What is the Rhodes social engagement?
If you’ve been selected as a Rhodes finalist, you’ll be invited to two events over the course of one weekend: the social engagement and the interview. The social engagement occurs before the finalist interviews; post-COVID, it can be either virtual or in-person. If yours is in person, it might be held at a restaurant, club or conference center. You should dress formally and professionally, but make sure you’re comfortable. Wear a conversation-starting tie, earrings, or scarf if it feels natural to you.
The structure and content of your Rhodes social engagement will vary by region and country, but generally, it is an opportunity for you to meet the selection committee and other finalists as a group before your interview. Although the social engagement is meant to be more laid back than the interview, it’s natural to feel nervous or awkward – after all, this is an incredibly artificial setting that you’ve probably never experienced before.
Ultimately, you should treat the social engagement as an opportunity to learn more about the panel and set yourself up for success during your interview. I was a finalist in 2022, and my three goals going into the social engagement were:
Show who I am as a person, outside of my resume and accomplishments
Get a sense of the vibe of the selection committee so that I feel more at ease during the upcoming interview
Enjoy my conversations with a bunch of really smart people, both the selection committee and the other finalists
Your social engagement will begin with a gathering of all the finalists and judges, a round of introductions, and an icebreaker for the group. Your selection committee will likely be made up of 5-8 former Rhodes scholars, although the composition varies by district and country. For the group icebreaker at my social engagement, we were asked our names, what degree program we wished to complete at Oxford, and a book we had been reading lately. Other times, finalists are asked to share a fun fact about themselves. It might help to prepare for a couple of basic icebreaker questions ahead of time.
After the introductions, you’ll break into smaller groups of a few finalists and judges and start chatting! If your social engagement is in-person, you might stand in small circles cocktail-party-style and work your way around the room. If your social engagement is virtual, you’ll be put into breakout rooms, which will rotate every 15-20 minutes so that you get to meet most or all of the judges. Usually, the judges will ask questions of the finalists, and the finalists will take turns answering. Conversations will emerge naturally from there – for example, another finalist or a judge might ask a follow-up on something that was said, inviting others to contribute their thoughts.
Overall, the best advice I can give is to be yourself and show your personality. Leave resume items aside — nobody wants to hear you blab about your accomplishments. In my social engagement, we talked a lot about the other finalists’ and my personal interests: poetry, ice skating, painting. Ultimately, it was actually really fun to talk about my passions with a group of really smart people.
If you want to learn more about my experience with the interview and social engagement, as well as my advice for making the most of it, check out my Rhodes Interview Guide. In my 28-page guide packed with information, you’ll find:
The unwritten rules for how to make the best impression at the social engagement
A breakdown of interview strategy, and how to prepare in a short amount of time
A full account of my own finalist weekend, from start to finish
150+ relevant and specific sample questions to use as you practice, including “gotcha” questions to prepare for
Check it out!