The Unofficial SMART Scholarship Forum

[quote="GuestM"][quote="abm guy"]I changed my degree type, sent in a request to SMART who then passed that to my SF. SMART told me the SF is the one who approves the request. If you have approval of your SF POC then you should be ok.[/quote]

Thanks for the info. I was under the impression that I would have to apply during the normal application cycle in the fall, so is that the request you sent in to SMART, or can I do it sooner so that I can get it approved before next Spring?[/quote]

I have not done this before but this is straight from the SMART website FAQ, under general questions:

[b]"[u]Can I extend my award to pursue a future degree?[/u]
SMART scholarships are awarded for one degree program at a time. There are three types of follow-on awards which correspond to the SMART Scholarship Program Participant’s program phase at the time of the follow-on application. Follow-on awards are separate from the initial award. The five year funding cap is calculated separately for each award.

a. Type 1 Follow-On Awards. Phase 1 SMART Scholarship Program Participants who wish to pursue an additional degree request a type 1 follow-on award. In order to receive a type 1 follow-on award, a SMART Scholarship Program Participant must reapply to SMART for a separate award, score in the top 50 percent of applicants for the new award cycle, and be recommended for a follow-on award by the SMART Scholarship Program Participant’s assigned Sponsoring Facility.
SMART Scholarship Program Participants who receive a type 1 follow-on award immediately reenter phase 1 for completion of the follow-on degree. SMART Scholarship Program Participants enter phase 2 and complete the service commitment for both awards consecutively and without interruption once the follow-on degree is completed or conferred, whichever occurs first. Time spent working at the Sponsoring Facility is not applied toward completion of the service commitment until the SMART Scholarship Program Participant completes phase 1 for both the initial award and the type 1 follow-on award.

b. Type 2 Follow-On Awards. Phase 2 SMART Scholarship Program Participants who wish to pursue an additional degree request a type 2 follow-on award. In order to receive a type 2 follow-on award, a SMART Scholarship Program Participant must reapply to SMART for a separate award, score in the top 50 percent of applicants for the new award cycle, and be recommended for a follow-on award by the SMART Scholarship Program Participant’s assigned Sponsoring Facility. SMART Scholarship Program Participants who receive a type 2 follow-on award immediately reenter phase 1 for completion of the follow-on degree. SMART Scholarship Program Participants reenter phase 2 once the follow-on degree is completed or conferred, whichever occurs first. At that time, the SMART Scholarship Program Participant completes the remaining service commitment for the initial award and the type 2 follow-on award. The service commitments are completed consecutively and without interruption.

Time working at the Sponsoring Facility is applied to the service commitment as follows:

(1) Time spent working at the Sponsoring Facility after completion of phase 1 for the initial award and prior to the start of phase 1 for the follow-on award is applied toward completion of the service commitment;

(2) Time spent working at the Sponsoring Facility during phase 1 of the follow-on award is not applied toward completion of the service commitment; and

(3) After the SMART Scholarship Program Participant enters phase 2 for the follow-on award, time working at the Sponsoring Facility is applied toward completion of the combined service commitment.

c. Type 3 Follow-On Awards. Phase 3 SMART Scholarship Program Participants who wish to pursue an additional degree request a type 3 follow-on award. In order to receive a type 3 follow-on award, a SMART Scholarship Program Participant must reapply to SMART for a separate award, score in the top 50 percent of applicants for the new award cycle, and be recommended for a follow-on award by a Sponsoring Facility. Time spent working at the Sponsoring Facility is not applied toward completion of the service commitment until the SMART Scholarship Program Participant completes phase 1 of the follow-on award.

SMART Scholarship Program Participants do not simultaneously pursue another degree while in phase 1."[/b]

This was just copied and pasted directly from the website.

[quote="Guest1234"]I have done this process in the past, under very similar circumstances. You are required to submit another normal application and make the first round of cuts (which already being a SMART scholar should help with), and then the SF has to sign off on it. In the explanations, they make it sound completely automatic when in reality it isn't necessarily.[/quote]

^ I did it to, and this is what it is.

You need to apply through the normal application in order to add a degree to the award. The type of degree level and length changes that the SF can make without you applying through the normal channel are to reduce the level or length.

I have done this process in the past, under very similar circumstances. You are required to submit another normal application and make the first round of cuts (which already being a SMART scholar should help with), and then the SF has to sign off on it. In the explanations, they make it sound completely automatic when in reality it isn't necessarily.

[quote="abm guy"]I changed my degree type, sent in a request to SMART who then passed that to my SF. SMART told me the SF is the one who approves the request. If you have approval of your SF POC then you should be ok.[/quote]

Thanks for the info. I was under the impression that I would have to apply during the normal application cycle in the fall, so is that the request you sent in to SMART, or can I do it sooner so that I can get it approved before next Spring?

I changed my degree type, sent in a request to SMART who then passed that to my SF. SMART told me the SF is the one who approves the request. If you have approval of your SF POC then you should be ok.

So as long as the SF is OK waiting an extra year for Phase 2, LMI should approve it? I've talked with my SF about it and they encouraged me to try to apply for the extra degree so that sounds promising based on your experience.

This question needs to be asked to your SF, as they are the ones who approves degree type and length changes. When I was in a similar situation, the SF told me an extra year for a MS was not an issue and they would approve it. Best of luck!

I am currently a BS awardee for EE graduating in May 2019. I am ahead of my degree plan so as it stands I would only be taking 12 credits each semester senior year. I could take a graduate level class each of these semesters and finish a MS (non-thesis) degree in just one extra year. Does anyone have experience with ASEE or LMI in applying for a follow-on award to get the extra degree? I should have a competitive application but I do not know how they handle these things.