For aspiring scholars, it's time to hit the Rhodes

The Graduate Studies Office has sent out its annual reminder and explanation about the application process for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarships.

The Rhodes Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship supporting exceptional students at the University of Oxford in England. Established in the will of Cecil Rhodes in 1902, the Rhodes is the oldest and perhaps most prestigious international scholarship program in the world. Applicants for the Rhodes Scholarship are assessed for their intellectual distinction, physical vigour, character, commitment to service, and leadership.

Proven intellectual and academic attainment of a high standard is the first quality required of applicants, but they will also be required to show integrity of character, sympathy for and protection of the weak, the ability to lead and the energy to use their talents to the full.

Candidates must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents, be domiciled in Canada and have been born between September 30, 1990 and October 1, 1996. Applicants must have received an undergraduate degree before taking up the scholarship. Candidates may apply either in the province in which they are ordinarily resident (some exceptions apply) or in the province in which they have attended university.

Candidates are invited to familiarize themselves with the complete and official scholarship criteria and apply using the online application.

As the Rhodes Scholarship application process is online, students may request an official electronic copy of their Waterloo transcript from Heidi Mussar in the Graduate Studies Office. Candidates who are endorsed by the University and subsequently shortlisted for an interview at Rhodes will be required to provide an original transcript, sealed and stamped by the University.

All candidates applying through the University of Waterloo must participate in an internal screening process and earn the endorsement of the University's president. Therefore, Waterloo candidates must submit a hard copy of their application to Heidi Mussar no later than September 5, 2014.

Six letters of reference are required as part of the Rhodes Scholarship application. Once a candidate has registered their referee details in their online application, the Rhodes Trust will email referees to advise them how to submit their letters of appraisal online. Candidates must also ask their referees to email a copy of their reference letter to Heidi Mussar in the Graduate Studies Office no later than September 6.

Applicants selected for the Waterloo interview will be contacted by email by Friday, September 12, 2014. The University Scholarship Selection Committee will then determine which applicants will be endorsed by the university and will organize a supporting letter to be signed by the President of the University of Waterloo.

Applications and reference letters must be filed online through the website for the Rhodes Trust in Oxford no later than October 17, 2014. It is strongly advised that Waterloo candidates do not actually submit their online application to Rhodes until they have been contacted by the Graduate Studies Office and have undergone the university interview process. The University of Waterloo's authorization code is "ON057".

Questions should be directed to Heidi Mussar.

 

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Study suggests not everybody wants cheering up

You may want to rethink cheering up your friends who have low self-esteem because chances are they don't want to hear it.

People with low self-esteem have overly negative views of themselves, and often interpret critical feedback, romantic rejections, or unsuccessful job applications as evidence of their general unworthiness. A new study from researchers at the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University found that they likely don't want you to try to boost their spirits.

"People with low self-esteem want their loved ones to see them as they see themselves. As such, they are often resistant to their friends’ reminders of how positively they see them and reject what we call positive reframing–expressions of optimism and encouragement for bettering their situation," said Professor Denise Marigold, from Renison University College at Waterloo, and lead author of the study.

The findings appear in the new issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

These individuals usually prefer negative validation, which conveys that the feelings, actions or responses of the recipient are normal, reasonable, and appropriate to the situation. So a friend could express understanding about the predicament or for the difficulty of a situation, and suggest that expressing negative emotions is appropriate and understandable.

The researchers found no evidence that positive reframing helps participants with low self-esteem. And in fact, the people providing support to friends with low self-esteem often felt worse about themselves when they attempted to cheer up their friend.

Some study participants indicated that supporting friends with low self-esteem could be frustrating and tiring. The researchers found that when these support providers used positive reframing instead of negative validation in these situations, they often believed the interaction went poorly, perhaps because the friends with low self-esteem were not receptive and the efforts didn't work.

"If your attempt to point out the silver lining is met with a sullen reminder of the prevailing dark cloud, you might do best to just acknowledge the dark cloud and sympathize," said Professor Marigold.

 

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Seminar on intercultural skills next week

WatPD, the University's Professional Development Program, is hosting a seminar featuring Lionel Laroche on the subject of Intercultural Skills.

Laroche will discuss the importance for cultural skills for professional development and their connections to workplace settings and will cover such topics as:

• Verbal and non-verbal communication style differences;
• Social status of professionals;
• Understanding what your manager expects from you;
• What does being a good team player mean?;
• Taking initiative; and
• Managing time in the workplace.

The event will take place on Tuesday, July 22 at 1:45 p.m. in EV3 1408. The event is free, but registration is required as seating is limited.

 

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