Adventures of Andrew Lee

I wrote this in November of 2006, someone asked for it, so I wrote it.

Andrew Lee- 2006 Truman Scholar, 2006 Udall Scholar, and District XIII Rhodes Scholarship Finalist

My audience is going to be the young, interested, or ambitious freshman/sophomore, or the seasoned junior who has had some substantive internship/research/work/advocacy experience behind them.

Do not be overwhelmed. All of these scholarships may seem out of reach right now, but you need not be afraid, you can get them if you put in the time and energy.

Remember how you got into college? Well, it never stops.

So, you’re thinking about applying for Rhodes/Truman/Marshall/Gates-Cambridge/Udall because you want to:

• be the next President of the United States or advise someone in a high position,
• be the guy/gal who colonizes Mars,
• save millions of people from pain and suffering, i.e. starvation, war, etc.,
• stop global warming,
• rid the world of detrimental agricultural subsidies, or
• just be a professor.

Getting these scholarships would greatly help, but you need to remember that many great people out there do not receive these scholarships. In no way does getting these scholarships make you Presidential material, you either have it or you don’t. Contrary to popular opinion, you will succeed in the future no matter what scholarships you win.

NEVERTHELESS, DON’T DESPAIR. You can be a Rhodes/Truman/Udall/Marshall/Goldwater/Pickering/Boren/Academy of Achievement/USA Today All-Academic/Glamour Top Ten/ (AND THE LIST GOES ON) Scholar. I cannot guarantee you a win with my advice, but I can however tell you the necessary conditions you must meet to become a scholarship winner.

Maintain a minimum GPA above an 11.0, an 11.2 to 11.4 GPA to be competitive, and a 11.4 GPA (so a 3.6 or above for those on the 4.0 scale) or higher for it to be a real asset in competitions (and in other things in life). Below is studying advice. Ignore the advice if you are a genius and you can always get good grades, but if you are like me and must work hard, then here’s some tips that will help you study:

Mastery Through Discipline- Try these out, they may work differently for each person, but you should try out each one:

1. Visit your professors. You should at least visit your professors once a month to check up on your progress or to ask them questions on topics/issues that you do not understand. It’s about communication. As long as your professor knows you’re serious about your studies, you will always be in a positive light when you’re riding the difference between a B+ or A-, etc. NOTE: If you complain about Professors, it is probably because you don’t understand them. Some professors need to be brought down to the ground so that you can understand what they want (sometime they don’t even know, so reminding them helps). Many professors want to keep up their reps as the moderately difficult professor that still has popular classes, so you need to work hard.
2. Do not listen to music that will distract you from work. Although you may have listened to music throughout your teen years, you need to focus on the quality and depth of your work. When reading, eliminate all distractions. It is fine to use music that promotes reflection, but vocal music is mostly distracting. Studies have shown that listening to Mozart before taking tests may improve your test score, but listening to music during the test will distract you. The same is applicable to your studying habits.
3. Be disciplined. The mark of a great person is to be disciplined in their work and in their play. It’s important for students to work efficiently and effectively. Think of the time when you were able to achieve something great in a short amount of time. That incident doesn’t happen by accident. If you’re working to the best of your ability, you can definitely get a lot done, and still have time to party on the weekends.
4. Actively study. Be engaged in the material that you are studying. To retain information, you have to relate somehow to it. Ever read a passage and then not know what you just read? It’s important to actively study and be focused on the topic at hand.
5. Sleep is important. The younger you are in development, the more REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep you will need. As you grow older, you can sleep less and will have less REM sleep. Studies have shown that REM sleep is critical for memory retention, bodily health, and rejuvenation of metabolic processes. Although you can function on four hours of sleep, it doesn’t mean that you’re functioning to your full capacity. It’s important that you make sure to get enough sleep to allow your body enough rest for the next day. PULL ALL-NIGHTERS FOR TESTS AT YOUR OWN RISK! For many students, pulling all-nighters may give you the answer to question 12 at the expense of losing the answer to question 5 on your exam. It’s comparatively better to sleep the nights before a test, and review in the morning.

