2012 Applicants

[guest86]

Physics graduating senior going into a PhD program. GPA ~3.3, but have 3 years experience with a government contractor, and 1.5 years research experience. On to next round, recieved email yesterday.

[guest1086]

Fourth year PhD student in Genetics, overall 3.56 GPA (4.0 in all PhD coursework), 15 years of research experience including molecular neuroscience, oncology and genetics and 8 publications, 3 of which are first author. My MA is in Neuroscience and I worked in industry for a while before going back for the PhD. I had 3 LORs (former supervisor, department head/current advisor, dean of college). I asked for one year of support.

I made it to the next round. Congrats to all those who also made it, and good luck in the future to everyone.

[pyswiz]

Physics graduating senior going into a PhD program. GPA ~3.3, but have 3 years experience with a government contractor, and 1.5 years research experience. On to next round, recieved email yesterday.

I also had 3 LOR: one from my research PI and two from my professors

[Guest 2012]

Everyone just needs to remember that the second round is much more like a job application than a best-of-the-best application.

Just because you don't make it past the second cut doesn't mean you don't have fantastic credentials, it just means that there wasn't a lab/department that needed someone with your skills this year.

Good luck all.

Actually first round is based solely on your application info and not the needs of the DoD, as stated pretty clearly throughout the entire application process. Still doesn't mean your credentials are bad, but it means your credentials were not broad enough. It is not solely GPA, but rather GPA, experience, strength of letters and strength of essays. The DoD lab needs assessments comes in this round, where about 1/4 people will be recommended to receive a scholarship by a lab. From there, the recommended applicants are fowarded to the SMART Program Office, where selections will be made (about 2/3 of those recommended will receive an offer). Overall it is about a 16.5% chance of receiving a scholarship at this point.

I made it to semi-final round. I am a chem major, with about a 3.85 GPA (4.0 in classes taken as part of the requirements for my PhD degree). I had 3 letters of recommendation, about 5.5 years of research including undergrad and grad and a couple papers, including a first author paper in a top-tier journal. All of this won't matter if my research interests and experience don't fit in appropriately with a DoD laboratory, but hopefully they will.

Congratulations to the other semi-finalists and better luck next year to those who did not move on this year.

Hey Guest 2012, read what I wrote: "The SECOND ROUND..." Meaning after you're a semi-finalist.

I am nor sure that I understand the hostility, as I was trying to be helpful. Semi-finalist means in the penultimate round. We have just entered that round, which means no one, at this point, has made it past the semi-finalist round. From here, we still need to be recommended for a scholarship by a DoD sponsoring facility (semi-finals), followed by selection by the SMART Scholarship Program Office (finals). Up to this point, DoD labs have not even seen the applications aside from specific representatives chosen to objectively evaluate our raw data (along with the opinion of civilian experts in our particular field). Now that we are all entering the semi-finalist round (and not the finals round since that would be the very last round where candidates are selected to receive a scholarship), our applications are being reviewed by panels at each DoD agency, where the needs of each agency will weigh heavily in to making the decision as to who is recommended to receive a scholarship.

Now like I said, I am not sure why you are being hostile with aimed jabs to try and make others look bad (when really it is you who misspoke), but it would be nice if everyone would try to support those in the application pool, whether they have made it to the current round or not. I apologize if I have mistaken your text for being hostile when it is not, as it can definitely be difficult to decipher such things with no inflection as would be evident when speaking--but your capitalization suggests otherwise. My response was simply to illustrate that we have not made it past the semi-finals and that evaluation thus far has been based mostly on things like GPA and research experience, but not on the needs of any specific agencies. It was meant to encourage others to expand the broad strength of their applications by improving the weaker, be that leadership experiences, research experiences, essay writing, or something different.

I hope that it still has the same effect, and that those who have not made it to this round apply again next year (as well as those who are not selected this year after making it to the semi-finals). Keep filling in areas of your application that may be lacking and hopefully you can make it this far and further next year. Good luck to everyone still remaining in the applicant pool, and while I know we cannot, I wish all of us could be part of the minority that is awarded a scholarship.

[Guest 2012]

not*

Hopefully that is the only spelling mistake I made.

[pyswiz]

Out of curiousity, are you guys already accepted to grad school? If so, have you been funded yet? It is my impression that pretty much all science majors get funded through a TA or RA.

[guest1986]

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if the DoD has any desire for BME (Biomedical Engineering) applicants? I have a 3.2 GPA but I also have internship experience at the National Institute for Health (NIH) and University of Texas. In addition, my essays were strongly 'pro-military' I guess you could say and I am a female immigrant with US citizenship now (unsure if that helps or hurts). I feel I had strong essays, am open to going wherever, am in my final term of school (>6 months until graduation) and have decent experience. My one hold back is my GPA which would have been stronger if not for medical issues I dealt with one term that severely impacted it. Any thoughts on where I stand? Thanks, regards, and good luck to all.

