Pre-emptive SMART Interview E-Mail Discussion

[guest]

The soundest hopeful theory right now is that only Monday interviewees were notified on Friday. The purpose of that being that rescheduling is possible that way. Seems pretty solid

[UF_ME]

I'll take that...better than just being in regular denial

[lastname]

ok alphabetical and separate groups for different days. seems like my last name theory might hold some validity. ok good luck i hope i get that email. anyways back to studying differential equations =](grin)

[THE VOICE OF HOPE]

I just got an email today. The interview was for Tuesday. Therefore, there is hope for all!

[Guest]

I just got an email today. The interview was for Tuesday. Therefore, there is hope for all!

congrats! mind sharing what you last name starts with?

[guest]

I just got an email today. The interview was for Tuesday. Therefore, there is hope for all!

My last name starts with D

[Matthew]

That does give us hope, thanks!
Every time I see I have a new email my heart skips a beat. lol
Then I get disappointed.

[Guest]

I just got an email today. The interview was for Tuesday. Therefore, there is hope for all!

My last name starts with D

What time did you get the email

[Guest]

I just got an email today. The interview was for Tuesday. Therefore, there is hope for all!

My last name starts with D

Awesome, looks like the "scheduling by day" theory might hold some water. My last name starts with an H, so hopefully that means I get an e-mail tomorrow or Monday? (It seems weird that e-mails are going out over the weekend though.) This'll make the next few days interesting ...

[mechejdc]

I received no phone interview from the facility and I just got this email Saturday 3/20 7:49PM Eastern

This email is to inform you that you are a Recommended Semi-Finalist for an award under the SMART Program. Please be aware there are many more Recommended Semi-Finalists than available awards thus this email is not be construed as an award offer.....
.....
....

Hang in there.
With all the weird timing and waiting I feel like its not over until you get a letter saying "You were not selected"

P.S. last name starts with C

[ericwass]

I think the last name theory does not hold. I have an interview scheduled for Monday and my last name begins with a W.

[Guest]

Ah! Thank you to everyone for keeping us updated!

[Guest]

I received no phone interview from the facility and I just got this email Saturday 3/20 7:49PM Eastern

This email is to inform you that you are a Recommended Semi-Finalist for an award under the SMART Program. Please be aware there are many more Recommended Semi-Finalists than available awards thus this email is not be construed as an award offer.....
.....
....

Hang in there.
With all the weird timing and waiting I feel like its not over until you get a letter saying "You were not selected"

P.S. last name starts with C

congrats! whens your interview for?

[rmw228]

So the prevailing theory is:

Wait and see!

[Guest]

rmw228 I think you hit the nail on the head with the wait and see idea. I have not gotten an email yet either, but on the lighter side I'd like to point out a few things. Whenever you put a bunch of hopelessly optimistic scientists and engineer in a situation with spotty data like email times and last name letters, the whole lot of us immediately start developing ideas of the selection process and over analyzing the situation. It is a true credit to our true nature, but enough to drive anyone crazy trying to figure out the system with so little information. If you think that you are out at this point, then anything else will just be icing on an otherwise unforeseen cake. If you think you should be in it but haven't received an email yet, there are still theoretically 1300 or so applications to dig through and separate so hang in there.
Thank you to all of those here who have taken initiative to write the SPO and relay the message here, I am sure that they appreciate receiving one email as opposed to 20 addressing the same question, and we here who get the information are certainly appreciative. Congrats to all those who received an email and to all others, good luck and keep us updated.

PS my last name letter is S if it means anything at this point.

Good luck to all

[Guest]

So I just wanted to float my situation by everyone here and see what you thought.

When I put my transcript request in for Fall semester grades in January, SMART didn't end up getting the transcript, although my online status said they had. The contacted me last week to say they needed it by March 15, but my Registrar's office was closed until that day for spring break. I had the Registrar mail the transcript in as quickly as they could but SMART still won't get it until Monday.

I'm worried that since my file isn't complete maybe none of the facilities have seriously considered me because they've got plenty of complete files to look over. At the same time, I'm hoping that since they still want my transcript this late in the game that maybe someone's considering me. I haven't received an interview request but do you think it's possible that maybe they're waiting to get my semester grades since I'm a Freshman and all they have right now are first quarter grades?

As you can probably guess I'm freaking out a little that I'm trying to get them my transcript this late in the game. I'm also really hoping that I don't NOT get considered because my file is incomplete.

Thanks for any theories and advice you can give me. :)

[ehilge]

So I just wanted to float my situation by everyone here and see what you thought.

