If you want to be a Rhodes Scholar, you may have picked the wrong school. Cadet Lopinoso is the 88th Rhodes Scholar from West Point and West Point is ranked4th behind Harvard, Yale and Princeton.
graduate school/ active duty? From the USMA home page: http://www.usma.edu/HomeArt/ "Senior Josh Lospinoso, pictured above giving a presentation, has been named a Rhodes Scholar. Lospinoso becomes the Academy’s 88th recipient of the prestigious scholarship since 1923. The Sparta, N.J. native, has a double major in economics and operations research, as well as serving as a Regimental Operations Officer. A three-year competitor in the Sandhurst competition, Lospinoso is one of 32 American men and women selected to study at the University of Oxford in England beginning in October 2009. Lospinoso says he plans to study for a Master of Science in applied statistics before serving as an Infantry officer." How will going to graduate school as a Rhodes Scholar before serving as an Infantry officer impact his active duty service?
Most colleges have a full time person whose job is to select and prepare possible Rhodes Scholars sometime during their sophomore year. They need to get them outside research opportunities, have them attend the cocktail receptions, meet and greets, etc. It's not all academics, despite what some people want you to believe. These professional mentors work hard to get volunteer and research opportunities for them and to maintain critical "network contacts." This is probably the most significant key to success in competing for these scholarships. There is so much "schmoozing" that have to be done, it almost overtakes the actual academic qualifications. The Rhodes selection committees place an incredibly high premium on "who you know and who you've met."
I stand by my statement. Of all the service academies, the United State Military Academy is probably in the best position to assist a student in becoming a Rhodes Scholar.
