WiredLocke

Does being an eagle scout have any weight with being accepted? I am planning on applying early decision. Thanks!

vonlost

Eagle and Gold awards are significant ECs at most schools.

TopTier

Virtually every applicant will have excelled in one -- or more -- relevant ECs. Scouting is great, but taken alone, it certainly does not differentiate you from the other 30,000+ admissions candidates.

SBR

I wouldn't put it so definitively as the posts above though I do agree with both of their sentiments.

Eagle scout is a significant EC in that by itself it shows dedication, community service, and time commitment. However, it's important to also realize that many applicants (certainly more than can be admitted by Duke) will have one or more significant ECs where they have excelled and won accolades. I believe one of the differentiators can be your current and continuing level of passion and commitment. I think that colleges like to see ECs which define you as a person and which you don't just plan to drop as soon as you get to college or even get in to college. If you can present your Eagle scout as a manifestation of something that is a part of your character or goals or continuing interests such as community service or adventurism or passion for nature or however you can describe it, then it'll look much better and be a more integral part of your application.

In short, don't think of it as a standalone thing in your ECs list, but as part of the whole package that is you and your application.

dukedad

...as a side note, Duke's Dean of Admissions, Christoph Guttentag, holds Eagle Scouts in particularly high esteem, as he mentions specifically in this video from a couple of years ago.:

Ask Admissions with Christoph Guttentag, a discussion of Duke University admissions policies dukeuniversity on USTREAM. Educational

As far as how EC's are evaluated, the important part of this interview comes just after the 13 min mark when Guttentag outlines that Duke is looking for IMPACT in activities, not necessarily just participating, or even having a leadership position, but "what impact did you make?". So, if you are outlining what you did as an Eagle Scout, make sure to highlight the impact you made, not just that you were an Eagle Scout.