Where did the Rhodes Scholars get their undergraduate degree? Complete list

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I think a prestigious fellowship like the Rhodes is a better indicator of undergraduate academic quality since it is directly tied to the opportunities, resources and advising the school provides its undergraduates. Even among the elite schools, there's a reason why Princeton produces 2-3 Rhodes winners every year while Penn has accumulated 20 over the entire century. How willing is a school to support its students? The Rhodes count is one of many useful litmus tests we can use to measure this.</p>

<p>I have excluded the Service Academies so we can focus on the National Universities and Liberal Arts Colleges. I have limited the list to schools that have 30 or more winners to date due to time constraints. Feel free to add on if you feel the need to do so. Enjoy!</p>

<p>American Rhodes Winners by Undergraduate Institution 1905-2012</p>

<ol>
<li>Harvard College: 335</li>
</ol>

<p>--gap--</p>

<ol>
<li>Yale: 222</li>
<li>Princeton: 199</li>
</ol>

<p>--gap--</p>

<ol>
<li>Stanford: 91</li>
</ol>

<p>--gap--</p>

<ol>
<li>Dartmouth College: 61
--gap--</li>
<li>Brown: 50</li>
<li>University of Chicago: 48</li>
<li>University of Virginia: 47</li>
<li>University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill: 43</li>
<li>Duke University, MIT: 40</li>
<li>University of Washington: 37</li>
</ol>

<p>*--gap-- indicates a difference of 10 or more Rhodes Scholars</p>

<p>Here's a more recent tally...</p>

<p>American Rhodes Winners by Undergraduate Institution 1977-2012</p>

<ol>
<li>Harvard College: 54</li>
</ol>

<p>--gap--</p>

<ol>
<li>Yale: 32
--gap--</li>
<li>Stanford: 25</li>
<li>Princeton: 21</li>
<li>University of Chicago: 19</li>
<li>Duke University: 16</li>
<li>MIT: 15</li>
<li>Brown: 13
--gap--</li>
<li>Columbia University: 8</li>
<li>Cornell University, Dartmouth College: 5</li>
<li>Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania: 4</li>
</ol>

<p>*--gap-- indicates a difference of 5 or more Rhodes Scholars</p>

2

<p>Where did you get your data? The list doesn’t look complete to me. Your list of schools with many scholars since 1977 is also incomplete.</p>

<p>As of June 29, 2010, [URL=&lt;a href=“http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:fgVtqa_CEUgJ:www.rhodesscholar.org/assets/PDF/2010/Institutions_for_Website_6_29_10.pdf+Rhodes+Institution+Winners&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiQXnfbjqaThfrxJStdsldx_pXwof8w567PbmzoZtisQZpUe8ytHbbLXJYztbfTJ1aJLNUR_jKXS-uVTCtKcUplmf6AoIV2p_pNwuvR9FbaQ8vBW77gwy7JVMLIFDV-6-bn5e9h&sig=AHIEtbSIv25F1wey_Bp7-Kz95GQzd_CsWg]this[/URL”&gt;http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:fgVtqa_CEUgJ:www.rhodesscholar.org/assets/PDF/2010/Institutions_for_Website_6_29_10.pdf+Rhodes+Institution+Winners&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiQXnfbjqaThfrxJStdsldx_pXwof8w567PbmzoZtisQZpUe8ytHbbLXJYztbfTJ1aJLNUR_jKXS-uVTCtKcUplmf6AoIV2p_pNwuvR9FbaQ8vBW77gwy7JVMLIFDV-6-bn5e9h&sig=AHIEtbSIv25F1wey_Bp7-Kz95GQzd_CsWg]this[/URL</a>] is the list for all institutions with at least than 10 scholars (see below).</p>

