2012 Applicants

[Guest]

I'm tired of outlining how this process is out of everyone's hands, and reminding ourselves that it's all up to the OGC at the moment. Whatever the proposed changes to the contract are, I doubt that it's so complicated that the OGC couldn't have gotten the kinks worked out in the past month.

You're dealing with a scholarship that has a service commitment. However, this scholarship program does not have the mandate to force the DoD to hire you. As slam dunk as it may seem that you will be able to work upon graduation, the truth is that reality could not be more different.

From the recipients side:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... lian-side/

SMART has to operate within the conditions of the hiring freeze. They have noticed some severe issues that needed correcting this past offseason (September 2011-February 2012) and their corrections are likely not subtle.

You are likely incorrect in assuming that the changes aren't so complicated that OGC can't give their approval over a single lunch break. You're dealing with a scholarship program that is about to send out 250 awards likely valued in the tens of millions of dollars over the span of the award. You don't take those decisions lightly when the future is so uncertain (ie How is SMART going to get all these awardees hired if DoD commanders don't agree up front to hire them?)

Maybe it's no one's fault directly, but I'm willing to spread the blame liberally to a lot of people. This is getting beyond ridiculous, and it's beginning to have negative repercussions on a lot of people's ability to plan their next year.

Be grateful they're sorting out the kinks now, rather than when it comes time for you to start your career. Imagine your life in 4 years when you get ready to start work, have a family in tow, and the SMART program is still working out those kinks that you were willing to gloss over before you signed your name to a significant contractual obligation. Facing a $500,000 payback if you decide to strike out on your own, I would bet you'll be less flippant at that time.

[smart_hopeful]

SMART's position is not an enviable one. Their mission is to 1) provide scholarships which 2) turn graduates into DoD employees. When funding problems nuke both ends of that mission, it's a legitimately difficult problem to solve.

That said, the widening delay is itself going to become a problem for SMART's mission at some point. Some people have already had to drop out for reasons of tuition/fee deadlines. This dropout rate will grow as the summer drags on, and the entire point of the scholarship is moot if the money is not sitting in the bank accounts of our universities before the early August deadlines for the Fall 2012 semester.

[2012_UMD]

So, the main SMART page was updated today. I'm having trouble finding what they've updated, though ...

[In_Stitches]

So, the main SMART page was updated today. I'm having trouble finding what they've updated, though ...

They put up the notice, "The SMART Scholarship application is closed. The application is scheduled to reopen in August 2012" on the "Apply" tab.

[bulldog]

So, the main SMART page was updated today. I'm having trouble finding what they've updated, though ...

They updated something on the Participants page, under the Forms section. I think it was just the addition of an Internship prep sheet (what to expect and how to behave at the internship) and maybe the travel request form.

[gatsby]

So, the main SMART page was updated today. I'm having trouble finding what they've updated, though ...

They updated something on the Participants page, under the Forms section. I think it was just the addition of an Internship prep sheet (what to expect and how to behave at the internship) and maybe the travel request form.

Yeah, they uploaded a new Internship Guidelines PDF and broke the FAQ link on the Participants page:

https://smart.asee.org/participants

[bulldog]

[quote=]Yeah, they uploaded a new Internship Guidelines PDF and broke the FAQ link on the Participants page:[/quote]

It's horrible that I know this (how anxious am I?), but the FAQ link has been broken for at least a couple of days, now. You can still get to the FAQ page by scrolling down the menu at the top of the page section.

[In_Stitches]

Tomorrow is four weeks since the "delay"! I'm dyyyyyiiiinnnnggg here. I think I might start flaming my congressmen to draw attention to the limbo that the DOD has us in.

[Realtalk]

I wonder if the DoD is waiting until there are 50,000 views and 1,000 posts ...

We've got the views, we just need 16 more posts.

[ORgirl]

I wonder if the DoD is waiting until there are 50,000 views and 1,000 posts ...

We've got the views, we just need 16 more posts.

It's nice to think they're actually waiting on us instead of the other way around :P

[guest369]

I remember the excitement and anxiety I felt on April 9th like it was yesterday. Oh wait, maybe that's because I felt it yesterday too, and the day before that, and the day before that....

One month, waah waah.

[Guesssst]

From someone that received an award last year... my best advice is to just stay patient!

Don't get too stressed out about the whole process. If you haven't noticed yet, deadlines and decisions often get pushed back frequently. I stressed way too much about it last year!

Good luck to you both!

Oh, this is rich. The above was posted Thu Jan 19, 2012 1:49 pm - little did he know. This is BEYOND ridiculous now.

[bestForum]

You guys are all the best people ever!! If I hadn't found this forum about a month ago, I have no clue how I would have gotten through this tough time. It's always nice to know that there are others like myself biting their nails, checking email/forum every other second. But after reading through all the posts, I think I've calmed myself down to check it maybe once an hour (even though that is still a lot, I think I'm getting work done??). Thanks guys!! And all the best to all of us. We have made it this far.. and we will make it to the end!!!

[2012_UMD]

Website has been updated again. I think all they did was put the Participants -> FAQ link back up.

