2012 Applicants

[DexyDean]

I emailed them and asked if they had any info on when SMART or ASEE extended their notification deadline to... for some reason the next couple of weeks wasn't specific enough for me

So I would presume that you haven't gotten a response yet, right? Cause now that you've mentioned it, you're totally on the hook for letting us know what they say.

I emailed them at 3:15 Central time. I don't expect them to reply until tomorrow morning since they probably leave at 5 anyways... which is 15 minutes from now.

Also, yes I just checked again and still nothing.

[WestToEast]

Everything with my SF was great, they told me I was the only person they were really interested in and that they would put my name forward. After the award announcement was delayed, I emailed the HR person for the SF and asked if they knew anything about why the announcement was delayed and if they knew anything about what the ambiguous "few weeks" meant. I got a response a couple days later that she couldn't find anything out from SMART. I feel like they're kind of in the same boat that we are, where they don't know much either.
She did say that if she found anything out, she would let me know.

[Dirge]

Tomorrow marks the day that our hopes of an efficient response to our application died. I don't know about you guys, but the stress of waiting has bled over into my everyday, affecting my sleeping and eating habits! Not healthy. If I die before a decision is announced, I'll make sure to leave instructions on how to withdraw my application!

[qcccc]

Tomorrow marks the day that our hopes of an efficient response to our application died.

Why is the line drawn tomorrow? I thought the line would have been April 9th, or maybe even April 15th if you stretch it...

[2012_UMD]

Tomorrow marks the day that our hopes of an efficient response to our application died.

Why is the line drawn tomorrow? I thought the line would have been April 9th, or maybe even April 15th if you stretch it...

I think he's referring to the day we received the ominous email that the "ASEE has been notified by the Department of Defense that the 2012 SMART Scholarship award announcements have been delayed."

[hopeful]

I've been calling the ASEE office every day since that email. I've gotten a voicemail every time until yesterday. I asked about the timeline and the lady said, "everything in that email was what the government told us. If they had told us more, we would have let you know." It sounded like we won't hear anything else until the awards are sent out. Oh well, good luck!

[somuchwaiting]

I think I've figured it out. SMART has had a huge funding cut, so they've been forced to reduce the number of awards for this year. Unable to choose which of the finalists to cut, they've decided to make the selection process as unpredictable and stressful as possible so that most of us die or lose our minds from the stress. This will drastically reduce the pool of finalists, making the final cut much simpler for everyone.

And with that, I'm withdrawing my application and entering an insane asylum. Good luck to all of you.

[Guest]

I think I've figured it out. SMART has had a huge funding cut, so they've been forced to reduce the number of awards for this year. Unable to choose which of the finalists to cut, they've decided to make the selection process as unpredictable and stressful as possible so that most of us die or lose our minds from the stress. This will drastically reduce the pool of finalists, making the final cut much simpler for everyone.

And with that, I'm withdrawing my application and entering an insane asylum. Good luck to all of you.

haha...one down!

[In_Stitches]

I think I've figured it out. SMART has had a huge funding cut, so they've been forced to reduce the number of awards for this year. Unable to choose which of the finalists to cut, they've decided to make the selection process as unpredictable and stressful as possible so that most of us die or lose our minds from the stress. This will drastically reduce the pool of finalists, making the final cut much simpler for everyone.

And with that, I'm withdrawing my application and entering an insane asylum. Good luck to all of you.

Real talk, are you really withdrawing your application?

My theory: NSF announced their awards at the end of May, and a week from now people have to accept or reject them. NDSEG has yet to fully announce all of their awards, and the DOE's SCGF doesn't get announced till May. If someone applied for any of these and got them, I wouldn't be surprised if they also managed to be on the SMART's short list (of course not definitely, but likely).

Sooooo if the SMART office waits till every has accepted other awards, their short list shrinks for them

[2012_UMD]

I think I've figured it out. SMART has had a huge funding cut, so they've been forced to reduce the number of awards for this year. Unable to choose which of the finalists to cut, they've decided to make the selection process as unpredictable and stressful as possible so that most of us die or lose our minds from the stress. This will drastically reduce the pool of finalists, making the final cut much simpler for everyone.

And with that, I'm withdrawing my application and entering an insane asylum. Good luck to all of you.

