Grants

Summer Housing Application Instructions


The PSC may cover part or all of your summer housing costs if you will be spending 20+ hours/week doing supervised community service work. Summer Housing Grants are intended to support students who commit substantial time to volunteering during the summer, engaging in service that is meaningful for themselves and the community.

You must demonstrate financial need to be eligible for Summer Housing Grants. Community service work that is paid is acceptable as long as you have financial need.

Your community service work can take place anywhere in the world and your grant can be used to pay your housing expense in the U.S. or internationally.

Summer Housing Grants provide opportunities to:

  • Facilitate your growth by learning about and gaining experience with an community organization and on issues of interest
  • Explore a potential public service related career
  • Apply your MIT education to accomplish a substantial outcome for a community and provide meaningful assistance to a community organization
  • Further an existing service project by allowing you to spend substantial time on it during the summer

You must have a clear plan and set goals for what organization and project you will be working with and what you will work on and accomplish.

Students wishing to apply must:

  • Have financial need
  • Be eligible to receive funding
  • Be a returning student in the fall
  • Submit a complete application, including all requirements listed below
  • Be available to interview, if requested by PSC staff

Grant recipients must:

  • Complete all necessary paperwork
  • Check in with PSC staff during regular intervals during the summer to report on community service progress
  • Submit a written report of community service outcomes at the end of the summer
  • Submit photographs of community service work

Submission Instructions

  1. Email your application as a Microsoft Word or PDF attachment to psc-grants@mit.edu with "Summer Housing Grant Application" in the subject line.
  2. ALSO submit your application in print to the PSC office (4-104).
    This double submission is to ensure that glitches don't prevent us from receiving your application in time.

Timeline

Applications for Summer 2010 Housing Grants must be received by the PSC by April 2010. Applicants may be asked to attend a meeting/interview in mid-to-late April so that the PSC can learn more about your proposal. Recipients will be notified of grant decisions no later than early May.

Application Guidelines

Write a concise but detailed (usually 1-3 page, single- spaced) proposal that covers the requested information. The point is to be clear rather than to write lots of impressive prose. You are welcome to include additional information that you think might add clarity or otherwise help the selection panel, but please be selective.

Cover Letter (1 page)

  • name
  • MIT ID
  • Year (e.g. 2008 or Masters 2008)
  • Major
  • Phone (Cell and room are appreciated)
  • Email
  • Term Address
  • Permanent Address
  • Total amount of housing subsidy you are requesting
  • Where you are planning on living during the summer
  • One-paragraph abstract that includes the total amount requested
  • Dates and times you are available for a potential meeting with PSC staff during the three weeks after the submission of your proposal

Proposal Body (1-2 pages)
What community service work will you be doing over the summer? Include details about:

  • Organization(s) you will be partnering with and why you choose this organization
  • What your work will specifically consist of
  • Your overall goals and substantial outcomes that will be provided to the community organization and the community
  • What added benefit you will bring to this organization
  • What you will gain and learn from the experience
  • Your plan for future interactions with the organization
  • (Optional) How this grant allows you to further an existing service project
  • Estimated number of hours/week (at each site, if more than one)
  • When you propose to start and stop your service work.
  • Information about your supervisor(s), including:
    • Phone number
    • Email
    • Position
    • Name

Description of Your Motivation
Telling us why you want to do this work will help us make an informed decision. Feel free to be as personal as you like. Tell us what you hope to gain personally and professionally from your community service work.

Financial Need Description
The PSC recognizes that people's personal financial situations are relevant to their grant needs, especially to offset housing costs. Please include a description of your own personal financial situation along with the grant application. Important information includes:

  • Term-time financial commitments
  • Your monthly summer rent
  • Other living costs you will be facing during the relevant time period
  • Other anticipated costs you are trying to save money for
  • Why you might not be able to engage in this community service if you don’t receive a summer housing grant
  • Description of any other funding sources, including both actual and prospective (e.g. other sources to which you are applying), and the amounts they could contribute
  • Any other information or background you think will help us understand why you need financial support from PSC funds

Letter from your supervisor

  • With your application, submit a letter from your supervisor(s) at your community organization confirming your description of the community service project and your estimated working hours

Resume

  • Include a recent copy of your resume with your application

Selection criteria

Main Criteria

  • Potential for substantial time commitment to purposeful community service work
  • Potential for your growth/educational value convincingly explained
  • Evidence of strong motivation to carry out the community service
  • Application materials explain how the service matches the community's needs
  • Service project work seems realistic and feasible: scope matches your qualifications, time frame, supervisor expertise and input, etc.

Other Assets

  • Evidence that community service is a central value for you (or is likely to become a stronger value through the project)
  • Potential future partnership with the chosen community (for you or for MIT)
  • Application contains sufficient information and makes a good case: complete packet, good proposal, strong recommendation, qualifications apparent from resume, etc.

Possible discounts

  • Evidence of issues or problems: e.g. recommendations are neutral or negative; application materials are poorly written or say questionable things; we know of past problems or issues with the applicant, or community partner