<p>You kind of have to look for it, because it's just a small shout out in a much longer article, but Smith's Praxis program got an "impressive" nod from the Chronicle of Higher Ed today in a longer article about how to alleviate the burden of internships on students. Colleges</a> Shouldn't Stick Interns With the Bill - Commentary - The Chronicle of Higher Education</p>
<p>S&P, thank you for the article. It raises some good questions. The whole college internship issue is fraught with fraughts, but I’m glad to see that the author felt Praxis was a reasonable solution.</p>
<p>I love the idea of Praxis, I just wish they could somehow up it. Sadly, 2k is not enough to live off of, especially if you can’t stay at home for your Praxis. </p>
<p>So many people can’t take advantage of such a great opportunity and I wish that could be fixed</p>
<p>R6L, my daughter has said several times she’s heard that the amount of Praxis is supposed to go up to $3000, but it’s not clear when. That’s why she’s postponing using it until next summer.</p>
<p>Well, as I’ve said in other posts, Praxis doesn’t cover your expenses completely, but it does take a lot of the burden off of students and helps put an internship within reach. </p>
<p>For example, 2000 could be enough for rent for a summer, or it could be enough for other expenses if you can find a way to eliminate rent. It still means getting some help from either personal savings, parents, or other funding sources, but it makes the concept of an unpaid internship a possibility. Many schools don’t even have that.</p>
<p>“So many people can’t take advantage of such a great opportunity and I wish that could be fixed.”</p>
<p>^^ I understand that the Praxis grant is insufficient to cover out-of-town independent living, but it can defray some of those costs - - and as a result student (not sure how many) may not be able to take advantage of their first-choice internship oppty. But $2k can signif defray the cost of independent housekeeping and even if the stipend in increased to $3K, any number of out-of-town internship opportunities will still be out of reach financially. The purpose of the grant is not to cover the cost of summer houskeeping, transportation, etc in the city of your choice, but to put a substantive work-experience within reach, even if it means - - heaven forfend - - living with family, dipping into savings or having less spending money during the school.</p>
<p>As S&P points out, some schools offer no funding. Or the funding is awarded competitively, so many applicants walk away empty-handed.</p>
<p>Praxis has already gone up, actually, to 2400 for US/in one’s home country internships and 3500 to international internships. Apparently an alum donated money specifically to the Praxis program, so stipends have gone up a considerable amount.</p>
<p>Wow! Ppa, you are absolutely right! That’s fabulous! I see at the bottom of the web page it was updated 2/18/11, so this is a fairly recent change. Thank you for pointing that out. What a generous alum!</p>
<p>My daughter didn’t use her Praxis money (she secured paid research jobs), but it was always nice to know that it was there if she needed it. Although the Praxis may not cover ALL costs, it defrays a lot of the expense. Think of it this way: taking that unpaid internship would have been a lot more expensive without the Praxis. It’s just nice to know that Smith is willing to help its students get summer experience in their fields. </p>
<p>I always wondered how students on major financial aid handled it, however, since I believe part of Smith’s calculation for aid counts on the student earning $2000 each summer. If a Praxis-supported internship doesn’t fully support a student (or even it the student breaks even), how does that affect FA, if at all?</p>
<p>My older daughter at a different school did an unpaid internship with no outside support. So this money looks like heaven to us. :D</p>
<p>My d. used her Praxis to take an unpaid internship to refurbish an old opera house in Centralia, Washington.</p>
<p>I lived off of my Praxis while interning with the State Department overseas (though my housing was free). I used an amount equivalent to Praxis that they give to Picker program students to pay for my rent for a summer in DC.</p>
<p>“I always wondered how students on major financial aid handled it, however, since I believe part of Smith’s calculation for aid counts on the student earning $2000 each summer. If a Praxis-supported internship doesn’t fully support a student (or even it the student breaks even), how does that affect FA, if at all?”</p>
<p>I consider D’s finaid ($40K need-based grant) to be “major” and D was able to accept an otherwise unfunded internship thanks to Praxis funding. D lived at home and picked up other shift-work to supplement her Praxis stipend. [Praxis requires only 220(?) hours of service and D had a long summer break: mid-May through August.]</p>
<p>I do not believe a student’s finaid is increased if she opts for an experience that, after out-of-pocket espenses, prevents her from earning the $2K than SFS has factored as the student contrib from summer employment - - and I didn’t have a problem with that. If D had wanted an an out-of-town internship, she would have to work addit hours during the school year and save up to cover those summer living expenses - - her choice. </p>
<p>I am certain that even the higher $2.4K stipend will be insufficient to support some students’ first-choice internships (which would have been the case w/ D wokring/living out-of-town). And for those with fewer resources than my family, the $2.4K might not be enough - - even living at home and supplemented with shift-work. But, as I posted above, the purpose of the grant is to put an internship oppty IN REACH - - which it does for most students. Certainly, these great (and often unpaid) internships would be out-of-reach for even more students w/o Praxis or if Praxis awarded grants competitively, as many other schools (including MHC) do.</p>
<p>Yeah, when D had the two internships that didn’t qualify for Praxis, it also effectively kept her from a paying job that summer, so we absorbed that additional cost one way or the other.</p>
<p>I think it’s important to keep perspective. A college education in general is something that it’s worth going into debt for, unlike a Starbucks habit or a collection of Manolo shoes, and at the end of four years if you’ve had to add $2-5K more to your loan balance than you initially calculated, it’s not the end of the world.</p>
<p>Both the unpaid summer and some additional travel expenses when D was in Hungary weren’t in the up front budget…but both were worth it. I mean, what were the odds D would bump into the royal couple while on holiday at Juan-les-Pins and be invited to the royal wedding, eh?</p>
<p>TD, what!?!?!</p>
<p>There are several royal weddings happening this year. 
Could be any of them!</p>
<p>Carolyn, what, you think it’s okay to go into debt for Manolos?</p>
<p>“[A]t the end of four years if you’ve had to add $2-5K more to your loan balance than you initially calculated, it’s not the end of the world.”</p>
<p>Agreed, but for some families, the addit $2-5K is too much of a stretch and that will mean that the student must forgo a great experience - -not the end of the world, but worth acknowledging.</p>
<p>FP, at degree absolute, I agree with you. There are limits. But adding $2K or student loans, assuming they aren’t outrageous to begin with, is inconsequential in the total scheme of things. Some people are waaaay too cavalier about debt; others freak out too much.</p>
<p>TD, I agree with your statement to a point. However, as someone who’s parents don’t have the means to contribute one cent to her education, Praxis is more likely than not out of reach for me. I’m from Pennsyltucky, so there are literally NO internships that I could stay at home for. Even if I just drove to Pittsburgh everyday, Praxis would just cover my gas and maybe food. Most of the jobs for pay I can get in my hometown are fast food or Walmart, and they tend to not be terribly accomadating for other jobs/internships</p>
<p>Praxis is incredible. I’m not even doubting that because I know it’s basically unheard of at most schools. I just get a bit, I dunno, I guess jealous that it’s an opportunity that will take a huge stretch for me to make possible, and in the end probably won’t be possible. </p>
<p>I know I’m not the only student in this position. SACA (smith association of class activists) has talked about this a great deal. When their members take Praxis, they work full time on top of it, and still tend to drain their bank accounts to make it possible. That makes it hard to make their student contribution for the next school year. They normallly have to relocate to do their Praxis, and thus need rent/food/gas/etc money. To see how much they have to stretch, when some people who really don’t need it take a Praxis, frustrates me. That’s all</p>
<p>Like I said I LOVE Praxis. Just wish it were more accesible :)</p>