<p>Honestly, at this point I've kind of given up hope. But who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky. :]</p>
<p>If you haven't heard by now then you can basically assume that you did not get a merit scholarship. That doesn't mean you won't get some kind of financial aid like grant money or work study, but the Zollman's, Strides, and Maples-Dunn scholarship winners have almost certainly been notified by now. </p>
<p>@cgaylemarie, I wasn't a STRIDE (i think TheDad's daughter was) but one of my good friends was and I would say that the work load really varies depending on the project. My friend's project her first year didn't seem to really require a lot of work, but her second year project was very time consuming. Choose your project carefully, try to pick something you're really interested in, in case you end up having to spend a lot of time on it.</p>
<p>CGayle, my D’s STRIDE workload was not particularly onerous and since she was going to have to work anyway, the STRIDE job was a pretty nice thing. </p>
<p>I would, however, use all the channels you can to investigate your STRIDE options. There are dozens of choices, each on a specific topic sponsored by a specific professor. Look at the topics that are of interest to you and then wheedle on everywhere from CC to DailyJolt to Facebook or whatever to get a sense of the profs involved. </p>
<p>Some STRIDE projects are essentially clerical work with a feeling akin to one notch above slave labor and others are wonderfully collaborative with interesting things to do. I’m still bemused that D got a minor credit in a paper presented at a conference for STRIDE work done in her very first semester.</p>
<p>Btw, having watched the ripples, one thing leading to another, STRIDE/Zollman/etc can be a stepping stone to other things, even if not in the same field. Don’t treat it as resume builder but be aware that it can be, if you understand the distinction.</p>
<p>My D did not get a STRIDE, but she’s doing research with a professor – for free. That’s what Smithies do; they work with their professors. The student might as well get paid for doing what she’d probably be doing anyway. :)</p>
<p>My d.'s STRIDE had a very heavy workload - they actually created it just for her - and led directly to her six-year Ph.D. fellowship at Princeton.</p>
<p>Momwaitingfornew–what is your d. doing? Did she search out professors to do research with or did the prof ask her? (I honestly have no idea how this whole research with professor thing works. :] )</p>
<p>She queried a few professors in her department, and one responded positively. Because she’s in the sciences, she has more opportunities than she would if she were in the humanities or social sciences. I believe that the profs’ ongoing studies are made available to the students so they ask if there are any open spots in the lab. Note that this is NOT a STRIDE opportunity, just one available to her as a science major. I don’t know how STRIDE works. Mini and TD are the ones to ask.</p>
<p>She also has done work for one of her former profs to help with a class that my D did well in. That prof request came unsolicited.</p>
<p>One of the great things about Smith is that students who do well are noticed by the professors. Although you may not want to major in that particular subject, being singled out after class does wonderful things for your self-confidence as a student, thus encouraging you to take academic risks.</p>
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<p>Oh yes. Very yes.</p>
<p>Let’s just say that D took three classes in a department that wasn’t in either one of her majors, had the profs from the first two classes fighting for her to take one of their classes for the third, etc. Her performance in those classes could probably be described as “flashy.” And now those two profs are shaping up to be among the key advisors for her run-up to grad school.</p>
<p>TD, sometimes I wonder if all the parental enthusiasm for Smith chases away the students. After all, Smithieandproud is the only one who has stuck around with us for these past few years. :)</p>
<p>Not quite…Borgin & Stacy have been around for a while too. I think my D is slightly disconcerted that Stacy and I have PM’d or e-mailed a couple of times over the years…Stacy was a TA in one of D’s J-term classes. </p>
<p>But to the larger point, I would hope parental enthusiasm per se wouldn’t turn a prospective student off…I’d hope they would read <em>why</em> we’re enthusiastic.</p>
<p>I was joking, of course. I imagine, if anything, that Smithies are amused by the parental devotion. </p>
<p>I did see a post by Borgin yesterday, but I haven’t seen Stacy’s.</p>
<p>Don’t forget smithiegr (I think that’s her screenname)!</p>