First round notifications

[Idaho ME]

I just received my notification email telling me I've made it through the first round.

Finally!

[jjm390]

Me too! Not so excited having to wait until May for the final selection, but at least we got this far!

[Idaho ME]

Me too! Not so excited having to wait until May for the final selection, but at least we got this far!

We'll be lucky to find out that soon. If we do find out in May, my bet is that it will be towards the end of the month.

[2Naqiy]

Me too!! on to the next round!

[NeuRAO]

I made the cut as well! Good luck everyone!

[smart terp]

I just received the email also. Pretty excited since it was my first attempt.
Good luck all.

[rahlf]

I made it through as well! Received the email today.

[ColoState]

Got my email today! Good luck everyone!
Masters Railroad Engineering

[Guest]

I made it too. So, it seems like everyone on here so far made it. Maybe the first round is not the killer after all. Do your best in the coming events, the phone interview and selection questions (that is, dont shoot yourself in the foot).

[Guest]

Hi! I'm a fresman in ChemE with a 3.43 GPA. Made it past first round, any chance of actually being selected?

[Idaho ME]

Maybe the first round is not the killer after all.

My understanding is that the first round is academic verification and checking the application for completeness, so it wouldn't be considered "competitive" by any means.

Just a note on the timeline: I received my first round notification last year on February 22, almost a full month earlier than this year. I got my final round rejection on July 2. Last year's schedule was thrown off by federal budget and politics, but I still wouldn't get my hopes up for awards being made in May as is stated in the email we just received.

[jjm390]

Hi! I'm a fresman in ChemE with a 3.43 GPA. Made it past first round, any chance of actually being selected?

That all depends on if you impress the Sponsoring Facilities, is my guess. You made it through the "Needs of DoD" review, so as long as your selected Sponsoring Facilities need someone of your education, I would guess that you have the same chance as anyone else.

This is, of course, my opinion based on the time I spent in the Navy, and how selections were made then.

[jjm390]

Maybe the first round is not the killer after all.

My understanding is that the first round is academic verification and checking the application for completeness, so it wouldn't be considered "competitive" by any means.

Just a note on the timeline: I received my first round notification last year on February 22, almost a full month earlier than this year. I got my final round rejection on July 2. Last year's schedule was thrown off by federal budget and politics, but I still wouldn't get my hopes up for awards being made in May as is stated in the email we just received.

My understanding, through my conversations with people at Kirtland AFB who have been on the selection board for AFRL, once they get the applications, your are in the final round (where we are right now). I was also told that the selection process at AFRL works something like this:

1) They divide the applications into VA Preference and non-VA preference
2) They then sort both piles by GPA
3) They then read all of the Essays
4) If the essays don't describe research/desired work with the DoD doesn't match their needs, they discard that application. I was also told that the best written Essays get the most attention.
5) Once they weed out the applications based on essay content, they then rank the applications based on the other aspects of the application/phone interviews
6) Once everything is ranked, the VA preference is applied to the ranking
7) Positions are then filled from the top down.
8) their final list is sent back to the SMART program office for final selection

I was also told that you could have the best GPA in the world, but if your essays are not written well, and/or are not relevant to them, the application won't go any further. A low GPA can easily be overcome by writing a very good set of essays.

[FLIRtech]

Hey everyone, I guess I'm part of the group now. I made it through the first round! This is my first time applying to SMART and most likely my last, I have one year left till I graduate. I'm assuming the phone interviews are next. I don't know much about the process, so I'm wondering how it works. We all get to choose up to 3 Facilities that we would be interested in working at (these are our Sponsor Facilities, right?). So what happens if the 3 we choose are not hiring, don't need you, don't have the funding, or they just don't pick you. Do we have a second chance to choose some other facilities, or is it the end of the line? Pretty much what I getting at, are the facilities the next wave of cuts for us?

[jjm390]

Hey everyone, I guess I'm part of the group now. I made it through the first round! This is my first time applying to SMART and most likely my last, I have one year left till I graduate. I'm assuming the phone interviews are next. I don't know much about the process, so I'm wondering how it works. We all get to choose up to 3 Facilities that we would be interested in working at (these are our Sponsor Facilities, right?). So what happens if the 3 we choose are not hiring, don't need you, don't have the funding, or they just don't pick you. Do we have a second chance to choose some other facilities, or is it the end of the line? Pretty much what I getting at, are the facilities the next wave of cuts for us?

It is my understanding that any facility can look at your application, even ones that you didn't specifically select (this relates to the "Geographic Mobility" requirement in the application). I have seen, through perusing this site, that in the past, several people have been selected by non-choice facilities.

[Guest]

It is my understanding that any facility can look at your application, even ones that you didn't specifically select (this relates to the "Geographic Mobility" requirement in the application). I have seen, through perusing this site, that in the past, several people have been selected by non-choice facilities.

You are absolutely correct. When I was awarded the scholarship, I had two different bases wanting to pick me up. Neither one was one of my "preferred" choices.

[dbower1]

Physics/Math Sophomore and I made it through as well! Congrats everyone!

[rkraft]

Dear All,

I worked at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory 4 years then became a professor at Penn State (mechanical and nuclear engineering). I’m currently looking for exceptional students, so in case you have not decided where to complete your studies, please check out my website (http://www.mne.psu.edu/compbio) and don’t hesitate to contact me if you are interested or pass this message on to other SMART applicants/winners. I was awarded the SMART, as well as had some of my mentees win a SMART award when I was still at the Army Research Lab. I have some understanding of the program.

Thanks, Reuben