The Unofficial SMART Scholarship Forum

well i hope i passed the 'real and not creepy' test lol... on or soon after april 1st we should know the final decision... id be really anxious but i have an orgo exam sunday night and an econ exam thursday to study for haha..

I just had my phone interview. The person was very upbeat and reviewed information with me. They sounded like someone who understood the program and could answer questions, not some temp just going down a check box. They wanted to know if I had been contacted by anyone from a facility I was interested in or if a different one called. Overall it's not something to worry about. I think those being called are ones already selected and the SMART program just wants to make sure we are real and not creepy.

Yeah, that's the sense I got from the email, I wish it was selective ;p

I hope that I get an interview request on march 19th... It probably will be a 2 minute, "are you still interested" conversation. I don't think they are staffing enough people to have a quality conversation with everyone. That being said, if you have received a call, then you have real reason to be optimistic.

Ok everyone,

I e-mailed ASEE and they told me everyone was supposed to get the message yesterday. If you did not get the e-mail, send ASEE an e-mail telling them so and they will send you another copy.

A weight off my shoulders, we're still in the game

I'm a rentention candidate and have not received an email either. It makes sense that your office doesn't require a phone interview to "say hello".

Are there any other retention candidates reading the forum? If so, did you get yesterday's email? I didn't, but i know that the office put my name on the list they submitted back to SMART. I assume its because we don't need an interview if you already work for the place.

It's times like this that I feel less neurotic for checking this site every day! It feels good to know what is going on with all of you and makes it easier to have a balanced perspective of my own situation. We also got the email (I say we, because it is my husband who is the applicant but this scholarship would have a humongous effect on our family) and I am relieved as it was disappointing not to receive a facility interview. My husband is a Chemistry major, has one year of school left to graduate with his BS. In Chemistry he has a 4.0 but he was a music major for three years before switching programs and his ending gpa is around 3.85 or 3.9. He has worked in the biotech field but has had no research experience until this coming summer.

Well they said they expected to receive approximately 500-600 names from the facilities, so its possible a lot of us are on the shortlist, but with only 250-300 scholarships available I wonder how exactly they plan to make cuts. Although after my interview I suspect that number also includes alternates. I would suppose that each facility only submitted "wanted" applicants as suggested recipients and other names as alternates. So they may not have to make a lot of cuts. And if the email was selective we could either be alternates or possible award recipients. We just have to wait and see. I don't like the waiting game. I sure hope they email me Friday with an interview appointment.

guest wrote:

guest wrote:I didn't get the email, it probably means my name wasn't on any shortlists

To add more fuel to the fire, I had two phone interviews. So either it means neither wanted me, and SF's chose you guys without interviews, or it was a bug that they missed me and it wasn't selective

Well, if it was a bug that you didn't get it, then maybe you'll get a phone call on or about the 19th.

guest wrote:I didn't get the email, it probably means my name wasn't on any shortlists

To add more fuel to the fire, I had two phone interviews. So either it means neither wanted me, and SF's chose you guys without interviews, or it was a bug that they missed me and it wasn't selective

ahh, so there is one poster that didn't get the email? So this email is selective? I assumed that they emailed all 1300ish applicants, but i guess the email is for those on the short list?

I got the email, i'm a 2nd year biosystems engineering major.

I got the email, but didn't get any interviews from any of the sponsoring facilities... So maybe I'm on a short list?
2nd/3rd year BS MSE major.

I didn't get the email, it probably means my name wasn't on any shortlists

I got the email too. There is no way they are going to interview all of us, this was likely sent out to make sure we know so we can adjust our schedules in case we have an interview. I'm so nervous!

I received the same email this afternoon. It may be possible that they are trying to confirm that we are still interested in the program and understand the commitment to work for the DoD after graduation. From the Application Review Process thread on this forum...

"e) The SMART Program Office (SPO) complies these lists, resolves issues that arise when the same candidate is recommended for placement at multiple facilities, and conducts further screening to insure recommended candidates a) understand the nature of the post-graduation service commitment and b) are willing and able to comply with the terms of the service agreement."

