Simply to be nominated to Boys State, a candidate must have some serious credentials on the resume. My question is, "What happens in that one week that would equate it to earning Eagle Scout." My point being, if merely being qualified to go to Boys' State is the challenge, then listing the nomination would be pretty significant. Again, it's pretty challenging to accept that one week of leadership seminars and so-forth would equate to something as challenging as Eagle Scout.
My son was never a scout and did not attend Boys' state. I'm simply seeking understanding of what happens in that week beyond what the websites say.
You're assuming that there is a list of activities vs points. E.g. scouting gets 5 points, eagle scout gets 10 points, boy's state gets 15 points in the leadership category. It isn't that cut and dry. So no, you can't say that going to boy's state equates to being an eagle scout.
You have to realize 2 things. 1) The academies score based on a whole person concept. 2) Most of the scoring has to be subjective, because most times, no 2 individuals have the exact same opportunities, interests, or available time. EXAMPLES: Are honors classes worth LESS than AP classes? And are those AP classes worth less than the IB program? What about the individual who only has 3-4 AP classes available at their high school? There's only approximately 500 schools in the entire USA that have the IB program available. Should the person who doesn't have these opportunities be penalized and scored less? Should the person who has an interest in Swimming, is on their varsity team, is a team captain, made all conference, etc... be scored less than the person who achieved the same accolades but in "Football"? Should Civil Air Patrol be worth more or less than scouting or JrROTC???
We can play this all day long. Are certain things looked at more favorably than others? Yes. Why? Because certain things are NOT VOLUNTARILY pursued, but generally requires an outside individual(s) to nominate/select. Boy/Girl's state is not an activity you can simply "CHOOSE" to do. By being nominated/selected, others have demonstrated your excellence. By being chosen to be a varsity sport's team captain, you have been validated by your coach. You can't "CHOOSE" to be the team captain. Taking AP and IB classes usually require the individual to demonstrate that they can handle such an academic course load. Nothing against scouting, JrROTC, CAP, athletics, clubs, etc... (Don't READ INTO IT, I was in MANY of these things when I was in high school). But most of these are activities that you can simply "Choose" to belong to. No one is going to say no. Does it demonstrate personal qualities? A little. It demonstrates your passions, interests, if done long enough - your commitment, etc... It but it doesn't demonstrate truly how others view you. Making eagle scout definitely shows more success than life, star, etc... but it's not like someone says you CAN or CAN'T go for eagle scout. There are people who say you CAN or CAN'T go to boy's state, be captain, be class president,
So while there aren't actual "Points" assigned to particular activities in your resume, each activity is looked at as part of your overall score. It's weighted based on availability, abilities, time management, success achieved, and balance with all other things in your application. The academy has to COMPARE the applicant who took regular classes with those who took AP and/or IB, to the person who was home schooled, with the person who HAD opportunities to take higher advanced classes and chose not to, with the person who didn't have the opportunity to take any. Compare this with the individual who didn't have a 4a/5a football team at their school, or didn't have CAP, or didn't have JrROTC, or had scouting, but because they got bumped up in a couple grades, graduated when they just turned 17 and didn't have the opportunity to get Eagle completed. Do you see how complicated this can be???
So, why is Boy's State preferred over Summer Seminar? Simple. Boy's state is an activity that you need to be nominated for. It demonstrates that your school/local community thinks highly of you. YOU HAVE BEEN VALIDATED!!! Summer seminar is simply the academy TRYING to equally distribute 1000-1050 summer seminar slots to as many VOLUNTEERS nation-wide. Summer seminar is basically the academy's way of giving applicants the opportunity to see in a small way; what the hell they are getting themselves into!!! And even then, summer seminar won't show you everything. They'd love for all 12,000+ applicants to go to summer seminar. It would weed out a large percentage of applicants who realize the academy isn't for them. Unfortunately, they can only get in about 8%. Hope this explains a little bit. mike....