<p>Wow, good for those 4 girls! I think it’s easier to continue when there are more girls. My D’s troop was an older girl troop made up of Cadettes and Seniors. There were about 65 girls in the troop each of the 6 years that she belonged. There are a couple of other older girl troops like that in our area.</p>
<p>My son’s troop has 80 registered boys. Again, that is typical for our area.</p>
<p>The median size for a Boy Scout troop is about 25. Here in the 'burbs most troops are 30-50, but there are a couple that are 70+. The largest troop I know of personally is about 125. In a 25-boy troop, the boys get to know the Scoutmaster and it’s definitely more of a LAC experience. I’ve also been an ASM in a 75-boy troop and it’s a lot more like a corporation with the Scoutmaster as Chairman of the Board. Larger troops are like big state universities. There’s usually a lot going on, but you won’t get to know everybody and the professor/Scoutmaster can often end up being a figure in the distance. </p>
<p>Stef, 13yo Life Scouts are common, 13yo Eagles very rare. I’m not a big fan of artificial barriers, but I am concerned when Scouting becomes more about “making Eagle” than “having fun Scouting.” This isn’t an accusation, just something to watch for. In a good troop (or crew) program rank advancement is a natural outcome of activities rather than a purpose for them. I would be leery of any troop that explicitly focuses troop meetings and campouts around opportunities to earn merit badges.</p>
<p>General comment – since “Eagle” has become such a big deal, a lot of folks think it’s the purpose of Scouting. It’s actually only one of eight “methods” of Scouting, and the methods only serve the three aims of Scouting. I could go on all night…</p>
<p>My son completed his Eagle project a month before he turned 17. But that paperwork held him back for another few months. He was 17 1/2 when he finished his. His troop has quite a number of Eagle Scouts and I’d say the average age is probably right about when he earned his. There are quite a few of the boys finishing it all up right before the 18th birthday, as others have mentioned. S’s closest friend completed it on the last possible day…
His parents were sweating it for sure!</p>
<p>My troop of 11 girls ended last year with graduation - 4 completed the Gold Award, two received Gold Award-related scholarships. Amazingly, the troop survived the negative peer pressure years of junior high. Once they were in high school, Girl Scouts had become something fun again. There were many great opportunities Girl Scouts offered - travel, serving as a National Convention delegate, sailing program, horseback program, state legislative page program, many, many leadership opportunities. And to make this college related, my local council sponsors tours of Texas colleges which is quite popular.</p>
<p>tokenadult-
Only 4-5% of all scouts make it to the rank of Eagle Scout. This is no small feat.</p>
<p>This all leads to another question: how many of your children are eighteen years old before they apply for college? Even if my son never skips a grade, he won’t be eighteen until after the national reply date, because of his summer birthday. So if he had to wait till age eighteen to become an Eagle scout, the best he could say on a college application is “working on becoming an Eagle scout” or something of that kind.</p>
<p>You have to become an Eagle Scout before you turn 18 - once you are 18 it is too late</p>
<p>I think you misunderstand-
Eighteen is the age after which you can no longer become an eagle Scout. You have to earn it BEFORE you are eighteen. There are actually additional ranks (I forget exactly-- gold/silver/bronze palms, I believe) for completing additional things after the Eagle. My son earned his Eagle Scout at 16.</p>
<p>Jym - that’s the percentage based on everyone who joins Scouting, even Cub Scouts. Nearly 6% of all enrolled Boy Scouts (not including Cub Scouts) made Eagle Scout last year. Since the vast majority of Scouts are enrolled for multiple years, a far higher percentage than 6% make Eagle before they turn 18 or drop out. </p>
<p>It’s been a while since I saw statistics on the average age of Eagle Scouts, but I think it was about 16.</p>
<p>Ahhh- swimcatsmom beat me to it. Besides-- they say you need to finish/earn Eagle Scout before the “fumes” hit (car fumes and perfumes). A lot of motivation is lost or re4directed when this happens :)</p>
<p>
How would you calculate a percentage that earn eagle scout if you dont do it compared to all in scouting?? What is the average # of years a boy is in scouts? What is the “average” rank earned ? A lot do drop out along the way. Many make it all the way to life scout, but the committment to Eagle is another thing. I can’t figure out what ratios or percentages would be calculable if you dont look at the total # of scouts who have enrolled. I don’t think they are multiplying the numbers by counting the same kid over and over each year he rejoins his troop. Is that what you are saying?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Palms. They’re called Palms. To earn a Bronze Palm, an Eagle earns five additional merit badges, provides leadership in his community, and remains active in his Scout unit for three months. The Gold Palm is earned after the Bronze Palm, and requires five MBs, leadership, and three more months. The Silver Palm is earned after the Gold Palm, and requires five MBs, leadership, and three more months.</p>
<p>Junior earned his Eagle a little more than 18 months before his 18th birthday. He needs to earn three more merit badges to have 51, which would allow him to earn six palms (which would actually be worn as two Silver Palms). It’s his last Scouting advancement goal, but I have to say that writing college apps has cut into his free time. I don’t know if he’ll make that sixth palm… On the other hand, 17-year-old Scouts go through merit badges in amazing time. After Eagle, they’ve pretty much got the advancement system figured out.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The “what percent make Eagle?” question is a perennial source of conflict on the Scout leader forums. You might Google around for discussion on this before starting this “thread that never ends” topic here on CC. I’d hate to add to the list of neverending topics that are indigenous here…</p>