I'm not sure how else they could conduct the "further screening" unless they contact us in some way. Considering this email was sent out on the 15th, which is apparently when the short lists were due back from the sponsoring facilities it may indicate that we are on those lists. Full disclosure: I have not had contact with anyone from a sponsoring facility either so I'm not sure what that means. Applied for 1 year as a PhD MECE.

Anyways, just another possibility.

I think that it may be to all of the semi-finalist...I received the email but have not received any contact from any sponsoring facilities.

blackbishop wrote:I love how they does out just enough hope to keep us thinking that there is a chance but not enough for us to actually expect anything

"Additionally please be aware that you may be contacted to have a SMART Program Office interview. Please continue to monitor your email for such a notification. These interviews are scheduled to be conducted between March 22-26 and the email notifying Semi-Finalists of a designated interview date and time is scheduled to be sent on or about March 19. "

I was wondering if they sent that email to all 1,300 semi finalist....I mean there's no way they are going to interview all 1300 of us so what does that mean if we dont get notified on the 19th....

I love how they does out just enough hope to keep us thinking that there is a chance but not enough for us to actually expect anything

"Additionally please be aware that you may be contacted to have a SMART Program Office interview. Please continue to monitor your email for such a notification. These interviews are scheduled to be conducted between March 22-26 and the email notifying Semi-Finalists of a designated interview date and time is scheduled to be sent on or about March 19. "

That's great news, Matthew.

Your story makes me feel a little bit better about not getting a phone call. It seems like they have chosen a lot more based on your CV/experience.

Now we wait!

Just finished my interview. It went very well. He actually didnt ask me any questions, he said he wanted to give me the opportunity to ask questions. So I did. He stated that his facility would be getting 8-9 awardees. He said he looked forward to meeting me in California this summer and hoped I got chosen....so maybe.

Matthew,

While they may want 25, I can guarantee you that SMART will not fund most of them. The AFFTC was one of the largest last year and we only had 7-8. It's not that those position may not be more important in some way, but that SMART is semi obligated to distribute slots in a 'fair' manner. It's certainly reasonable that Robin's may give internship offers though. If you don't get in through SMART, I would definitely try to work something out, as it's obvious they want you.

Chris

Well, I learned today that the "short list" I am on with Robins AFB has 25 names on it. I am not sure how many they plan to put through but I do know that they probably need all 25 of them after visiting their website and they are planning to hire up to 500 people in the next year. Im sure a majority of those jobs are basic labor jobs but still. I hope Im one of the ones they put through. In response to your question UF_ME I would say its definitely possible for facilities to put people names through that they did not interview although if they do it will most likely be as an alternate. But SMART makes the final decision not the facilities. My interview got pushed back to this afternoon. I will let you guys know how it went and what kind of questions were asked.

Alright boys and girls it appears that D-Day is upon us...since I did not receive a telephone interview I am grasping for straws and I was wonder if anyone has heard of someone receiving a scholarship without an interview?

guest wrote:I wonder how they choose from the undergrads. I'm just curious because I'm a Sophomore (i.e. 2 year scholarship) with a 3.91 majoring in Physics. I did two summers of research in a neurology department (when I was still thinking about pre-med), but now I do research with a professor in my schools physics department in nano-electronics/devices. I thought I would stand a pretty good chance at getting one of these scholarships, but still no phone call.

I wish they would give us a better idea of the kind of students they're looking for.

Yea i have about 2 summers as well and also am working with a professor, so i thought the same. No interview here either. I guess it's more competitive than i had thought. And you guys all have me beat in terms of gpa ha.

They didn't describe what they were looking for in the resume though. The only thing I remember was talking about previous research experience, but even that was directed at graduate students if I remember correctly.

I understand this scholarship is very different then the typical academic/leadership scholarship students apply for. For one it requires the student to work for the DoD after graduation. From what I understand they weren't looking for the poster child most scholarship programs look for. They didn't want president of this or leader of that. They were looking for students who could excel in their field and who they could get some remarkable work out of.