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When Aneesh C. Muppidi ’25 got to New York City the day before his interview for the Rhodes Scholarship, he spent the day in and out of sleep at a restaurant table.

Muppidi, who had slept for only two hours before his 5 a.m. train to the city, learned that the hotel he was staying at was not able to give him a room until 4 p.m. — just one hour before the introductory cocktail event for Rhodes finalists.

“I would have totally booked Thursday night, gotten a good night’s sleep, and then had a hotel room,” Muppidi said. “But I ended up — because of the price — just booking it for Friday night.”

Harvard — unlike some peer institutions — does not fund students’ transportation to and from their Rhodes final interviews.

Students that spoke to The Crimson said they spent anywhere from $150 to $1,550 out of pocket for transportation, housing, and food during their Rhodes interview trip.

Soy Choi ’25, a finalist from Florida, had her interview in Birmingham, Alabama. Unable to stay at home, the cost for her total trip rose to $1,550.

“My flight alone, round trip, was $800 plus,” said Choi.

While the College previously offered funding for a few finalists each year on a case-by-case basis through the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, the funding halted last October.

Instead, the College rolled out the Launch Program, which provides students on full financial aid with $2,000 for travel and other expenses during the fall semester of their junior year.

In response to a request for comment, College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo wrote that URAF encourages students to “access those funds for this type of travel.”

“The College is pleased to support all juniors on full financial aid with the Launch Grant which supplies $2,000 for activities such as travel for interviews,” Palumbo wrote.

Given approximately two to three weeks notice before their interviews, finalists had to make last-minute — and often pricey — travel arrangements.

This year, eight members of Harvard’s graduating class were awarded the Rhodes Scholarship, three of whom were international students.

Shahmir Aziz ’25, a Pakistani Rhodes recipient, said that in order to get to Pakistan for his interview, he spent more than $1,100.

“The fact that I had to book it pretty quickly — and I didn’t have too much time to book it out in advance and check the prices — was a bit far from ideal,” Aziz said.

Palumbo wrote that “if students have needs beyond what is supported by the Launch Grant they should contact the URAF team who will work with them on a case-by-case basis.”

Multiple students, including Aziz, reached out to URAF for help, only to receive responses explaining that URAF does not fund individual travel and that students “should check with both your department and the financial aid office to see if they have any grants available for your use.” After contacting the Office of Financial Aid, students were directed to take out student loans.

Bella Kim ’25 said while she understood that Harvard sends more finalists than other schools and therefore may not be able to fund everyone’s transportation, she wasn’t expecting to pay for everything herself.

“I was really hoping that this would not have to be a concern of mine when I have a million other things to do, preparing for the interview and booking stuff,” Kim said.

“I personally thought there would definitely be assistance,” she added.

—Staff writer Elyse C. Goncalves can be reached at elyse.goncalves@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @e1ysegoncalves.