The Unofficial SMART Scholarship Forum

Thanks everyone. I did not file for another scholarship, so I don't believe it could be from that. I assumed SMART is run or organized in part by Scholarship America because of this clause on the website.

"You are considered an independent contractor, and not self-employed, and are not employed by either the United States Government or Scholarship America. If you have further tax questions, please contact the IRS, as Scholarship America is prohibited from giving tax advice."

https://smartscholarshipprod.service-now.com/smart?id=kb_article&sys_id=071d5154db068300b67330ca7c961968

SMART is never refundable. If this is the case, it is either not SMART (payer of last resort), or you are about to have an adjustment to your aid.

[quote="anonymous7"]Hi everyone. I got a notice from my financial aid office about an "outside award" I had received. It was for Fall and Winter quarters and ~$3000. I asked who it was from and they said Scholarship America. I know the SMART program is run through Scholarship America now from the website so I emailed my AF POC and asked if they had overpaid tuition or done something that would result in money being refunded to me instead of them. They said they have no record besides the tuition they paid me, with no overage. Went back to the fin aid office, and confirmed it's definitely from SMART.

Is anyone else having this problem? I don't know why any money would be coming from SMART through fin aid and not as a direct deposit, and the payments don't seem like the correct amount to be a stipend payment, health insurance/supplies stipend, etc. I just don't want this thrown back in my face in the future by LMI when I've tried to sort out where it's coming from and why. If it matters, I'm a PhD student. Thanks everyone[/quote]

I couldn't find any connection on the website between SMART and Scholarship America or between LMI (the company that manages SMART now) and Scholarship America. Is it possible you applied for another scholarship through Scholarship America? How did the financial aid office confirm it was "definitely from SMART"?

I have not experienced this issue before. All money that is not tuition usually comes via direct deposit.

Hi everyone. I got a notice from my financial aid office about an "outside award" I had received. It was for Fall and Winter quarters and ~$3000. I asked who it was from and they said Scholarship America. I know the SMART program is run through Scholarship America now from the website so I emailed my AF POC and asked if they had overpaid tuition or done something that would result in money being refunded to me instead of them. They said they have no record besides the tuition they paid me, with no overage. Went back to the fin aid office, and confirmed it's definitely from SMART.

Is anyone else having this problem? I don't know why any money would be coming from SMART through fin aid and not as a direct deposit, and the payments don't seem like the correct amount to be a stipend payment, health insurance/supplies stipend, etc. I just don't want this thrown back in my face in the future by LMI when I've tried to sort out where it's coming from and why. If it matters, I'm a PhD student. Thanks everyone