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NOV 2015Filling Out Your Eagle Application Correctly – Part 1
The main purpose of this post is to help scouts, scout parents, and scout leaders better understand the Eagle Application Form and how to fill it out correctly. As an Eagle Coach I was asked most frequently about the Eagle Application Form. Scouts and parents were often confused and I want to demystify this process and make it easier.
Some parts of the form are very straight forward, so I will not cover those. Instead we will look more closely at the sections for which I fielded the most questions.
First, on the front page a scout is asked to provide the dates for when he became a Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, and Venture Scout (shown in the picture below). This form does not necessarily need to be filled out by the scout/parents. These dates must be reported correctly. There are two options to insure that your dates are accurate. (1) Call your local council office to learn the exact dates and fill them in yourself. Or (2) leave the squares blank and have your District Advancement Chairman get them from the council and fill them in when your application is turned in. The dates from the First Class and Star ranks must be the same as when your council has them recorded. It is extremely important that you do not guess on these. If you are in doubt, find out or leave them blank for now.
The second, and by far the most confusing, part of the application is requirement #2 (as seen below this paragraph). There are a few gotchas with this one. Sometimes it requires multiple explanations to understand. Think of this part as a list of references, like a job application. Fill out all information. Your board will need a way to contact each one. The easier it is for board members to get a hold of your references, the smoother the process will be. If your religious leader or educational reference is your dad, put your mother’s name in the Parent/Guardian line (and vice versa). The educational reference can be a teacher, coach, or principal; or any other adult educational person who will give a good reference. The Employer reference DOES NOT need to be provided if you are not currently employed. (Past employers do not need to be listed, only current employers.) The “Two other references” can be anyone who will give a good reference AND who are not a relative OR current scout leader. This portion is meant to compile a diverse list of references. The most important thing to remember when choosing references, is to pick familiar people who will speak well of you. These persons will either be contacted by your district board or they will need to write a letter of recommendation for you.
Third, requirement #3 (as seen below this paragraph) is tricky because the dates in this section must be exactly the same as what the council has recorded. Obtain a Unit Member Advancement printout from your unit advancement chairman before filling in this section. Pay special attention to numbers 7, 8 & 10 as a scout must choose one of the listed merit badges to fulfill the requirement. Cross out the names of the merit badges not completed (or, if more than one has been earned, use the first chronologically earned in that group). When a scout earns more than one of those required merit badges (in the instance of 7, 8 & 10), all but the first one earned must still be crossed out. The extra earned merit badge will be used towards the Eagle Rank as an elective (merit badges 14-21). But, only one will count in the required slot. Lastly, use the first chronologically earned merit badges to fill in the remaining electives. There are two reasons for this. (1) All dates will be checked to make sure the right number of merit badges were earned for each rank according to each date of rank advancement; and (2) for eagle palms, the merit badges earned after being awarded the rank of eagle must also be correct chronologically.
We’ll take a closer look at the second page of the Eagle Application in the next blog post. Thanks for reading and please comment with your questions or to let us know if this was helpful. Also, please subscribe to our newsletter and receive automatic updates.
EagleProjectTracking.com is a tool that districts can use to make tracking approvals and board of review a snap. Check it out in this post: District Eagle Project Approvals with EagleProjectTracking.com
