What Former Candidates Say
A number of Haverford graduates who have pursued scholarship opportunities have offered their reflections, which you may find it worthwhile to consider when trying to decide if applying might be right for you.
An alumnus who was a Rhodes finalist and went on to receive the Keasbey Scholarship reflected years later:
What could otherwise be a somewhat competitive and anxiety-producing process was one of the most rewarding things I was a part of in college. Through the fellowships process, I had the chance to think through what I was most interested in intellectually, what kind of roles I thought I wanted to play in the wider world, and to a large extent, what kind of person I wanted to be. Those reflective opportunities were made meaningful because of the time I spent talking with Dean Bean about my application, as well as the time I spent speaking with those who went on to write my recommendations. There's no question that parts of the process can be a pain. I'm not so dull as to think that filling out any application is fun. But the process of writing the personal statement, the skills I picked up from practicing for the interviews, and the wider opportunity to think through so many big question in such a supportive environment were really special. All of this ignores that the opportunities provided by the many fellowships are awfully wonderful. But I'm most anxious to make the point that in addition to going for these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, the process of going after them was itself extraordinarily rewarding.
Another member of our alumni community who won the Mitchell scholarship only after failing to succeed in the pursuit of several opportunities has observed:
I approached the big fellowship applications with some skepticism during my senior year at Haverford. In retrospect, it would be a vast understatement to say that simply applying for the Rhodes Scholarship during my senior year was beneficial. I was touched and inspired by how interested, considerate, and warm the larger Haverford community was. Deans, professors with whom I had never studied, and alumni from distant classes gathered to conduct mock interviews, help me hone my public speaking and presentation skills, polish my writing, and better assess my understanding of the field of economics in which I was interested. Many of the leadership qualities that are essential to success both in the application and interview process for these fellowships are ingrained from our first day at Haverford: a strong sense of social conscience, the ability to articulate your ideas, and a passion about whatever it is that you are doing. Although the lack of self-promotion that characterizes so many of our interactions at Haverford can be a wonderful thing, it does Haverfordians and Haverford a tremendous disservice that more wonderful students and alumni don't apply for these opportunities with the confidence and knowledge that their particular mix ofcharacter, intelligence, and passion are precisely what the committees seek.
One of Haverford's Rhodes Scholars has noted:
I suspect that being a Rhodes Scholar has created many opportunities for me....In a competitive world, every edge helps. That is not why I did it, and that is not the best reason to do it. The Rhodes enabled me to study at Oxford, and that opportunity is one for which I am daily grateful. It put me in contact with the other Rhodes Scholars in my year and in my College. They are a wonderful set of people from whom I learned much and whose friendship I treasure. Not surprisingly, many of them have gone on to do very interesting things with their lives. Their experiences and connections have enriched mine, and have made my life fuller and more fun.When I applied for the Rhodes did I think that I would get it? No. You would have to be far more arrogant than I have ever been able to manage to think that you would win such a competition. If there are those who are certain to win, I am sure that I was not one of them. Did I think that I might win and that it was worth a try, absolutely. If you shoot, there is always the chance that the ball will go in the goal. Was the competition itself interesting and rewarding? Most definitely. Putting my application together helped me to think through what I had done at Haverford and what I wanted to do next. I was overwhelmed by the warmth of support that I received from faculty, coaches and administrators whom I went to for advice and support The other applicants in both state competition in Connecticut and the regional competition in New England were really interesting people. I ended up making friends with them during the competition and some of them remain my friends today. The people who interviewed me were extraordinarily accomplished individuals. It was a privilege to be given the opportunity to interact with them. I was glad that I won. The experience of competing, regardless of outcome, would have been reward enough.
An alumnus who applied for but did not win the Watson Fellowship but later found the means to pursue the project he had originally proposed has noted:
Preparing that application was a defining moment in my life. The application was a license for me to dream big, to think outside the box, to veer off the school-job path. It was freedom. Freedom to pursue my passion, regardless of whether it made sense to everyone else. The process of writing my essays for the application became so important to me. In all my years in school, I had never written anything so real, so honest. It was then that I realized that I was going to do this project with or without the Watson money. It was too important to give up. So, I did it! It ended up taking much longer than a year, but I did it.