The Unofficial SMART Scholarship Forum

123456 wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 17, 2025 3:10 pm

IMHO I would assume that if you haven't gotten an interview yet that it would be a long shot to expect a decision from the SF. Unless you are a 1/1000000 student then you shouldn't keep up an insane amount of hope. I would look for other opportunities and assuming you aren't a junior spend the next year beefing up your resume and apply again.

As a senior who applied for their grad degree I will be the first to say that it is hard to stand out until you get research or internships under your belt.

100% agree. Sometimes no answer is an answer.

IMHO I would assume that if you haven't gotten an interview yet that it would be a long shot to expect a decision from the SF. Unless you are a 1/1000000 student then you shouldn't keep up an insane amount of hope. I would look for other opportunities and assuming you aren't a junior spend the next year beefing up your resume and apply again.

As a senior who applied for their grad degree I will be the first to say that it is hard to stand out until you get research or internships under your belt.

I read in the Discord that while they said interviews are required in the zoom call people emailed them after and were told they are not.

To my understanding, SMART cannot really make a SF do anything even if they want interviews they cannot make them actually do the interviews. Also heard that supposedly interviews were "required" last year, too but people got awarded without them. With all the chaos of executive orders going on and no weeding out of applications first, SFs are going to be super busy this year so finding time for interviews will be harder. That is not to say it won't happen, just that time is more constrained.

Overall, an interview is a great sign but having one or not does not tell you anything for sure. Just gotta wait.

I have heard a lot this year about how every facility needs to interview the applicants they plan on giving the scholarship to. If I haven't received anything from a SF is it kinda over? Would they still be issuing interviews or was it all sent out on March 6th or around that. Has anyone who received an interview shed light on the process and if many people have gotten one yet? Any hep is greatly appreciated!