The Whole Truth About Google Summer of Code - Part 2

    Part 1
    Part 3
    Part 4

    So they took you. I congratulate you, because this is really a great achievement. Now, in more detail, what happens after the announcement of the results.



    1. Newsletter.

    You will be connected to the list of accepted students. Through this sheet, Google, and more specifically Carol Smith, will inform you about important events. Sometimes it seems to me that this is not a person, but a biorobot - she very quickly answers all student questions.

    In the distant dark time, students were very spammed on this sheet. Those. as soon as China woke up, the Chinese wrote "hello, my name is so and so and I'm coding such and such a project." Then India woke up, and the Indians already wrote "hello world." Then everyone else woke up, and began to scold about these letters. 200 letters in the morning was quite a common picture. And also letters from your community, and, God forbid, you still have a couple of sheets connected. But now, it seems, people have settled down and do not swear at spam, and they themselves do not spam. Even if some student wants to chat with the rest of the 1000th students, no one pays attention to him, and he calms down. If you want to talk, you have your community, IRC and your mentor. They will be glad to see you.

    Old students who successfully complete the project are not disconnected from the mailing list. Google believes that they can share their experiences with new members.

    National Newsletter.

    Each year, students create their national sheets. If among the general letters you saw an invitation to the Russian-speaking community - connect. It will be fun.

    2. Documents.

    In the section My Dashboard-> TODO there will be 4 points. The first two are very important.
    Tax form - a piece of paper on which you sign, confirming that you do not live in the United States and you do not need to pay taxes to her. Google is only interested in US taxes, how you pay taxes in your country is your problem. The electronic version of this document will be sent to you by Carol, print, sign, scan and post.
    Enrollment form - scan a document confirming that you are a student. A student’s certificate or a certificate from a university that you are a student will be suitable and then your studies will be completed at that time. A document needs to be translated. If you are in doubt and you have a bad scan of a student’s or ID card (I had it, because my university wrote everything by hand like chicken paw), then just post it. Do not like it - they themselves will tell you. They did not say anything - it means everything is fine.

    If you hold out with these documents, then you simply do not accrue money. They will send a card, but there will be no money there. Post documents and money will appear on your account. Once there was one gifted student who forgot to post documents and remembered them at the end of June. Nothing, the money was transferred to him. But it’s better not to do this - otherwise you will need a certificate, and everything at your university is on vacation and you won’t get the signature of the person you need.

    Which documents?

    Most often, a certificate from your university that you are studying and your education ends then. If you are a graduate student, then help in the postgraduate department. If you study in the "last" course, i.e. 4 and you can’t be given a certificate that you will be a master (at 6 - that you will be a graduate student) - then you are still legitimate. Help that you study before the end of June will be enough. You can use a student or graduate certificate.

    3. Package.

    A package with a card, a notebook and a pen will be sent to you as soon as the results appear. They arrive in Moscow faster than in Russia. The courier will call you on the specified phone and ask about the delivery time.

    If you provided an address and then moved, the package will be delivered to the old address. It is your problem how you get it. Google will not do additional mailing.

    4. Map.

    The most mysterious part of the program is the map, because no one knows what to do with it.

    How to withdraw money?

    Only through an ATM. If the thought of a bank transfer suddenly comes to your mind, chase it with sticks to hell. We got to the ATM, took off the bucks and rejoice. Why so, now I will tell.

    Many people think that Citi Bank in Russia and Citi Bank in America are one bank. Legally, yes (that is, to send, if that, you will be in our bank), but technically not. Banks that operate in Russia live according to the laws of Russia and drive payments through our Central Bank, and they cannot and cannot do otherwise. So when you come to a Russian bank with an American card, which seems to be yours, but is not issued with us, you will be sent to an ATM. They cannot transfer money from it, because there is no such account in their banking system - it is in America, and they have never seen such a card in their life.

    How to see the balance?

    Register on the site
    You need to enter a login, password and, it seems, nothing more. The Google address and other data will be driven down below - do not change them. Even when registering, you will need a zip code - the sender's index on the envelope with the card, not your home.

    How to activate the card?

    To activate the card you need to call the bank. Better on skype. The machine will answer, you enter the card number and password (think of it yourself) to the ATM. And everyone can withdraw money.

    Important! Write down your login and password on a Google envelope and put it together with the card. Do not discard the envelope until the last transaction.

    Where and how to shoot?

    At Citi ATMs. Or in any other bank, the main thing is that the fee for issuing money from a card of another bank is not taken from you. Citi international transfer fee $ 3.5.

