Marshalling Harvard's Resources

Winning fellowships is somewhat like growing fruit. Both require the right material and the right physical conditions to grow. The best environments often prove to be the most fruitful, enhnacing the qualities of the product. And the results vary from year to year.

This year, Harvard produced a bumper crop of fellowships. Although Harvard always does well by most schools' standards, many students and fellowship officials are saying this year was truly special. The College garnered a record number of Rhodes--10 American and one Canadian--and about one-third of all Marshalls--five. Members of the Class of '88 also snagged numerous Fulbrights and a Luce in the national competitions. And Harvard sources say that the aplicants for the University's own fellowships were also particulalry strong this year.

So unusual was this year's crop that several rooming groups had two fellowship winners under the same roof. Kris W. Kobach '88 and his roommate Alexander E. Dreier '88 captured a Marshall and Rhodes respectively. And they are not alone. Gary D. Rowe '88, winner of the Henry--a scholarship reserved for Harvard and Yale students--and his roommate Robert W. Cook '88, who won the Knox--another Harvard-only scholarship--will both be going to England next year.

"It's unbelievable. The chances of it occurring are infinitestimally small," says Kobach of his and Dreier's achievement. He says some colleges would consider themselves lucky if they won two such scholarships in total, let alone two in one suite. To top things off, Dreier and Kobach will both be going to Oxford next year, and they will both be studying in the same masters program.

Kobach and Dreier joke that they are not surprised they both won, although they add that they thought Dreier would win the Marshall and Kobach the Rhodes. They say they supported each other throughout the process and even read each other's essays. But Dreier says their relationship did get a little tense after he found out in December that he had won the Rhodes; the Marshalls were not announced until a month later.

Many students and administrators credit this year's unusual success to the dynamism of a new fellowships director at the Office of Career Services (OCS). They add that better candidates may be applying to fellowship programs because the AIDS epidemic and the stock market crash have made other destinations--such as medical school and investment banking--less attractive.

"It may be that people are increasingly less willing to go into the real world," says Assistant Dean of the College John R. Marquand, who sits on fellowship selection committees.

And Harvard's early--and widely publicized--successes in the Rhodes and Marshall competitions may have inspired other seniors to apply for Fullbrights and other awards with late deadlines, OCS officials say.

Harvard candidates may also have had better applications. OCS Fellowships director Kristine Forsgard, who took up her post last July, helped Harvard applicants for the national fellowships package themselves particlarly well, Marquand says.

"There's no doubt about it that the fellowships advising system at Harvard is just wonderful," says Jonathan L. Feng '88, who was one of five Harvard students to garner a Marshall. Many fellowship winners praise OCS and fellowships tutors in the houses for helping them with their applications and leading them through mock interviews.

The large haul of Rhodes and Marshall winners this year may be due in part ot recent changes in Harvard's internal fellowships procedures.

Forsgard instituted several new programs to make students more aware of the fellowships that were available and bring them in contact with people who had won them in the past.

The College also changed its application deadlines in order to give strong candidates more time to work on their essays.

Under the Rhodes and Marshall procedures, students apply first to their house fellowship committee and then to a College-wide committee. If the all-Harvard committee approves a student's application, he or she receives a letter of endorsement signed by Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57. While students may try for the Rhodes--but not the Marshall--without Harvard's sanction, an endorsement letter strengthens their application.

Harvard this year moved the house deadline for applications forward three weeks, giving students who win Harvard endorsements more time to work with College officials on revising their aplications. OCS also made a concerted effort to see that students were immediatley informed of competition results, Forsgard says, adding "We've made some minor changes to improve on efficiency." efficiency."

Furthermore, Jewett and senior faculty members for the first time served on the selection committee for the fellowships. In the past, the committee has been made up of house officials, Jewett says. But Jewett says he wanted to be on the committee since the endorsements sent to the Rhodes and Marshall committees go out in his name.

The dean did not say whether he thought the procedure changes had made any difference. But Robert Ratcliffe, program officer for the Marshall Scholarships at the British Embassy, says the changes may have had some effect. "Although we received very few applications from Harvard as compared to Princeton and Yale, the candidates who did apply here did do well," he says. "That would seem to suggest that the written applications were quite strong."

Even though Harvard consistently wins five or six Marshalls a year, when that total is combined with this year's unusual number of Rhodes winners, "That is a particularly good figure which might mean that if the system has been improved, it did pay off," Ratcliffe says.

But whatever the reasons behind Harvard's record success this year, fellowship winners say they are pleased to have the opportunity to study or travel abroad. Many say they look forward to the chance to experience radically different cultures from any they have known before.

Patricia A. Schoor '88 says she is one of the youngest of this year's Luce Scholarship winners. The Luce, which pays for travel and work in Asia, is awarded annually to 15 people, most of whom are graduate students or are already established in their fields.

In order to qualify for the Luce, an applicant must have no background in Asian languages or civilizations. Schoor, who turned down a Fulbright Fellowship to accept the award, says she is looking forward to the opportunity to learn another language and learn about foreign affairs. The Leverett senior plans to spend part of her time working with a female member of the Japanese legislature.

Shawn A. MacDonald '88 says he will use his Rockefeller--which he calls his "dream fellowship"--to travel to Africa and Indonesia. While in Indonesia, MacDonald say he will work in a refugee camp for Southeast Asians. He chose the Rockefeller, which is restricted to Harvard seniors, because he wanted a fellowship that would allow him to work and travel rather than study.

"I specifically wanted to get away from academics," says MacDonald. MacDonald is one of many scholarship winners who say they will enjoy a reprieve from school or the workplace.

Some seniors may have turned to fellowships to escape the world of jobs or academics, but many winners say they will use their awards to help their careers. They say their fellowships will not only expose them to new worlds but also open new doors for them, giving them skills that will set them off from their peers.

The chance to study in Gottingen, West Germany, on a Fulbright grant may help Audrey Choi '88 decide whether to go into public service or become a scholar of comparative literature. While in Germany, she says she will study that country's feminism and its "inclusion of difference." And Schoor says she expects her experience in Japan will "add so much to my career."

Some, like Mark Leong '88, say that a fellowship could be a dream come true. Leong, who did his senior thesis on Chinatowns in American cities, received a Peabody Gardner traveling fellowship from the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies. He will use the money to travel and take photographs in China. He says he hopes the fellowship will give him the skills he needs to fulfill his dream to work in China as a photogrpaher.