<p>I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to respond to the following concept:</p>
<p>“A distinction earned by 40,000 boys a year would not be a strong ticket to admission at a highly selective school, which is why I asked about the numbers.”</p>
<p>I think it is important to note that the Eagle rank is not an academic distinction; in fact, it can readily be earned by boys who are not very strong students. It says something about personal qualities, not academic ability.</p>
<p>But a bit more on the numbers. I suspect that Eagle Scouts are relatively rare among applicants to the most selective schools, for a few reasons. First, as I noted, Eagle Scouts are distributed across all levels of academic ability. Second, because it is not an academic activity, many highly motivated students probably choose other activities. Third, a substantial portion of that 40,000 Eagles only get the award during the senior year of high school after college applications. Finally, Scouting is stronger in rural and small-town America, which probably generates a lower proportion of applications to top schools that do urban and suburban areas. So, while 40,000 Eagle Scouts sounds like a lot, adcoms at top schools may not see that many of them–as opposed to valedictorians, for example.</p>
<p>That’s an interesting point. And I suppose Eagle rank still goes to “roommate qualities,” which are said to be important admission factors at many highly selective residential colleges, and thus could well distinguish applicants of otherwise equal academic preparation.</p>
<p>Will Eagle get you in to a selective college? By itself, no. Will it help? I think it absolutely will. It’s almost the perfect extra-curricular: it demonstrates leadership, community service, and depth of involvement (it takes years to achieve). </p>
<p>Our high school has 1500 students. There are less than a dozen Eagles in the building, and among the top 10% of the senior class my son was the only Eagle. He was hoping Eagle would be his “ace in the hole.” At his first college interview, he mentioned that he would be completing his Eagle Board of review the next week. The adcon said, “Wow, that’s great! You’re the third Eagle I’ve seen today!” Son smiled and said, “Great!” but inside he was thinking, “Shoot… oh well.” BTW he got into that school and will be attending.</p>
<p>My son was also SPL, he included details about what that entailed in his “extra-curricular resume.”</p>
<p>A friend of mine got a copy of his employee file when leaving his job, included were the notes made by his interviewer/boss. At age 40+ he had a very impressive job resume. The only thing circled on his resume was “Eagle Scout”.</p>
<p>I’m going to be frank right now. This is not the position of UVa, this is just one admission officer’s opinion.</p>
<p>It seems as though there are more Eagle Scouts than ever. I’m no longer impressed by the distinction unless there’s a description of the Eagle Scout project along with it. I adopted that stance after asking a student about his project and hearing that he cleaned out a storage room at the local library. Another project involved making a planter for a traffic island. Some of the projects that are considered good enough for this award these days are not very impressive.</p>
<p>There are still kids taking on big projects and I really hope they write about what they accomplished so that they set themselves apart from the rest of the pack. </p>
<p>By the way, admission officers are familiar with the Gold Award and most of the activities in which students are involved these days. It’s always helpful, though, when students explain clubs and organizations that might be unique to their area.</p>
<p>I will have to agree with Dean J, at least partially. My sons are both Eagle Scouts; both did a lot of planning and work for their Eagle projects, one son more than the other, but I have seen more impressive projects, ones that really stand out for the amount of planning, work and thought put into them. </p>
<p>I have also seen boys who skated into Eagle because their parents did most of the planning and work for them, or because Dad was assistant scoutmaster. So, yes, Eagle is a wonderful honor, and also yes, some boys get it who may not have really earned it.</p>
<p>I think Dean J’s comment confirms what we all know, or should know, about ECs and their impact in admissions. It’s not what you have done, but what you have gained from the activity. If a boy can communicate how scouting made him a better person in some respect, it probably will be helpful. If it’s just another line on his resume, then it probably won’t. </p>
<p>My son wrote about his scouting experience in one of his essays. He was able to bring a fairly unique angle to the essay (didn’t even mention his project, although it was worthy of mention) that revealed to anyone who read it how being in scouting had shaped his character. It wasn’t the tangible experiences and accomplishments that made his essay effective, but what it said about who he had become. </p>
<p>For those who wonder if being an Eagle Scout might hurt your chances at “liberal” colleges, it didn’t in his case.</p>
<p>And I have read that quite a few liberal arts colleges with politically “liberal” reputations that are well deserved really, truly want to have more conservative students on campus, for diversity of viewpoint, so if you are of a minority point of view, you might as well talk that up in your application.</p>
<p>Double-play, I also know of someone with a highly paid job, when he interviewed it came down to 2 candidates, and the employer said the Eagle on the “personal” section of his resume put him ahead of the other guy.</p>
<p>Dean J has a point. I sat on an Eagle Board of Review where it was blatantly obvious that Dad did most of the work. Even the letter the parents have to write saying why their kid should make Eagle was all about how proud Dad would be that he and both of his sons made Eagle. Nothing about what the kid did to earn the badge! That’s why my son’s Extra-curricular resume included a brief description of his project, and a longer description of his responsibilities the year he was SPL.</p>
<p>Or, as Tom Lerher sang in “Who’s Next” (a song about proliferation)
“Once the rockets go up, who cares where they come down -
That’s not my department, says Werhner von Braun”</p>
<p>It was probably an Eagle Scout that convinced him to come over to our side!</p>
<p>I hope no one thinks my implication is that von Braun was some kind of Boy Scout!
My point was about companies who recruit/hire extreme talent in their fields of endeavor.</p>
<p>Eagle Scouts are tightly clustered on the character continuum, but
more widely dispersed on the cognitive abilities continuum. That said,
they tend to be the kinds of boys/men that make the best of the abilities
they have, and bring out that kind of effort in others.</p>