OA, camp counselor, leadership positions, etc.</p>
<p>So admission officers generally know what it takes to become an Eagle scout? Also, I was wondering if they know all the requirements for Eagle. There are certain leadership requirements and time requirements to hold positions, etc. There's just so much to go through Boy Scouts and I'm glad that I did...wondering if admissions realize it too.</p>
<p>I think they do realize it. My personal view is that a boy who earns eagle as a 16-17 year old, after seveal years in scouting has learned more and has given back more than the 13 year old who races through their ranks and merit badges with a pushy parent behind them, and then drops out of scouting after acheiving his personal goal. Very few 13 year olds have the maturity that I associate with a true Eagle Scout, but unfortunately some troops do allow and even encourage this. At such a young age, it seems unlikey that the scout actually does the work himself - and even if they do the badge work, they don't have the maturity to demonstrate the kind of leadership and committment you see in a 16-17 year old. So, congratulations to you for finishing your project and attaining Eagle in high school. Even if it doesn't make any difference in your college acceptances, you can bet that the benefit to your character will last a lifetime.</p>
<p>Thanks for the words of encouragement A.S.A.P. and I agree that some troops have been producing premature Eagles, which is why my Scoutmaster began changing all the policies in our troop. He has the last say whether you achieve a higher rank or hold a position. He also will not let a Scout get Eagle before 16 or if he thinks he's not ready.</p>
<p>I HATE troops that push Scouts through ranks ("merit badge workshops," etc.). There's a lot of troops I know of that force their Scouts to have 1st class in one year, which I think is absurd.</p>
<p>My bet is the biggest obstacle your Scoutmaster will face in trying to keep the level of maturity high for Eagles is the parents. I really feel sorry for some of the kids whose parents think scouting is all about advancement, and not about having fun, learning skills, and developing camaraderie with other boys. Unfortunately, because Eagles are seen as a help in college admissions, too many parents are pushing their kids primarily for this reason. Since high schoolers are very difficult to "push", if a boy earns his Eagle at 16 or older, it's usually because he's doing it for himself.</p>
<p>being an eagle scout myself, no offense to anyone but the scouts in my troop are plain messed up and odd. boy scouts is all they do. they usually dont have a social life and their parents sign them up for scouts to keep them busy during the week (with advancement, leadership, etc...). just wanted to point that out and that doesnt mean ur messed up.</p>
<p>Yes, there are plenty of those whose parents forced them into it. In my experience, though, those kids seldom reach Eagle. Anyway, most troops are a fairly close-knit group. As a matter of fact, BS as a whole tends to bring people even from different troops together (camporees, summer camp, OA, etc.); it's always cool to meet another Eagle Scout.</p>
<p>as an eagle scout myself, it is surprising to me that your project only took 10 hours. my district required 100 hours at least, but then again, i'm talking about buying supplies and planning as well. stress it as much as possible, but don't expect too much.</p>
<p>the truth is that colleges pretend to care about leadership and eagle rank is the ultimate in leadership achievements, but it didn't get me to where i wanted to go really. i had about average stats for places like cornell and columbia, but they still rejected me, even as an eagle. </p>
<p>although less than 1% of all scouts end up reaching eagle, colleges are more interested in how well you can throw a football and who your mommy and daddy are.</p>
<p>I hope being an Eagle will help me (when I get it--I finished my project and just need to do the paperwork :(). I know it is not a huge boost, but it is a good EC/award that shows exactly what many colleges are looking for.</p>
<p>Becoming an Eagle is a huge accomplishment and will enhace your application. Unfortunalty, now-in-days, many students achieve Eagle for all of the WRONG reasons. I know of MANY scouts whose parents have pushed them through or only did it because it "looks good on a college application." I cannot speak for an admissions officer, but I believe being an Eagle will help you application- though to what degree I cannot say. I myself am a Life Scout and for me there are too many other things happening in my life to worry about Eagle.</p>