"He's extremely committed," Han said of Schwartz. "What he says that he's going to do, he does without fail."

"He's very much open to suggestions and ideas, and he takes people's input," she added.

Candidates must go through a rigorous application process to become Truman Scholars.

"The interview process was very long and emotionally draining," Boni-Saenz said.

Applicants must answer several essay questions, create a public policy proposal and complete an interview simply to become one of four students nominated by their college.

A committee narrows the pool to 200, and regional selection panels interview these candidates before deciding on 75 to 80 winners, including students from every state and U.S. possession.

Four Harvard students were Truman scholars last year, but this year marked the first in which Radcliffe College could not submit four nominees of its own, which made the application process more selective.

"I was told that the competition at the Harvard level was going to be even worse than at the national level," Boni-Saenz said.