Thinking of applying for a Rhodes or Marshall scholarship? You've got some homework to do.
First, to compete nationally for these few coveted slots, the student must be endorsed by her or his university. At Cornell, that means submitting application materials to the Rhodes and Marshall Endorsement Selection Committee for review, and sitting for a rigorous interview with 10 to 12 members of the committee.
If endorsed as a representative of Cornell to the Marshall Scholarship competition, your application is forwarded to one of five regional committees. The interviews don't stop there: The national applicant pool numbers more than 1,200. Regional committees invite the top 5 to 15 percent of the national pool to an interview. Of the 100 to 150 students interviewed, 30-40 are ultimately chosen as Marshall Scholars.
In the case of the Rhodes Scholarships, the application is forwarded to a state committee. The national applicant pool numbers about 1,000. Each of the 50 state committees invite up to a certain number of candidates for an interview, based on the population of the state. Each state committee then forwards a proportional number to the regional committee for a second round of interviews. Each of the eight regions selects four Rhodes Scholars, for a total of 32.
At Cornell, each student who wins one of these awards has been helped, coached, guided and advised by countless people throughout the Cornell community, throughout the competition, said Jacqueline Soltys, fellowships coordinator in the Career Center, who provides guidance for the application process.
"To apply, they must research and describe which degree program they would choose to pursue in the United Kingdom, compile as many as eight letters of recommendation, write a personal statement describing themselves and their goals, and prepare for the interviews," she said.
This year, the Cornell University Endorsement Selection Committee was made up of 27 faculty members from across the university, including several former Rhodes and Marshall Scholars, who reviewed the initial applications of Cornell's candidates. The Cornell interview is based on the interview a student would face with a Rhodes or Marshall committee, and may range widely beyond the student's field to cover current events, moral dilemmas, provocative or hostile questions, or quizzing based on a student's transcript, for example, Soltys said.
Selected students attend workshops with Soltys, set up mock interviews with endorsement committee members and other faculty, take on additional reading and studying to fill in gaps in their knowledge of the United Kingdom and other topics, or bolster any weaknesses pointed out by the Endorsement Committee and revisit those recommending them to give them more information as faculty polish their letters for final submission.
Once invitations to interview are sent out by the Rhodes and Marshall committees, students again go to faculty for practice interviews and for specific information about the UK political, social and educational systems and other topics.
"By the time a student has won an award, they have come into contact with dozens of faculty and staff across the university. Even those students who do not win awards feel pleased and gratified by what they gain from the application process," Soltys said.