My Chances for the 2010-2011 round

Answers to various questions regarding the SMART Scholarship application process. Includes many tips and statistics.
LaserEyess

My Chances for the 2010-2011 round

Post by LaserEyess »

I am currently a senior in high school thinking of applying to this program next year, as a freshman in college. I was accepted Early decision into Johns Hopkins University, with plans of majoring in Mechanical engineering and possibly double majoring Chemistry/Mechanical engineering. In high school I had a 3.76 unweighted GPA, and my SAT score is 2090 (730 reading, 670 writing, 690 math). I also took Math I and Math II subject tests and scored 780 on both.

I live in the Baltimore/D.C. Metropolitan area and around 20-40 minutes away from D.C. and Virginia depending on traffic. Both my parents have worked for the government with security clearances, and my mother currently works for NGA based in Bethesda I believe. My mother is looking into getting me an internship at NSA or her agency for the summer of 2010, as well as a security clearance.

I am very interested in weapons development, energy efficiency, materials research, chemical physics, and applied chemistry. A lot of the sponsoring facilities around the Washington Area as well as the Naval yards in Virginia support both my majors and have jobs in those areas of research.

I have no plans of changing my majors or my college of choice, no plans of getting anything less than a 4.0 my first semester, and really, really, really, really want an almost-full-ride-but-only-for-tuition scholarship WITH a good salary and a lot of job security right out of college. I understand that freshman are rarely chosen and cost the program a lot of money, but will having family friends who work in sponsoring agencies help me?

Smart-Applicant

Re: My Chances for the 2010-2011 round

Post by Smart-Applicant »

Laser,

I guess your chances would be as good as any one else's. Honestly though, I would probably put more merit in your mother or father using their job connections to get you an internship, than obtaining a scholarship like this one initially. Then again, the chances for each person are suppose to be equal. However, based off what I have read, it seems they place a strong emphasis on people who have an academic track record beyond high school. You have yet to be involved in any substantial research, are probably only 17 or 18 years of age, and lack college experience. The administrators here (being a successful candidate) and SmartGuide would be your best avenues of advice. However, based off what they have stated, I am not sure you'd have much success right out of high school. Don't quote me on that, but it would be what I would say, anyway.

Guest

Re: My Chances for the 2010-2011 round

Post by Guest »

I'd have to agree with the guy above me. You won't have much college experience. One semester of freshmen classes isn't much to go off of, and you won't have any significant research or laboratory experience. I applied with letters of rec from a research I worked with the summer after graduation as well as the summer after freshmen year. My other letter came from a professor who taught one of my laboratory classes. Both talked extensively about my potential to do well in a research environment.

They want students not only with a good academic record, but are also dedicated to research and working for the DOD. It's a long term commitment, and they want just as much if not more than what they put in.

But it doesn't hurt to apply.

jlit

Re: My Chances for the 2010-2011 round

Post by jlit »

Im a freshman now and I applied this year so i'm just waiting to find out what they say. But the best thing you can do is apply and pray the worst anyone can ever do to you is say no.

LaserEyess

Re: My Chances for the 2010-2011 round

Post by LaserEyess »

Thank you for the replies.

I expected, but didn't hope, for responses like these. I'm going to apply every year because this is something I'm serious about doing. I guess I'll use the internships my parents can get me as well as the raw opportunity of a top research school like Johns Hopkins to better my odds each year.

The part that annoys me is how I have no research experience. I would have been very interested to do research during high school, and even at a summer internship, but there aren't a lot of real opportunities for high school students. My mother did get me an 'internship' at NSA, but it was unpaid and didn't involve academia; I would have basically been a glorified secretary. I chose a summer job over this because it was more practical.

But again, I'll just apply and hope for the best. Maybe some of my potential and dedication will show in the short essay.

Smart-Applicant

Re: My Chances for the 2010-2011 round

Post by Smart-Applicant »

Laser Eyes,

Friendly advice. If you get another chance at an "unpaid internship" at a government agency, go for it. Here's the reasoning behind this statement. You will get your face known and build a reputation. Sure, you will be doing the work for free, BUT if you are truly interested in this field, it will serve as way to get your foot in the door. Who do you think they will be more likely to hire? Someone who has worked for them, as a volunteer and done fantastic work, or the person who walks in off the street? That's the best real world advice I can give you man. I would jump on any future opportunities if you are serious about the field.

Smart-Applicant

Re: My Chances for the 2010-2011 round

Post by Smart-Applicant »

On a side note, I would guess it was a glorified secretary position due to your age. As I mentioned earlier, I would assume you are 17, possibly 18. If 17, you would not be considered a legal adult, so that would play a huge role in what your opportunities were at that point.

Mariner

Notification

Post by Mariner »

I received an email, as I am sure the rest of you did, that said finalists would be notified at the beginning of February. I am curious if anyone has heard anything yet?

