guest17 wrote:I CANNOT take another day of this haha! I'm going to drive myself crazy. Needless to say the brews in the fridge will still be cracked tonight to just relieve the stress of this where's waldo email. I feel bad for my professor who will have to read my paper that's due Friday if we do not find out soon. I've done nothing all day but wait.
They're offices would be closed by now. Sooo not a happy camper.askSmart wrote:Has anyone called or contacted SMART...this is crazy
I did get an email from my potential SF at around 1:00 AM on a Monday morning, but that was because they thought they were behind deadline in getting info back to the SMART office. Considering that the application is in it's final stage and there is not a fixed deadline, I seriously doubt we will hear anything after hours.sorry wrote:I kind of doubt there would be anyone in the office. Has anyone ever been contacted after hours by ASEE? Government employees obviously don't normally stay after hours, but maybe for a "major project" such as this, especially when thousands of people are aware of how long it is taking.
They have a Monterey CA office but the emails generally come from DC.surprised wrote:isn't it only 3:49 Pacific time? I thought they were based on west coast?
I received a call from the Air Force POC on a Sunday around 5 PM. But I'd tend to think, since there isn't a set deadline for award notification, no one's losing sleep over not having this done.sorry wrote:I kind of doubt there would be anyone in the office. Has anyone ever been contacted after hours by ASEE? Government employees obviously don't normally stay after hours, but maybe for a "major project" such as this, especially when thousands of people are aware of how long it is taking.
Take heart: they announced the semi-finalist list on a Wednesday around lunch time. The only thing we know is that we don't know. I wouldn't rule much out at this point, other than hearing about it off hours.songemu wrote:Ugh... I figured they'd send it out by friday of last week. Now that it's monday... I don't have much hope that they'll get it out til this friday... you know how government deadlines work.
Alright, so I know how everyone thinks government offices are slow and lazy, but I'd like to point out that the goal of this scholarship is to actually work in one of those labs. So maybe we should tone down our scorn. If you've already decided that people in the government are lazy, I'd be willing to bet you'll be feeling pretty lazy by your first day of work.songemu wrote:Ugh... I figured they'd send it out by friday of last week. Now that it's monday... I don't have much hope that they'll get it out til this friday... you know how government deadlines work.
I don't think it's that anyone here is mad at the SMART or ASEE people, because yes, they are people. I think we're just frustrated at the amount of time that we've waited. And especially someone like myself who has not heard anything since the 50% cut e-mail (and I know I'm not alone). It's just very nerve-racking. Just trying to let off some steam about the frustration. I don't think anyone here is "mad" at SMART or the SF's.Guest wrote:Alright, so I know how everyone thinks government offices are slow and lazy, but I'd like to point out that the goal of this scholarship is to actually work in one of those labs. So maybe we should tone down our scorn. If you've already decided that people in the government are lazy, I'd be willing to bet you'll be feeling pretty lazy by your first day of work.songemu wrote:Ugh... I figured they'd send it out by friday of last week. Now that it's monday... I don't have much hope that they'll get it out til this friday... you know how government deadlines work.
I'm a retention applicant, meaning I already work at a sponsoring facility, and I'm really proud of my work. I regularly put in more than 40 hrs/wk, and try to be efficient during those hours. I work with people that I really respect and admire. These people also work their asses off because they love their research.
Yes, there are lazy and inefficient people in the government. But I'd like to point out that most people in private industry also wouldn't be pulling an all-nighter to send out this kind of notification. The people at the SPO have families to go home to. I'm sure they're doing their best to make fair decisions on our applications, while also dealing with current scholar's upcoming internships. Cut them some slack, people.
This.WestToEast wrote:I don't think anyone was actually upset, or being scornful to toward the government. We all understand that they have a lot to do, especially with so many applicants, and that they are doing their best. We are all just very anxious to hear about the scholarship, since it will have such an impact on our lives.
We're not judging harshly, we're just impatient.
The ironic thing is this: The SMART Program Office and ASEE are staffed by private contractors, not government employees. Contractors are about 5x more productive than government employees, on average, in my experience.Guest wrote:Alright, so I know how everyone thinks government offices are slow and lazy, but I'd like to point out that the goal of this scholarship is to actually work in one of those labs. So maybe we should tone down our scorn. If you've already decided that people in the government are lazy, I'd be willing to bet you'll be feeling pretty lazy by your first day of work.
I'm a retention applicant, meaning I already work at a sponsoring facility, and I'm really proud of my work. I regularly put in more than 40 hrs/wk, and try to be efficient during those hours. I work with people that I really respect and admire. These people also work their asses off because they love their research.
Yes, there are lazy and inefficient people in the government. But I'd like to point out that most people in private industry also wouldn't be pulling an all-nighter to send out this kind of notification. The people at the SPO have families to go home to. I'm sure they're doing their best to make fair decisions on our applications, while also dealing with current scholar's upcoming internships. Cut them some slack, people.
Sorry, but I personally find that to be incredibly insulting, notwithstanding the fact that you shouldn't be applying for a government program if you have that little of an opinion about your prospective employer. Stereotyping millions of people, one of whom I presume you want to become, is beyond insensitive.current_recipient wrote:
The ironic thing is this: The SMART Program Office and ASEE are staffed by private contractors, not government employees. Contractors are about 5x more productive than government employees, on average, in my experience.
So that should give you an idea of what you may find on your first day of work/internship.
And cut the sanctimonious garbage. It doesn't score you points on the scholarship review board.
Government employees work for three years, gain tenure, and then happily become "Part-of-the-problem".
mac daddy wrote:hahaha Can't we all just get along?
Only 20?!? Wow. I KNOW I checked mine over a hundred times. But, seriously, guys, we're all stressed and anxious abd should be allowed to let off steam. I think a good night's sleep will aid us all.reason wrote:As someone who checked my email probably 20 times today I just want to point out (like several before me) that they never explicitly said April 9th. They said "on or about April 9th", which is covering their hides from exactly this sort of pissed-off, cheated reaction that most of you seem to have should they not get decisions out by April 9th. Yes, this is a significantly life-changing decision and yes I'm sure many of us worked hard to get here, and there's also the anticipation associated with all of that, but I know we all have things to do and if you do your best go about your week more normally the wait won't be as nerve-wracking. Good luck to everyone! We're all in this together after all