<p>Hello, I've been finding so much helpful information on these threads but yet to see a post comparing the Research Assistant position at Smith for STRIDE scholars to the internship offered Mount Holyoke 21st Century Scholars. Does anyone have information/thoughts/etc., about these two? I'm mainly thinking about long-term implications (graduate school, job search, etc.).</p>
<p>What are the details of the MoHo scholars program?</p>
<p>21st Century Scholar is similar to STRIDE but instead of a 2 year Res Asst stipend there is an “internship” (not any more defined than that, as far as I can find). Similar recognition (but significantly more financial aid) with small group events, etc.</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about the Mt. Holyoke program to be honest with you, except that as you say, it’s probably very similar to STRIDE but with more money involved. I don’t know that anyone could possibly compare which of the internships/research assistantships were better unless they had a daughter in each program (which would be unusual).</p>
<p>I asked a friend of mine, a Smith alum whose daughter is a Moho sophomore, about the 21st Century Scholars and she really didn’t know much about it, only what was on the website:</p>
<p>"1. A $25,000 scholarship renewable for four years.
2. Funding for an internship.
3. Admission to a first-year honors tutorial with a distinguished faculty member.</p>
<p>Students are selected for these awards based on a record of outstanding academic and extracurricular achievement as well as evidence of leadership potential and regardless of financial need. All first-year applicants to the College are considered for these awards; no additional application is necessary."</p>
<p>My daughter two years ago was in the same quandary as the OP and that was when the 21st Century Scholars program was just getting off the ground. We asked about the program and they really couldn’t give us much specifics. Somewhere along the way I got the impression that there were specific lectures/talks the students were invited to, but I could be wrong (maybe that’s the tutorial?). We came to the conclusion that the Smith STRIDE was a well-defined, well-established, well-known program; my daughter chose Smith and hasn’t looked back since. I am surprised that two years after the 21st Century program was started, there still aren’t many details so that you can really get a handle on what they’re offering. You would think they’d be bending over backwards to tell you all about it, so it’s puzzling. To address the OP’s question about long-term implications, I would think the obvious: the STRIDE program has known potential benefits of jump-starting grad school research and job prospects.</p>
<p>I would encourage the OP to also review the general comparisons between the two schools in other posts over time to understand their basic differences.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone. My daughter actually has a friend in the MoHo program this year as a freshman (as well as a Smith Junior who is Stride) so while we are back for Smith’s open campus weekend she will spend time at both so she can provide a better comparison. Yes, I do feel that the Smith program is more established and that is her top choice but given more aid at MoHo, we will be exploring both fully (and meeting with financial aid staff).</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear you’ll get some real comparisons between the two programs. Please share fully with us what you learn about the 21st Century Scholars so we can answer future OPs. And do let us know what your daughter decides to do. Enjoy the productive weekend visits.</p>
<p>I’m a 21st Century Scholar at MHC, so while I can’t speak to the STRIDE program, I know that the program at Mount Holyoke is very good. If you’re interested in the sciences, your internship can definitely be research-related. The great thing about this program is that your internship can be anywhere! For instance, I’m working at the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience in Atlanta this summer, and Mount Holyoke is supporting me financially. </p>
<p>Additionally, I’ve been working in a biology lab since January of my first year, so there are options to get involved in on-campus research early on. While this is not a paying position, you can get academic credit for your time spent in the lab.</p>
<p>Let me know if you have any other questions!</p>
<p>So sounds like the big difference (other than money) is that Smith’s is a paid two-year in-term research assistantship, while the MHC one is a paid summer internship.</p>
<p>I don’t think you’re restricted to a summer internship at MHC. It could be during a year or a semester as well. They’re very flexible!</p>
<p>Is Smith’s RA position restricted to on-campus labs?</p>
<p>It’s not neccessarily in labs, because the resarch you do with STRIDE is not neccessarily related to science, it could be humanities research as well. But it’s working with a professor on campus.</p>
