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Not sure how this looks as a soft. At best, the admissions office respects the achievement and initiative it took to earn the rank.

At worst, they think I'm using an early high school activity in an organization that has recently received much negative publicity in recent years.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very proud of the award and support the BSA's ideals, but from a strictly admissions-based viewpoint, what do you suggest?

It probably isn't that big a deal either way, I'm just curious.

I personally wouldn't put it, since it seems weird to include something from high school (and some schools will specifically say for your resume to not include anything from high school), but unless they specifically tell you not to I can't imagine it would have a negative impact either.

For what it's worth, Yale Law School lists how many Eagle Scouts are a part of each entering class:
http://www.law.yale.edu/admissions/profile.htm

I would include it, except for schools that specifically say not to include HS activities or awards (BU, for instance)

Eagle Scout is for life bro.

Definitely put it

JMU wrote:Not sure how this looks as a soft. At best, the admissions office respects the achievement and initiative it took to earn the rank.

At worst, they think I'm using an early high school activity in an organization that has recently received much negative publicity in recent years.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very proud of the award and support the BSA's ideals, but from a strictly admissions-based viewpoint, what do you suggest?

It probably isn't that big a deal either way, I'm just curious.

Don't put it under extracurriculars or on any of the fill-in application part on LSAC. The only really appropriate place would be on your resume in the "Additional/Extra/Personal" section, and yes, you should definitely include it. As an example, the Dead of Admissions from the University of Chicago specifically made reference to this achievement as something that is a nice mark on someone's app and says something about their character.

Now, with that being said, it won't make/break your application, but it definitely won't hurt and MAY be a slight boost for an application that is truly sitting on the fence.

FWIW, I don't think the animosity aimed at the BSA for being idiot homophobes is at all directed toward the scouts; it's aimed at the asshats in charge. I still respect an Eagle Scout for his accomplishment and wouldn't hold it against you.