Real talk, are you really withdrawing your application?

My theory: NSF announced their awards at the end of May, and a week from now people have to accept or reject them. NDSEG has yet to fully announce all of their awards, and the DOE's SCGF doesn't get announced till May. If someone applied for any of these and got them, I wouldn't be surprised if they also managed to be on the SMART's short list (of course not definitely, but likely).

Sooooo if the SMART office waits till every has accepted other awards, their short list shrinks for them

Oh god, I hope not. The whole idea of a waiting list would make this a stupid option. Just pick a cutoff number, send out notifications and, as people reject the award, fill their spots with people on the waiting list. I think they're mainly have trouble with the cutoff number, and thus we're still waiting.

[Guest 2012]

I think I've figured it out. SMART has had a huge funding cut, so they've been forced to reduce the number of awards for this year. Unable to choose which of the finalists to cut, they've decided to make the selection process as unpredictable and stressful as possible so that most of us die or lose our minds from the stress. This will drastically reduce the pool of finalists, making the final cut much simpler for everyone.

And with that, I'm withdrawing my application and entering an insane asylum. Good luck to all of you.

Real talk, are you really withdrawing your application?

My theory: NSF announced their awards at the end of May, and a week from now people have to accept or reject them. NDSEG has yet to fully announce all of their awards, and the DOE's SCGF doesn't get announced till May. If someone applied for any of these and got them, I wouldn't be surprised if they also managed to be on the SMART's short list (of course not definitely, but likely).

Sooooo if the SMART office waits till every has accepted other awards, their short list shrinks for them

There will not likely be any correlation to NSF, NDSED and SCGF to the SMART Scholarship. I have not looked up the details on each of those but from my understanding, they are merit based scholarships. Top applicants receive the awards.

SMART is merit to a point, and then it is all based on the projected need for individual X versus individual Y, where individual X could barely have made it to the semi-finalist round based on academics and Y was in the top 10 based on academics, but X was more qualified to fill a given position with the DoD upon graduation.

But that is just my two cents.

[somuchwaiting]

I think I've figured it out. SMART has had a huge funding cut, so they've been forced to reduce the number of awards for this year. Unable to choose which of the finalists to cut, they've decided to make the selection process as unpredictable and stressful as possible so that most of us die or lose our minds from the stress. This will drastically reduce the pool of finalists, making the final cut much simpler for everyone.

And with that, I'm withdrawing my application and entering an insane asylum. Good luck to all of you.

Real talk, are you really withdrawing your application?

My theory: NSF announced their awards at the end of May, and a week from now people have to accept or reject them. NDSEG has yet to fully announce all of their awards, and the DOE's SCGF doesn't get announced till May. If someone applied for any of these and got them, I wouldn't be surprised if they also managed to be on the SMART's short list (of course not definitely, but likely).

Sooooo if the SMART office waits till every has accepted other awards, their short list shrinks for them

Nah, I'll sweat it out. they're not making it easy though. checking email has been such a terrifying ordeal for over a week now.

[gatsby]

Tomorrow marks the day that our hopes of an efficient response to our application died. I don't know about you guys, but the stress of waiting has bled over into my everyday, affecting my sleeping and eating habits! Not healthy. If I die before a decision is announced, I'll make sure to leave instructions on how to withdraw my application!

I've begun to wonder if there are provisions in the award to cover medical expenses related to anxiety disorders? You know, like stress induced psychological problems caused by sleep deprivation and mild panic attacks every time an email is received.

[Guest 2012]

Tomorrow marks the day that our hopes of an efficient response to our application died. I don't know about you guys, but the stress of waiting has bled over into my everyday, affecting my sleeping and eating habits! Not healthy. If I die before a decision is announced, I'll make sure to leave instructions on how to withdraw my application!

I've begun to wonder if there are provisions in the award to cover medical expenses related to anxiety disorders? You know, like stress induced psychological problems caused by sleep deprivation and mild panic attacks every time an email is received.

Only if you receive an award...but don't stress about that...

[Kill_me_now]

Too ... much .... waiting ....

[WaitingIsFun]

Maybe ASEE should provide some free samples of Prozac while we all wait.

[smart_hopeful]

Maybe ASEE should provide some free samples of Prozac while we all wait.

