The Unofficial SMART Scholarship Forum

Congrats to everyone who made it through the first round!

I wanted to make a post to get a better sense of how many facilities and when we should expect to start hearing from facilities for interviews. While the deadline for these is loosely March 15th, this can vary greatly depending on the facility and the "need" for an interview, especially since SMART is transitioning these days.

Could you please reply here when you first hear from an individual facility for an interview this cycle? Thanks!

I received first contact on Feb 27. Interview scheduled for next week. Applied under neural/behavioral/etc. Note: The facility was not one of my 3 preferred SFs.

Hi!

Congratulations on your interview! I also applied under the neural sciences. Could you provide information on your research background and the facility who contacted you? My focus is on biomarkers and nutritional interventions for TBI and stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders. I am so anxious to hear back, but the more I look into places the less optimistic I become in terms of who would want my specific background.

Thanks

Has anyone else heard anything from the facilities? I've been anxiously waiting to see when people would begin interviewing, and, considering it's March 5th, I'm surprised there aren't more replies to this thread.

I'm also waiting to be contacted and I'm beginning to worry.

CassM wrote:Has anyone else heard anything from the facilities? I've been anxiously waiting to see when people would begin interviewing, and, considering it's March 5th, I'm surprised there aren't more replies to this thread.

I'm also waiting to be contacted and I'm beginning to worry.

The email did say they had until the end of March to interview you, so we still have a little under a month left. Also, my understanding is that not all facilities do interviews. I wouldn't worry too much at this point. Especially considering that they probably have quite a few applicants to contact.

CassM wrote:Has anyone else heard anything from the facilities? I've been anxiously waiting to see when people would begin interviewing, and, considering it's March 5th, I'm surprised there aren't more replies to this thread.

I'm also waiting to be contacted and I'm beginning to worry.

From what I've heard, last year people were notified of being semi-finalists at around 7 February and they heard from facilities towards the end of February, which is about 2-3 weeks later. We weren't notified until 20 February and it takes facilities a while to go through all of the applications, especially if you're in a major with a lot of applicants (such as CS, EE, etc.). I'm guessing that most people won't be getting interview requests until maybe this week or next week, but that's just my opinion

Thanks for easing my concerns a little bit. I am an EE major, so it makes sense that it would take some time.

Thought I'd share my update here - I got contacted for interviews by three facilities this past week. For reference, I am a PhD student in EE.

I got a email this past week from a facility looking to interview me. For reference, it wasn't one of my chosen SF's (although I'm interested in what they do), and I'm a BSEE student.

I just got contacted this week. I have an interview scheduled for Monday. I don't think they were one of my chosen SFs, but I put "any" as my third choice. I am a BS in Cybersecurity applicant.

Just to let folks know, the facility that interviewed me told me that their recommendations are due to SMART by March 20. They said that awards would go out within a month from then.

Hi everyone,

Congratulations on all your interviews! Would you mind naming the facilities? Or has anyone heard from Natick, navy medical or SPAWAR?

Thanks,
P

ClinicalNeuroPRISM wrote:Hi everyone,

Congratulations on all your interviews! Would you mind naming the facilities? Or has anyone heard from Natick, navy medical or SPAWAR?

Thanks,
P

My interview was with NSWC-Crane. It was not on my preferred list. Last year, I had both Natick and SPAWAR-Pacific on my list and never heard from either (though, I was applying for undergrad, so that may have been a factor). Hope that helps!

I just received an email to set up an interview sometime this week. I am currently a sophomore EE major

Any chance anyone has heard from TARDEC in warren michigan? I don't see them mentioned much in this forum. I'm hoping I just haven't heard anything yet because they don't do interviews...

Hey All,

Is it possible to be awarded without an interview as a PhD student? Just curious.

Best regards,

potential scholar wrote:Hey All,

Is it possible to be awarded without an interview as a PhD student? Just curious.

Best regards,

Good question. I’m wondering the same thing. Based on previous comments, I’m assuming the fact that some SFs don’t do interviews carries over into graduate students too.

To me, I’d be most upset if I didn’t even get the chance to get interviewed. I’d rather get rejected right away... :/

has anyone whose an aerospace engineering applicant heard from SFs perhaps in Virginia, Georgia, and/ or Ohio? I still haven't been contacted for an interview and I'm just wondering if anyone with similar circumstances has received any. thx

*who's

I am a 2nd year PhD grad student in aerospace engineering. I have not heard anything from anyone.

Hi! I have a quick question. Do the sponsoring facilities have our numbers if they want to conduct an interview or should we provide them while emailing? I'm pretty sure I placed it in my application.

They should have it from your application. However, during my email exchange prior to the interview, I sent mine as confirmation, just in case.

Just thought I'd share an update. The facility from my previous post never got back to me, but today I got contacted by the Missile and Space Intelligence Center in Alabama, and I have an interview set up for Friday. They were one of my preferred facilities.

Eliosharg posted above saying that SFs need to send their recommendations to SMART by March 20. So this means no more will be calling for interviews anymore, correct?

I have received contact over the last couple of weeks. So far I have had interviews for 4 different positions, all of which are located in Hunstville, Al. My last interview was yesterday. Junior EE student.