Plan for rank advancement

[bearpatrolleaderinctown]

I am 15 years old and i am tenderfoot since the troop in my area just started last year. During my second class scoutmaster conference he told me to map out my rank advancement plans so that i can hopefully get eagle if i am able to. If you could show me any sample plans that boys in your troops have or ones that you might suggest. i have one right now that includes getting first class by august in time for the Fall Ordeal for the OA in my council since my scoutmaster said this would be a great time line for first class, added five more months for star scout, seven more for life and about ten more months for Eagle do you think that this is a good plan.

[FrankJ]

Sounds like your SM wanted you to think about what it would take to reach your goal. 3 years is plenty of time, but it can go by before you realize it. Think about what it going take take to get to first class. Think about the merit badges you need to earn & how. Think about what you can do to gain the leadership skills you need to learn for your eagle project. And do it one step at time. Enjoy the journey.

[Hubert]

Yes, your scoutmaster is wanting you to do this, I would love to help you out, but, this is your plan. Its a long journey, and its not a walk in the park, but if you stick to it, put your heart into it, it will be a blast.

[Mrw]

It sounds like you already have a plan!

The little bit of advice I will give is to take Environmental Science at summer camp. It seems to really bog down the boys I have seen that have tried it alone. Take as many of the other Eagle required badges at summer camp as you can. (And them make sure to take something fun and frivolous because you can!)

Get First Aid soon, as there are first aid bits in many other badges and it makes it much easier to finish those requirements if you already know your aid basics.

[scoutaholic]

I am 15 years old and i am tenderfoot since the troop in my area just started last year. During my second class scoutmaster conference he told me to map out my rank advancement plans so that i can hopefully get eagle if i am able to. If you could show me any sample plans that boys in your troops have or ones that you might suggest. i have one right now that includes getting first class by august in time for the Fall Ordeal for the OA in my council since my scoutmaster said this would be a great time line for first class, added five more months for star scout, seven more for life and about ten more months for Eagle do you think that this is a good plan.

This looks like a great start for a plan. I suspect your SM is looking for a little more detail and thought on how you will reach those time-line goals. What do you have left to finish 1st Class by August? Have you already started some Merit Badges? Which ones will you work on first?

Some things to remember along with your planning:

By the time you have earned Tenderfoot, 2nd Class, and 1st Class, you have done most of the 1st Aid MB. I suggest finishing that one up early.

Environmental Science is hard to do on your own. Much easier at camp, but expect to have some time outside of class at camp to do assignments.

The 3 Citizenship MBs each go well with a different year of your school history classes. Take a look at your school schedule for the next 2 years and see when you have World history, US History, and Local (State) History.

Personal Fitness may work well with some of your school PE classes, or athletic activities.

Camping MB requires 20 nights of scout camping. If you are active in your troop, this will probably be easy. Most scouts do everything else for the MB at their camps, so you can pass it off after your 20th night (assuming your MBC will take your memory and records for the things you have done).

Citizenship in the Community and Communications both require you to attend a public meeting. I suggest planning to do both MBs close to the same time.

Citizenship in the Community requires 8 hours of volunteer work for a community organization. Plan to do this at a time you are already doing some volunteer work, or maybe plan your Eagle project for a community organization so it can count for this requirement.

Swimming and Lifesaving are easier than their alternates. If you can swim, I recommend these options rather than Cycling, Hiking, and Emergency Preparedness. Swimming should be done first.

Personal Fitness, Personal Management, and Family Life each take 3 months. Don't leave all three 'til last. You may want to plan them at different times so you aren't doing the 3 months for all 3 at the same time.

Make sure you include the MBs for the things you are already doing. If you are in Band or Orchestra, do Music and/or Bugling. If you are in Drama do Theater and/or Cinematography. If you are into sports do Athletics, Sports, etc. If you are into arts, do Art, Pottery, Sculpture, etc. etc. etc.

You may want to plan to work ahead on some of the MBs while you are working on Star and Life, so that you don't have to do 10 of them during the time you are working on your Eagle Project.

[Mrw]

I would suggest that if you don't swim well or aren't interested, that the cycling badge is easier than hiking, both in skills and the amount of actual time required.

There is probably a local bike club in your area that can help with routes and riding buddies so you don't have to do it alone.

[MDEagle]

I bet that you District and Council have websites. Find them and add them to your "Favorites." Ours offers many opportunities... Merit Badge Days and Jamborees, Outdoor Skills Workshops, etc.

It's always easier to complete advancement requirements or earn merit badges if all the logistics has been done for you. Heck, my son has earned two merit badges on a single day on two different occasions. OK, they weren't Eagle Required, but they'll still count towards the total.

If you find out that another District is having an event and you could benefit from it, write the POC an email requesting if they'll let you attend as a courtesy. I've NEVER heard of an organized Scouting event denying any Scout (in their district or not) who respectfully asks for permission to participate.

Finally, plan now to go to summer camp.

[Ridge Runner]

When I was a scout, I realized that there were two key merit badges that would accelerate my advancement. Cycling, and Hiking.
Prior to each hike, or ride I would list the requirements of other MB's and work on them while out. With 5 ten milers, and one 20 for the Hiking MB, I was able to complete nearly 15 other MB's in the process. And, almost the same for the Cycling MB. By multi tasking I was able to age out with 91 MB's. So, find a key MB or two, and learn how to multi task to cover the maxium amount of ground as possble.

Next, going to Summer Camp is okay, but that's for only for a week. Consider working as staff for the whole summer. Give your Council a call to find out who the Camp Director is, and give him a call to see if he has any vacant positions that need filling. As staff, you'll have time to work on MB's. I would suggest considering working Aquatics, Nature, or Scoutcraft.

On edit: I see that you're in North Carolina, know that NC is very bicycle friendly. For free route maps for some great rides (Mountain to Sea - Bike Route 2 as an example) check out this website...

http://www.ncdot.org/transit/bicycle/

[bearpatrolleaderinctown]

thnx for the website ridge runner i probably am going to start working on cycling soon since school just got out and i dont have that much to do other than go out of town three times. but i probably will work on cylcling even though some of the requirements might take some time to find someone to do it with me since no one where i am from rides their bike much since we are mostly a farming community

[Billiken]

REMEMBER:

Camping MB requires 20 nights of TENT camping.
-- Sleeping in a cabin does not count.
-- It must be a BSA event
-- You can only use 1 week of summer camp (normally 6 nights).

Assuming no special trips (e.g. Philmont, canoeing trips, etc.), this means you'll need 7 weekend campouts (assuming 2 nights each) plus a week of summer camp.