Rhodes Campus Application Instructions

Rhodes Scholarship

For US and Canadian citizens, US permanent resident aliens, those from US territories, or those with US DACA status

APPLICANT CAMPUS DEADLINE: Last Friday of August 

RECOMMENDER CAMPUS DEADLINE: 2nd Friday of September 

Applicants for the Global Rhodes must submit everything, including Letters of Recommendation by 19 July 2023! 

For all others, follow the country instructions & contact Dean Goldberg for campus application dates/instructions

The following instructions pertain only to citizens, DACA, and permanent resident aliens  of the United States and US Territories (www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/page/united-states); Canada (www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/page/canada); or those who fall under the GLOBAL Rhodes rubric (https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/media/46329/information-for-candidates-global.pdf)

Step 1: Register/Create a Rhodes Application Account:http://www.rhodesscholar.org/applying-for-the-scholarship/

IMPT: Only create the account at this time. DO NOT submit anything, including the names of your recommenders, until your application is approved by Dean Goldberg! This is VERY IMPORTANT. We cannot provide you with the necessary letter of institutional endorsement without first approving your application prior to its submission!!!!

• Once you have created an account, you may save your work, but DO NOT submit it using the electronic Rhodes application system, even if you believe it is complete. Dean Goldberg, on behalf of the Campus Selection Committee, will let you know when you may electronically submit your application. Until that time, we prefer that you work on your application off-line.
• DO NOT register the names of your recommenders at this time. Once you submit their names/register them using the on-line application, the application program manager will contact those individuals requesting that they submit their letters of recommendation on-line. Once a letter is submitted on-line, it is very difficult for a recommender to retrieve and/or revise the letter.

Step 2:  Submit the following materials to Dean Goldberg by the above noted deadlines (for US, Canadian, or Global Rhodes applicants) using the “Submit Materials” tab on our website.

• A signed/dated copy of the Nomination Permission Waiver Form found on our website’s Submit Materials
•  A detailed Resume/CV with Dates (no more than 2 pages)
•  The resume/CV should include a pertinent list of college and other activities, leadership positions, honors (including prizes and scholarships), research, publications, conferences attended, etc.
• The names, email addresses and reasons for selecting each of your 5 – 8 individuals (6, if you are a Canadian citizen applying for Rhodes through Canada; 4 if you are applying for the Global Rhodes) who have agreed to write you STRONG letters of recommendation in support of your Rhodes application. At least 4 of those 5-8 LORs must be from individuals who have taught or supervised your work while in college. (For Canadian and Global Rhodes applicants, 3 of those letters must be from individuals who have supervised your work while in college). Those academic letters must comment on your academic preparation for study at Oxford.
• A Personal Statement  & Academic Statement of Study. The prompts for both statements are NEW.

 Please note: This is important. No one is allowed to provide you with feedback on your personal  statement!  

THE NEW PERSONAL STATEMENT: In 750 Words, please address the following 3 “prompts”:

(1) Which Rhodes Scholar quality do you display most strongly, and how are contexts and people helping you to develop the others? This is asking you to reflect on the Rhodes selection criteria, the unique Rhodes qualities Rhodes is looking for. Rhodes wants to hear how YOU intend to evolve. The Rhodes selection criteria are: “Energy to use one’s talents to the Full”; “Truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for and protection of the weak, kindliness, unselfishness and fellowship”; and “Moral force of character and instincts to lead, and to take an interest in one’s fellow human beings”.

(2) What would you like to learn from the Rhodes and wider community in Oxford? Here Rhodes is asking you to reflect on the relationship between self and community, and to explore what YOU want to learn from the various communities you will join and encounter in Oxford, and how you hope to grow through that experience.

(3) From you place in the world, what is humanity’s greatest need? This aspect of the Personal Statement is asking you  to look at the world from the place you are now, your specific context, and to reflect on what is missing in society, whilst considering the complexity and nuance of the world’s challenges. The Rhodes Scholarship Trust is seeking Scholars who aspire to make a difference and contribute in some way to “fighting the world’s fight”. As such, for this aspect of the essay Rhodes wants to know YOUR thoughts on what is most needed in the world.

The personal statement is your chance to tell your story in your own voice: Who are you? What matters to you? What are you hoping to do in the world? It complements your academic transcript, your curriculum vitae and your reference letters—these items (transcripts, CV and LORs) will provide the substantive detail of your commitments and accomplishments. The essay gives you the opportunity to cast the overarching narrative for the selection committee. You can find further guidance on the personal statement on the Rhodes Completing Your Application page of their website.

REMEMBER: Your personal statement should be entirely your own work, with no external assistance provided in its creation or editing.

It is important that you have a firm idea of which course / courses are viable for you to study at Oxford – not all University of Oxford courses are covered by the Rhodes Scholarship.

Additional sources of information are available online at http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions, as well as on individual faculty/departmental websites.

If you are selected for the Scholarship you will have the opportunity to revisit your course choice

Demonstrates that you are able to meet the entry and application requirements of the specific course you have chosen. Please read the Oxford graduate studies course pages carefully: http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate;

• TRANSCRIPTS:  You will need to submit official transcripts from all institutions attended. If you studied abroad, you will need a copy of that transcript. If you do not have a copy, contact your study abroad provider for a copy.  Order electronic transcripts for yourself. Do NOT have them sent to Dean Goldberg.

Remember: Do not submit anything using the Rhodes on-line application at this time! Work off-line until told to do otherwise by Dean Goldberg.

Step 3:  This information is for your Recommenders.

Their draft LORs should be emailed directly to Dean Goldberg as WORD attachments and are due by the date noted at the beginning of this document (2nd Friday of September for US and Canadian applicants; 19 July for Global applicants). 

Letters may be DRAFT/Preliminary letters, and are for the purposes of the Campus Selection Committee at this time. We ask that recommenders refrain from submitting their letters through the Rhodes electronic application program at this time. If, however, they mistakenly do so, please ask that they provide Dean Goldberg with a copy of their letter.

The reason we ask that they refrain from submitting their LORs directly onto the Rhodes application website is because this your application will probably be revised, sometimes substantially, after meeting with the Campus Committee and you will want your letters of recommendation to reflect your revised proposal.  Even minor discrepancies can hurt your application.

Moreover, once a letter has been electronically uploaded into the application program, it is difficult to retrieve and revise that letter. The best advice, therefore, is to have recommenders refrain from officially submitting their letters using the Rhodes application until later in the application process.

Information on what scholarship committees like to see in letters of recommendation is available on the Rhodes website. Additionally, Dean Goldberg will be happy to speak with recommenders regarding their Rhodes letter of recommendation.

Remember: Letters are a critically important component of both the Campus Selection and Endorsement process as well as the regional/official selection process. If the letter is submitted on-line using the Rhodes electronic application system prior to the campus selection process, your application will be disadvantaged. Therefore, PLEASE, PLEASE have your recommenders refrain from submitting their letters directly to the Rhodes Scholarship until the Campus Selection and Endorsement process is completed!!!

Questions:

If you or your recommenders have any questions about the Rhodes Scholarship or campus application process, please do not hesitate to contact Dean Goldberg at goldbeja@lafayette.edu, externalscholarships@lafayette.edu, or 610.330.5067.