The Unofficial SMART Scholarship Forum

Having skimmed through these boards I have become aware of 2 things: people are really pissed off at the SMART program, and a 3.0 GPA is not the real requirement, more like 3.7+.

I got out of the Marine Corps (4 yrs active enlisted, honorable discharge) last fall and started going to a community college in the Spring semester. I got a 3.0 GPA, and I expect to bump that up further on completion of my summer courses. The first semester was mainly re-learning how to go to school. I am feeling much more confident now and I think I can stay over 3.5 for the rest of the time.

I heard about SMART when I was getting out but knew I didn't have good enough academic standing at the time to apply. Before joining I had been in school (the same CC I am attending now) for a year and failed miserably due to lack of focus/drive, something I have fixed now. The old GPA is still in my record, but is no longer calculated into my current GPA due to my school's academic forgiveness program. I am currently studying for an AS in General Science, but that is part of a university pathway that is knocking out prerequisites for a BS in Mechanical Engineering. I intend to complete my degree at either the University of Tennessee Knoxville or the University of Texas Austin.

All of the above is just background information for you fine folks to help evaluate my situation and questions about the program:

I still have a valid DOD Secret clearance. Will this give me a leg up in the selection process?

I am using the Post 9/11 GI Bill to go to school. Given the disgruntled awardees in this forum, if you already had school being paid for, would you consider this program advantageous?

Hiring prospects seem good for bachelor level Mechanical Engineers in the civilian work force. If I apply and am accepted, is this program a wiser choice for starting my career than just going after civilian work?

I see a lot of discontent on here but I'm on the outside looking in, and I'm having a hard time understanding what everyone is talking about. Could someone explain simply what is going on that people are mad about?

Thanks

I am also a Marine Corps vet and GPA is not the biggest factor, it seems to be that you need to be far enough along in your schooling that it is a good investment in their money. I applied as an ME without having much math or engineering coursework done and it seemed to negatively affect me. I made it to the final round last year and that was the only thing that was going against me. The security clearance doesn't have any affect because it won't still be active by the time you would be hired on. It's always worth trying but you shouldn't get your hopes up. Trying might even help you work out the kinks so by the time you are a prime candidate, you make it to the final round. They do not give any feedback but it would let you know you need to change something.

One of the best things about the post 9/11 GI Bill is that you can double dip with any government funded program. While the school is already paid for, the extra monthly money goes in your pocket(i.e. two BAH's). Another good thing is you won't have to make any decisions about what to do because this funding hasn't come through or the decision of who is chosen hasn't been made. I don't have to sweat nearly as much as some of the people on this forum.

This program can be a good start to a career but it really depends on what you want to do as an ME. They require a year of work for each year of school paid for, so you have a guaranteed job after school and work experience if you do not want to stay past your initial commitment. The thing the sponsoring facilities are looking for is a long term commitment, so whatever you want to do tell them you want to stay for a long time when they interview you, if you get an interview.

A brief synopsis is that the SMART program has pushed back deadlines many times but not alerted anyone to the fact. Meaning the deadline has just come and gone with no word about why it has past with no notice. The sequestration has probably had the most to do with that, but it happened last year too so there is no way to know what the reason is since there is little to no contact.

Hopefully that helped.
Semper Fi and good luck

As previously mentioned your clearance doesn’t really play into it, with the exception that you can obtain the clearance. They have to initiate a different investigation regardless for a Secret. The investigation they perform for military members and the one they perform for civilian personnel is different somehow. Your GPA might have a detrimental effect, but your military service might offset/overcome it. You get 5 point veterans preference for service, and 10 point if you’re over 30% VA disabled.
As for why people are angry, there are two groups. The first group as mentioned above is angry with the total lack of communication from SMART about what is going on. Those that have applied have been told nothing on when awards/denials will go out (now that we’re months passed initial deadline), and many/most that received awards last year are still getting the run around on being hired. Many are graduating without being hired by their SF and are getting funding cut after 30 days.
The second group (the one I am part of) are those that feel completely duped by their SF on the work they are performing. There is a significant number of us that do absolutely nothing related to our fields. I’ve met physicists that are coding, MEs that are security adjudicators, and computer scientists that are file clerks. Essentially, we are nothing more than seat warmers with a degree, because DAWIA mandates that all personnel involved with acquisitions must have a scientific degree.
What I’ve said several times on this forum is to NOT take the scholarship unless you NEED IT. If you have funding of any other sort, or are comfortable with student loans definitely go those routes first! The only benefit to the program is graduating debt free with a job. DO NOT assume this translates to experience; I will have nothing that qualifies as experience in my career field when my commitment is up.