The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award in Girl Scouting. It symbolizes outstanding accomplishments in the areas of leadership, community service, career planning and personal development. Between 3,000 and 3,500 Senior Girl Scouts earn the award each year — less than six percent of all Senior Girl Scouts.

• A girl must be a registered Senior Girl Scout and have successfully completed specific requirements before she may begin working on the Girl Scout Gold Award project. This special project is an extension and a compilation of all that she has learned in Girl Scouting.

• A plan for fulfilling the requirements of the award is created by the Girl Scout herself and is carried out in one to two years through a close partnership with an adult advisor. Her plan must conform to guidelines established by Girl Scouts of the USA and be approved by her Girl Scout council.

• Girls who earn the Girl Scout Gold Award are eligible for a variety of scholarships to continue their education at more than 100 colleges and universities. Organizations such as the Elks Foundation provide $6,000 each year for eight young women to attend the college of their choice. All branches of the United States military offer Girl Scout Gold Award recipients the opportunity to enter the military at the higher pay-scale rank of E-2, the equivalent of already having 30 college credits.

• A special pin is presented to the Girl Scout upon completion of all requirements during a recognition ceremony designed to mark this significant accomplishment.

• Prior to earning the Girl Scout Gold Award, a teenage Girl Scout may earn the Girl Scout Silver Award and Girl Scout Bronze Award, similar recognitions designed for younger girls, as a prelude to "Going for the Gold."