How to Apply for a Rhodes Scholarship

The Rhodes Scholarships are one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world. Established in 1903, the Rhodes Trust funds 88 scholars each year from 32 different countries.  Each year 11 Canadian students are selected to join a class of Rhodes Scholars from around the world at Oxford University.  Among these scholars have been some exceptional alumni from the University of Saskatchewan.  Currently, there are three Rhodes scholars on faculty at the U of S: Murray Fulton, Simonne Horwitz, and Dwight Newman.

Eligible Rhodes Scholarship applicants should:

• Have a strong academic average
• Demonstrate a strong sense of community and leadership
• Be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident
• Have an undergraduate degree before taking up the Scholarship
• Be 25 or younger (as of October 1^st in the year of commencement at Oxford University)

For details, including the eligibility and selection criteria, visit:

• U of S - Rhodes Scholarships
• The Rhodes Trust - The Rhodes Scholarships for Canada

To apply for the Rhodes Scholarship, complete the Rhodes Competition application in the Scholarships and Bursaries channel in PAWS by August 15.

The Rhodes Trust produced an excellent series of videos designed to guide applicants through the application process. The videos focus less on the nuts-and-bolts of the application and more on how to craft an application that represents you and why you're a good Rhodes candidate. A playlist of the videos can be found here:

1. Start early. The scholarship application is complicated and requires a range of documentation, including a c.v., a transcript, a personal statement, and six letters of reference.  The personal statement is the most important part of the application and, in my case, required multiple revisions before I felt it could not be improved further. The majority of the time taken in preparing the application should be spent in reflection.
   
   
2. One of the main expectations of Rhodes Scholars is that they be well-rounded individuals. For this reason it is important to develop connections between the various elements of your c.v. and to integrate them in your personal statement. Doing so shows that you are not simply a check-list of impressive achievements but rather an individual whose activities and interests belong to a dynamic whole. In my personal statement, for example, I considered how sports, academic work, and volunteering were interrelated, each teaching me how to cultivate dialogue, fellowship and leadership in my life.
   
   
3. In addition to drawing up points of connection between the various elements of your c.v., it is important to consider the criteria upon which the selection of Rhodes Scholars is based. Considering the ways in which you might answer that description, highlighting those aspects of your character in your personal statement, and supporting those claims with reference to the relevant parts of your c.v. will make for a very strong application.
   
   
4. Choose referees whose letters you think will complement your personal statement. For example, I discuss softball at length in my personal statement. My two non-academic referees were both softball coaches who could speak not just to my athletic abilities but to my character as well. Letters of reference which might carry potential relevance to your personal statement are ideal, for they help contribute to the impression of yourself as a well-rounded individual which you are hoping to convey to the scholarship committee.
   
   
5. Know the details of the program for which you are applying. Not doing so gives the impression that you are only interested in the scholarship itself, rather than in the many wonderful opportunities which it provides.
   
   
6. Especially in the case of students who may not be applying for a scholarship for over a year, one way of preparing for the application and the interview is to spend time developing a broad perspective on your area of study. My research concentrates on medieval Scottish literature, and yet I am interested in University-related news, those touching on the humanities in particular. The more you show an awareness of and engagement with the larger social and cultural importance of what you study, the stronger your application and interview will be.
   
   
7. If you are invited to interview, you can prepare for that next step in the application process by asking a professor from whom you have taken several courses to do a mock-interview with you. I showed my advisor my personal statement and he drew up a series of questions based on what it contained, an exercise which was extremely valuable since the majority of questions asked in the real interview derived from my personal statement.
   
   
8. Be yourself. As difficult as it is not to be nervous during the cocktail party the evening before the interview and during the interview itself, it is important to try to remain relaxed. If you are relaxed, then you will be yourself, the person that on paper excited the interest of the scholarship committee and whom the members of that committee will be looking forward to meet.
   
   
9. Enjoy yourself. Although you are being evaluated through the course of the cocktail party and the interview, both afford experiences which are valuable and enjoyable in themselves. Enjoy the opportunity to get to know the other scholarship applicants, as well as the interviewees. All these people are accomplished and have interesting ideas and experiences to share. If possible, join the group of applicants if they go out for supper after the cocktail party, as that will give you a chance to get to know some of them and to catch your breath before the interview the next day. During the interview itself, try to enjoy the discussion and intellectual stimulation which take place. Try to think of the interview as an end in itself, as a highly useful experience in its own right, whether you obtain the scholarship or not.
   
   
10. Apply again. If you do not receive the scholarship but are not too old to apply the year following, give it another shot. Whether you fail to get an interview in the first place or make it to the interview stage without winning the scholarship, you can always try again. The committee may even remember your application from the previous year and you will stand out as a result.  

-Fall 2012