Archimedes
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Feb 02, 2010 5:16 pm
Contact:

Re: My Chances for the 2010-2011 round

Post by Archimedes »

I haven't heard.

Smart-Applicant

Re: My Chances for the 2010-2011 round

Post by Smart-Applicant »

Seeing how they had 3400 Applicants and had to extend the deadline, my guess is they might have to revise their schedule some. Reviewing 3400 people isn't going to be an easy task. Not to mention, they have to whittle that number down to a reasonable figure. Therefore, I'm going to guess "even though fingerprints are due the 28th", they might not get things out until later. Don't quote me on that, as I have no better knowledge than the rest. However, that would be my fair assessment. Either way, no need to worry.

1) Your application is in their hands and out of your control at this point
2) What will happen will happen. You can worry yourself to death or you can go about things are normal.

Ultimately, this process is a learning experience for everyone, chosen or not. So when you do complete your degree, you will have some ideas of what is required to work for the government (if that's your career choice).

jlit

Re: My Chances for the 2010-2011 round

Post by jlit »

like everyone else i'm clueless about when the applications are coming out. But It would be nice if when people here start getting accepted as a finalist they could post up to let everyone know that emails are going around.

guest

Re: My Chances for the 2010-2011 round

Post by guest »

Smart-Applicant wrote:Laser Eyes,

Friendly advice. If you get another chance at an "unpaid internship" at a government agency, go for it. Here's the reasoning behind this statement. You will get your face known and build a reputation. Sure, you will be doing the work for free, BUT if you are truly interested in this field, it will serve as way to get your foot in the door. Who do you think they will be more likely to hire? Someone who has worked for them, as a volunteer and done fantastic work, or the person who walks in off the street? That's the best real world advice I can give you man. I would jump on any future opportunities if you are serious about the field.
Just to add on to that sentiment with some more friendly advice, I would also recommend doing some of the footwork yourself to get a job or internship. You should definitely be emailing/ calling people yourself in order to get your name through to perspective employers; this will make you much more appealing to someone because they will see that Junior can do things for himself without the help of Mom or Dad. I personally got my summer internships at a Navy facility that both of my parents work at and the people that I met with who knew my parents were much more willing to talk to me because I did NOT use my parents as a way to get a job. I will say that I did get contact numbers from my parents, but the rest of the work of actually calling and setting up meetings was my own responsibility.

Also to answer the earlier question, having parents that currently work for the DoD and have security clearances will not help your chances in becoming a finalist. I highly doubt that the reviewers would have that information unless you specifically stated it somewhere on the application and even then I do not think that they would really care. I know that the Sf-86 form asks if there are any family members currently working for the DoD, but that form is not what the reviewers will be looking at. However, having parents that work for the DoD may help your chances at being selected by a sponsoring facility if you choose facilities that your parents work at; that is, people may recognize the name of the applicant (namely you) which could make your application stand out from the many applications that they must sort through in order to find who they are looking for.

LaserEyess

Re: My Chances for the 2010-2011 round

Post by LaserEyess »

Sorry if this is considered a 'bump' but I have some more questions pertaining to my chances, so I didn't feel it necessary to clutter a forum.

I have been working diligently to get an internship with either the government or local engineering firms. No luck so far, but I keep applying every day. My question is about the research and experience aspect that SMART is looking for. I'm curious about what I can do with an internship to bolster my chances. For example, let's say I get an internship at APL, that's great and all, but does it really help me stand out? I'm sure that everyone who is applying for this scholarship has done as much if not more.

What I'm asking is: are there any secrets or tips that anyone has to help me stand out? (Considering I'll be a freshman next year, of course). I feel like this is the best chance I have at getting a 'real' scholarship for college, and I'm willing to listen to any (additional) suggestions on how to stand out.

guest

Re: My Chances for the 2010-2011 round

Post by guest »

I am not anybody official but from what I have gathered, they look not only at your academic and research record but also at the number of years of support you will require. That being said, if you think you can graduate in 3 years (for this to be possible you should have a significant amount of AP credit say ~ 12-18 credit hours as well as take anywhere from 17-19 credit hours per semester) then you can state your graduation date as being may 2015 then that could in fact boost your chances. Trust me, this can be done if you are a gifted student. I work with an undergrad that switched his major from chem eng. to chemistry, has 2 publications and is on track to graduate in 3 years. Of course he is funded off of whatever scholarship he wants so SMART is not something that interests him... he wants to go into academia... anyways, if you really want to work with DoD then do not be discouraged by a rejection the first time around, and go ahead and apply.... and save all of your documents for the next time around if there should be one. On the subject of research, find a lab that is doing something you are remotely interested in and ask a grad student where his boss is. Talk to his boss and tell him you are interested in working in his lab. If he turns you down, offer yourself as free labor. Getting your name on a publication is way more important than the 8-10 bucks an hour that he will pay you, unless of course you are starving in which case I am sorry to here that......


Good luck...

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