2012 Applicants

[gatsby]

Total guess, but I think award announcements will be sent on Thursday, May 31 around 2pm EST. Why?

-The last few posts give the appearance that the DOD has provided ASEE with enough information for them to start to finalize the process.
-If they wait until June / July, they will start to go past many university deadlines for Fall registration; therefore, very few people would still be in a position of being able to accept.
-I don't think it's likely they will email this week because they may have reduced staff... a lot of people in government jobs tend to take leave just before a holiday (next Monday).
-Based on past correspondence, it seems they like to email between 1200 and 1500 EST.

[me123]

Total guess, but I think award announcements will be sent on Thursday, May 31 around 2pm EST. Why?

-The last few posts give the appearance that the DOD has provided ASEE with enough information for them to start to finalize the process.
-If they wait until June / July, they will start to go past many university deadlines for Fall registration; therefore, very few people would still be in a position of being able to accept.
-I don't think it's likely they will email this week because they may have reduced staff... a lot of people in government jobs tend to take leave just before a holiday (next Monday).
-Based on past correspondence, it seems they like to email between 1200 and 1500 EST.

OK 5/31 afternoon it is. Unless they come earlier, or later of course.

[GuestForADay]

Did anyone else apply for Eglin AFB? Just curious to see if any information has been given yet from them.

I'm a current scholar at Eglin. It's a good location. I think I remember from the POC there that they made several selections, but of course at the end of the day they don't know who they will get, because of funding cuts. It's unfortunately not a good year for new scholars.

Best of luck to you.

What group are you working with?

[Guest22]

Did anyone else apply for Eglin AFB? Just curious to see if any information has been given yet from them.

I'm a current scholar at Eglin. It's a good location. I think I remember from the POC there that they made several selections, but of course at the end of the day they don't know who they will get, because of funding cuts. It's unfortunately not a good year for new scholars.

Best of luck to you.

What group are you working with?

AFRL/RW

[GUEST555588]

Confirmation from my POC...large budget cuts = huge delay and deliberation. Expect less students funded.

[smart_hopeful]

SMART and NDSEG are both funded through the same DoD agency. I wonder why SMART seems to have rammed directly into the iceberg while NDSEG looks to have sailed through exactly as planned.

The specific budgetary reduction in NDEP (their parent agency) seems to have been on the order of 10-30%, if internet-accessible data is reliable. It is very likely not reliable, but it's all we have. I therefore don't tend to think that the reduction will be as drastic as "we were going to fund 200 students, now we're going to fund 40", but maybe more like they're going to hire two when they planned to hire three.

However, this is all educated guesswork at best, and possibly colored by wishful thinking.

[MyTwoCents]

I have no info, just wanted to see my words on the Internet =).

This goes out to anyone who is getting stressed out over this stuff, just remember, there were never any guarantees. Yes, there were some vague expectations set about when notices were to be sent, but this is the government were dealing with. If you have learned nothing through waiting, expect this... the gov't is a slow, often disappointing machine, that serves it's own purposes. If you're lucky enough to be one of those purposes, count your blessings.

Also, keep in mind that we are all in the same boat, stranded in seemingly dead waters, en route to the promised land. I'm a vet, and while there are a few programs out there that serve vets, honestly, once you've voluntarily served, these programs amount to a small compensation for the life you gave up to protect the US citizenry. If I get a small bump on my application to the SMART scholarship (and/or the Post office jobs), guess what... I earned it. I didn't get any preference on my acceptance to my school, or preference for any job I've held in the private sector. If you feel this is unjust, stop applying to SMART and go enlist. I've heard the GI Bill is off the hook ;)

Lastly, but not leastly, what it comes down to is this... we have hopes, but no guarantees due to the nature of the gov't (see above). As is always the case, we should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. If we get the $$$, great, things just work out. If we don't get the $$$, we're in the same boat we were when we started. If you don't have a plan for success, put one together. If you need school money, use FAFSA, if you need a job after school, surf the job banks, open a LinkedIn account, and start talking to the local job placement services.

Life is too short to be stressing over things you can't control. Just stay focused on what makes you happy, and I guarantee you'll end up where you're heading. Good luck, fellow applicants!

[dnagirl712]

I have no info, just wanted to see my words on the Internet =).

This goes out to anyone who is getting stressed out over this stuff, just remember, there were never any guarantees. Yes, there were some vague expectations set about when notices were to be sent, but this is the government were dealing with. If you have learned nothing through waiting, expect this... the gov't is a slow, often disappointing machine, that serves it's own purposes. If you're lucky enough to be one of those purposes, count your blessings.

Also, keep in mind that we are all in the same boat, stranded in seemingly dead waters, en route to the promised land. I'm a vet, and while there are a few programs out there that serve vets, honestly, once you've voluntarily served, these programs amount to a small compensation for the life you gave up to protect the US citizenry. If I get a small bump on my application to the SMART scholarship (and/or the Post office jobs), guess what... I earned it. I didn't get any preference on my acceptance to my school, or preference for any job I've held in the private sector. If you feel this is unjust, stop applying to SMART and go enlist. I've heard the GI Bill is off the hook ;)

Lastly, but not leastly, what it comes down to is this... we have hopes, but no guarantees due to the nature of the gov't (see above). As is always the case, we should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. If we get the $$$, great, things just work out. If we don't get the $$$, we're in the same boat we were when we started. If you don't have a plan for success, put one together. If you need school money, use FAFSA, if you need a job after school, surf the job banks, open a LinkedIn account, and start talking to the local job placement services.