Reading-Based Classes

1. In most of your classes, you will write essays. Visit the Writing Centre. No matter if you are working on Senior thesis or a freshman writing your first Lit10 or Civ10 paper, they are always a great guide to writing. You can go over your writing with the writing center staff and, in doing so, understand your weaknesses and your strengths.
2. Create study guides. Many of the study guides found on this website did not come from third-party sources. Most of them originated from the classes themselves and from the students who took those classes. The process of making study guides is both educational and very useful. You can do it in a group or by yourself. The only problem is that when you work in a group, you have varying levels of experience with making study guides. The best way to prepare is to make a study guide for the reading assigned for your class, e.g. you will come prepared with a study guide for next Tuesday’s reading on Plato or the next biology class and with questions about the reading. When the midterm or finals rolls around, you only need to cut and paste relevant information for the test.

Math and Science Topics

1. Practice, practice, practice. Math is mainly procedural. Practice the procedure and your chances of success will increase.
2. Always show your work. You don’t need me to explain this do you? Alright, if you miss a question, the instructor will look to see if you had the right process and might award you half credit. There is no cost to showing your work, but there is if you don’t.
3. Use the silly acronyms to remember how math works. It’s okay. You don’t learn how to drive a car by knowing exactly how a car works. You test it out and remember the tricks of how to drive. You can learn its intricacies later.

Language Related Topics

1. Use mnemonic devices. I know you probably used them as a kid and you think that you are far above the use of mnemonic devices, but they work. Make note cards with translations on them or write out vocabulary words/phrases repeatedly. Remember to review almost daily.
2. Make quick study sheets. Take a sheet of paper and fold it into fours lengthwise (you should have four columns). Fold it so that the first column is on the left side and the fourth column is facing the first on the right side. Write your English translation on one side, and the second language translation on the other. Once you open the paper, you can proceed to fill in the translation for both in the blank center two columns.

SO, I HAVE GOOD GRADES, NOW WHAT? Now that you know how to get good grades, it’s up to you to seek out opportunities and construct a narrative about yourself. Most scholarships want displays of leadership, intellectual ability, and commitment to fellow person.

Take advantage of every opportunity and continue to advance your goals (a thematic recommendation). First, take advantage of opportunities. I understand that many of the scholarship winners come from an upper class background and are able to travel around the world building huts because they are self-funded. I do also understand that most of us in this world need to have a job while in school. It does not mean that you cannot take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves and where you can have substantive leadership in a particular issue. If you really want to do something, you can make it happen (yes, so give up playing video games). Don’t stop trying to fight the good fight. Whatever it is you believe in (short of human sacrifice), keep believing and making the world a better place. If you care about scientific research, pursue it. One of the times when my mother required me to watch Oprah, Oprah sad that success is when preparation meets luck. You can win these scholarships if you prepare yourself well and continue to push yourself. Don’t settle for less than you deserve and if you really want it, then you should understand that it isn’t easy to get what you want.

NOTE: An easy thing to do here is to look at the bios of previous winners and try to copy them. They were able to successfully achieve their goals, you should too.

THAT’S IT. Obviously there are more facets to the question of displays of leadership etc., but it’s all about constructing the narrative about you and making sure that narrative is genuine.

IMPORTANT ENDING NOTE

Many successful people in the world do not win these scholarships. In fact, some who win these scholarships do not amount to much, e.g. according to a weird research book on the Rhodes Scholarship, many Rhodes scholars have committed suicide because they couldn’t match up to their peers (or some other deeply rooted psychological issue) and were constantly caught in the rat race. Before you apply for these scholarships, you need to be strong in body, mind, and soul. The scholarship process will help you know yourself and help you ask the big questions about your ambition. The larger questions about truth, God, and why you are on this Earth can only be answered when you dig deep into yourself.

At the end of your college career, you don't want to regret that you had no time to date, to establish wonderful friendships, to call your mother and have her remind you of your flu shot, to see a speaker, or to take classes because you were afraid to learn something new (and get a bad grade). College is what you make of it and you can enjoy in whatever ways you want. From my side in the past to you in the future, good luck and don't lose sight of the things that really matter.