<p>elsijfdl, the two other state schools that make up my personal top 8 are Cal and UVa. W&M is awesome, but it is very limited and UCSD, although stellar (top 15 nationally) at the graduate level, simply doesn't have the resources to adequately support 20,000 undergrads. Those two are definitely among the top 10 or so public schools, but if I were to select just 8, I would probably not include them. </p>
<p>Rick Tyler, one of the reasons why H,P and Y have produced so many Rhodes Scholars is because those three universities have always provided a great deal of advising purely for the purpose of the Rhodes scholarship. They actually have specialists purely devoted to helping students prepare for the awar. Of course, the fact that they have incredibly gifted students doesn't hurt. And the service academies typically represent service to one's country, and as such, their students are generally viewed as upstanding citizens. </p>
<p>We should remember that most elite universities have produced anywhere from 10-40 Rhodes scholars in close to 100 years, so needless to say, the award should not be viewed as a measure of institutional quality.</p>