Not really, although it may appear to be so. If you do want to think of educational bang for the buck in terms of prestigious accolades and awards, then it would be only fair to cast the net wider to give a more realistic context to judge this type of pragmatic evaluation of educational rigor and competitiveness. By that, I mean it would be necessary to look at the colleges and universities that produced nominees for these presitigious awards. Because as in the case of the Rhodes scholars, they "were selected from 896 applicants endorsed by 340 colleges and universities, and will join scholars selected from 13 other jurisdictions around the world. Approximately 85 are selected each year. The scholarships provide two or three years of study, with the total value averaging about $45,000 per year." Yes, the award winners are selected "on the basis of high academic achievement, personal integrity, leadership potential and physical vigor, among other attributes" but so are the nominees.
"Varied backgrounds lead to Rhodes honor"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061119/...hodes_scholars