Side note, is there a chance that if I submit the paperwork to leave, they can say “no”?
As much as I'm sure they wish they could set it up to be otherwise, you are not a slave to the SMART program and can leave at any time and they can't do shit about it...
but what you ARE is an indentured servant, having signed a very one sided contract that they will, with 99.99% certainty, use to invoke full repayment if you simply walk away (repayment includes everything sans summer internship stipends and health insurance - though it would seem you don't have the former to worry about).
The fact they haven't been able to clear you for several years even for a secret level clearance for the internship
might tilt those odds more in your favor, but the SMART program policy is so opaque and undocumented that there really is no way to be sure unless a scenario has happened before (and I'm unaware of someone else with your circumstances).
IN THEORY, if you can't get a clearance that is something you have no way of knowing going in and so it should be on SMART to eat the loss not having done their due diligence beforehand...but if you just jump ship before having 'exhausted all possibilities' and waited for SMART to throw in the flag that could also shift things...again, this is all murky waters and speculating based on other cases and how SMART has behaved thus far.
The only thing I feel confident in saying is that given that there is an extended track record of you not getting cleared I would just bluntly ask SMART about it and be honest that you're, rightfully, worried about that falling through again for full time, what the odds might be of that and what happens if you don't get cleared. You really don't have anything to lose in that regard. [EDIT: I would NOT though mention that you're thinking of jumping ship because of it, as SMART has a long track record of trying to fuck over anyone they view as disloyal to the program.]
Hopefully they'd get back to you in a timely matter and it would give you more information to work with to help make an informed decision.
Beyond that...you've done the math supposedly on the new job and that could still work even with repayment. Ultimately it's something only you can really weigh and decide as it's your financial/geographical/employment future on the line, and it's all up to your tolerance for risk, going through repayment, etc. that determines the best course of action.
[quote]Side note, is there a chance that if I submit the paperwork to leave, they can say “no”?[/quote]
As much as I'm sure they wish they could set it up to be otherwise, you are not a slave to the SMART program and can leave at any time and they can't do shit about it...
but what you ARE is an indentured servant, having signed a very one sided contract that they will, with 99.99% certainty, use to invoke full repayment if you simply walk away (repayment includes everything sans summer internship stipends and health insurance - though it would seem you don't have the former to worry about).
The fact they haven't been able to clear you for several years even for a secret level clearance for the internship [i]might[/i] tilt those odds more in your favor, but the SMART program policy is so opaque and undocumented that there really is no way to be sure unless a scenario has happened before (and I'm unaware of someone else with your circumstances).
IN THEORY, if you can't get a clearance that is something you have no way of knowing going in and so it should be on SMART to eat the loss not having done their due diligence beforehand...but if you just jump ship before having 'exhausted all possibilities' and waited for SMART to throw in the flag that could also shift things...again, this is all murky waters and speculating based on other cases and how SMART has behaved thus far.
The only thing I feel confident in saying is that given that there is an extended track record of you not getting cleared I would just bluntly ask SMART about it and be honest that you're, rightfully, worried about that falling through again for full time, what the odds might be of that and what happens if you don't get cleared. You really don't have anything to lose in that regard. [EDIT: I would NOT though mention that you're thinking of jumping ship because of it, as SMART has a long track record of trying to fuck over anyone they view as disloyal to the program.]
Hopefully they'd get back to you in a timely matter and it would give you more information to work with to help make an informed decision.
Beyond that...you've done the math supposedly on the new job and that could still work even with repayment. Ultimately it's something only you can really weigh and decide as it's your financial/geographical/employment future on the line, and it's all up to your tolerance for risk, going through repayment, etc. that determines the best course of action.