When I put my transcript request in for Fall semester grades in January, SMART didn't end up getting the transcript, although my online status said they had. The contacted me last week to say they needed it by March 15, but my Registrar's office was closed until that day for spring break. I had the Registrar mail the transcript in as quickly as they could but SMART still won't get it until Monday.

I'm worried that since my file isn't complete maybe none of the facilities have seriously considered me because they've got plenty of complete files to look over. At the same time, I'm hoping that since they still want my transcript this late in the game that maybe someone's considering me. I haven't received an interview request but do you think it's possible that maybe they're waiting to get my semester grades since I'm a Freshman and all they have right now are first quarter grades?

As you can probably guess I'm freaking out a little that I'm trying to get them my transcript this late in the game. I'm also really hoping that I don't NOT get considered because my file is incomplete.

Thanks for any theories and advice you can give me. :)

Sorry, I'm short on theories and advice but I'm in a similar situation for what its worth. I studied abroad last semester, so even though my official transcript shows that I was enrolled and earned so many credits, I had to also submit a letter from the international office stating my actual grades and the courses I took. Of course, this letter, which was sent to SMART in January, apparently was never received. I received a similar email saying that they needed my updated grades by the 15th. I had another letter sent out ASAP but it wouldn't have been received until after the 15th. I emailed SMART and let them know it was on the way. I also suggested that they should send out reminders a little earlier than they did to allow students to send in information on time. The response I received said:

"Thank you for letting us know. For your information, this is the second
notice we have sent regarding this matter, and we extended the deadline
so students could get their materials in on time. We added this last
reminder as a courtesy to those students who failed to submit their Fall
2009 grades as requested."

However, I never did receive a first reminder that indicated I had missing information. Did you receive anything that might qualify as a first reminder?

I, also, did not receive any interviews and have had the same thoughts go through my head as you. But frankly, there's no way we can guess how the situation has affected our chances of receiving an award. So the best advice I have for now is just sit tight and try not to worry about it because there's nothing more that can be done at this point anyway. Hope that helps!

[Guest]

I have to say it's a small relief to know that I'm not the only one in this situation. The email I got last week was the first notice that I got that said they didn't have my grades and I thought it was curious that they didn't tell people sooner. The really weird thing was that the online status changed sometime after I was named a semi-finalist, so I think I'll mention that if I get another response from them.

Anyway, thanks for the info! I'm doing my best to just sit tight and hope it gets sorted out. Good luck to you!

[Guest]

Did anyone notice how the e-mail says "we will contact you at the phone number listed above" - but there is no phone number? I e-mailed the phone number this morning just in case.

I know they have our contact info, I just hope they make it to the alternate phone numbers before giving up since they will be calling after work hours.

[Guest]

Thanks everyone for posting!

I have not received an interview invitation, and it is a tad bit comforting to know that I may still have a shot. Nevertheless it looks like they all ready notified candidate for monday and tuesday interviews. There are only three days left, so my fingers are crossed.

[Matthew]

Here is SMART's response to my inquiry about the emails going out.

Thank you for your message. The ASEE SMART office is not authorized to
respond to inquiries about the security clearance process. Please be
advised that during this stage of the SMART evaluation and selection
process different e-mails are sent to groups of applicants at different
times depending on information that still needs to be assessed. The
applications of all SMART Semi-Finalists will continue to be reviewed
until the very end of this month when we expect to make the award
announcements.

From that I can speculate that the interviews that are going out first are the most important which means there are things that need to be addressed, such as facilities that choose the same person....

[rmw228]

For those who have interviews today, please report back (if you feel comfortable and/or weren't sworn to secrecy) with the content/mood of the interview.

[Guest]

Any new information? Any one get an email today? Nothing here.

[Rentention candidate]

Just got the email 3 mins ago for wednesday - 9am. Looks like rolling emails for the interview period which is the whole week. Anyone have their interview today? Administrative only?

[guest]

I just got an e-mail today (Mon. 3/22) saying I have an interview tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon. I received this e-mail at 4 pm CDT. My advice to anyone who is still waiting for an e-mail...Sit tight, this isn't over yet. It seems that all the theories (Date of e-mail receipt=Date of interview, Letter of name=When e-mail is sent...) may have flaws. As I said the e-mail says my interview is tomorrow afternoon but I just got the e-mail today. And my last name start with G, and I would think they would be farther along than that by this point.

Good luck to everyone. I know it's hard, but like I said...This isn't over yet.