<p>Thanks washdad-
I corrected mine before I saw your post. The Oak leaf award is in the military.</p>
<p>Yeah, I know young people CAN become an Eagle at a younger age, but I’m also reading right here in this thread that many young people get near the maximum age before the rank is in hand. </p>
<p>On the percentages, I would be the first to acknowledge that it’s more impressive to be an Eagle scout (what my dad was) than a first class scout (what I was, because I joined scouting late and never had much interest in merit badges). It’s more impressive because it is rarer. It’s interesting in this regard that I hear much less talk about Order of the Arrow (I am in but I think no one else in my family ever was) or senior patrol leader office (I had that too) than Eagle scout rank, perhaps because the Eagle scout rank is less secret than the Order of the Arrow and (maybe) more comparable from one troop to the next than being senior patrol leader. </p>
<p>But in the national scheme of things, being an Eagle scout is not particularly rare. It is rarer than being a high school valedictorian only because some high schools declare more than one valedictorian per graduating class. It is a LOT less rare than going to the Tournament of Champions in Lincoln-Douglas debate (my son’s newest activity) or even than qualifying–merely qualifying–for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (something my son has done before). </p>
<p>So once a scout gets his rare and commendable achievement of gaining Eagle rank, in the favorable case at a young enough age to be able to report that on a college application, then the scout has to think hard about what else is in his total application package to make a strong case for admission at the most selective college he desires. At all colleges, high school grades matter a lot. (The only reason they don’t appear to matter more is that they are threshold screen applied to everyone in the applicant pool, so that accepted applicants are usually distinguished on other grounds from qualified, rejected applicants.) The Eagle scout who has high scores on some brand of college entrance test probably fares much better than the Eagle scout who doesn’t in getting into college. Particular colleges regard certain other characteristics–e.g., sports experience or musical instrument ability–much more than they regard participation in scouting at any level. So if I were advising a young person who gained his Eagle scout rank about how to get into a really, really competitive college, first I would say congratulations, but then I would ask what else he has in his admissions package.</p>
<p>Wikipedia says its about 5% of all scouts that make it to eagle. We all know Wikipedia is THE source on everything, so they MUST be right :0</p>
<p>tokenadult-
You are right. No one accomplishment will secure a spot into a top college (well, maybe perfecting cold fusion might…). Not eagle scout, not valedictorian, not 2400 SATS. And as for the OA deliniation, maybe people dont list being elected to it because they cant spell or pronounce the name of their Order?? My s’s looks like alphabet soup!! Owagee something something… I dont know…</p>
<p>WashDad, what is there at the local council level for teenage Scouts beyond or just different from Eagle?</p>
<p>As another GS mom mentioned, her teenage Girl Scouts had the opp. to serve in their state legislature. In the DC area the GS Council places girls for one-week mini internships on Capitol Hill as Congressional Aides (NOT the newsmaking Page program). Girls also have the opp to apply for various council-level positions. I have asked our Scoutmaster about this but he said there is nothing similar for high school Boy Scouts.</p>
<p>WashDad – thanks for the comments. He is the one who is driving himself – he has all the merit badges he needs for Eagle and then some (over 35 at last count) and he pretty much knows what he wants to do for his Eagle project. I just don’t see the same maturity and development in him that I see in older scouts – and I wonder if he should slow it down so he really benefits from the lessons. What is your experience? He could easily earn his Eagle by March when he is just over 13 1/2. </p>
<p>as far as earning merit badges with the troop – his troop doesn’t do group merit badges. he has earned all his merit badges individually (except those earned at summer camp). He is just rather driven as far as MB’s go. He goes on campout to have fun and works on the merit badges on his own. We (his dad and I) just think he should spend some time mentoring the younger scouts and learning some more leadership skills and maturing before applying for Eagle. I do get alot of conflicting advice – and I know that he will be joining the Venture crew as soon as he is old enough.</p>
<p>Motherdear – once a scout is high school age (completed 8th grade and 14 years old) they can join a Venture crew. It has it’s own set of advancements – harder than the boy scout merit badges and more time consuming, I believe. Venture crews can be Co-ed and may focus on a specific area of interest. </p>
<p>As far as OA (Order of the Arrow), my younger son pledged brotherhood last May and has found that he enjoys OA more than troop activities. He is very involved, earning the Leadership in Service award and serves on the Lodge Executive committee. He definitely mentions his OA status when asked – but unless you were an OA member, it is not well understood. </p>
<p>Probably the hardest achievements that can be earned through the scout program are the Silver Hornaday Award (<a href=“http://www.scouting.org/awards/hornaday/index.html[/url]”>http://www.scouting.org/awards/hornaday/index.html</a>) and OA Vigil Honor ( for which you must be brotherhood for two years, be nominated and selected by the committee for outstanding contribution). Of course, my son has both achievements on his radar!</p>