Strong Candidates for Competitive Graduate Fellowships

Published October 28, 2019

The particular fellowships are:

Churchill Scholarship (one year of master’s level study in STEM field at Cambridge)–Smith is limited to 2 nominees
Gates Cambridge Scholarship (up to four years of graduate study in most fields)
Marshall Scholarship (one or two years of master’s level study in any field in the UK; sometimes, three years toward a doctorate supported)
Mitchell Scholarship (one year of master’s level study across a broad range of fields in Ireland)
Rhodes Scholarship (usually, one or two years of master’s level study across a broad range of fields at Oxford)
Knight-Hennessy Scholarship (up to three years of funding for graduate study in any Stanford University graduate program, including professional schools)

Citizenship eligibility: All competitions are open to US citizens. There is now a Rhodes competition for qualifying candidates of any citizenship, with the same expectations of competitiveness applicable. Gates Cambridge is open to all citizenships except UK. Knight-Hennessy is open to all citizenships.

Very competitive candidates for these fellowships will share a few important characteristics:

Academic strength. They will have demonstrated high academic achievement, meaning high GPA (likely ~3.8 with 3.7 as a lower limit, explicit in some cases, effective in others), taking challenging course options, and engaging with their academic subjects at the highest levels offered at Smith. These students will be curious, intellectually engaged, and demonstrate well their readiness for graduate level study. These students will be among the best students in their discipline, most likely in the top 15% of their class.
Well-articulated personal values, engagement in the world around them, and a track record as an effective performer. Academic strength alone will not secure one of these competitive awards. All competitions seek change-makers and individuals who are engaged in something beyond themselves and their studies. For Churchill, it is definitely the exceptional research track record. For the others, it may be research, too, but also leadership accomplishments, service to others, creativity, and determination in pursuit of personal interests and commitments.
A clear vision for their future and a compelling rationale for graduate study plans. Strong candidates know why the particular programs for which they plan to apply are right for them and how they fit into their bigger graduate school and career plans. They are excited by the graduate programs they propose and can explain why both why they are abundantly qualified for their program and their program is the most suitable one for them. Candidates for UK fellowships will have strong reasons to study in the UK rather than the US or elsewhere for this next stage of their educations.

Application for a competitive graduate fellowship is an opportunity for personal and professional development. Faculty members who know the candidates best should be confident that the application process will bring out the requisite characteristics in those students that Smith College nominates, endorses, and supports for these highly competitive graduate fellowships. Good candidates can explain what they want to do. Great candidates will explain why they want to do what they want to do and will describe how they imagine their graduate education will shape their lives and benefit those they choose to serve.

Number to be supported: Only Churchill imposes a firm limit on the number of candidates Smith College may endorse. Therefore, what is important is that we establish well before external applications are due which individuals are our strongest candidates for the fellowships and how we will support them. Our spring nomination round serves these purposes.

Getting started: We start by asking interested students to talk with their mentors about their prospects and then demonstrate their readiness to apply and competitiveness in a short written application. Ad hoc review committees consisting of faculty members and staff members who are familiar with the fellowships will review the applications for support and provide a first evaluation of candidates. In consultation with the applicants’ advisers and potential letter writers, applicants will either be encouraged to prepare their applications for fall submission or to redirect their efforts to other opportunities where they are more likely to find success.

Please encourage the students whom you consider to be strong prospects to Margaret Lamb to express their interest and discuss the application for nomination.