How to Apply to Be a Rhodes Scholar

Few awards for college graduates are as prestigious as the Rhodes Scholarship: two fully funded years of study at England's Oxford University, including living expenses and travel to and from Oxford. The selection process is long and arduous, but well worth the effort.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Printers
• Internet Access
• Postage Stamps
• Printer Paper
• Computers
• Word-processing Software

1. Make sure you're eligible: you must be U.S. citizen enrolled at a U.S. college or university; between 18 and 23 years of age on October 1 of the year of application; and have enough course units to graduate by the end of the academic year of application.
2. Plan your application well in advance. You need to gather a lot of materials and think through your achievements and future plans in detail.
3. Ask professors, TAs and employers well in advance for any letters of recommendation you need from them.
4. Get an application package from the Rhodes Scholarship representative on your campus or by sending a request to Office of the American Secretary, The Rhodes Scholarship Trust, P.O. Box 7490, McLean, VA 22106-7490.
5. Prepare the other materials, which include transcripts, 5 to 8 recommendation letters, a photocopy of your birth certificate, a 1000-word essay and other documents.
6. Photocopy your application materials before sending them in. Keep a copy for your records.
7. Send in all your materials by the October deadline. You'll send them to the State Secretary for the state in which you're applying. (The application package will include the appropriate address.)
8. Save up some money for the application process. You must pay all your own expenses for the state-level interview, and all but travel expenses for the district-level interview.
9. Consult with your school's fellowships office for information on other fellowships and financial aid.

Tips & Warnings

• Visit the Rhodes Scholarship site (see Related sites) for more information.
• Keep in mind that the entire process involves several levels of interviews, each contingent on passing the previous level: selection as an interviewee by the state committee; an interview by the state committee; an interview by the district committee; and finally, selection by the district committee as a Rhodes Scholar.
• If you're not a U.S. citizen, you may still be eligible for a Rhodes Scholarship through another jurisdiction. Visit the Rhodes Scholarship Web site for more information.
• If you're married, note that the Rhodes Scholarship doesn't cover expenses for a spouse. Plus, if your spouse isn't a British citizen, he or she will find it difficult to get work in Britain.
• Be wary of any fellowship that sounds too good to be true - it probably is. (See "eHow to Watch Out for Scholarship Scams.")

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