Life is too short to be stressing over things you can't control. Just stay focused on what makes you happy, and I guarantee you'll end up where you're heading. Good luck, fellow applicants!

Yes. This. Exactly.

[Guest]

SMART and NDSEG are both funded through the same DoD agency. I wonder why SMART seems to have rammed directly into the iceberg while NDSEG looks to have sailed through exactly as planned.

The specific budgetary reduction in NDEP (their parent agency) seems to have been on the order of 10-30%, if internet-accessible data is reliable. It is very likely not reliable, but it's all we have. I therefore don't tend to think that the reduction will be as drastic as "we were going to fund 200 students, now we're going to fund 40", but maybe more like they're going to hire two when they planned to hire three.

However, this is all educated guesswork at best, and possibly colored by wishful thinking.

The difference lies in the hiring directive. NDSEG got their money because they are entirely a research grant sourcing agency which fosters the development of academia. SMART is entirely an employee development program. If those employees can't currently get hired (and they can't... don't let SMART tell you that temporary internships count, they only count in that they bend the rules), then what's the point in funding a program with a stated goal of employee development? That's why SMART took a beating, and NDSEG didn't.

[currentfed]

SMART and NDSEG are both funded through the same DoD agency. I wonder why SMART seems to have rammed directly into the iceberg while NDSEG looks to have sailed through exactly as planned.

The specific budgetary reduction in NDEP (their parent agency) seems to have been on the order of 10-30%, if internet-accessible data is reliable. It is very likely not reliable, but it's all we have. I therefore don't tend to think that the reduction will be as drastic as "we were going to fund 200 students, now we're going to fund 40", but maybe more like they're going to hire two when they planned to hire three.

However, this is all educated guesswork at best, and possibly colored by wishful thinking.

The difference lies in the hiring directive. NDSEG got their money because they are entirely a research grant sourcing agency which fosters the development of academia. SMART is entirely an employee development program. If those employees can't currently get hired (and they can't... don't let SMART tell you that temporary internships count, they only count in that they bend the rules), then what's the point in funding a program with a stated goal of employee development? That's why SMART took a beating, and NDSEG didn't.

If the hiring aspect really is an issue (and it seems like it is, based on the recipient's forum), I wonder if that has any impact on retention vs. recruitment applications. As a retention candidate, my SF doesn't have to hire me when I'm done with school - I just resume my current position.

I doubt it actually has much impact... but it's nice to dream!

[Guest]

I will go out on a limb and surmise a bit here. Totally my opinion, no facility POC, just checking out the SMART website.

This master list of SFs, generated under old SMART Program Management last summer, is quite lengthy. (http://smart.asee.org/assets/File/07121 ... 202011.pdf)

The current list of SFs is noticeably smaller:
http://smart.asee.org/sponsoring_facilities/
As a visual aid, even the map with the colored pins has pins that should no longer be there. I understand that the map has a caption that it's not a complete representation of placement facilities, but that's not my point.

My point is sometime between old SMART Program Management and new SMART management (July 2011 - present) there was a culling of the SFs. I'm guessing it was due to hiring issues and some SFs either saying "we won't live up to our SMART obligations, so take us out of your program indefinitely" and maybe sometimes SMART Management saying "if you don't hire the students you said you'd hire back in '06, '07, '08, etc. then we'll be removing your facility from the program". Or perhaps it could have just been SMART management sending out written terms of agreement with the SFs (something that, to my knowledge, had not been done before) and requiring SFs to agree, in writing, to hire SMART students or be removed from the list of available SFs.

However the cull happened, it happened a bit too late. Upper DoD management found out that SMART had not placed many of the SFs listed as recently as July 2011 into binding agreements. Maybe it was a "punishment" for having a lapse of judgement. Maybe it was simply realizing that the budget figures had been estimated based upon a list consisting of several hundreds of SFs, which have now been whittled down to maybe a hundred or 2, and the budget estimates should be downsized accordingly. Whatever the intentions, the reduction in possible SFs seems to coincide with a reduction in budget.

This is good news for applicants. The SF list has been trimmed down to only those facilities with purpose and agreement to hire students. This would be excellent in that many SMARTs will find that the SFs will be well-suited to handle them on summer internships, hiring procedure, etc. They will no longer have to "fend for themselves" at SFs who aren't really participating in SMART, but until July of 2011 could get free student labor with 0 obligation.

This is also bad news for applicants. A very selective scholarship could have just gotten a whole lot more selective.

[dnagirl712]

I will go out on a limb and surmise a bit here. Totally my opinion, no facility POC, just checking out the SMART website.

