University Representatives

U.S. Institutional Representatives

Institutional Representatives are designated by officials of the college or university to guide the applicants through the process of applying for the Rhodes Scholarships.  Institutional Representatives have direct communication with the Office of the American Secretary and are listed on our website.  Updates may be sent to admin@rhodesscholar.org.

If a university does not have an Institutional Representative or scholarship advising office, please contact our office at (703) 821-5960 or email admin@rhodesscholar.org and we will connect you with someone from the Trust who can provide support and additional information about the scholarship application and selection process. 

Unlike some scholarship schemes, Rhodes Institutional Representatives do not have online access to applications.

Institutional Endorsements

In addition to referee letters, the Rhodes Scholarship requires an institutional endorsement.  Institutional endorsements should be supplied by the president, a dean, or a designated officer such as the person responsible for graduate fellowships.  

Guidelines Regarding an Applicant's Personal Statement

Effective with the 2014 competition, the Rhodes Trust strengthened the attestation associated with the personal statement requirement of the Rhodes Scholarship application. All applicants must attest that their personal statements are their own work, is wholly truthful, and without edits or suggestions from others. Applicants must also attest that they understand that any such editing or review would disqualify their application. A similar attestation is also required for all institutional endorsements. The attestation language is now built into our online application platform, where a digital signature will be captured to confirm the understanding of these respective rules. 

The reason for the requirement is simple. It is evident, in many cases, that the personal statements have become highly edited and formulaic productions that do not accurately reflect the applicant's actual writing style, personal story, or educational objectives. Fundamentally, they are no longer the work of the applicant. Our selection committees and Trustees have asked us to restore the original intent of the personal statement requirement.

The focus of the change is solely on the personal statement, not other elements of fellowship advising. We ask simply that the written text of the personal statement be un-reviewed and unedited by institutional representatives, advisors, professors, or anyone else. Applicants should be the sole editors of their written work from draft to final form.

Below, we've created a Frequently Asked Questions document for Fellowship Advisors regarding our personal statement requirements.

Institutional Representative FAQ - Personal Statement Requirement