NCAA XC vs Rhodes Scholarship

Screw the Rhodes. If they really cared about students rather than their own self-importance then they would make allowances for these sorts of conflicts. It happens all the time.

Anyway, who wants to go study in England, U.S. universities are better. (Just kidding, but for STEM -- really.)

too legit to quit wrote:

Screw the Rhodes. If they really cared about students rather than their own self-importance then they would make allowances for these sorts of conflicts. It happens all the time.

Yep. I've heard of a few cases where people have had to choose between the Rhodes interview and some other important event. This is utterly ridiculous. I've interviewed for some fairly prestigious programs in my field. Never have I been told "You WILL show up at X time on Y date. There is no other option."

When you recruit this way, you are telling people "you're lucky we could spare the time to let you come in and plead your case." This is just self important and silly. You are recruiting people because they have skills and traits that you want. You are inviting the person to a second interview because you want them.

This today from American Athlete Magazine:

SOME PEOPLE ARE SMART, SOME PEOPLE ARE ATHLETIC, AND THEN THERE’S THIS GUY

“It’s going to be really difficult to find a flight back that would get me there remotely close to 4 o’clock, so it’s going to be a tough situation to work out.” —Cross country runner Miles Unterreiner, upon learning that his Rhodes Scholarship interview in Seattle, Washington, takes place just about five hours after he competes in the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Kentucky. With no direct flights between Louisville and Seattle, it’s doubtful the Stanford athlete will be able make both commitments, barring some help and understanding from the Rhodes Scholar folks. If pressed, though, he’s sticking by his team, which is currently ranked third in the nation. “There’s no way I could let my teammates down,” he said, “and not be there when we have that chance.”

Here is another case of a Rhodes / Nationals conflict:

http://www.pe.pomona.edu/sports/wxc/2012-13/releases/20121110kqf78u

This runner will choose the Rhodes over running. Good for her.

The story continues

Search function works wonders...This is from 4 years ago.

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=2768271

too legit to quit wrote:

Screw the Rhodes. If they really cared about students rather than their own self-importance then they would make allowances for these sorts of conflicts. It happens all the time.

)

?

Are you a student first, or an athlete first?

They deal with that whole, "student" thing by having it on the weekend, when there are no classes.

This is a Rhodes, "Scholarship" so I'd imagine the emphasis is on studies.

It is foolish to pass up an opportunity like this. An NCAA athlete has as many as 12 different national championships in which s/he can participate.

The situation is different for Lydens than for Unterreiner. In Lydens case her team did not qualify for nationals so it is simply a question of which does she want to do more. She's choosing the interview, so good for her. I hope the NCAA will take the next fastest individual from that region, but if not, oh well. Unterreiner is a key part of a team that qualified and could win the national title. If I were in his shoes I would definitely choose the race. Here's hoping he can work it out to do both but can focus on each with 100% effort at the appropriate times.

yes, the NCAA took the next (8th) individual in the west region for women. I'm sure Lydens could see this coming and let people know.

The San Jose Mercury News today said that it is likely that Miles will be allowed by the NCAA to take a private jet from Kentucky to Washington, thus allowing him to do both things.

san jose mercury news wrote:

The San Jose Mercury News today said that it is likely that Miles will be allowed by the NCAA to take a private jet from Kentucky to Washington, thus allowing him to do both things.

Excellent! Best of luck to him and his team!

And then there is the story of Patrick Witt, the former Yale quaterback.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/sports/ncaafootball/at-yale-the-collapse-of-a-rhodes-scholar-candidacy.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

aergaeg wrote:

If I were in his shoes I would definitely choose the race.

then you are a fool, and if I were your teammate I would tell you as much.

this is a Rhodes. that might not mean much when you are a 2-yr old attending Drunk Tank U., but in the real world, where real money and real resposnsiblity is doled out, being a Rhodes finalist, or better a Rhodes Scholar, makes all the difference in the world.

Truth Hurting wrote:

then you are a fool, and if I were your teammate I would tell you as much.

this is a Rhodes. that might not mean much when you are a 2-yr old attending Drunk Tank U., but in the real world, where real money and real resposnsiblity is doled out, being a Rhodes finalist, or better a Rhodes Scholar, makes all the difference in the world.

Care to provide evidence for this assertion? Show us that Rhodes Scholars make more money than people of equal drive and intelligence who are not Rhodes Scholars. Until you offer some proof of this, I will continue to assume that anyone with the drive and intelligence to be in the running for a Rhodes Scholarship will do just fine financially without the scholarship.

not a Rhodes Scholar wrote:

Care to provide evidence for this assertion? Show us that Rhodes Scholars make more money than people of equal drive and intelligence who are not Rhodes Scholars. Until you offer some proof of this, I will continue to assume that anyone with the drive and intelligence to be in the running for a Rhodes Scholarship will do just fine financially without the scholarship.

If you think a Rhodes, and scholarship in general, is just about money, then that says it all.

I was responding to what YOU said. Do you remember typing the following words?

Truth Hurting wrote:

in the real world, where real money and real resposnsiblity is doled out, being a Rhodes finalist, or better a Rhodes Scholar, makes all the difference in the world.

You're the one saying that the Rhodes Scholarship is important because it effects the doling out of money.

not a Rhodes Scholar wrote:

I was responding to what YOU said. Do you remember typing the following words?

You're the one saying that the Rhodes Scholarship is important because it effects the doling out of money.

And either way, Mr. Hurting, you have offered no evidence to support your claim. You're saying that a Rhodes Scholar gets some yet to be defined benefit over an equal individual who is not a Rhodes Scholar. So go ahead and define the benefit and provide some shred of evidence to support the claim.

Truth Hurting wrote:

in the real world, where real money and real resposnsiblity is doled out, being a Rhodes finalist, or better a Rhodes Scholar, makes all the difference in the world.

Even if he doesn't go to the interview, he's still a Rhodes finalist. Going to the interview doesn't guarantee him a scholarship (just as running the race doesn't guarantee a national title or All American award).

I think it is safe to say that the people who are striving for a Rhodes scholarship (and the people who are actually awarded the scholarships) are not primarily motivated by money.

Nothing is guaranteed ... not the results at Nationals, not the outcome of the interview process. One simply is offered the opportunity to be in the arena, and that itself is a great thing.

It is not the destination, but the quality of the journey. It is the trial of Miles, Miles of trials.