What kind of effect does being an Eagle Scout have on college?
Becoming an Eagle Scout does (usually) look great on an application, because it requires commitment, hard work, persistence, initiative in coming up with projects, and indicates a willingness to help others. Becoming an Eagle Scout is very difficult, and if you accomplish that while doing very well academically, then its a sign that you can handle a lot of work at once. I met three Eagle Scouts while at MIT. Outside of college, I knew one person who had managed to become an Eagle Scout, and that was my dad, who went to Dartmouth. I dont remember meeting anyone at MIT who was a Boy Scout but hadnt become an Eagle Scout (except for maybe a couple people who did like a year of Cubs when they were eight or whatever, which doesnt really count.) My friends who were Eagle Scouts told me all about what it takes to achieve that, and it is not for the faint of heart. It therefore would undoubtedly look impressive on a college application to be an Eagle Scout. But my guess is that if you try to become an Eagle Scout solely for the purpose of making your college application look better, then you are unlikely to succeed. It seems you need to show real leadership and dedication to being the best Scout you can be for the sake of others, and if that alone doesn't motivate you, then it will likely be very hard to push yourself to do it over the length of time it takes. Also, all the schools you mentioned like to interview students and get a personal take on their activities. If your only motivation for becoming an Eagle Scout is to get into college, then that is likely to be apparent in an interview. And that certainly wont help your application - top-tier universities like the ones you mentioned want students to have drive and passion for the things that they do and not just do them as a stepping stone to get into college.