[Guest]

Website has been updated again. I think all they did was put the Participants -> FAQ link back up.

haha, how much you want to bet they are watching this forum, using us to find problems with the website. So here's my problem with the website, the awards aren't up yet....now we wait.

[Guest22]

Website has been updated again. I think all they did was put the Participants -> FAQ link back up.

haha, how much you want to bet they are watching this forum, using us to find problems with the website. So here's my problem with the website, the awards aren't up yet....now we wait.

hahaha. nice going!!!

[realistically]

Im betting we won't find out for another 2 weeks. reply #991, almost there

[Good_Idea]

Tomorrow is four weeks since the "delay"! I'm dyyyyyiiiinnnnggg here. I think I might start flaming my congressmen to draw attention to the limbo that the DOD has us in.

Not a bad idea. Today, the NDAA 2013 budget was being presented to the House Armed Services Committee. As opposed to some budgets proposed in the House, this would actually boost R&D funding by the DOD. The DOD spends around 80 Billion for R&D, but some have proposed to cut that to around 60. The DOD is the largest funder of engineering research at Universities, and spends nearly 10 billion a year on basic research in a broad range of fields. We should email our Congressman and Senators to encourage them to support the DOD's R&D programs in any consideration of further budgets.

[bulldog]

Tomorrow is four weeks since the "delay"! I'm dyyyyyiiiinnnnggg here. I think I might start flaming my congressmen to draw attention to the limbo that the DOD has us in.

Not a bad idea. Today, the NDAA 2013 budget was being presented to the House Armed Services Committee. As opposed to some budgets proposed in the House, this would actually boost R&D funding by the DOD. The DOD spends around 80 Billion for R&D, but some have proposed to cut that to around 60. The DOD is the largest funder of engineering research at Universities, and spends nearly 10 billion a year on basic research in a broad range of fields. We should email our Congressman and Senators to encourage them to support the DOD's R&D programs in any consideration of further budgets.

Done.

[Guest22]

Tomorrow is four weeks since the "delay"! I'm dyyyyyiiiinnnnggg here. I think I might start flaming my congressmen to draw attention to the limbo that the DOD has us in.

Not a bad idea. Today, the NDAA 2013 budget was being presented to the House Armed Services Committee. As opposed to some budgets proposed in the House, this would actually boost R&D funding by the DOD. The DOD spends around 80 Billion for R&D, but some have proposed to cut that to around 60. The DOD is the largest funder of engineering research at Universities, and spends nearly 10 billion a year on basic research in a broad range of fields. We should email our Congressman and Senators to encourage them to support the DOD's R&D programs in any consideration of further budgets.

Done.

Done? As in you emailed a congressman/senator? Care to share who you emailed and what you said to them.

[UB-PhD-OR]

Not that this follows any portion of any of the topics, but I am a 4th year PhD student in Operations Research and have been told by facilities during the process that they would select me to fund me for my last year, so like all of you I am waiting for this awful wait to be over.

But mainly, I just wanted there to be 1 more post closer to 1k posts since there's always a chance the delay will end when it reaches 1000!

[UB-PhD-OR]

Any OR (Operations Research) people out there??

I am an Operations Research PhD student.

[Guest11111]

Tomorrow is four weeks since the "delay"! I'm dyyyyyiiiinnnnggg here. I think I might start flaming my congressmen to draw attention to the limbo that the DOD has us in.

Not a bad idea. Today, the NDAA 2013 budget was being presented to the House Armed Services Committee. As opposed to some budgets proposed in the House, this would actually boost R&D funding by the DOD. The DOD spends around 80 Billion for R&D, but some have proposed to cut that to around 60. The DOD is the largest funder of engineering research at Universities, and spends nearly 10 billion a year on basic research in a broad range of fields. We should email our Congressman and Senators to encourage them to support the DOD's R&D programs in any consideration of further budgets.

So lets hold our breath that congress gives a speedy decision. O.o

[Guest]

Done? As in you emailed a congressman/senator? Care to share who you emailed and what you said to them.

Bill Nelson, Marco Rubio, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. I told them something along the lines of "I'm a research scientist and I depend on these funds to continue my research. Please approve the proposed DoD budget that includes increased funding for DoD R&D." Not those exact words, but that was the overall gist.

I'm a third year microbiology PhD student, aiming for graduation by the end of 2013. I wasn't contacted by any agencies or the SMART committee, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up even though several others in this forum have said that they were selected despite not being contacted for any interviews. The demand for biologists doesn't seem very high for this scholarship, so I'm pretty doubtful.

[bulldog]

Done? As in you emailed a congressman/senator? Care to share who you emailed and what you said to them.

Bill Nelson, Marco Rubio, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. I told them something along the lines of "I'm a research scientist and I depend on these funds to continue my research. Please approve the proposed DoD budget that includes increased funding for DoD R&D." Not those exact words, but that was the overall gist.

I'm a third year microbiology PhD student, aiming for graduation by the end of 2013. I wasn't contacted by any agencies or the SMART committee, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up even though several others in this forum have said that they were selected despite not being contacted for any interviews. The demand for biologists doesn't seem very high for this scholarship, so I'm pretty doubtful.

Whoops, that was mine.