The Unofficial SMART Scholarship Forum

I am now sort of fear of failure on fellowship/grant/scholarship/whatever online application since I applied 11 in the past two years and rejected by all and not even waitlisted. So I am not looking forward to 2018 reapplication.

Guasta wrote:Did you receive any interviews? Did they go well? Did any of the facilities say they will recommend you?

Nope, no interviews. A friend who works at Hanscomb AFB told me the facilities I put on my top three didn't always do interviews, so I didn't think too much of it. (I put Edwards AFB as my top two choices, their testing facility as my first choice and the facility as a whole as my second choice, and then Langley as my third choice).

Did you receive any interviews? Did they go well? Did any of the facilities say they will recommend you?

Gasta wrote:Before counting yourself out -.. What error message are you receiving on the awards portal?

The red "incorrect username/password" one. Until I hear directly from SMART I'm not officially counting myself out, but if past trends still hold true then it seems unlikely to me. Which is why since I have at least three more shots at this scholarship, I want to prepare for next year, especially over this summer.

Before counting yourself out -.. What error message are you receiving on the awards portal?

As this year's application season (and waiting on application results) comes to a close, I would love to get a jump on next year's application (Not counting myself out yet, just preparing for the worst and hoping for the best). As a freshman, I have not yet had as much experience as other applicants have had, and it would be a lot of faith on SMART's end that I would not change major (not planning on it, but it is my first year). I was wondering what tips and experiences you all would recommend for future years' SMART scholarship applications so that I can give myself the best shot next year if the award does not work out this year. For those who have applied multiple years, are the essay questions the same? Would it be bad to instead of try and write a totally new essay to just update and improve the old ones? I have had a semester of research experience, would that be a good path to continue down or should I go after other unique experiences, such as clubs and organizations? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!