Two Rhodes scholars from the US think Oxford is rubbish.

Bekaboo

Also I seriously doubt that you can make a generalisation like all Rhodes scholars being "academically lousy".

Just the American ones.
I know a few and they generally just do the doss courses like the MSt.
They seem happy to get Thirds or even just not turn up for exams.

Reply 3

regtheswift

I agree partly with bekaboo, although the tone of the article is particully arrogant alot of the article is true to some extent. some of the teaching can be a little out-dated and personally seeing as im going to one of the best universities in the world i would have expected the best teaching that it could offer. The comnment about the bodleian made me laugh though, every book ever published in britain isnt, apparently, good enough for rhodes scholars.

lol

Reply 4

Is there any difference in overall teaching quality between grad and undergrad?

Reply 5

shady lane

fundamentally

Just the American ones.
I know a few and they generally just do the doss courses like the MSt.
They seem happy to get Thirds or even just not turn up for exams.

The Rhodes only funds for 2 years of study I believe, so I don't think they can do anything other than two MSts or an MPhil.

Also I can't speak to whether or not they perform well at Oxford, but they are most certainly intelligent. You need nearly perfect grades, plus amazing extra curriculars, 4-5 references, and must go through rounds of interviews to get chosen. If they slack off it's probably because they don't plan on being academics (very few Rhodes do) and want to have fun in Oxford for a few years before applying to Yale Law School.

I hate this article though. I actually hate the Rhodes Scholarship, as it funds Americans with entitlement complexes to party in the UK on blood money gotten from Africans who were basically enslaved in Cecil Rhodes' diamond mines. I actually asked an alumni of my uni who was a Rhodes when I was visiting Oxford how he felt about having dirty money paying for his livelihood, and he said "at least I got it instead of someone less deserving." Hmm..OK, please take your ego elsewhere, thank you.

These authors are pathetic. Cry me a river that people don't think you're important because you went to Harvard and won a scholarship. Big deal.

Reply 6

Agrippina

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=359343

Reply 7

thomasjtl

9

I actually asked an alumni of my uni who was a Rhodes when I was visiting Oxford how he felt about having dirty money paying for his livelihood

I'm sorry, what exactly possessed you to ask something so entirely obnoxious? Of course some of the things Rhodes did were appauling, but surely the Rhodes scholarship is one of the positive things he did, and has benefitted many africans as well as "americans with entitlement complexes". Really, would you rather his money just stayed in his family's pockets?

Reply 8

shady lane

These authors are pathetic. Cry me a river that people don't think you're important because you went to Harvard and won a scholarship. Big deal.

Well they aren't pathetic, but they really should think carefully before writing that article, because their experiences may not paint the whole picture perfectly - it is Oxford afterall.

Reply 9

Knogle

Off-topic, but you know you're tired when you read "Rhode Scholars" and "Black-Scholes". :p:

Reply 10

Derek_the_Sheep

8

It's worthwhile reading through the follow-ups to the original article: there's a quite fascinating spread of opinion, a lot of it well-argued and thoughtful.

Anyway, that's what I've just spent an hour or so doing, learning quite a lot about the Rhodes Scholars, Harvard (and Oxford) in the process...

DtS

Reply 11

Teebs

I found the comments very interesting. In the article itself, my favourite bit was complaining about London being 2 hours away from Oxford. As well as being factually incorrect, it just seemed like such a petty thing to complain about.

Reply 12

BJ-Dubois

Charmless idiots the lot of them. One of the authors rejoices in the name Swati Mylavarapu, if he thinks Oxfords antiquated, he should try marrying his sister back wherever the hell he originated. That's just my (probably racist) opinion, though. At least the British education system is slightly less governed by your parents wealth (or your ability throw a stupidly shaped ball) , what with the Ivy League mafia, it might as well be a banana republic.

I wish the Soviets had won the Cold War. If that article is from the creme de la creme of the American educational establishment, then it goes some way further to explaining why Dubya (a Yale gruduate) can consistantly outwit the entire pigheaded nation. Whatever the size of their checkbook, Harvard can't buy what Oxford has and their complaining about the time the shops shut just shows how vacuous and materialistic the entire cross-section of US society has become. They're probably just bitter because most the the planet, including a good proportion of the British public, tend not to think of the US as one hundreth as important as they do.

Reply 13

Jonesy_LJ

I just can't get enough of the fact that they complain that Oxford is 2 hours away from London. Damn you Oxford! Next time you found a university you'd best make damn sure it's within a short distance of the capital so that American guests to it, who were too lazy to look at a map beforehand, won't be minorly inconvenienced!

Reply 14

thomasjtl

9

checkbook

That would be "chequebook"

Reply 15

BJ-Dubois

True, I should really have gone to Harvard.

Reply 16

The more I read the article, the more I am scared what Oxford really is!! I haven't been to Oxford, but have been to Cambridge - and it was amazing there. Crosses fingers for Oxford.

Reply 17

Teebs

BJ-Dubois

I wish the Soviets had won the Cold War.

Off topic, but I find that slightly worrying.

Reply 18

Just wondering, any good articles about Oxford?

Reply 19

shady lane