By robertDouglass on

UPDATE: The application process has ended. Thank you for all the great applications.

Google is still accepting applications until May 8.

Here is a list of projects which we proposed but either nobody has applied to them, or we feel that there is room for more than one student working on the project. It goes without saying that you have a better chance of making the cut if you apply either for one of these projects or for a project of your own creation.

Some observations on applying based on reading the applications we've reviewed to date:

  • Be thorough. Research your project before you apply and be prepared to describe the specific goals, the specific problems and the specific solutions that you intend to code.
  • Don't just reference a project on an external site. We want you to tell us in your own words what you intend to deliver, and it is best if you do it in the actual application.
  • One good application will get you further than several weak applications, so pick your favorite project and focus on writing one applicaton for that project.
  • We do want to know that you are qualified to achieve the goals that you make for yourself, but we're much more interested in finding out what thinking you've already done on the project itself. Given the choice between the candidate who says "I've got X, Y and Z skills, have done foo and bar, and can huba huba huba...." and the candidate who says "To implement this project I plan to yada yada yada, plus w00t w00t w00t, because it needs to whir, buzz and chirp", we'll pick the second candidate.
  • APPLY! We (and several other mentoring organizations) are surprised at how few applications we're getting. Be brave. Apply.

Comments

silence’s picture

silence commented

I am going to apply here for sure coz the Ideas listed here interesting and I think I can do the work needed in the application I am applying for. I have almost completed my application for the project. Now comes the question.... Will it be a good idea to send the whole application to you before I submit it officially? :) I am asking for this coz That way I'll get to know where I and my application is weak.

Heine’s picture

Heine commented

I can't speak for Robert of course, but I would suggest to submit your application now, so mentors can review and discuss. This leaves you some time to amend/adapt your proposal. I'm not sure Robert can cope with 30+ review requests.

Make sure to clearly state the goals.
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silence’s picture

silence commented

Yeh I'd do that today itself(today in my country.) Actually I asked the question coz in FAQs Google says we cant resubmit the same application. We have to form a new one.

neways Problem Solved.

robertDouglass’s picture

robertDouglass commented

If you submit your application now, the mentors all have a chance to review it. When we think that a student has potential but has made a mistake in the way the application is formed, we contact them and they get a chance to revise. Get them in as soon as you have done the best job you can writing it, and we will provide feedback.

- Robert Douglass

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My Drupal book: Building Online Communities with Drupal, phpBB and WordPress

webchick’s picture

webchick
she/they
Primary language English
Location Vancouver 🇨🇦
commented

...to hopefully give it some better visibility.

I can speak first-hand that working with Drupal folks over the summer is a fantastic experience. There was a very nice balance where I was allowed to go off on my own and figure stuff out, but my mentor would always be there if I needed to bounce ideas off someone or if I got really stuck on a particularly difficult problem. Not a day went by that I didn't learn something new (or a few dozen things ;)), and the community here really takes an active interest in helping you to succeeed. The fact that we're aiming to have two mentors available to each student to help them along I think is testament to that.

I assume if you're reading this you either have used Drupal before or are thinking about using it. So if you're eligible for Google's program, why not apply, and maybe get paid to make Drupal do that thing you always wanted it to do? :)

silence’s picture

silence commented

Actually I'm looking forward to work with all of you. The work is really interesting. As far as knowing, working with drupal goes, I heard about it quite a while back from my friend. I have one running on my PC(Though I dont have an SMTP server access rt now). I am experimenting with it and Hopefully I'll be able to customize it to whichever form I want in about 2-3 weeks.

VoiceofPower’s picture

VoiceofPower commented

I'm really excited about working with the drupal team, and this post has only amplified that! I really hope my application was good enough (I did some good thinking before actually writing it).