<p>My wife was concerned STRIDE was slave labor for profs at less funding than 21st Century. However, my sister in law (a prof) reviewed STRIDE , and found it to be gold for moving on to Grad school, especially for sciences! I think MoHo is trying to move in that direction, but it is not yet as formalized. </p>
<p>D and I saw about 8 STRIDE projects in detail on Open Campus day, and were very impressed. We heard an honest appraisal of having a goal with a prof and watching it morph as the demands of the research cause a need for more high tech equipment (which Smith bought) and completely new thinking (using pie crust to transfer plant nodes to a 2-D surface for mapping!) And then off to conferences to present as a Sophmore while the Yale Medical School send Seniors…and after 4 years? Your research puts you WAY ahead of others. Next day we heard about folks going on their Fulbrights… ahhh, usually a needle in a haystack at many top schools.</p>
<p>So while I think one can use 21st century to get to a similar situation, with STRIDE its already baked in with the profs well versed in how to coach a first year into a researcher over the two year period.</p>
<p>As noted, my d’s STRIDE position was created specifically for her. She had to put together, from original sources in Italian, a workable score of the first opera ever written by a woman. The opera was performed at Smith her second year (2,100 people attended), and she parlayed that directly into her graduate fellowship at Princeton in musicology/Italian Renaissance Studies. (In her year, she was the only student accepted who didn’t already have a masters degree).</p>
<p>I know several students in the 21st Century Scholars program at Mount Holyoke. Yes, it’s true that Mount Holyoke College offers 21st Century Scholars the following things: </p>
<ol>
<li>A $25,000 scholarship renewable for four years.</li>
<li>Funding for an internship or research project.</li>
<li>Admission to a first-year honors tutorial with a distinguished faculty member.</li>
</ol>
<p>In addition, the 21st Century Scholars program offers special monthly events: informal discussions with faculty authors, reception with the MHC President, presentation by the national fellowships advisor and social events. The honors tutorial topics are fascinating: some this year were Theatre and the Brain, Authority and Belief in the Public Sphere, and Portrayal of Disasters in Literature and the Media.</p>
<p>Since STRIDE does not include a summer internship, am I correct in assuming that STRIDE recipients are elib for Praxis funding?</p>
<p>I agree with the posts in that what I’ve found out is that the Smith STRIDE program is more developed and supported than the relatively new 21st Century Scholar program. Not only is the student guaranteed a two year paid internship as a research assistant (apparently paid jobs are hard to find at Mount Holyoke, if you are not on work study) but the PRAXIS internship is basically equivalent to the guaranteed paid internship at Mount Holyoke. So while the 21st Century Scholarship is worth significantly more than STRIDE, with the other financial aid Smith has offered our family, financially it’s close. Both offer many small group sessions for those in each group, so that’s fairly equivalent as well. So the question comes down to research support and Smith seems to be far ahead of Mount Holyoke there. Thanks for all the input!</p>
<p>Yes, STRIDE’s are eligible for Praxis.</p>
<p>Note there are some minor hoops for Praxis: there’s a “minimum hours” requirement that D couldn’t meet because in getting back late from Hungary she had no luck with a full-time internship and instead took two part-time internships…not qualifying. However, the combination, a Congressional field office and an office of the State treasurer, paid off in other ways, so no complaints here.</p>
<p>Good to know. I didn’t know much about the program since I didn’t apply to Smith. Just looked STRIDE up, and it seems like the major differences are the scholarship amount ($15,000 at Smith vs. $25,000 at Mount Holyoke) and the RA position vs. internship (you can get up to $3,500 in funding). </p>
<p>I obviously can only speak from experience, but I have had great success with the 21st Century Scholars program. It has helped me make countless connections with faculty on campus, which has led to many rewarding opportunities and experiences. And I’m only a sophomore!</p>
<p>I would go further than TheDad, and say there are some MAJOR hoops to get the Praxis funding. D was stranded with no money in NY ( she’s international), while Smith had lost the paperwork. They then told her she would get it in a month. I called and told them that obviously honoring financial commitments was not that vital, and that I would apply their good example to paying the school fees. The Praxis money was wired the next day! (My only fight with the Smith admin in 4 years…)</p>
<p>I think both scholarships offer excellent, though slightly different, opportunities. If a student loves MHC over Smith in every other way, then she should not think twice about accepting the 21st Century Scholar award. All things being equal, the STRIDE seems more comprehensive; however, things are rarely equal, especially when it comes to connecting with a particular college.</p>