<p>hiiii
so for those who don't know me, i'm going to stanford next year!!!!!
BUT
I really want to be a Rhodes Scholar once a i graduate - I know, it's far fetched, but still it's been a dream of mine for a long time
however, i was just reading up on the website and it said that Rhodes Scholars must have:</p>
<p>"energy to use ones talents to the full, as exemplified by fondness for and success in sports"</p>
<p>thus, I need to play a sport next year!!! :(
any suggestionz? obviously, i can't do swimming or football or any of those crazy ones, so what other cool sports are there at stanford?!</p>
<p>Hurray for Rhodes-seekers!
I was going to suggest swimming; you get credits for swim classes at Stanford. How is it obvious that you can’t do swimming?</p>
<p>“energy to use one’s talents to the full, as exemplified by fondness for and success in sports”</p>
<p>to me, at least, taking up an easy sport for the sake of getting a rhodes scholarship demonstrates none of the fondness or appreciation of physical competition that is the basis for this requirement. you don’t become an athlete to simply check a box off on a list of criteria. you do it because you want to enjoy the thrill of competitive physical activity.</p>
<p>but i suppose the spirit of requirements is really of no import anymore in academia anymore…</p>
<p>Track requires minimal technique (there is some, but thats only important for pros). Just need to work really hard and you will get significantly better. It is not like tennis or golf where technique is absolutley crucial.</p>
<p>If you’re thinking about joining a varsity sport at stanford you’re chances are pretty slim since they’re DI. There are club and intramural sports that you could join though.</p>
<p>You obviously want to be a Rhodes Scholar just for the prestige. If its been a dream for a long time then why are you just aware now what it entails to be a candidate. If you are not naturally embodying the ideas of what a Rhodes scholar is, scholar-athlete-leader, you can’t BECOME one by taking up a sport. You need to excel in each category and be recognized as someone who exemplifies the total student.</p>
<p>It is first and foremost an academic endeavour, so it goes without demarcation that superlative sporting and can have a big opportunity cost… if you intend to be politically prominent, for example, there’s only so much you can do. I suppose it’s commitment to something - not necessarily sports - that matters as a supplement to stellar scholarship.</p>
<p>If you look at the recipients from Stanford, you’d see many, if not most, don’t have a sport.</p>
<p>Don’t focus just on the Rhodes Scholarship–there are plenty of other awesome fellowships, not just for UK schools (like the Marshall and Gates scholarships).</p>
<p>like others have said its not worth it or good to take up a sport just because of a rhodes scholar requirement. if you are trying to play a competitive sport then it will be a lot of work for 4 years for a small chance at winning. youre going to stanford, you should know not to change yourself to please others</p>
<p>The varsity crew team is made up of mostly kids who just started in college. The coach is always recruiting people to join up. He gave me a business card during admit weekend even though I didn’t even show any visible interest in joining crew!
Plus, Oxford might like it if you did crew. They take it really really really seriously over there. lol</p>
<p>Interesting discussion. I was just at Oxford last week and met a number of current Rhodes Scholars while I was there. A number of them did not do a competitive team sport, but a surprising number of them (not really surprising when you understand the Rhodes criteria) are excellent athletes. </p>
<p>It is also interesting to note that one of the November 07 winners was a competitive frisbee player. </p>
<p>The problem with the OP’s whole approach is that the Rhodes selection process tends to go for folks who excel in multiple things because they’re just very talented, and use their talents, not because they want to be the “best” to win a Rhodes (or Gates or Marshall). In fact, it is common for these winners to be reluctant to even apply - they’re too busy, and don’t always even recognize their own excellence. (I do confess, though, that some winners are only too aware of their excellence. Fortunately, they’re in the minority.)</p>
<p>So the best path to top national scholarships is to just be yourself doing the best you can. The system has too many gates (try 8 recommendations, for example, for the Rhodes) for someone to fake their way to candidacy.</p>
<p>Oprah -If you’re a girl you should think about women’s rugby. It’s a club team at Stanford but they are usually national champions. They actively recruit girls who have never played, though you should probably start working out 'cause it is a tough sport.</p>
. Track and Field is just running, right? Men’s Lacrosse is a contact sport, so I think that’s a nono.</p>