Members of the state selection committees are usually former Rhodes scholars, although, Price says, the chairman never is. Some committees have included women in the past, and Price says he expects many of them will approach more this year in preparation for women applicants. The interviews--which are all done in the same day--are long and very thorough. Rice says he finds that day "the most stimulating one of the year," because it offers him a chance to learn not only about the concerns of the graduating classes but also about the subjects in which the applicants are interested. That afternoon, the candidates sit outside the interviewing room and wait to be called back--some are, some are not.

"They always tell you it doesn't mean anything if you're called back, but you can't help thinking it does," Kinsley says. In his own essay Kinsley says he gently ribbed his religious background and discovered to his horror that a member of his committee was what he calls "a real holy-roller type." They brought Kinsley back, and the active church-goer asked him if he wished to retract his comment about religion. Kinsley says he was in rather a quandary, because he could not decide whether to make the man happy or stick by the reference, which, after all, he hadn't really taken seriously when he wrote it. But he decided that he should be "manly" and principled, and he said he would not retract. The committee member beamed and said, "That's just what we wanted to hear."

Applicants who don't get such an obvious chance to display their manhood probably find the committee's decisions a little more arbitrary. Gregory S. Dube '76, who is applying from Maine, says, "the tales [of interviews] have planted the seeds of trepidation in my mind, but I think the interview process is probably the fairest way to do it--if you can't take the interview you probably won't like the other Rhodes scholars, since the committee members are pretty representative." Dube is fairly optimistic about his chances for at least the state nomination, but he shrugs and adds, "Of course there are no shoo-ins."

Each state picks two candidates, who go on to the regional interviews from which four out of twelve candidates will emerge as Rhodes Scholar-elects. Regionals are three days after the state interviews, and candidates are flown to the regional center at the Trust's expense. These interviews are similar to those at the state level, but they may be even more intense. One successful candidate told the OGCP, "I don't think anyone but someone who has gone through the process realizes how strong the losers are." The 32 who win the scholarships get two paid years at Oxford-- the losers just get flown home in time for Christmas.

In 1902, shortly after Rhodes's death, the first executor of his will told a convention of American university and college presidents that "provided they would select from each state the candidate most likely to become President of the United States, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or ambassador to Great Britain, then Oxford and the Rhodes Trustees would probably be satisfied." There are some Rhodes scholars who never use their gifts, Rice says, but he adds that "if there's any quality that's common to Rhodes who haven't done much, it's that they see all the sides of a problem, and are paralyzed."

It's that kind of attitude which typifies people's view of Rhodes scholars. While they may not all shine academically, they must somehow be outstanding to get to the final stage--above all, the scholarships are intended for the future leaders of the world. Kinsley points out that "by its nature, the Rhodes is elitist--people who come from countries that don't have Rhodes, people who are not athletes, people who are, well stupid, are excluded." Cecil Rhodes was one of the great builders of the British Empire, and it would be surprising if his Trust didn't reflect the kind of attitude with which he justified colonialism.

But Rice says he feels the Rhodes is not discriminatory--that in fact "it's made a significant if narrow contribution to upward mobility," at least for individual members of minority groups.

"The Rhodes committees look for people who won't build a wall around themselves, who will give something of their experience to their communities," he says, and when the Rhodes gives people an advantage in getting jobs, he suggest, that "if it's an advantage that's fairly given, maybe that's a fair advantage."

Harvard graduates have disproportionately large contingents in the group that has finally gone to Oxford--last year nearly a sixth of the finalists came from Harvard. But even a Harvard diploma won't assure the scholarship--in fact, nothing will. So much depends on the competition you face, on the quality of your recommendations, and simply on the mood of your interviewers if you make it that far, that even the most impressive-looking resume may not help when you apply. But if you decide to try for a Rhodes when you graduate, well, good luck--and if you don't get it, remember that Pat McInally didn't get one either.