The Gold Award is the highest achievement within the Girl Scouts of the USA, earned by Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts. Only 5.4% of eligible Girl Scouts successfully earn the Gold Award.
 Girl Scout's highest award was created in 1916 and has gone through changes over the years.
 This award was a pin of an eagle with its wings spread, on a red, white, and blue ribbon.
 In 1919 the name of the award was changed to the Golden Eaglet.  Requirements for the award ranged through the years from earning 14 out of 17 specific badges, earning the Medal of Merit, earning a different number of badges, and the acceptance of a letter of Commendation instead of the Medal of Merit. The award itself changed from the spread-winged eagle and ribbon to an eagle with half-furled wings and a "G" and an "S" on either side of its head.
 The founder of Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low, wrote in November 1923: “The five requirements for winning the Golden Eaglet are character, health, handicraft, happiness and service, and that others will expect to find in our Golden Eaglet a perfect specimen of girlhood: mentally, morally, and physically.”
 In 1938 the Golden Eaglet changed to the First Class Award.
 This award was earned by Intermediate Scouts who had already earned the First Class Award and were the way to bridge to Senior rank. Because of the shortage of metal during WWII, at first the award was a curved embroidered patch worn on the uniform. In 1947, the Curved Bar pin was introduced.
 In 1963 the award went back to being called First Class. Requirements for earning the First Class Award changed over the 17 years it was offered. Beginning in 1963, Cadette Scouts were required to earn four Challenges, plus at least six badges in specific areas:
 In 1972, eight new Challenges were offered:
 The Scout was permitted to choose any four of the twelve Challenges.
 In addition to the four Challenges, a Scout was required to earn at least one badge in each of six areas:
 Alternately, from 1972 to 1980, a Scout could earn any seven of the twelve Challenges, with no badge requirements.
 In 1980 the Gold Award was introduced. In 1990, National Council Session delegates approved a proposal which would keep the name of the Gold Award in perpetuity.
 Until 2004, requirements for earning the award were:
 Once these steps have been met, girls use their vision for change for a service project, which requires a minimum of 80 hours of work in planning and actually completing the project. All of these hours must be completed by the Awardee, and though it is encouraged that the girl use troop members and others from the community to help her, their time spent does not count towards her 80-hour requirement. Plans must be developed with the aid of an advisor, then a project proposal must be submitted and approved by the girl's local council before starting the project, and a final report submitted and approved after the project's completion.
 The Gold Award emblem is presented as a pin resembling an eight-pointed gold star with rays radiating from a central, polished trefoil.
 Recipients of the Gold Award who enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces may receive advanced rank in recognition of their achievements. Some universities and colleges offer scholarships to Gold Award recipients.  Yearly, GSUSA selects ten girls to be National Young Women of Distinction based on their Gold Award projects.
 The Gold Award is often compared to the Eagle Scout in Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America.