<p>Regarding Praxis grants, D had no trouble with the min hours, which she and other Smith students satsfied by working part-time, 3 days/wk for 7-8 weeks, supplementing their Praxis awards with occasional baby-siting or shifts as lifeguards. Other students worked full-time for 5-6 weeks starting early in May and spent the balance of the summer as counselors. And still others, who chose to tighten their belts, worked 10+ weeks at their Praxis internships only. It’s a long summer and the Praxis program is flexible in terms of both placements and how one logs-in the required hours.</p>
<p>And, the grants are give up-front, so that students have money for transportation, food and other incidentals, rather than having to wait a week (or two) for the first “pay check.” At least that’s how, in theory, it should work and how it did, in fact, work for D - - though as LiT’s post indicates, it doesn’t always work that way (the best laid plans of mice and men . . . .)</p>
<p>Just want to note that I don’t think the 21st Century Scholars program’s relative youth makes it less helpful for students in terms of getting great research or internship experience, making connections, and being successful as a student. </p>
<p>Also, @proudmadre, the expectation for students at MHC is that all students are doing research. It isn’t specifically outlined in the 21st Century stuff because it’s supported for <b>everyone</b> who wants to do it (in any field, but especially in the sciences where it’s all but required). 21st Century Scholars do have guaranteed funding for research and are given preference when applying to on-campus research positions - which is easily facilitated because of the tutorials.</p>
<p>While both programs can be great, they are still what you make of them and your success is not about merely being a part of the program, but about being resourceful and making it your own. Neither is a golden ticket to post-grad employment or grad school, but if fully utilized can be incredibly helpful.</p>
<p>Essentially - you can’t go wrong either way! As momwaitingfornew said, there are so many factors in the decision-making process and all things are rarely equal - both schools provide great experiences and both scholarships can be useful in making post-grad life a little easier.</p>
<p>Both programs are great, but - - “expected” to do research, and “preference” for on-campus research are not the same as a guaranteed research position w/ faculty. OTOH, the MHC scholarship, an extra $10k/yr, is certainly a sweetener.</p>
<p>My daughter went with Smith. It’s long been her top choice so she made her decision. But she plans to hang out at Mount Holyoke often with all the lovely friends she’s made there already!</p>
<p>I have read so many good thing about the Stride that I am a little sad that my d was not offered it. But when we were at open weekend, a psychology prof told me that he always needs students to work on research (he was trying to sell me on the pluses of going to a college that had no grad students). Does anyone know if there are research possibilities outside Stride that pay? Possibly work study positions that do research?</p>
<p>And just what are the qualifications for getting the Stride opportunity anyway? Does anyone know if there are other scholarships that enrolled Smith students can apply for in later years?</p>
<p>USM, I doubt very much that there are work-study jobs that are paid research…they would probably be the most sought out jobs on campus; I haven’t heard of them and thus I infer they don’t exist. (If I’m wrong, I’ll be corrected in 38 milliseconds.)</p>
<p>But paid research non-STRIDE jobs? Hmmm. Be vewy vewy quiet, as if you were hunting wabbits. <em>If</em> a prof is doing some research and <em>if</em> he/she has external funding, then a paid job might be available. If such exists, the applicant would have to be diligent, persistent, and imaginative in tracking down said professor.</p>
<p>Paid research during the year is hard to come by, but some profs will pay students to work over the summer. Although I may be remembering incorrectly, I think my daughter told me that someone she knew did research over the summer using a Praxis grant and that this student was allowed to live in one of the campus houses. But because Smith is an LAC and not a research university, funding is limited.</p>
<p>There are jobs on campus that are more related to academics than washing dishes; unfortunately, most students who get them have been on campus for at least a semester. </p>
<p>STRIDE is a wonderful opportunity for those who have been offered it. But because Smith trains its scientists well, my daughter was able to get three summers of paid research work at other universities.</p>
<p>Two of my daughter’s friends, bio and engineering majors, did research over the summer last year. I know the engineer got paid through funding the prof had procured and I believe the bio major was paid, too, but I don’t know if it was Praxis.</p>
<p>My D’s summer job at Smith was funded by an NSF grant. I’m thinking that there might be some profs with grant funds that they can apply to this purpose. </p>
<p>Btw, I wouldn’t get hung up with the research being in your field of major(s). D’s research was in another field (Computer Science) but it was the fact that she had worked on academic research projects, not the focus of the project, that served her well moving forward.</p>
<p>I have to disagree slightly with TD about the focus of your undergraduate research; it should be at the very least related to skills you might need in graduate school, if that’s your goal. A bioengineering major won’t benefit from, say, helping an art history professor research original sources in French – and vice versa. But a bioengineering major who does research in one of the sciences, or an art history major who does research in the humanities, will have that experience count. In TD’s daughter’s case, she entered a highly quantitative field where knowledge of computer science makes her more desirable. (All science/quantitative majors would be well-served by taking computer science courses and/or getting hands-on experience.) Because the style of research varies in the different academic subdivisions, you’ll want to find something that is compatible with your eventual career/academic goals.</p>
<p>There are paid research jobs on the on campus jobs website for sure, though they are certainly popular. It depends on if the prof/department has the budget or not for it, but if they do they will usually try to pay the students conducting the research. You have to keep an eye on the jobs website and usually something will pop up.</p>
<p>MWFN, well, what I meant was “don’t be constrained to finding a research job with a prof inside your major” per se. An Art History project is probably going to be less helpful to a science/math/Econ student than to a Humanities major of some sort, I agree. Though it was interesting that for some of the internships D applied for it was a case that they wanted to see research background, didn’t particularly care in what as long as she had had a foot in the water and was used to working collaboratively in a rigorous protocol.</p>
<p>Hi, I will be attending Smith college this fall. I am pretty keen on Smith’s stride program. However, I did not apply for Stride while applying to Smith. Any idea whether the program is open to incoming freshers as well? Assuming I do well in my first year will i be eligible?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I believe the STRIDE program is only open to students who are offered membership in it as part of the incoming first-year class. </p>
<p>This is not to say, however, that you will be unable to perform research while at Smith. I’ve often heard that professors occasionally are in need of assistance with various research projects, and if you look for an opportunity, you will likely find one. </p>
<p>You don’t apply for STRIDE, all incoming students are automatically considered and then the admissions office chooses the candidates they believe merit a STRIDE. If you aren’t chosen the first year, there’s no way to join later on. </p>
<p>Phanatic is absolutely right though: many students at Smith participate in research projects who are not STRIDE students (there are only a few STRIDEs in every class, after all), so if you’re excited about the prospect of doing research while on campus, you will still have the opportunity.</p>