Scholarship of the willing

More links relating to our foreign minister, but this time involving his daughter getting a Chevening scholarship. What.. who cars you say, well bare with me. She received 3rd class honors, Yeah not a bad effort, but apparently the scholarship is very prestige and only the top of the crop receive them which means 2nd class honors as a minimum. There has been plenty of negative mail about this article calling Crikey all sorts of names, but there have also been some very interesting mail from failed applicants. Two that I seen were from applicants who had achieved first class honors but had not even been called up for an interview.

A quick search of the Melbourne University website reveals that the Law Faculty publishes an honours ranking list. In the 2003 Ranked Final Honours List, Georgina Mary Beatrice Downer is placed at 120th in a cohort of 139 graduates. In fact, she is placed half way down the Honours 3 ranking; an entirely respectable result but one that speaks to a plodding academic career rather than one of excellence.

So how did a 3rd class honors graduate get a vital interview (that she allegedly excelled at) for a scholarship worth $50,000, when better students didn't even receive a no thank you. hhmmm... fishy?

Of course mainstream media are staying well clear of this. no surprise really.. no heart.