Signs that they are low on applicants?

[ricky]

This is complete speculation, but does the deadline extension and the loosening of the recommendation requirement indicate to anyone else that they are trying to boost the number of applicants? The reduction in the number of recommendations in particular had no real explanation. I think this is good news for anyone who can follow simple instructions and get their application in on time!

[Guest]

the deadline gets pushed every year

probably don't have enough people to review all of the recommendations

[fish_]

whoa, did i miss something? did they extend the initial application deadline, or the the deadline to have have all documentation/references submitted?

[Guest]

Believe whatever makes you feel better about your chances. But in reality, it will be just as competitive/difficult to get an award as it was last year. This is a relatively young program that is just starting to get going.

[Artimacia]

I thought it was odd too, but then I thought more about it. It could be that the are just lacking reviewers with the available time, and now that they loosened the requirements, that means that lot more people have been added in, so it'll probably be that much more competitive.

[Anoldguy2]

How do you get that reducing the letters of reference from 3 to 2 after the deadline implies that there are a shortage of reviewers or that they are short on time? I mean I don't know what the reason is but I don't think it's this. How long does it take to read a letter of reference? And they said if you submitted 3 or more they will look at 3 so this makes no sense to me.

[Anoldguy2]

whoa, did i miss something? did they extend the initial application deadline, or the the deadline to have have all documentation/references submitted?

They said (after the deadline) that if you only submitted 2 LORs they would not disqualify you. If you did submit 3 or more they will look at your top 3.

[Artimacia]

How do you get that reducing the letters of reference from 3 to 2 after the deadline implies that there are a shortage of reviewers or that they are short on time? I mean I don't know what the reason is but I don't think it's this. How long does it take to read a letter of reference? And they said if you submitted 3 or more they will look at 3 so this makes no sense to me.

Was just a thought, didn't think about the other factors... no worries

[empty]

Just a heads up that if you do the numbers (applicants vs. offers made), the previous 4 years have all approximated the acceptance rate of Harvard (typically slightly below). So even if it were "easier" (which is quite a subjective assessment in the first place since it really depends on DoD needs and strength of applicant pool) how much easier do you really think it would get in one year?

On an 'off year', how easy is it to get into Harvard?

[Einstein]

Stop speculating. It's not usefull. SMART will most likely choose just as many people as they did in the past. The government is always good for their money...especially when the President's interests are with STEM development.... good luck and I hope you join the ranks of the SMART cohort elites soon!!!

[johnjohn]

"Stop speculating. It's not useful."..."SMART will most likely choose just as many people as they did in the past."

The next sentence, literally, was pure speculation, lol.