This ended up to be the most contentious issue of the conference. Often assistant and associate professors are closer to the students and much more familiar with their work. Other Marshall selectors then put forward the opposing view, that closeness to the student is more important than the notoriety of a full professor. I include both views here to point out that there is no single, winning formula to getting a scholarship. It is a human process, fraught with uncertainty but leaving plenty of room for creativity.
Most students balk at the request for up to eight letters of recommendation.
You need not have that many, and six may be enough. More than five letters is preferable, not only because you don't want to give an image of meeting the minimum requirements but also because one of your letters might not get to the Rhodes office in time which might disqualify your application. So-so letters of merely warm support may dilute rather than support your efforts. If a potential recommender cannot write an honest, strongly positive letter, it is more helpful all around not to write one. Letters from beyond Reed can be handled in a variety of ways.