An initiative of Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust, the Rise Challenge is a program that finds brilliant people who need opportunity and supports them for
life as they work to serve others. The program offers Global Winners ages 15 to 17 a lifetime of benefits including scholarships, mentorship, access to career development opportunities, and funding as they work toward solving humanity’s most pressing problems.
Unlike many traditional applications, Rise uses videos, projects, and group interviews so applicants have multiple opportunities to showcase their potential. Applicants without access to video recording devices have the option of submitting text responses. For applicants without access to technology, an alternative low-tech pathway through paper applications is offered.
Rise Global Winners hail from around the world and demonstrate brilliance in a range of disciplines. Some may excel in STEM fields, others may show outstanding artistic ability, and still others may have a gift for community service and organizing, but all Rise Global Winners should demonstrate the following traits: brilliance, perseverance, integrity, empathy, and calling.
The Rise Challenge is divided into distinct components so evaluators can learn about applicants from as many different angles as possible, including peer reviews, expert reviews, and life evaluations. The application is like a jigsaw puzzle of multiple pieces: your responses to the short essay questions, your reviews of other peoples’ responses, others’ reviews of your responses, your project, your profile information, and other assessments. All pieces count and together form a whole picture of you as an applicant throughout the Rise Challenge. Applicants are encouraged to pace themselves throughout this time to complete their projects, and Rise will provide guidance and suggestions along the way.
Applicants for the 2023 cohort must be between the ages of 15 and 17 as of July 1, 2023.
For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Rise website.