I am still in high school, but one of my goals is to become a Rhodes Scholar after college. I plan on attending the United States Military Academy, but could someone give me some help/tips/advice on becoming a Rhodes Scholar? Thanks!
16 districts nationally - 2 winners per district.
What is your home state?
My DD went through the process. She did have a couple of skype interviews (at the time only one or two districts did skype interviews), but was not selected to attend the final selection weekend.
You can apply through the district where you reside or through the district where you go to school. My DD applied though the district where she attended school. Your school must support/sponsor (not sure of the term they use) your application, and that process will vary depending on the school you go to. For my DD this meant completing her application, submitting it to one of the academic deans, interviewing with the dean, interviewing with a group of professors, and then the school notified her that they were sponsoring her application. At my DD’s school it was all on her to pursue it, she heard that at some schools the school seeks out students they think should apply. She found all the information she needed to get started on her school’s web site, but I would guess at some schools you need to seek out the information and track down the right people to talk to.
The Rhodes web site has a lot of information regarding their process and the requirements to be accepted, which are fairly broad. Obviously academics are important and athletic pursuits are part of the criteria. Additionally, just like applying to college, being involved in research, community service and other ECs, as well as having leadership positions are all important.
The interview process at my DD’s school and her skype interviews covered many topics including academics, research, leadership positions, and current events (politics, world affairs, the economy, etc.).
The military academies have a pretty good success rate for acceptance, so there is likely good support for rhodes applicants at those schools.
@ClarinetDad16 My home state is South Carolina.
One of the recently selected Rhodes Scholars is at the Naval Academy and from Florida. Quite an accomplished student, even back in high school where she was selected as the Governor at Girl’s State.
Thank you @twoinanddone
UofSC just had a Rhodes scholar announced. Look up State newspaper article on him.
I heard about that, love it! @scmom12
From what I understand, support from your university is essential, and that can involve a lot of factors outside your control, including who are the other candidates from your institution. As a parent, I’d caution against a high schooler thinking of a Rhodes as some kind of end goal – rather like a lawyer saying they want to be a federal judge – there are so many interim steps along the way, it is not a goal that one works towards specifically but rather tries to do well at each step along the way and see where it lands you.
Following upon on [albeit a bit of tangent] something @Midwestmomofboys said, why do you want to be a Rhodes Scholar in the first place? There are many other ways to study at Oxford.