On Nov. 15, 32 students were named American Rhodes Scholars in the 2026 cycle. The list included students and alumni representing all Ivy League institutions — except Cornell.
In fact, the University has not seen a Cornellian named in the past six years — all of the classes currently publicized on the Rhodes Trust website.
The Rhodes Scholarship is a prestigious, fully-funded postgraduate award to study at the University of Oxford.
Scholars Across the Ivy League
While less than 1 percent of U.S. college students attend Ivy League institutions, they account for 12 of 32, or 37.5 percent of the American Rhodes Scholarship Class of 2026.
Over the past six years, there has been an average total of 12.3 Ivy-affiliated scholars named annually, which rounds out to 1.5 average per school.
This also aligns with historical totals. Harvard, Yale and Princeton top the list of all colleges in the total number of U.S. Rhodes Scholars from 1904 to the present day, with 402, 270 and 219, respectively. Cornell, in contrast, has had 31 scholars.
Harvard also tops the Ivy League in the number of American scholars over the past six years, with 33 total, or 5.5 average per year. Yale falls second with 18 total, or three average per year, and Columbia ranks third with eight total — 1.3 average per year.
Princeton, Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania follow with a tie of four total, or an average of 0.7 per year. Dartmouth falls second to last with three total, or an average of 0.5 per year.
Harvard, Yale and Columbia are the only Ivy League institutions to have seen at least one scholar named each year throughout this time. Harvard saw the most successful year in the Ivy League throughout the past six years with the Class of 2024, with nine affiliate awardees in a single year.
Recent Cornellian Rhodes Scholars
While The Sun’s data analysis exclusively focused on U.S. Rhodes Scholars, Cornell students who are citizens of other countries may be eligible for scholarships designated to 24 other Rhodes constituencies or Global Scholarships.
Nina Acharya ’19 was one of only 11 Canadian students to be awarded the competitive fellowship in 2019, with plans to study children’s nutrition.
Ahmed M. Ahmed ’17, a first-generation Somali immigrant, was named a U.S. Rhodes Scholar in 2016. Majoring in biology on the pre-medical path at Cornell, Ahmed spent his undergraduate career involved as a researcher, student advisor, chemistry tutor and peer mentor.
Rachel Harmon ’15, who majored in industrial and labor relations, was awarded the scholarship in 2014. Christopher “Kit” Dobyns ’13 and Daniel Young ’13 were both named scholars in 2012.
New Fellowship Resources
Cornellians will now have a dedicated office to receive fellowship guidance, with resources branching out of their previous home in Cornell Career Services.
The University recently launched the Office of National Fellowships in 100 Barnes Hall, which aims to broaden access to opportunities for graduate study, research, service and travel funding.
“There are pockets of campus where we have high-achieving students that aren't getting access to these kinds of opportunities,” said Krista Saleet, director of the office, in a press release.
In a November column for The Sun, Vice President of Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi wrote that the “true value of fellowships” is “not as markers of prestige, but as catalysts for growth.”
The office includes two advisors, peer writing support through the John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines and connections to Cornell leadership.
“Our goal is to ensure every student knows that fellowships are for them,” Lombardi wrote. “These opportunities are for anyone curious about how their experiences, challenges and ambitions might contribute to something greater.”
According to Lombardi, in the Office of National Fellowships’ inaugural year, there was a 195 percent increase in advising appointments.
Lombardi described that “for every fellowship recipient, there are many more students and alumni who have gained something equally valuable through the process of applying: the chance to articulate what matters most to them and how they hope to make an impact.”
Julia Senzon ’26 contributed writing.
Angelina Chen is a Sun Contributor in the Class of 2027.
