Internship housing

[Guestscholar]

Past scholars, I would like your input. When have you started looking for and what was your past experience finding housing for the internship? I am a new scholar and will be doing my internship in 2019. I know we don't get the support payments until later, but have you signed leases or made reservations ahead of time?

Also, did you look with fellow scholars or just for yourself?
Thank you for your input and help.

[kbl2017]

People at my base all reserved ahead of time by a good amount. The earlier people (febuary/March) did Airbnb and later people did subleases near schools in the local area. Some stayed with eachother but most didn't. The people that stayed together had some sort of relationship before they got here. Your timeline changes a bit if you're not in a popular tourist location, you could wait a little longer!

[chowder138]

I'd suggest getting in contact with someone at your SF to see if they or someone they know has a spare bedroom to rent out. That's what I did and my rent was very cheap.

Otherwise, I've heard of people doing extended stays at hotels (apparently you can negotiate a cheaper rate with the hotel if you're doing extended stay) or on-base housing.

[Guestscholar]

I actually found a place using AirBnb that was willing to block off dates next summer until I know the exact dates. She has been very helpful and the rent is quite low. Do you know when they decide on internship start dates? I've emailed my SF and asked for an approximation for next year or for this year's dates to give me a better idea of when to book.

[guesttt]

So do we need to provide receipts to the SMART program for this? Because traditionally, U.S. Gov doesn't accept AirBNB as valid accommodations and won't allow gov't funds to pay for it.

[NotGovEmployee]

So do we need to provide receipts to the SMART program for this? Because traditionally, U.S. Gov doesn't accept AirBNB as valid accommodations and won't allow gov't funds to pay for it.

SMART Scholars are not government employees so our funding comes from SMART not directly from the US Gov, so you can live wherever you want. We also do not provide receipts to SMART. If you qualify for the internship support payments, SMART gives you the full amount regardless of your actual living expenses.

[AnotherGuest]

So do we need to provide receipts to the SMART program for this? Because traditionally, U.S. Gov doesn't accept AirBNB as valid accommodations and won't allow gov't funds to pay for it.

SMART Scholars are not government employees so our funding comes from SMART not directly from the US Gov, so you can live wherever you want. We also do not provide receipts to SMART. If you qualify for the internship support payments, SMART gives you the full amount regardless of your actual living expenses.

This isn't 100% accurate. This is true for recruitment. As a retention, you are a gov employee even while at school so you have to follow gov policies.

[Guestscholar]

I am recruitment and my sponsoring facility actually recommended using AirBNB. I'm all set up and have made a payment already. It was for the 1st month plus fees. The other 2ish months don't have to be paid until after the internship starts, so I have time to adjust my dates if needed and get the support payments. I live quite a long way from my site.
I heard from my sponsoring facility this week and they gave approximate dates, not exact. I used the widest it could be and can reduce if need be. Thanks for the feedback everyone.

[Redmath]

I'd definitely suggest talking to your Sponsor facility. Mine has a separate internship program through a local university that I did this past summer. When I asked about my actual SMART internship, I was told that I would be put in on campus housing again. Their internship program is longer than SMARTs and so I'll be paid some weeks via SMART and some weeks via their program. They can put me up in apartment style on campus housing for free. I don't think that this is common, but it is worth looking into.