This master list of SFs, generated under old SMART Program Management last summer, is quite lengthy. (http://smart.asee.org/assets/File/07121 ... 202011.pdf)

The current list of SFs is noticeably smaller:
http://smart.asee.org/sponsoring_facilities/
As a visual aid, even the map with the colored pins has pins that should no longer be there. I understand that the map has a caption that it's not a complete representation of placement facilities, but that's not my point.

My point is sometime between old SMART Program Management and new SMART management (July 2011 - present) there was a culling of the SFs. I'm guessing it was due to hiring issues and some SFs either saying "we won't live up to our SMART obligations, so take us out of your program indefinitely" and maybe sometimes SMART Management saying "if you don't hire the students you said you'd hire back in '06, '07, '08, etc. then we'll be removing your facility from the program". Or perhaps it could have just been SMART management sending out written terms of agreement with the SFs (something that, to my knowledge, had not been done before) and requiring SFs to agree, in writing, to hire SMART students or be removed from the list of available SFs.

However the cull happened, it happened a bit too late. Upper DoD management found out that SMART had not placed many of the SFs listed as recently as July 2011 into binding agreements. Maybe it was a "punishment" for having a lapse of judgement. Maybe it was simply realizing that the budget figures had been estimated based upon a list consisting of several hundreds of SFs, which have now been whittled down to maybe a hundred or 2, and the budget estimates should be downsized accordingly. Whatever the intentions, the reduction in possible SFs seems to coincide with a reduction in budget.

This is good news for applicants. The SF list has been trimmed down to only those facilities with purpose and agreement to hire students. This would be excellent in that many SMARTs will find that the SFs will be well-suited to handle them on summer internships, hiring procedure, etc. They will no longer have to "fend for themselves" at SFs who aren't really participating in SMART, but until July of 2011 could get free student labor with 0 obligation.

This is also bad news for applicants. A very selective scholarship could have just gotten a whole lot more selective.

I did notice that when I began the app process, my top choice, USAMRIID, was listed as a SF. About halfway through, they, and the other biology-based SFs at Ft. Detrick had been removed from the list.

[smart_hopeful]

I know this has been said before, but I think it's good to summarize what we know at this point.

We can be relatively sure that SMART has two separate budgetary problems. The first we guessed pretty much from the beginning, while the second (and probably more serious) problem has only gradually become apparent.

1. SMART specifically has less money to fund scholarships.
2. DoD generally has less money to employ graduates.

If the problem were just #1, we'd have probably been notified already. SMART's would have just given fewer scholarships and that would be that. But #2 is a much trickier problem, and seems to explain why this lengthy process is going so high in the chain of command. The fact that we haven't heard anything yet could mean any number of things, but I optimistically interpret it as a sign that DoD likes the program and is exploring all avenues to make it work if at all possible. This will be tough, since DoD has been trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to reduce its civilian workforce recently. If anyone knows more about that attempt at reduction, by all means let us know.

The updated list of SFs is probably a sign of some kind of cuts involving problem #2. The SF that interviewed me is still there, so we'll see what happens.

[Random1313]

So is the general consensus that there will not be a huge orientation this year? I just want to know if it would interfere with a summer internship that I have.

[Guess]

So is the general consensus that there will not be a huge orientation this year? I just want to know if it would interfere with a summer internship that I have.

Someone fairly far back in the thread shared an email from SMART saying that there likely would not be the usual large-scale orientation. YMMV.

[guest09876]

So is the general consensus that there will not be a huge orientation this year? I just want to know if it would interfere with a summer internship that I have.

Someone fairly far back in the thread shared an email from SMART saying that there likely would not be the usual large-scale orientation. YMMV.

Thanks a lot GSA..

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/20 ... to-resign/

[SongEmu]

I went to a SMART interest session hosted by a person from a previous year's panel and he specifically said the DOD *like* hiring in a recession because there's less competition from the private sector. If the DOD/congress can't pull together for SMART, then they're probably pretty screwed. In which case I'd better move to Canada. j/k.

[SA SMART]

Who thinks we will hear from SMART before July?

[smart_hopeful]

Who thinks we will hear from SMART before July?

If they don't cancel this year entirely, we'll pretty much have to hear in June. University deadlines are coming like a train.

[Roy Sims]

If they cancel this year entirely, I expect a check from SMART to compensate for the cost of sending them my official transcripts! Can I get an amen?

[me123]

I have no info, just wanted to see my words on the Internet =).

AGREED. You ARE speaking to reasonably intelligent people here.

[me123]

If they cancel this year entirely, I expect a check from SMART to compensate for the cost of sending them my official transcripts! Can I get an amen?

No. but you can get a "Good luck trying to get it" from me.

[nayseyer]

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3pgp4h/

[GuestForADay]

Happy Memorial Day to all of the vets on here. Thank you for your service.

[me123]

Happy Memorial Day to all of the vets on here. Thank you for your service.

Thank you. I know how it could be made happier though. The bad part is this is the first choice for some of us. If we don't get it other possibilities could open up (like departmental support or we could look for jobs that would let us continue our studies) but you hate to pursue them because if the SMART option came through this is what we (or I anyway) would do. I spoke to a professor the other day that had money for the fall but how enthused can he get when he hears "I am waiting to hear from SMART and if it comes through I can't help you?"