The Unofficial SMART Scholarship Forum

Hello all,

I am a 2017 Smart cohort (computer Engineering/science), and I am still a freshman. At the moment I will need to do 18 credits per semester in order to graduate at the time stated as my graduation date by SMART.

I am quickly realizing that I will not be able to take that many credits every semester and be able to pass with A (B+ at the lowest) in every class, the most reasonable for me to do will actually be 15 credits per semester.

Has anyone had any experience adjusting their award due to this?

Also if some one has been able to manage 18 credits every semester can you let me know how you were able to succeed.

My remaining classes are basically all STEM heavy.
**12 credits is full time at my school**

Amount of credits wrote:Hello all,

I am a 2017 Smart cohort (computer Engineering/science), and I am still a freshman. At the moment I will need to do 18 credits per semester in order to graduate at the time stated as my graduation date by SMART.

I am quickly realizing that I will not be able to take that many credits every semester and be able to pass with A (B+ at the lowest) in every class, the most reasonable for me to do will actually be 15 credits per semester.

Has anyone had any experience adjusting their award due to this?

Also if some one has been able to manage 18 credits every semester can you let me know how you were able to succeed.

My remaining classes are basically all STEM heavy.
**12 credits is full time at my school**

I took 18-21 hours every semester to graduate early and save money for undergrad and managed a 4.0 in Aerospace Engineering with undergrad research on top of that (had SMART pay for grad school). All I did was attend classes and pay attention, spent maybe 1-2 hours a day on classes at home during the week and spent the vast majority of weekends on studying/homework. You essentially forgo some free time but I was able to keep all of my evenings relaxed. 12 credits was also full time at my school and anything above 17 hours required a certain GPA.

Most people have a hard time with 18 hours/semester let alone registering for them all since a lot of schools have classes fill up before an individual's time ticket comes up. You can extend a semester or more with SMART especially since you would be doing it so far in advance. That may be your best option. Just contact SMART to get info. But I believe the commitment requirement may be double for that extension? I don't know for sure but check into that.

Amount of credits wrote:Hello all,

I am a 2017 Smart cohort (computer Engineering/science), and I am still a freshman. At the moment I will need to do 18 credits per semester in order to graduate at the time stated as my graduation date by SMART.

I am quickly realizing that I will not be able to take that many credits every semester and be able to pass with A (B+ at the lowest) in every class, the most reasonable for me to do will actually be 15 credits per semester.

Has anyone had any experience adjusting their award due to this?

Also if some one has been able to manage 18 credits every semester can you let me know how you were able to succeed.

My remaining classes are basically all STEM heavy.
**12 credits is full time at my school**

I would hold off until you are a little closer to the end, so that you know for sure you will need to. There is a penalty for adjusting the award to add time for this reason. Any time you add, will come with double the service commitment. If in the end you didn't need the time, they won't let you adjust it back to normal.

I'm a mechanical engineer who just finished their BS and graduated with a minor and from an honors program. 12 credits is full-time at my school as well. I was able to manage 18-21 credits every semester.

The key is planning:
-Front load courses as much as possible. Start taking 21 credits a semester now, so that as the courses get harder you can begin to reduce the number of credits to 15.
-Do the opposite with your gen eds. A lot of programs try to get you to take them up front, but try to save as many as you can to weave into the end, since they will be easier than your STEM courses.
-Do your best to double count requirements if your in an honors program or a minor. Look into double dipping on your internships and getting technical elective credit for the work you'll already have to do. I got 3 credits out of the internship, but my school would have allowed me to do it a second time, so 6 credits total.

In terms of keeping your grades up, prioritize and compartmentalize your assignments. Your goal is to always get everything done, however, at times it simply won't be possible. The goal in those scenarios is to prioritize assignments based on the grading policies. If something can't be passed in late, make sure its in on time. If a professor never checks homework, maybe let it slide a night. When necessary, ask for extensions, if you have been a good student for most of the semester, many professors are very willing to cut you some slack.

Finally, find a competent partner and stick with them. You'll have a lot of group projects near the end, so you need a partner, or a few classmates that will pull their weight and get the job done well. Don't feel bad about telling a friend you won't work with them because they don't pull their own weight.

I was able to manage it, but I know its not for everyone: Try your best, and know your limits.