Seniors find Rhodes application process grueling

“One is dark-haired, from Egypt (by way of Delaware) and former president of the Anscombe Society,” began a November 2007 column in The Daily Princetonian penned by classics professor Joshua Katz. “The other is blond, from Michigan … and has worked for the Gay Family Rights Project,” the column continued.

Katz was describing Sherif Girgis ’08 and Brett Masters ’08, both of whom won Rhodes Scholarships earlier that month. But before winning what is widely regarded as one of the world's most prestigious awards for postgraduate study, the two men navigated a nomination process that was extremely competitive on several levels.

A number of University seniors are currently competing to be among the 32 winners of the prestigious Rhodes Scholarships, awarded annually to American students to complete graduate work at Oxford. The winners will be announced on Nov. 22.

The Rhodes application process is notoriously demanding, said Girgis, who is now in his second year in the philosophy department at Oxford.

"In some ways, it was a psychologically taxing series of ups and downs," he said. "Withering critiques of my personal statement, then praise; a brutal mock interview, then a triumphant one; waiting for endorsement, then for an interview, then for the results; a constant tension between the demands of senior year ... and the desire to prepare myself maximally to be asked in an interview about literally anything."

Associate Dean of the College Frank Ordiway ’81 serves as a fellowship adviser for Rhodes Scholarship applicants, along with Katz and classics professor Constanze Guthenke. The three are also advisers to applicants for the illustrious Marshall Scholarship, which funds two years of graduate study in the United Kingdom to around 40 winners from American universities.

Roughly 1,500 students each year from around the world seek their institution's endorsement for the Rhodes Scholarship. Last fall, there were 764 applicants, and they were collectively endorsed by 294 different colleges and universities. Marshall Scholarship recipients are typically selected from a pool of about 1,000 students endorsed by their respective schools.

To be considered for either, applicants must submit between five and eight letters of recommendation and a 1,000-word personal statement.

"Annually about 20 to 30 students a year complete the application for the Rhodes, and about the same number complete the application for the Marshall," Ordiway said. "The University endorses typically upwards of 15 to 20 candidates for each scholarship each year."

A committee of six Princeton faculty members --- including Ordiway, Katz, Guthenke and three others --- endorses applicants from the University for the Rhodes Scholarship, and a committee with the three advisers and four others endorses applicants from the University for the Marshall Scholarship.

"The criterion for whom to endorse is basically this: Do we think the candidate has a chance at getting an interview for the scholarship?" Ordiway explained. "Of course, this is a subjective decision, so we err on the side of endorsing when we are in any doubt. We are not, therefore, necessarily endorsing the students we may want to win. We are choosing the students we think might possibly win according to the criteria of the scholarships."

The University forwards an official endorsement, along with the applicants' materials, to the appropriate Rhodes and Marshall selection committees. Finalists for both scholarships are interviewed by the selection committees late in the fall. The names of this year's Rhodes winners will be publicly announced on Nov. 22, while the names of this year's Marshall winners will be announced in early December.

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"It was like applying for college," said an applicant for the Rhodes Scholarship this year who has already been endorsed. This applicant, like all of the other applicants interviewed for this article, was granted anonymity since the nomination process is ongoing. "[With the statement], you basically write it, rip it up and write it again."

A second endorsed Rhodes candidate from the University said the process has been "extensive, but very meaningful."

"Because the process is time-intensive and involves personal development and anticipation, I've found much meaning in it," the second applicant said. "The application process has prompted me to articulate the deeper motives behind my goals and to develop relevant plans for my career in service and ministry."

Christian Sahner '07 went through this nomination process three years ago before winning a Rhodes Scholarship and earning a Master of Philosophy degree in Arabic and Islamic history from Oxford. Currently a graduate student at Princeton, Sahner has fond memories of his time in England.

“It goes without saying that Rhodes Scholars are intelligent, but the friends I made were some of the finest people I've ever met," he said.

For now, Princeton’s Rhodes candidates are awaiting news of whether they have been invited for November interviews. On Oct. 15, Ordiway sent all Rhodes and Marshall candidates an in-depth e-mail telling them how they should be preparing themselves for the interviews.

"While waiting to hear, you can do a number of things, one of which is to try to relax as much as possible," Ordiway said in the e-mail. "However, you should also make a point of keeping up with the news, regardless of your actual fields of interest. Remember the committees will NOT be impressed that you are so busy at school or doing extra-curriculars that you do not know what is going on around you."

A third applicant, endorsed for both the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships, called the wait "nerve-wracking." Still, the applicant noted that she is trying not to "overthink" her application and looks to put the applications "back into her subconscious."

"So much of senior year is crafting your future self and preparing for what comes next," she said. "[But sometimes] you have to take a step back and realize that you have a life here and papers to write."