<hr>

<p>HARVARD UNIV. (including RADCLIFFE) 328
YALE UNIV. 219
PRINCETON UNIV. 193
U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY 87
STANFORD UNIV. 83
UNIV. OF SOUTH CAROLINA 81
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE 60
BROWN UNIV. 46
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (formerly Charleston College) 46
UNIV. OF CHICAGO 46
UNIV. OF VIRGINIA 46
U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY 43
UNIV. OF NORTH CAROLINA 41
WHITTIER COLLEGE 41
DUKE UNIV. 39
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 39
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY 36
UNIV. OF WASHINGTON 35
WILLIAMS COLLEGE 34
REED COLLEGE 31
UNIV. OF WISCONSIN 29
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE 28
COLUMBIA UNIV. 27
CORNELL UNIV. 27
UNIV. OF MONTANA 27
UNIV. OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN 27
UNIV. OF OKLAHOMA 26
VANDERBILT UNIV. 26
SEWANEE: THE UNIV. OF THE SOUTH 25
UNIV. OF KANSAS 25
UNIV. OF MICHIGAN 25
UNIV. OF MISSISSIPPI 25
WASHINGTON UNIV. 25
UNIV. OF ARIZONA 24
UNIV. OF MINNESOTA 24
WEST VIRGINIA UNIV. 24
DAVIDSON COLLEGE 23
GEORGETOWN UNIV. 23
BOWDOIN COLLEGE 22
UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA - BERKELEY 22
UNIV. OF NEBRASKA 22
UNIV. OF UTAH 22
UNIV. OF GEORGIA 21
AMHERST COLLEGE 20
UNIV. OF IDAHO 20
HAVERFORD COLLEGE 19
UNIV. OF COLORADO 19
UNIV. OF OREGON 19
UNIV. OF PENNSYLVANIA 19
CARLETON COLLEGE 18
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV. 18
UNIV. OF MISSOURI 18
UNIV. OF NEVADA 18
UNIV. OF WYOMING 18
EMORY UNIV. 17
UNIV. OF IOWA 17
MICHIGAN STATE UNIV. 16
MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE 16
UNIV. OF NEW MEXICO 16
NORTHWESTERN UNIV. 15
OBERLIN COLLEGE 15
UNIV. OF ALABAMA 15
WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIV. 15
GRINNELL COLLEGE 14
LOUISIANA STATE UNIV. 14
UNIV. OF NOTRE DAME 14
WESLEYAN UNIV. 14
INDIANA UNIV. 13
KANSAS STATE UNIV. 13
LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE 13
WAKE FOREST UNIV. 13
COLORADO COLLEGE 12
MCGILL UNIV. (Montreal, Canada) 12
POMONA COLLEGE 12
UNIV. OF FLORIDA 12
UNIV. OF NORTH DAKOTA 12
OLD DOMINION UNIV. 11
UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA - LOS ANGELES 11
UNIV. OF DELAWARE 11
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIV. 10
OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE 10
RICE UNIV. 10
UNIV. OF ARKANSAS 10
UNIV. OF VERMONT 10
WASHINGTON STATE UNIV. 10</p>

3

<p>Another thing to consider is that bigger schools will get more, not because they’re better, just because they have more students.</p>

4

<p>There were a couple of errors in my last list. Here’s a better one:</p>

<hr>

<p>HARVARD UNIV. (including RADCLIFFE) 328
YALE UNIV. 219
PRINCETON UNIV. 193
U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY 87
STANFORD UNIV. 83
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE 60
BROWN UNIV. 46
UNIV. OF CHICAGO 46
UNIV. OF VIRGINIA 46
U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY 43
UNIV. OF NORTH CAROLINA 41
DUKE UNIV. 39
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 39
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY 36
UNIV. OF WASHINGTON 35
WILLIAMS COLLEGE 34
REED COLLEGE 31
UNIV. OF WISCONSIN 29
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE 28
COLUMBIA UNIV. 27
CORNELL UNIV. 27
UNIV. OF MONTANA 27
UNIV. OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN 27
UNIV. OF OKLAHOMA 26
VANDERBILT UNIV. 26
SEWANEE: THE UNIV. OF THE SOUTH 25
UNIV. OF KANSAS 25
UNIV. OF MICHIGAN 25
UNIV. OF MISSISSIPPI 25
WASHINGTON UNIV. 25
UNIV. OF ARIZONA 24
UNIV. OF MINNESOTA 24
WEST VIRGINIA UNIV. 24
DAVIDSON COLLEGE 23
GEORGETOWN UNIV. 23
BOWDOIN COLLEGE 22
UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA - BERKELEY 22
UNIV. OF NEBRASKA 22
UNIV. OF UTAH 22
UNIV. OF GEORGIA 21
AMHERST COLLEGE 20
UNIV. OF IDAHO 20
HAVERFORD COLLEGE 19
UNIV. OF COLORADO 19
UNIV. OF OREGON 19
UNIV. OF PENNSYLVANIA 19
CARLETON COLLEGE 18
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV. 18
UNIV. OF MISSOURI 18
UNIV. OF NEVADA 18
UNIV. OF WYOMING 18
EMORY UNIV. 17
UNIV. OF IOWA 17
MICHIGAN STATE UNIV. 16
MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE 16
UNIV. OF NEW MEXICO 16
NORTHWESTERN UNIV. 15
OBERLIN COLLEGE 15
UNIV. OF ALABAMA 15
WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIV. 15
GRINNELL COLLEGE 14
LOUISIANA STATE UNIV. 14
UNIV. OF NOTRE DAME 14
WESLEYAN UNIV. 14
INDIANA UNIV. 13
KANSAS STATE UNIV. 13
LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE 13
WAKE FOREST UNIV. 13
COLORADO COLLEGE 12
MCGILL UNIV. (Montreal, Canada) 12
POMONA COLLEGE 12
UNIV. OF FLORIDA 12
UNIV. OF NORTH DAKOTA 12
OLD DOMINION UNIV. 11
UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA - LOS ANGELES 11
UNIV. OF DELAWARE 11
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIV. 10
OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE 10
RICE UNIV. 10
UNIV. OF ARKANSAS 10
UNIV. OF VERMONT 10
WASHINGTON STATE UNIV. 10</p>

