Hiring students for temp work using Symplicity

The more work I take on, the more I realize how wonderful it would be to have some eager talent working alongside (virtually). I've done the outsourcing thing, with mixed results; it seems that the people on freelancing sites are more concerned with making a few bucks than passionately devoting themselves to a project. It's an unfortunate reality.

I'm only a few years out of undergrad, but I distinctly remember that my school has a fairly well-run career center, which includes an account on Symplicity. So, with little effort, I registered for an employer account at my school, which gave me access to about 1500 resumes at no cost.

Most of the resumes were as one would expect: boring, dull, and offering no real insight. Especially rampant were resumes listing "considerable" or "extensive" experience in C/C++/Java/Assembly/etc. after only a year working with the language. Other resumes, however, didn't use ambiguous qualifiers, and instead evinced considerable or extensive experience with a particular language. These resumes teemed with passion, and I am extremely eager to talk to some of these students.

So, I ask for some input on this: do you think it's worth contacting students for a semester project, offering maybe a $1,000 stipend for the semester (on top of an outstanding recommendation, if the student's performance so warrants)? Is $1,000 too high/too low? How responsible/dedicated do you think a student would be, while simultaneously studying and enjoying the best four years of their life?