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Applying for the Rhodes Scholarship is a dream which most law students in India harbour, especially those who are studying in NLSIU or NALSAR. Often touted as "THE most prestigious" academic scholarship in the world, it is no wonder that it is also the most coveted among all the scholarships.

I study in one of the lower-ranking national law schools and I applied for the Rhodes Scholarship this year. The most difficult part of the application process, as any former Rhodes applicant would tell you is writing the Personal Statement, which is the make or break segment of the application.

The deadline for the aplication this year was 31st July, 2014.

When I think back to July, I remember that it was only 6 days before my application was due and I was not even close to a decent draft of my personal statement. I was in a terrible state- I was suffering from writer's block and I was sure that all the effort that went into procuring recommendation letters and scanning of academic transcripts would come to naught because I would fail at writing the Personal Statement. Adding to my woes was the sultry weather which is enough to put one in a bad mood for days at end (not the best frame of mind to be in when one is attempting a winning scholarship essay!).

My reason for applying for Rhodes was simple. I wanted to exit college with a bang. I don't know if this is the general milieu of law schools but I am witnessing the proliferation of increasingly brattish batches through CLAT every year- the kind who would treat you patronisingly if you aren't a stud mooter/debater in college or somebody who interned at a big-shot law firm. And although I have always worked towards something for the sense of satisfaction that it would bring me, one of the reasons that I want the scholarship is to break this arrogance that people have about their mooting/internship achievements (somebody who doesn't moot/intern is relegated to the rank of a simpleton).

I was applying for Rhodes because I believe that I could get the scholarship and because the last few years have been so painfully depressing (not in the "law school is depressing" kind of way but because of certain things that I should have realized earlier and I did not) that I NEEDED something as HUGE as a Rhodes Scholarship. It would be my way of starting afresh and giving myself a second chance (as they say 'all is well that ends well') and well, what could be a greater achievement for somebody who is the first from his/her college to win the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, given that in the NLU circuit nobody outside the Tier-I law school circle has won it.

I sent in my application exactly two days before the deadline. Ever since, I spent the time waiting for the results quite eagerly because I was certain that I would make it. 

Days passed and I did not hear from the Committee. It was on 20th of September, exactly 10 days ago that I called at the Rhodes Office to inquire about my application. One of the possibilities were that I had not made it. (At the time of applying for the scholarship, the guidelines stated that only the successful applicants would hear from the Committee for the preliminary interviews). 

I was told that I had made it to the next round and now I await (nervously and excitedly) for my preliminary interview on 12th of October. 

Today I decided to start this blog because of two reasons: firstly, I want to document the journey from being a Rhodes Applicant to a Rhodes Scholar (hopefully!) and secondly, I want to start writing again. Thirdly, there is only so much that I can write about the Rhodes Scholarship which forms but a part of my life in law school. The blog is a bigger experiment [as would be revealed to you in the forthcoming blogs, so keep reading :) ]

(I have never shied away from voicing my opinions freely but I feel that for now, I need to take on this task anonymously).

Most importantly, I hope to discover myself through the blog.

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