Joomla! tried something like this back in the day, following an unexpected rejection of their application:
http://community.joomla.org/blogs/community/1183-introducing-the-joomla-student-outreach-program-projects-and-students.html
http://community.joomla.org/blogs/community/1235-jcamp-jsop-2010-is-gearing-up.html
From the little I’ve gathered, it was not a big success. I don’t think the effort spent organizing this will be worth the contributions it generates. Students who were considering jMonkeyEngine shouldn’t be in it just for the money in the first place. Some of the idea behind GSoC is that young coders get a great replacement for a summer job. But besides that convenience factor, the biggest benefits of GSoC aren’t in the money, but rather in the talented people you get to know and work with, the raw knowledge at your disposal, and the ultimate end product as a testament to your commitment.
API freeze is already in (soft) effect for alpha-4. Next up is Beta, which means complete (again, soft) feature freeze. In other words, anyone who’d like their work showcased in the engine and on our website this time of year had better get their foot in the door because when Beta hits, doors are closed for as long as it takes to stabilize 3.0.
@mifth I will know more about why we were rejected if I make it to the Tuesday meeting. I welcome all other monkeys to join in. If I don’t make it, someone else has to pop the question