Eagle Scout?

Swim4Life

5-Year Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2013
Messages
14
I have been wondering what the Service Academies think about Eagle Scouts. Is it highly sought after in candidates or is it just your average extracurricular activity achievement? Some of the colleges I have been looking into also (Stanford Auburn) don't really like it or even frown at it. What does the Air Force Academy think about it?
 
It is about as good as any other multi-year commitment, leadership/outdoors/civic involvement activity with nationally recognized standards. The BSA largely tries to inspire boys to be service minded, well-rounded, fit, patriotic, and to gain leadership experience. That lines up fairly well with what the service academies are looking for.

So, I'd call it one of the stronger extracurricular activities out there, from an admissions standpoint. Of course, it's only one thing, so don't think that they'll be wowed and just hand out an appointment based on it.

When I applied, some years ago, I recall the application having check boxes for things like varsity sports letters, team captain, CAP Mitchell Award, and Eagle Scout.
 
Ok, I was just asking as my Eagle Scout award is my only achievement in the extracurricular world outside of sports. I was worried that it would not carry very much weight therefore making me a not well rounded candidate.
 
Eagle

Many of the SA have a check box for Eagle Scout and holding a leadership position of Senior Patrol Leader. It is huge! For other educational institutes, who knows, will I do but I don't care. Not many 102 year old, largest peace movements out there.

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
Eagle Scout is an example of an extra-curricular activity for which you get points toward your Whole Person Score when applying to any service academy. Since the exact number of points associated with each activity is never publically revealed, your will find all sorts of speculation on here about what exactly it is worth, but the reality is that none of us know for sure. The real answer is that only the admissions committee knows.

You DO get points for the various sports, extra-curricular and leadership activities you have while in h.s. Therefore, it stands to reason that the more of these you have, the more points you will tally.
 
I have been wondering what the Service Academies think about Eagle Scouts. Is it highly sought after in candidates or is it just your average extracurricular activity achievement? Some of the colleges I have been looking into also (Stanford Auburn) don't really like it or even frown at it. What does the Air Force Academy think about it?

We were told that with all SAs, having your Eagle can only help you...not harm you. It shows maturity, leadership, commitment and, if you also are juggling sports and tough academics, time management. It also shows an ability to relate to different 'types' of kids. A BGO told our son that, frankly, he probably would find very different dynamics in scouts and sports in terms of personalities and working well with both was an excellent trait. In his few, he frowned upon boys who dropped scouts because it 'was not cool' as they got to high school, but praised greatly those that stuck through Eagle and managed to also get a varsity letter or 2...AND keep their grades up.
S
 
Eagle Scout

I've seen before on this forum that Eagle Scout and team captain are roughly equivalent in terms of leadership. Remember there are a ton of eagles and the Girl Scout equivalent at the SAs don't put all your eggs in the BSA basket.
 
There are no "Equivalent". You're assuming that Leadership "A" or Sports "A" receives more POINTS than Leadership "B" or Sports "B". It doesn't work that way. Just so you know; there are 3 areas that your TOTAL score is based on:

55%: Academic Composite High School or College academic performance, SAT or ACT scores

25%: Extracurricular Composite Athletic participation, leadership
position (scouts, school clubs, class officer, etc.), public/community
involvement and work experiences.

20%: Admissions Panel Faculty and staff review, candidate fitness assessment, Admissions Liaison Officer interview, and writing sample.

The academy looks if you are well rounded. They look to see how involved you are in the 3 areas above, and at what level of success. They don't give "X" amount of points for scouts; "Y" for JrROTC; "T" for Band; "S" for debate; etc...

And for what it's worth; the profile of a typical cadet class:
Valedictorian/Salutatorian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12%
President/Vice President of Class or Student Body. 19%
Top 10% of High School Class. 55%
Athletic Letter Award. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87%
Boys/Girls State or Nation . 16%
National Honor Society . 66%
Boy/Girl Scouting (Includes Eagle Scouts) . 23%

Click on the link in my signature block and download the newest up to date Academy Brochure/catalog.
 
Boys/Girls State

Eagle Scout definitely looks good to the SA's. I was not an Eagle Scout, but I attended Boys State and I was informed that going to Boys State gets you an equivalent amount of points on your candidate score as being an Eagle Scout. So definitely try to attend Boys State if you can; that is if your not a senior yet.. :rolleyes:
 
Eagle Scout definitely looks good to the SA's. I was not an Eagle Scout, but I attended Boys State and I was informed that going to Boys State gets you an equivalent amount of points on your candidate score as being an Eagle Scout. So definitely try to attend Boys State if you can; that is if your not a senior yet.. :rolleyes:
I wouldn't say that Boy's State gets you the SAME AMOUNT OF POINTS as being an eagle scout. But again, it's not an individual point thing. It's more of a category in your resume. But based on individual accomplishments, Boy/Girl's state is looked very highly on, because it's something that you really can't simply apply for. It's something that usually your school, teachers, counselors, principal, etc.... "CHOOSE" you to attend. Depending on the state and policies, it's still a matter of being CHOSEN. Eagle Scout/Scouting on the other hand is something that you achieve because you choose to and you aren't competing against others.

On the other hand, scouting, especially eagle scout, is not something you can decide to do in 10th grade and accomplish it. It's something that normally takes many years to accomplish. It's something the average scout started at 7 years old in "Cub Scouts" and stayed with until about the 5th grade. Where many they probably went on to Webelos. Then on to the boy scouts, where they have only until their 18th birthday to advance. (Yes, I was in scouts in the old days). We learned "Cave Painting". LOL... Anyway, it's normally a many year process and way of life. Boy's state took years to be the type of person who would be selected to attend; but it is still a selection, not something you choose to do and simply do it.
 
Little late to be thinking about that, no?

Yes, it was just more of a curiosity question.


Another question that I have. Do the SA value all team captain positions the same. For example I am team captain of my high school swim team which hasn't lost a dual meet in years and also is one of the top swim programs in the state. We have several Junior National level swimmers so on a national level we are still pretty good. Would they view that the same as say someone who was team captain for the indoor track team that hasn't had any success?
 
So in your opinion what is the best extracurricular activity to have?

That's easy. The extracurricular that you really enjoy doing, and the one you're most likely to excel at in performance and in leadership opportunities.

Now; if you are convinced that somehow, different extracurricular activities are worth more points in your application, then you're wrong. If someone told you otherwise, then they are on wrong.

What do you think is worth more or is more impressive? Senior in high school who has been playing varsity football for 2 years; just one of the players; nothing outstanding; etc... or the high school senior who's in FBLA, been with them for 5-7 years; is a local leader helping the community?
 
Back
Top