A Fulbright is nothing like a Rhodes, Michelle. There are all kinds of Fulbright fellowships, for one thing; they are much more plentiful than Rhodes' scholarships, and they do not (fortunately) have the same mystique. Furthermore, you can get one at any stage in life. Check it out:
iie.org
To get a Rhodes, which is designed for young college graduates, you must be not only a good student, but a good athlete (Rhodes WAS English, after all), & a leader & doer. You've got to be one of those all-around types, and an ambitious one at that: the ideal candidate would be valedictorian, captain of the football team, and class president. It also is probably essential that you "cultivate" (so as not to say brown-nose) your professors & any influential acquaintances you have, because you must be nominated; you can't just apply out of the blue.
Getting a Rhodes is equivalent to assuring yourself a Successful Career. It is not only an honor, but a golden opportunity to build valuable contacts. (Both Robert Reich and Strobe Talbott were Rhodes Scholars at the same time Clinton was one, which is why they got such prominent positions in his administration.}
The problem, however, is that you are made to feel that you are the Cream of the Crop, the Elite. It creates a sometimes unrealistic sense of Entitlement that may be frustrated later on. I knew a couple of Rhodes Scholars whose lives, in my opinion, were poisoned (if not ruined) by the feeling that they never rose as high as they were "entitled" to rise. In both cases,these were people who occupied important positions in the government hierarchy; they just felt that, as Rhodes Scholars,as the Creme de la Creme, they should be occupying positions that were even more important... |