    If you shoot in rubles, then you still pay for currency conversion. How much - you will find out only at the bank. I withdraw dollars and convert to rubles in the bank where the rate is better. You can also exchange dollars for rubles through an ATM, if you have a foreign currency account with this bank.

    The bank insert that comes with the card shows the commission for international transfers of 3% - another reason to get to the ATM. Translation is more expensive. There were also complaints from students in the newsletter about the loss of money during the transfer. Do not do this - go to the ATM.

    If you want to pay with your card in Russia in the store, please note that 3% will be charged from you each time for a transfer. But if you buy something in the American store, then the commission will not be charged.

    If you withdraw money from a non-Citi ATM, then refuse the operation of issuing a check. The cost of this piece of paper can be $ 10, or maybe $ 100.

    Citi Bank has a transaction limit. Those. You can withdraw no more than $ 400 in one day. After withdrawing this amount within 24 hours, you cannot receive your money. Russian banks also have a limit on the issuance of cash. Those. an ATM will not give you 1 time more than a certain amount, and each bank has its own amount. Less stringent restrictions on withdrawing money from ATMs, which are located in the offices of the banks themselves. Another ATM may have restrictions on the number of notes, i.e. if you run out of $ 100, then for $ 50 he will not give you the whole amount. Look for ATMs with dollars that are regularly collected - better in the banks themselves, they are rarely empty.

    It may happen that the ATM will not have small bills, i.e. less than 50. Then the remainder will have to be removed in rubles. If you withdraw rubles, be sure to find out the dollar exchange rate in this bank so as not to go into minus.

    Each ATM has restrictions on withdrawing dollars. This is to prevent money laundering. Citi 500 and more cannot even be entered; UniCredit Bank 400 for customers of other people's cards. In other banks, you can withdraw from $ 300 to $ 500, but most often $ 400. These restrictions may apply to cash withdrawal restrictions in rubles. Those. in dollars it may be possible, but in terms of rubles - no.

    Also, Russian students withdrew money through the Citi Bank cash desk for one transaction through a transfer. Let's count. Here we shoot $ 2000. If through the bank cash desk, then the commission is 3%, i.e. $ 60. If 4 times 500, then for each transaction we lose $ 3.5, and this is only $ 14. If we withdraw in a foreign bank and the commission is $ 7.5 for each transaction, then we lose $ 30. As you can see, it’s profitable through an ATM, however, provided that the money is withdrawn in dollars, otherwise you still have to pay for the transfer in rubles.

    To immediately withdraw all money, you need to call the bank and increase the withdrawal limit.

    Minuses.

    Be very careful with the score - you can go negative. The commission is not immediately withdrawn, but only after one or two days. So, you don’t know about what you should immediately. For example, I withdraw $ 400, and the commission is $ 4. It should have seemed to be $ 3.5, but 50 cents, probably, went to the aid fund to the starving bank. It is still very difficult to calculate money when you withdraw in rubles - what rate you do not know exactly and how much the bank will take for conversion, too.

    If you are all the same turned into minus, then you just can not repay the debt. You will probably have to write a letter to the bank, after which they will send you an account to which you can transfer money. How exactly this procedure goes, I do not know.

    Set the PIN code:

    This manual appears on the newsletter every year. Before you use it, still read the Google insert, suddenly something has changed.

    1. We call the USA phone via Skype 1-800-225-1115. For non-USA students, the other is 001-610-941-4607. I don’t remember why everyone calls to USA, probably because Skype is free.
    2. Next, enter the card number # 94043 (zip code) #PIN (you invent it yourself) # PIN again to confirm.
    3. You should be told that your PIN has been accepted.

    We increase the limit for withdrawing money:

    We take the good old skype and call +18663268689
    you will be answered by a machine that will ask you:
    1. Language of communication. There is no Russian, so choose English No. 1
    2. Card number
    3. Zip code - 94043
    Then the machine will ask you what you want, but you want “general information”. Those. You answer the questions of the machine to go to the operator. The input should look like this (they can change something, so anyway, listen to what they tell you there):
    card number # 94043 ## 530

    Next we communicate with the operator. In Russia, they will first ask you what you want, and there they will start communication from the card number (name one digit), then your name, Google address (there used to be a secret question, but now it is no longer).
    Then they will ask you what you want. Tell them, “I would like to increase my transaction limit.” You will be asked how much. If you have 2255 on your card, they can only increase the limit to 3 thousand. If you ask for more, they will ask, what the hell, you are poor and you have little money. It’s hard to communicate with them - they speak quickly and there can be a very bad connection. So you can answer all their monologues "I don’t understand, but I want to withdraw all the money for one transaction."

