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Advice for Students
Last updated at 9:17 am UTC on 31 March 2008
This is a list of advices for your application to the Google Summer of Code.

Gather information

The first thing you should do is gathering some information. We assume you already know what Squeak and Smalltalk are - if not, now it's the time to go and surf the web for more info, or to hop in the #squeak IRC channel on freenode.org .
Be sure to read all the relevant entries in the Summer of Code FAQ and all of the Summer of Code wiki and of the Guide to the Google Summer of Code Web App for Student Applicants. Then, start thinking about your project.


Your project

For your project, you can either peruse our list of ideas, or come up with your own. If you want to propose your own project, please get in touch with the Squeak mentors as soon as possible, so that we can agree on a feasible proposal.
Remember, you can choose more then one project.


Your application

Once you have decided what you want to do, prepare your application.
Among the other things, you will be asked to describe yourself and your project proposal, in no more than 7500 words.

Don't be shy when it comes to describe your skills, but don't exaggerate either. You are not trying to con Google and the mentors into giving you some money, but to convince them that you are up to the job and that your work is worth the money that you will receive.
What we're looking for is, first of all, passion, smartness and will to collaborate and to join our community. Knowing the language and the tools is important to us, but not as much as a smart, keen hacker ready to work with us.

For your proposal, you should describe in your own words the project you'd like to undertake. Avoid cut'n'paste in order to show that you're really interested in the project. Describe the benefits for both you and the community. Try to describe some possible hurdles you may encounter while working on the project and how you would try solving them.
Also, try to describe some milestones in your work so that you and your mentor can estimate your progress. For example, feature A will take 3 weeks, feature B will take 1, feature C will take 4 weeks.


But I don't know Smalltalk!

That's not necessarily a problem. If you have some programming experience in other OO languages, and you commit to learn the basics before the beginning of the Summer of Code, then we will consider your application. We don't ask for a heavy involvement before the Summer of Code: a couple of hours per week to get yourself familiar with the language, the library and the tools, and to get acquainted with the community.

During the Summer

Gabriele Renzi has many useful advices on things to do during the months of the Summer of Code.