5

<p>

The service academies are considered National LACs.</p>

6

<p>I forgot to include Williams College and since people want to see the Service Academies, I will go ahead and include those as well. Also, I miscounted MIT and the University of Chicago’s total so I will edit those.</p>

<p>Here is the updated composite tally of the Rhodes Winners by Endorsing Institution…</p>

<p>American Rhodes Winners by Undergraduate Institution 1905-2012</p>

<ol>
<li>Harvard College: 335</li>
</ol>

<p>–gap–</p>

<ol>
<li>Yale: 222</li>
<li>Princeton: 199</li>
</ol>

<p>–gap–</p>

<ol>
<li>Stanford: 91</li>
<li>U.S. Military Academy (West Point): 87</li>
</ol>

<p>–gap–</p>

<ol>
<li>Dartmouth College: 61
–gap–</li>
<li>Brown: 50</li>
<li>University of Chicago: 49</li>
<li>University of Virginia: 47</li>
<li>U.S. Naval Academy: 44</li>
<li>University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill: 43</li>
<li>MIT: 41</li>
<li>Duke: 40</li>
<li>University of Washington: 37</li>
<li>Williams College: 34</li>
</ol>

<p>*–gap-- indicates a difference of 10 or more Rhodes Scholars</p>

7

<p>Who here would have guessed that the top 3 public schools in terms of Rhodes Scholar production are UVA, UNC and UDub instead of Cal, Michigan and UCLA? That’s the total shocker here for me.</p>

8

<p>^Ditto, plus the U of Montana having so many???</p>

9

<p>^^^The shocker is that you guys have no idea how these scholarships are given out. They are given out all over the country in districts. Typically two in each area. One of the two inevitably is going to be attending a tippy top school outside of the area, the other will be attending a local school. Schools like Cal, Michigan, and UCLA, are loaded with top private/public schools in their district. Schools like UDub, UVA, and UNC, not as many. Also the more remote the district, like where Montana is located , is not as likely to have students attending school outside of that area. Therefore it is not “shocking” at all.</p>

10

<p>

That excuse may possibly fly for UCLA, yes. It has to compete with Caltech, USC, USCD, and the Claremont schools. Also U Arizona and ASU, to a lesser extent.</p>

<p>I am much less convinced by the argument for Berkeley. Northern California has few strong schools beyond Stanford and Berkeley, and there are certainly no significant competitors in Hawaii or Nevada. </p>

<p>Michigan must compete with Chicago, Northwestern, and Illinois, which are strong competition, to be sure. This is no different, however, from UNC competing against Duke, Georgetown, and U Maryland (and Davidson and Wake Forest, which have also produced many Rhodes). UVA admittedly has it a bit easier, with only William & Mary and Emory as significant competition; Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech may also have applicants, but I suspect interest in the Rhodes is much less at either. </p>

<p>Regardless of district difficulty, I do not agree with the OP that the Rhodes is a good indicator of school quality. Institutional support for fellowships, perhaps, but not academic quality. Many of the winners would have done well anywhere – at Duke, for instance, the majority of Rhodes scholars have been AB Duke scholars and thus entered college as fantastic students.</p>

