When the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships opened in 2000, only 12 students applied for the prestigious Rhodes and Marshall scholarships. Compared to Harvard, which boasted over 100 applicants, Penn's numbers were dismally low.
This year, however, 35 students applied for the Marshall scholarship and 39 applied for the Rhodes. And for the second time in the school's history, Penn students won both awards -- which provide full scholarships to study in the United Kingdom.
"We're beginning to have real success, real substantial success -- the kind of thing Penn should have been doing all along but hadn't," CURF Director Arthur Casciato said.
He added that President Amy Gutmann's position as chair of the Rhodes selection committee for Pennsylvania and Delaware may have encouraged applications because "it shows just how committed she is, and Penn is, to the process of recruiting and supporting Penn students in their quest to win these prestigious awards."
Most students, however, apply for the scholarships through their home state regions, not Pennsylvania, Casciato said.
Since CURF started, eight Penn students have won the awards, more than any other six-year period in Penn's history.
In previous years, applicants had to face a faculty committee that endorsed or rejected candidates. Now, however, CURF aims primarily at encouraging students through active recruiting.
He said students should apply for a scholarship if they find a program in the United Kingdom that matches their interest.
College and Wharton senior Brett Shaheen, who won a Rhodes scholarships to study at Oxford University, said that the guidance provided by CURF was instrumental in helping him through the application process.
After becoming a finalist but failing to win a Truman scholarship last year, Shaheen found moral support through CURF to try applying to programs again.
"The outcome was a bit disappointing, but [the CURF staff] was there and really helped me learn from the experience so I was a stronger candidate during senior year for the Rhodes," he said.
For both Shaheen and Aziza Zakhidova, who won a Marshall scholarship to study at any British university, the CURF assistance exceeded expectations.
The office provides writing advisors, practice interviews and mentoring for potential candidates.
"They're personally really involved in you as an individual," said Zakhidova, who is a College and Wharton senior. "That's pretty special to have that individualized support."
Still, the credit lies primarily in the students, Casciato said.
"I don't produce Rhodes and Marshall winners," he said. "I help people who are deserving of those awards to do the very best they can."
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