<p>Why doesn’t the Op apply directly to Oxford for undergrad?</p>
<p>I think JHS needs a new addition to his prestigiosity rankings.</p>
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<p>Prestige is not a function of location or curriculum.</p>
<p>Re post 21…I agree with you.</p>
<p>But my point is…if this OP really wants to attend Oxford, why doesn’t he apply directly there for undergrad…and skip the whole Rhodes process, and Harvard. </p>
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<p>Not really. He’s got the school he loves. OTOH, Hunt is the brain trust and keeper of that ranking. </p>
<p>Give Caesar his deserved credit! </p>
<p>I forget what my prestigiosity ratings are. I have no doubt, however, that a Rhodes Scholarship trumps a generic Harvard AB on whatever prestigiosity scale you choose. Newmassdad will back me up on this, I’m sure. No matter which is your country of origin, the Rhodes is far more exclusive than Harvard College, and signals a much, much higher degree of accomplishment at a later age. It affords access to a pretty cool network, too, and rumor has it that it involves a lot less work, after “admission” at least.</p>
<p>That said, of course it’s nuts for anyone to turn down Harvard in order to remain Rhodes-eligible. A prestigiosity bird in the hand is worth well more than two in the bush if there’s a selection committee involved. So, I would advise the OP, if you get into Harvard by some chance, don’t put too much weight on your Rhodes eligibility in deciding whether or not to attend. On the other hand, if you DON’T get into Harvard, by all means tell everyone that you turned it down to remain eligible for your inevitable Rhodes.</p>
<p>Rhodes is much more selective and prestigious that Just doing your undergrad at Harvard. First off, there are only 32 from the whole U.S. and second, only the top Harvard undergrads would be competitive to win.</p>
<p>But to the OP…I’m with the above poster who said…an acceptance to Harvard is very worthwhile. And the odds of you getting a Rhodes is VERY small.</p>
<p>You’re a shoe-in for the Rhodes scholarship! I can tell by your posts. Harvard will just have to trudge along without you.</p>
<p>You go to college to get an education. Try to get the best education you can given your ability and finances. If something like a Rhodes scholarship comes your way, fine. But do not try to enhance your chances by giving up the best college for you. Chances are you will have neither the Harvard education not the Rhodes scholarship if you try to play the odds. Instead, educate yourself as an undergrad at the best fit undergrad college and you will be a winner of getting your best education. Then you won’t have to worry about making a mistake in choosing your college. </p>
<p>btw- I seriously doubt most students who get the Rhodes scholarships were planning on them, especially while still in HS.</p>
<p>Top athletes who are also terrific academically could. Otherwise, it’s silly.</p>
<p>And on your other thread, you wonder about MIT and Yale…</p>
<p>thumper1 m just trying to explore all opportunities around me.</p>
<p>m 4m India, so kind people, pls suggest where to go- rhodes or harvard? people in my country highly regard harvard and at the same time some people linked with the academia know about rhodes and its prestige. but still rhodes has worldwide fame.
any suggestions pls???</p>
<p>Ah, so not one of those south African countries where getting a Rhodes is relatively easier.</p>
<p>Have you won any national or international awards? Are you a child prodigy of some sort? Do university professors think you have the potential to win a Nobel Prize?</p>
<p>i have got some 15 state and national level prizes as of now in debating and essay writing. i have been the class monitor for 3 yrs and the senior representative to the school cabinet for 1 year and then i got promoted to the post of the asst school leader. i have also won numerous prizes for my projects in scientific researches. i don’t know if my teachers think me as a contender for the nobel prize but i know they all like me and admire me for my achievements. </p>
<p>This is like asking whether you should marry Scarlett Johansson or Jennifer Lawrence. They are both theoretical possibilities, I suppose, but you shouldn’t arrange your life in a way that depends on marrying one of them for you to feel successful. You can apply to universities in the US and in India. If you have a choice between a top university in each country, there will be 50 pros and cons for each, and maybe Rhodes eligibility will be one of them, but there will be lots of others. You will decide what to do based on your options at the time, and the Rhodes issue will hardly figure into your decision either way. And if you don’t have that choice, it’s not worth debating.</p>
<p>Live your life and plan your education so as to make yourself the happiest, most engaged, most productive and loving person you can be. Then, you will be a winner no matter where you go to college, and no matter what happens with scholarship applications. Plus, doing that is the only way anyone really gets a shot at something like a Rhodes Scholarship. So even if that’s your dream, you have to live like it doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>"m 4m India, so kind people, pls suggest where to go- rhodes or harvard? people in my country highly regard harvard and at the same time some people linked with the academia know about rhodes and its prestige. but still rhodes has worldwide fame.
"</p>
<p>You don’t understand. This isn’t like deciding to book a reservation at Restaurant A vs Restaurant B. You don’t just get to decide which you want to do. What part of Harvard’s 5% acceptance rate is unclear? </p>
<p>OP, if you really are so ambitious – I won’t say conceited – as to consider it an important question whether you should decline an acceptance to Harvard in order to preserve your eligibility for a Rhodes scholarship, then I’ll just say you shouldn’t be asking for advice from strangers on the internet. If you have a realistic chance at a Rhodes – more, if you feel that your chances of a Rhodes, gauged from the vantage point of your current status as a highschool student, are really that strong – then you ought to have enough judgment and perspicacity to make these decisions on your own. </p>
<p>In my opinion, nobody who is not clearly and without question the most amazing student that their high school has produced in years, should even be wasting their time thinking about whether they might be eligible for a Rhodes some day. It’s not that it’s impossible for everyone else – it’s that, as JHS said, you might as well spend your time worrying about how you will tell Scarlett that you’ve chosen JL instead. Focus on what’s in front of you and don’t worry about what’s coming down the line.</p>
<p>Besides, you might end up turning down the Rhodes in order to accept your offer to head up the International Criminal Court at The Hague! You never know!</p>
<p>I myself spend plenty of time worrying about whether the Olympics and the Nobel Prize are going to happen on the same day, because what if I make the Olympic team but my sport’s competition occurs the same day I am to pick up my Nobel Prize? </p>
<p>I think you should apply to St. Stephen’s College at the University of Delhi and Harvard. And then start working on a realistic plan B (well, A really). The latter, as all here know, admits 5% or less of its applicants. The former appears to be something of a feeder for the five Indian Rhodes slots but reportedly has only 200 slots available in each class for “open” admissions – i.e., not allocated to various quotas. </p>
<p>If lightning strikes, you’ll get in to one of those two and be set either way. If not, you’ll need to think about what you actually want to gain qualitatively and intellectually out of a college other than prestige. And, BTW, that could be Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee (which is what I thought I’d see when I clicked the title). It is a good, small liberal arts college with a strong reputation for teaching. I rarely tell kids not to dream big dreams, but I will say that you need to spend as much time thinking about Rhodes Colleges as you do daydreaming about Rhodes Scholarships. </p>