    5. ACM.

    ACM is another gift from Google. Since students often carry out research projects at GSoC, Google decided to give all students annual membership. As a member of ACM, you can read the magazines of this association, download some Microsoft products for free, and use the ACM Digital Library.. Actually, for the sake of the latter, they connected you. Those. You can get almost all publications for free. Who is studying in a magistracy or graduate school - this gift will be appreciated. The account remains with you regardless, you will fly out at some stage or complete the program successfully (but you will get a T-shirt if you only complete the program).

    The association will create an email box for you, letters from which will be sent to your gmail, issue a number with which you will register, well, and will create a login for you from your name and surname.

    Now some features. If you did not have an account in the association, then you simply register and use. But if there was, there may be some interesting things. There were students whose accounts were more “expensive”, i.e. they had more reading rights than GSoC students. What exactly does Google do in such a situation, I don’t know, but there was a thread of discussion with Carol.

    It is not yet clear what happens to the student’s account, which extended it himself, and then again entered the program. In my last participation, the account looked as if it had just been brought in, only I did not register it anywhere. I never found information about my payment. But my expiration date was just right for me, but I don’t know what to do if the payment was recent.

    If your account is over and you want to extend it, then it will cost somewhere around $ 20, which is about 50% cheaper if you just bought it without GSoC. If you yourself will pay for this account, then by mail from America you will receive a letter of thanks and a lot of advertising.

    6. The month of May.

    According to the schedule of Google in May you read the documentation, get acquainted with the mentors and source codes. For some reason, students think that “read” should be understood as “read”, and the writing of the code “hello world” should begin in the period of the code. In fact, you should start your first coding attempts in May. All the difference between May and other months is that here you can goof and ask stupid questions, and then not. For some reason, mentors think that from the beginning of June you will drag the real code, and not ask: "why did I do this, but it doesn’t work for me." I don’t know how to drag and combine the session, so it’s better to start moving back in May at the May holidays.

    7. The first deadline.

    The most difficult thing is not to fail your first term of the report (do not confuse it with midterm). You might think that the mentor will wait, but that is not so. He will look forward to your report, because he is very worried. While the project is just beginning, your mentor regularly checks the mail and thinks about you very often. So do what you want, but the first report should be by date.

    But if you suddenly realized that your Timeline is full of garbage and you just can’t present the promised code by the first date, then it's time to review it.

    8. Mentor.

    Your mentor is not a cute dude with whom you will mess up the code in the summer, but your boss. Of course, he is friendlier than the teachers at your university, but he is your boss. Those. he feels responsible for you and is afraid that you will fail and the whole community will receive fewer slots from Google next summer because of him.

    Also, your mentor will be honest. Although the money is not his, he will dispose of it as his own. Those. if you fail somewhere, then do not wait for mercy. An honest and decent person will sleep very badly at night, knowing that some student will receive a scholarship undeservedly.

    Also do not expect warm communication at the initial stage of development. You will be treated a little wary, and this wariness will disappear only after midterm. But when you finish the project, you can already be friends and even attend a meeting of developers - you will be very happy.

    9. The first steps.

    After you figure out the docs for Google, you need to do a few simple things.

    1. Unsubscribe from the newsletter that you are alive and happy to code all summer.
    2. Learn all the rules of conduct. Those. if you are asked to create a blog - create a blog, want to see you on IRC - sit there all the time, if you still have not created your brunch - create, etc.
    3. Find out who your “backup” mentor is. Google recommends assigning a backup mentor to every fireman, which means it should be. If the community is small - then the "reserve" is all the other developers.
    4. Ask about the report form. Those. how and to whom you report. Someone will ask you to write everything in detail on the blog, someone in the newsletter every week, someone just commit to brunch.
    5. If there are no recommendations on the style - ask if they are at all and how you fit them.
    6. Ask about the documentation - do you need to keep documentation and if so, how.
    7. Find yourself a second computer - wherever you want, but to be. Even if your iron friend never let you down, then this “never” according to the law of meanness can end right in the summer. A spare option should be.
    8. If you still haven’t foreseen vacations in your Timeline, then it's time to inform the community about them. They need to know when and why you will be absent. About the session is also worth writing.
    9. If you feel completely insecure, then find the organization’s reports on last year’s summer. Usually through the mailing list archive you can find the contacts of previous students. You can write them a letter and ask for a couple of tips on working with this organization. I think they will be happy to share their experience with you.

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