At the close of his junior year at Harvard University, Kweli Washington decided to apply for the Rhodes Scholarship "on a whim."
"I knew of other people who had applied," he said. "So I just threw my hat in the ring and gave it a try."
After toying with the idea, Washington diligently sought advice from the fellowship advisor in his residential house, who guided him through the application process. Throughout the summer, he revised his essay, attended mock interview sessions with his advisor and completed his application just in time for the Sept. 25 deadline.
Never in all that time did he imagine that he would win.
As a Harvard student, however, Washington wasn't alone in his endeavor. While he was honing his application at the beginning of his senior year, about 100 other Harvard students were working on their applications as well.
Out of the 100 or so who applied, five, including Washington, were selected as Rhodes Scholars -- out of the total 32 chosen nationwide each year.
As astonishing as these numbers may be, they are not uncommon for Harvard. For the past 30 years, nearly one-sixth of all Rhodes Scholars nationwide have come from Harvard, an average of 5.2 per year.
Dartmouth, on the other hand, has produced significantly fewer. On average, the College produces just one Rhodes Scholar every two years, said Susan Wright, associate director of Career Services.
The last recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship from Dartmouth was Diana Sabot, a member of the Class of 1995.
Harvard also produced eight out of the 30 Marshall Scholarship recipients this year, while Dartmouth has not produced any since 1993.
College President James Freedman said he feels there are many qualified students on campus and added he is "puzzled by why Harvard does so much better" than Dartmouth in producing recipients of these prestigious fellowships.
Over 1,200 students nationwide compete each year for the Rhodes Scholarship -- a chance to pursue two years of study in any field offered at England's Oxford University.
Applicants go through an extensive application process. First, they must earn nominations from their respective colleges. Then they must endure a series of interviews in statewide and regional competitions before the Scholars can be chosen.
The Harvard formula
Harvard's unique residential houses definitely contribute to the large number of Rhodes recipients at the university, said Harvard senior Edward Boyda, one of this year's Rhodes Scholars.
Each of Harvard's 13 residential houses are assigned an extensive group of about 15 faculty advisors, some of who are appointed to advise students on post-graduate fellowship opportunities, he said.
Students remain within the same residential house throughout their sophomore, junior and senior years -- during which the advisors guide them through the fellowship application process. The advisors hold mock interview sessions and coach applicants on their essay writing, according to Boyda.
Boyda said his faculty advisor was extremely helpful and played a key role in his decision to apply for the fellowship.
Daniel Kim, another Rhodes Scholar from Harvard this year, agrees that the house system is very instrumental in producing Rhodes winners.
"Three or four of the advisors in my house were previous Rhodes Scholars and they worked really closely with me throughout the application process," he said.
The Career Services office at Harvard also provides counseling and various information sessions throughout the year to inform the students about fellowship availability, Harvard's Director of Fellowships Paul Bohlmann said.
Bohlmann said there is no "institutional" effort to recruit qualified juniors to apply for the fellowships, but "faculty advisors may pick out people who appear to have a good chance of being selected for these fellowships and encourage them to apply."
Harvard receives as many as 200 inquiries about the Rhodes Scholarship each year and as many as 100 actual applicants, Bohlmann said. These inquiries comprise almost 13 percent of the junior class at Harvard.
Dartmouth's difficulties
Dartmouth, on the other hand, receives only about 30 inquiries per year -- a mere two percent of the junior class -- and handles a significantly lower applicant pool of about 10 to 12 applicants, Wright said.
However, these low numbers are not an indication of a lack of effort on the part of the College, Assistant Director of Graduate Advising Anne Janeway said.
In fact, the College makes fervent efforts to encourage qualified students to apply for the prestigious fellowships, she said.
The College's Committee on Graduate Fellowship holds information sessions for sophomores and juniors every term during which different fellowship opportunities, including the Rhodes and Marshall, are introduced, Janeway said.
Past applicants who are familiar with the process also speak at these sessions, she said.
Wright said the dean's office also sends out a letter to academically qualified juniors encouraging them to apply to some of these fellowships.
The Committee, composed of six faculty members, identifies and evaluates students' chances and nominates the qualified applicants, she said.
Janeway said the College also has a variety of resources at Career Services, where students can gain access to fellowship information and get counseled by the Graduate Advising department. Students can also gain access to information at various Web sites on the Internet, she said.
Both Wright and Janeway agree the low Dartmouth numbers are mostly due to the Dartmouth Plan, which encourages students to seek educational opportunities off campus during their sophomore or junior year rather than focusing on post-graduate fellowship opportunities on campus.
"We definitely have the pool, but because of the nature of the D-Plan, some of the most qualified applicants are off campus during their junior year," Wright said.
Wright said the best D-Plan for students interested in applying for these fellowship should allow them to remain on campus during the Winter and Spring terms. These two crucial terms allow the students to work closely with professors who can advise them on how to improve their applications, she said.
Najam Haider '97, one of the Rhodes applicants from Dartmouth this year, said he was off during the Spring term of his junior year and it made completing his application more difficult.
Haider said he thinks the lower visibility of the scholarships at Dartmouth than at other colleges such as Harvard also contributes to the disparity.
Students as resources
"At other schools, there's an excitement about applying for these scholarships whereas at Dartmouth, there isn't as much," Haider said.
Kim noted once a student is nominated for the Rhodes Scholarship, there is a lot of student support.
"Once you are nominated, the entire residential house is really behind you," he said. "It's almost as if you are representing the house."
Wright said another reason that contribute to lack of fellowship applicants is the College's late start to the academic year.
At other colleges and universities where classes begin as early as August, students have several weeks to fine-tune their applications before they submit them by the late September deadline.
"By the time students return to school their senior year, it may be too late to apply for scholarships because the deadlines have already passed," Wright said.
She also said because the College has produced very few Rhodes Scholars in recent years, it puts students at a disadvantage because they have fewer firsthand resources to turn to with the application process.
At Harvard, Kim said, there are previous Rhodes Scholars readily available for help if necessary.
"There are grad students and professors who were Rhodes Scholars everywhere," he said.
Suzanne Goh, another Rhodes Scholar from Harvard this year, said Rhodes Scholars at the school are "so common that everyone knows about them."
Wright said one of the most important ways of improving the College's chances at these scholarships is increasing the awareness of these opportunities on campus.
