<p>The Rhodes Trust has just announced the 2010 American Rhodes Scholars. The Rhodes Scholarship is a highly prestigious international award for which 32 Americans are selected each year and are given two to three year scholarships to attend Oxford. </p>
<p>Last year, Princeton led the nation with three American Rhodes, followed by Harvard, MIT, Northwestern and UCLA each of which had two. This year, Harvard had a terrific showing with five scholars while Princeton had a slow year with just one. MIT also had a great year with three.</p>
<p>2010 American Rhodes Scholars </p>
<p>5---Harvard (congratulations!)</p>
<p>3---MIT</p>
<p>2---U.S. Military Academy, UNC Chapel Hill, Yale</p>
<p>1---Princeton, Auburn, Bowdoin, Brown, Columbia, Regis, Stanford, Swarthmore, Truman State, U. of Arizona, U. of Chicago, U. of Louisville, U. of Pittsburgh, UVA, Wesleyan, William & Mary</p>
<p>Princeton's American Rhodes winner this year was Henry Barmeier '10.</p>
<p>"Henry R. Barmeier, Saratoga, is a senior at Princeton University in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, with minors in environmental studies and Spanish. A Udall Scholar and member of Phi Beta Kappa, he worked in Rome at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization on the role of fisheries in the food security strategies of developing countries. He is head fellow at the Princeton writing center, leader of an outdoor action program, and committed to issues related to sustainable, locally grown organic food.</p>
<p>At Oxford, Henry plans to do the M.Sc. in nature, society and environmental policy.</p>
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<p>Of note this year was what appears to be an increasing percentage of the scholarships being awarded to students who have already finished their undergraduate work. Three of Harvard's five winners have already finished their undergraduate work as have ten others who received the scholarship. In all, over 40% of the scholars have already graduated from college.</p>
<p>Harvard is the overall and overwhelming leader in American Rhodes Scholars. Another recent change is that the website for the American Rhodes Committee now posts historical statistics for all sponsoring institutions and their winners since the first awards were given at the beginning of the previous century. This has taken away some of the difficult accumulation of statistics from outside sources and allows for more accurate comparisons.</p>
<p>To date, and including this year's awards, Harvard, Yale and Princeton are the three leading institutions for American Rhodes Scholarships. Stanford follows with 83.</p>
<p>318---Harvard
219---Yale
193---Princeton</p>
<p>Harvard's numbers are a little more complicated to unravel since they include all the Radcliffe winners even when Radcliffe was a separate institution. International Rhodes (i.e. scholars attending American universities who applied for and won Rhodes Scholarships from their home countries) also complicate the picture here. Harvard and Princeton have had more international Rhodes Scholars than any other school, but comparing the numbers becomes very difficult as they are not centrally reported.</p>
<p>On a per capita basis, Harvard is still far out in front with Princeton and Yale trailing.</p>
<p>American Rhodes Scholars
(per 1,000 graduates over the period of the scholarship)</p>
<p>2.7-----Harvard
2.4-----Princeton
2.3-----Yale</p>
<p>As I've noted before, some feel that the Rhodes scholarship is notoriously incestuous. Former scholars form the committees that pick future scholars so there tends to be a good deal of inbreeding. I believe that this helps explain why Harvard, Princeton and Yale have done so much better in this competition than other schools. Most other major scholarships, including the Marshall Scholarships, do not do this.</p>
<p>The remaining foreign Rhodes Scholars will be chosen within the next week or so. Often, one or two of the Canadian Rhodes Scholars will actually be attending U.S. institutions. The official announcement of the Marshall Scholars won't occur until the beginning of December.</p>