11

<p>goldenboy,</p>

<p>Add at least 2 to the more recent tally for NU because it has 6 since 1989. But I second warblersrule and wouldn’t use that to be the indicator of academic quality</p>

12

<p>

Like warblersrule mentioned, Cal and Michigan don’t really have too many excuses for their poor performances. Cal competes with Stanford but it is easily the most preeminent school in the Northern California/Pacific Coast/Mountain West region otherwise. </p>

<p>Also, Michigan should have a firm grasp on the strongest scholars in the state of Michigan since they tend to stay in-state for the most part.</p>

<p>For example, in Princeton’s Class of 2015…</p>

<p>[Princeton</a> University | Admission Statistics](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/admission_statistics/]Princeton”>http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/admission_statistics/)</p>

<p>Virginia: 46
North Carolina: 17
Washington: 17
Michigan: 11</p>

<p>UNC, UVA and UDub seem to be more impacted by the super elites like Princeton.</p>

<p>In fact, lets take a peek at Penn’s Class of 2015…</p>

<p>[Penn</a> Admissions: Incoming Class Profile](<a href=“http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/profile/]Penn”>http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/profile/)</p>

<p>Virginia: 45
North Carolina: 32
Washington: 31
Michigan: 23</p>

<p>I don’t have the geographical breakdown for the rest of the Ivies and schools like Stanford, Chicago or Duke available in such a precise manner but I doubt they would be too different.</p>

<p>Surprisingly enough, MSU has 16 Rhodes Scholars so maybe “Little Brother” is actually a dark horse in the race.;)</p>

<p>I don’t think Cal, Michigan and UCLA have the resources and mentoring opportunities available to help their brightest undergraduates. The bigger problem would be if this extends to the level of support these students receive when applying to graduate school…just a face in the crowd of masses indeed.</p>

13

<p>

UNC must also compete against Johns Hopkins. I’m surprised I forgot it earlier.</p>

14

<p>Does it not depend on the state of origin of the applicants?? Not the location of the schools?</p>

15

<p>

</p>

<p>I believe applicants can choose if they want to compete against the district of their home state or the state that the school is in. Thus, if you’re from Alabama and going to Harvard, you choose the Alabama, Florida, Tennessee district rather than the Massachusetts / CT district. On the flip side, if you’re from CT but attending UDub, you most likely would choose to be in the Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming district. So, where the school is located is important, but not as much if they draw students nationwide. But certainly, most schools have a concentration of their students from the surrounding region.</p>

16

<p>“Like warblersrule mentioned, Cal and Michigan don’t really have too many excuses for their poor performances.”</p>

<p>The excuse is that Michigan does not hire a full time staff, like many other schools, in order to give perhaps one or two students a year a chance to win a Rhodes Scholarship. I guess they feel that it isn’t worth the expense.</p>

<p>[The</a> real reason you didn’t win a Rhodes scholarship - The Michigan Daily](<a href=“http://www.michigandaily.com/content/real-reason-you-didnt-win-rhodes-scholarship]The”>The real reason you didn't win a Rhodes scholarship)</p>

17

<p>Duke has 43 Rhodes Scholars, the list on the previous page is incorrect in this regard.</p>

18

<p>Air Force Academy is missing from Goldenboy’s list.</p>

19

<p>The Rhodes scholarship is not a telling statistic. With the exception of Harvard, Yale, Stanford and Princeton, no university averages more than 0.5 recipient per year. Out of over 1,000 students graduating each year, that number is completely insignificant. Not surprisingly, Harvard and Yale have an entire staff committed entirely to the award. Is one to deduce that Montana or Oklahoma are superior to Northwestern or Penn just because they have produced more Rhodes scholars? The Rhodes scholarship is a matter of pride to be sure, just as is Nobel Prize affiliation or Heisman trophies…but in most cases, those awards to not determine overall program/institutional strength.</p>

20

<p>The Rhodes Trust says it is not valid to compare winners from the early years with today since they have changed the way they choose winners over the years. Also, far more students from Harvard apply than from any other school. According to the Stanford Daily, in a typical year, about 120 students from Harvard apply and 12 from Stanford. Harvard may get 3 - 5 winners and Stanford 1 or 2, but Stanford would have a better winner to applicant ratio.</p>