With our luck, it would make us all fail the drug test and get booted from the program. :p

[Guest]

Has anyone heard from/tried to contact their SF or POC? I'm really tempted to email mine again, but I don't want to harass him...

[AAarrrghh]

My SF is my current employer (I'm a retention candidate). The employers don't know any more than you do.

[Trying2Relax]

My SF is my current employer (I'm a retention candidate). The employers don't know any more than you do.

I shared the e-mail from ASEE saying award would be delayed with my SF, and they weren't aware of the delay. Some stellar communication all around.

[OverIt]

Has anyone heard from/tried to contact their SF or POC? I'm really tempted to email mine again, but I don't want to harass him...

I had emailed mine, and she actively tried to find out for me, but she wasn't able to find out anything. I don't think anyone knows whats going on.

[guest17]

Also emailed my SF and they said they hope its not within weeks. My SF knows all that us applicants know. I really just want to said a mean message to ASEE and rant about how much this is messing with my mind and school schedules for next year. I wouldn't want to hurt my chances tho with a hate email if somehow I am in the running to get the scholarship.

[Guest22]

You people are absolutely ridiculous. You'd think bright engineers like those applying for this scholarship could figure out the strategy to cope with this scholarship application process.

The acceptance rate is 10%. This year, they're probably going to accept even less. Expect ~6-7% acceptance rate.

Tell yourself you aren't going to get the scholarship (because chances are, you won't), continue life as usual. If by some chance, they notify you that you won, congratulations! Don't expect it, and stop wasting your time checking your email.

Stop complaining. They are going to give the winners copious amounts of money. They'll let you know whenever they want too. It's the government. You guys probably could have made like $1000 by now working a minimum wage job with the time you spend on this forum and checking your email.

[cool bro]

You people are absolutely ridiculous. You'd think bright engineers like those applying for this scholarship could figure out the strategy to cope with this scholarship application process.

The acceptance rate is 10%. This year, they're probably going to accept even less. Expect ~6-7% acceptance rate.

Tell yourself you aren't going to get the scholarship (because chances are, you won't), continue life as usual. If by some chance, they notify you that you won, congratulations! Don't expect it, and stop wasting your time checking your email.

Stop complaining. They are going to give the winners copious amounts of money. They'll let you know whenever they want too. It's the government. You guys probably could have made like $1000 by now working a minimum wage job with the time you spend on this forum and checking your email.

And you sound ridiculous as well my friend. Some of us, including myself are full time college students while also working 36 hours a week just to pay for rent and the minimum amount due for tuition. This scholarship would be a dramatic change on our lives. When the government just casually says it'll be a few more weeks on a huge announcement, it's kind of a big deal. Yes, the chances are extremely slim, but this is an extreme situation.

[Seriously]

You people are absolutely ridiculous. You'd think bright engineers like those applying for this scholarship could figure out the strategy to cope with this scholarship application process.

The acceptance rate is 10%. This year, they're probably going to accept even less. Expect ~6-7% acceptance rate.

Tell yourself you aren't going to get the scholarship (because chances are, you won't), continue life as usual. If by some chance, they notify you that you won, congratulations! Don't expect it, and stop wasting your time checking your email.

Stop complaining. They are going to give the winners copious amounts of money. They'll let you know whenever they want too. It's the government. You guys probably could have made like $1000 by now working a minimum wage job with the time you spend on this forum and checking your email.

I'm not really sure where you live, but here minimum wage is $7 an hour, so to make $1000 while going to school full time is not really feasible in the week we've spent checking our emails. For some of us, who are struggling to pay for school, who's parents don't support them, this is a HUGE deal. Some of us have had to make plans for summer or next semester without knowledge of whether we had the scholarship or not.It kind of makes a difference. I'd like to know if I need to accept my current scholarships again, or if I can reject them and let someone else who needs them have them.

Maybe we are being a little ridiculous, maybe we check our emails too much, or maybe we check the forum too much in your opinion. But some of us take comfort in knowing we aren't the only person pulling their hair out, having to make uninformed decisions about the future, and its always nice to get an update from anyone who has anything. If you're so chill about this all, that's great, more power to you and I respect you for it. But belittling the people who are stressed about their future is beneath you and us. This is a place where people can respectfully share questions, comments, and concerns. And I for one would appreciate if you kept it that way.