Also, it's really cool to see a former SoC participant is still actively involved with drupal. :-)

aibob’s picture

aibob commented

"We (and several other mentoring organizations) are surprised at how few applications we're getting. Be brave. Apply."
Just how few do you mean?
Are you comparing that to last year, or to your previous expectations for this year?

chx’s picture

chx commented

Last year we had over 100 if I remember correctly. Based on that, I thought at least double that this year because now both SoC and Drupal is better known. At this moment, we have fewer than last year.
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a.shakur@techarena.co.uk’s picture

a.shakur@techarena.co.uk commented

As a student who has already applied, I have received the greatest help possible without someone actually telling me what to write in my application.
Even if I do not succeed in being accepted, I will leave a happy because I received great help and directions to all my enquiries and was treated in superb manner:
When I did not understand something or was confused about an idea, I was always able to find someone to direct me in the right directions.
Frankly if you are thinking of applying to drupal, I would say do not think about it, just apply.

Some things I found helpful in writing the application:

a) Contacting the person who wrote the project you are applying to, in order to find out exactly what they envisioned when they wrote the proposal. Helps clarify the idea (personally I found it easier to understand the project I was applying to and what it entitled)
b) Having your application checked before you submit it. (This might not be available now since time is short)
c) Talking about your project in #drupal-soc (irc.freenode.net) to mentors/students (always seems to bring up questions you haven’t yet thought of or ways of carrying out the project)

ixlr8’s picture

ixlr8 commented

I applied for the assignment/ grading module, and now it's not on the list? Has this project been taken already, simply taken down, or something else I'm not thinking of? Should I apply for another project?

Mike

bradlis7’s picture

bradlis7 commented

It's at http://drupal.org/node/59958. It may not be a preferred project, since it's not on this list.

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robertDouglass’s picture

robertDouglass commented

It wouldn't make much sense for us to encourage students to apply to projects we didn't prefer.

- Robert Douglass

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My Drupal book: Building Online Communities with Drupal, phpBB and WordPress

robertDouglass’s picture

robertDouglass commented

Read my post again. When I posted we hadn't received many applications, and we hadn't received any applications for the projects I mentioned above. The very fact that you applied for the gradebook project led to its ommission on this list. The list above doesn't express preference, it was only to draw extra attention to these projects to get an even distribution of applications to projects.

- Robert Douglass

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My Drupal book: Building Online Communities with Drupal, phpBB and WordPress

silence’s picture

silence commented

may be you could have said that earlier... we could have applied for more of those.

just kidding.... so are we going to know about the selection/deselection(if the word exists) only after 22nd?? I mean are we going to get any hint as to which applications are being sent from here??

thanx neways.

silence

robertDouglass’s picture

robertDouglass commented

The Drupal mentors are only responsible for ranking the applications. Only when Google knows how many slots to give Drupal will we have any idea which students will actually get the stipends. Your notifications, positive or negative, will come from Google, not us.

- Robert Douglass

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My Drupal book: Building Online Communities with Drupal, phpBB and WordPress

silence’s picture

silence commented

thanks :)

Scott Reynolds’s picture

Scott Reynolds commented

Well, I realized I did not include my email(sdrreynolds@gmail.com) in my recommedation engine application. I am very excited and I have decided to start working on stuff and figuring things out. I have no patience at this time, I'm dying to hear from you guys.

PLEASE, PLEASE

feel free to email me or place a comment on my application. I check it a billion times a day :-D

My App for mentors is: http://code.google.com/soc/app.html?org=drupal&csaid=SDRReynolds@gmail.c...

ixlr8’s picture

ixlr8 commented

Has anyone heard back from Google on the status of their applications? I know the deadline is the 23rd, but I wanted to know if anyone has gotten any responses yet. I'm getting a little anxious to see if I was approved or not.

Mike

robertDouglass’s picture

robertDouglass commented

No decisions have been finalized and nobody knows their status yet (May 20).

- Robert Douglass

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My Drupal book: Building Online Communities with Drupal, phpBB and WordPress