<p>As a Mississippi State alum, and parent of a former Rhodes finalist in District 12, I thought I would weigh in with what I know about the process. District 12 does, in fact, attract finalists from many universities, including the Ivies. In fact, my daughter was one of several Ivy finalists in this district a few years back. Also, the districts are divided proportionately based upon the number of applicants. New York, for example, has its own district, whereas District 12 includes many states. Thus I am not sure I would say it is a huge advantage to compete in any particular district.
As for the Mississippi State winner, we are very proud of him, although he is actually the second scholar from MSU. Granted, the last one was over a hundred years ago! Part of this is the fact that MSU is known for its engineering schools of study and not so much for the humanities. Even more so is that MSU has not had the process in place to “groom” students for the rigorous application/interview process that makes up the Rhodes competition. Believe me, it is no accident that some schools end up with the majority of winners. This “grooming” process takes place over a number of years in many cases.
Upon realizing that MSU had a finalist in this years competition, my daughter reached out to him to offer advice/encouragement, so we were most gratified when he won. He is a fine young man who will take full advantage of the opportunity offered him.</p>