Rhodes Scholarships 2015

1. Rhodes Scholarships 2015 Office of the Dean of Students

2. What is Rhodes? • A Rhodes Scholarship is tenable at the University of Oxford • Duration of two years • A Scholarship may be renewed for a third and final year for those who were admitted to pursue a doctoral degree • A Rhodes Scholarship covers: • All University and College fees; • A maintenance allowance which is fixed by the Trustees (£1,115 per month 2015-16); • Private health insurance, currently offered through BUPA; • One economy class airfare to Oxford at the start of the scholarship and one economy flight back to the student's home country at the conclusion of the scholarship. • *Detailed conditions of tenure can be found on the Rhodes website*

3. Eligibility Full-time students at McGill University who are available to study at Oxford University the year after applying (fall 2015). A candidate must: • be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident; • be domiciled in Canada; • have been born after 30 September 1990 and on or before 1 October 1996; • have received an undergraduate degree before taking up the Scholarship; *While GPA is only one assessment criterion, candidates are advised that a GPA of 3.75 is a suggested minimum to be competitive. • If you only had one semester where your GPA was lower, then your application could still be competitive. In your essay, you can always give an explanation if you think it’s necessary.

4. General Application Process • Apply first to McGill’s internal selection process (September 26) • McGill Workshops (TBA) • McGill Interviews (October 2 and 3) • *If you are not selected for a formal recommendation, you are still encouraged to apply independently • Formal application submitted to Rhodes (October 17) • Authorization code for the Rhodes application submission will be given to applicants prior to this date • Provincial level selection process begins • Meet & Greet cocktail (basis for who they interview) • One interview at provincial level (early November) • Selection complete by mid November

5. McGill Internal Selection Process • August 25-28: McGill info sessions • TBA: Info Session given by Quebec Secretary • TBA: Application Workshops • Friday, September 26 (noon): Deadline for McGill applications • October 2 to 3: McGill Interviews • Wednesday, October 8: Deadline for Independent Students • Friday, October 17: Applications due to Rhodes Trust online

6. McGill Interviews • Beneficial to participate- internal process prepares applicants for the provincial level • Questions asked: • Choice of referees • Plans for the future • Goals and aspirations • Character and commitment to service • Why Oxford?

7. Application Checklist One PDF copy (emailed to deanofstudents@mcgill.ca) of the following, in this order: Part of online documents • Personal Details & Contact Information (page 2) • Nationality & Residence (page 3) • Education Details (page 4) • Proposed course of study (page 5) • Referee Details (page 6) "Word" documents • Personal Essay (word count: 1,000) • CV/Resume/List of principal activities • Unofficial transcript

8. Independent Applicants • All applicants (whether or not they are selected through the McGill internal process) will be able to apply ‘independently’ • You will still receive an endorsement from McGill but it will be a general statement (confirming good academic standing) as opposed to a detailed endorsement (almost like another reference letter)

9. Independent Applicants As an Independent Student, in order to ensure that the Office of the Dean of Students will provide you with an endorsement letter, we ask that you please submit your written request by October 8, 2014. Please provide your: • Name • Student ID Number • Degree granted (for McGill grads) • Date degree was granted (for McGill grads) • Province to which you intend to apply

10. Institutional Endorsement • All candidates must submit a letter from the University stating that they are approved as a suitable candidate for the Scholarship • All candidates currently attending a University must participate in their institution’s screening process and earn the endorsement • *if they are ordinarily a resident of the country in which the University is located • At McGill, the Office of the Dean of Students provides endorsement letters • Advantage of participating in the internal selection process

11. Institutional Endorsement(page 7 of Rhodes online app.) Title: Dr. First Name: André Family Name: Costopoulos Institution: McGill University Position/Role: Dean of Students Address Line 1: 3600 McTavish Address Line 2: Suite 4100 City: Montreal State/Province: Quebec Post/Zip Code: H3A 0G3 Country: Canada Telephone number: 514-398-1731 E-mail: deanofstudents@mcgill.ca

12. Reference Letters • Names and contact details of 6 referees • Including a mailing address, email address and telephone number • 3 of 6 referees should be persons under whom the applicant has studied at University • 4 of 6 reference letters required should comment upon the applicant’s academic preparation and scholastic achievements

13. Reference Letter Submission • You register your referee details online in your application  Rhodes Trust contacts referees and advises them how to submit their letters of appraisal directly online • 2015 Canadian Rhodes Memorandum provides referees instructions regarding the letters of appraisal • You may want to give this to your referees to prepare them and notify them of proper submission procedure • Remember to specify the province you wish to compete in and include the name and address of the appropriate provincial secretary • DO NOT have your referees send their letters of reference to our office. ALL REFERENCE LETTERS MUST BE SUBMITTED ONLINE BY THE REFEREE DIRECTLY.

14. Transcripts • The McGill internal application requires students to submit a copy of their UNOFFICIAL McGill transcript (generated on Minerva) • The Rhodes application (due on October 17) requires an OFFICIAL transcript • Since your application will be submitted electronically, you provide a scanned copy • Can be requested online (through Minerva) or at Service Point

15. Birth Certificates • Photocopy of an official birth certificate is needed for the Rhodes online application • Commissioner of Oaths may certify that a scanned copy is OFFICIAL, but the original birth certificate must be provided in order to obtain a certified copy • McGill Legal Information Clinic (SSMU Ground Floor) provides this service • Candidates that move forward will be required to produce their ORIGINAL certificate at the interview

16. Medical Notes • If you are chosen as a Scholar-elect, you will be required to submit a medical certificate duly signed by a physician • Make an appointment with Health Services in advance (514-398-6017)

17. Huzzah! In the last 10 years… …12 McGill students have been selected as Rhodes Scholars!

18. Questions?

19. Contact • Do not hesitate to contact the Office of the Dean of Students! • deanofstudents@mcgill.ca • 514-398-1731 • Provincial Secretary for Quebec: Richard Pan Power Corporation of Canada 751 Victoria Square Montreal, QC H2Y 2J3pan@powercorp.com