The Unofficial SMART Scholarship Forum

Last year they were. That's how there ended up being two large rounds of scholarships instead of one normal and one to fill in for people who turn it down. It was basically two rounds one of 200 and one of 150 (ish). But there are not nearly as many people saying they've been interviewed this year as they had last year? There's also a new organizational system running it. There's also not a very big push for STEM education by our government. so. really. who knows.

My understanding (from other threads on this forum) is that the rejections for the first round come at the same time as the acceptance emails. Also, if you're rejected for the first round, there is a second round of awards later in the spring.

With this new historically high defense budget, would you suspect that more SMART scholarships could be given this year? I know the number of scholarships is dependent on the budget, but I'm not sure to what degree. I'm an undergraduate ME and I haven't heard a peep since semi-final announcement. And they changed the portal thing so I can't get in and check the status. The website is a mess right now.

Side Question, if I'm going to get rejected, will I be rejected when awards are announced or could that also come any day?