Just Curious - What faiths dominate the NESA scholarships?

[packsaddle 753]

I haven't participated in much in the LDS scouting versus 'traditional' scouting discussions but while I was reading what others had written, it occurred to me that if LDS has a tendency to produce a large proportion of Eagles relative to enrollment, is this also reflected in the scholarships that are awarded through NESA? Does anyone keep track of this kind of info?

[GernBlansten 10]

Thanks for reminding me, I gotta kick EagleSon in the tail feathers and get his NESA application in.

[skeptic 992]

Since the scholarships are country wide, and have other requirements than being Eagle, I would think not really. Frankly, in our area, fewer LDS get Eagle than others. Now, percentage wise per unit, that may not be the case, as they are always small units. If you read through the recipients in the EAGLE NEWS, it seems as if your query would be in the negative, as the sponsors are not heavily weighted in favor of LDS in my opinion.

[Bando 21]

I don't know about religious affiliation, but a cursory perusal through the Eagle Letter where they show the pictures of NESA scholarship winners seems to indicate a certain demographic dominance. Not a whole lot of non-white faces in the lot.

[packsaddle 753]

Bando, yeah that really sticks out doesn't it? I suppose it could be an accurate reflection of the membership? I don't know about the number of minority Eagles produced nationally but this unit produced the first African-American Eagle in the history of the district a couple of years ago. I'll try to remember to ask about the council level.

[skeptic 992]

It should not surprise anyone that the awards reflect the school graduation rates and so on. All kinds of reasons can be bandied around, but the pool of applicants for any scholarship is going to be made up of the output of the educational system.

 

While it may not have an effect, there is also the tendency of Eagle applicants to be too close to 18 and graduation to make the application datelines, and of course, the fact that many possible applicants are not even aware of the opportunities. We can help in that regard, and we remind our local applicants during or after the boards, especially if they are young enough to take advantage of the whole group of offerings. But I am continually surprised how many adult leaders are not aware of the scholarships and grants available to Eagles, and even simply scouts in a few cases.

[jhankins 10]

All but one of the boys from my council that received NESA scholarships this year are Catholic.

[packsaddle 753]

Perhaps the answer to my question is better found in examination of the award process. How are these scholarships decided? Who decides them and at what organizational level? Are they allocated to councils or are they pooled nationally, or what? What are the selection criteria...really? Someone please fill me in.