[Guest2012]

Out of curiousity, are you guys already accepted to grad school? If so, have you been funded yet? It is my impression that pretty much all science majors get funded through a TA or RA.

Psywiz, I am a PhD student and am funded by a TA. I applied for this for a few reasons. The major reason is that I am looking for an industry/private career in chemistry and not an academic career. Teaching is enjoyable, but it takes time away from the research I would much rather be doing and it will not necessarily make me look any better when applying for an industry-based degree. In addition, I could definitely see myself working for the government as my career choice--this scholarship offers a great post-doctoral position in a government lab, which would strengthen my application in terms of an industry career and, as it is mentioned in a few places, a DoD appointments through the SMART Scholarship can also lead to a permanent job. It is not true that all science majors are funded. That much is based on the program to which you apply, their available funding and whether you are in the masters of PhD program.

[guest1086]

Out of curiousity, are you guys already accepted to grad school? If so, have you been funded yet? It is my impression that pretty much all science majors get funded through a TA or RA.

... It is not true that all science majors are funded. That much is based on the program to which you apply, their available funding and whether you are in the masters of PhD program.

I agree with Guest2012 here - it is easier to get an assistantship in a doctoral program than a masters program. It does vary by school and program whether the students are given assistantships or not, and some schools do give masters students TA/RA positions. My program guarantees funding the entire time you are there, though you may be a TA that whole time or end up teaching your last year. If that information isn't on the department's website, they are usually very open about it when you speak with them.

[tseug]

How many people do you think applied/moved on to semifinalists?

I'm guessing maybe 8000 applied? I would think fewer than 50% would move on as semi-finalists if that's the case, but who knows?

[Guest 2012]

How many people do you think applied/moved on to semifinalists?

I'm guessing maybe 8000 applied? I would think fewer than 50% would move on as semi-finalists if that's the case, but who knows?

Regardless of the number of applicants (which seems to have steadily risen since the inception of the program), the acceptance rate at this point is about 16.5%. About 25% of people will be recommended for selection by the DoD labs reviewing applications. From there, about 2/3 of those recommended for a scholarship will receive one.

I don't remember the actual breakdown of how many people make it past the initial rounds, and the application timeline is down currently. It is all published information, though, which can be found once the application timeline is back online (or if someone happened to save it and shares it on the forum).

[Tico Suave]

So I made it to the next round, I'm Assuming that means I made it past the 50% cut. Now please correct me if I'm wrong but does that mean the next cut is 25% and than 67% is the next cut after that?

Does my military experience +5 points give me a huge advantage?
I already have a security clearance
I am majoring in Information Systems with a 3.89 GPA but i'm a sophomore and I believe my GPA when I applied was a 3.75

I had 3 recommendations
1 from my dean
1 from the head of Information Systems Dept
1 from my adviser/Professor

Can anyone tell me if that sounds worthy of this scholarship?

[Guesters]

so i made it to the next round, but honestly forgot what sites i applied too, lol. has anyone gotten a phone call interview yet, because it says you MAY receive a phone call. sorting through all those applications doesnt sound like fun to decide who to call next given theres probably a huge stack on the table.

[tseug]

Regardless of the number of applicants (which seems to have steadily risen since the inception of the program), the acceptance rate at this point is about 16.5%. About 25% of people will be recommended for selection by the DoD labs reviewing applications. From there, about 2/3 of those recommended for a scholarship will receive one.

I don't remember the actual breakdown of how many people make it past the initial rounds, and the application timeline is down currently. It is all published information, though, which can be found once the application timeline is back online (or if someone happened to save it and shares it on the forum).

Thanks, I'm aware of this timeline. And I did save it:

August 1 Application Period Opens Applications are accepted only via ASEE’s online application portal. Hardcopy applications will not be accepted.*

December 15 Application Period Closes All application materials including reference letters and required test scores MUST be RECEIVED by ASEE by 5:00 PM EST on December 15, 2011. Transcripts must be postmarked by December 15, 2011. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure these materials are submitted by the day and time listed above. NO late submissions of any materials will be accepted.

December 16 -January 15 Evaluation Level 1
Basic Eligibility Screening Applicants are screened for basic eligibility criteria such as required GPA, citizenship status, age, and application completion.
Applicants not meeting the base eligibility criteria will be removed from award consideration.

Each year many applicants are disqualified from award consideration for either not meeting one or more eligibility criteria and/or having an incomplete application.

January 15 - January 31 Evaluation Level 2
Academic Evaluation Applicants meeting all base eligibility criteria will be forwarded for review by an academic evaluation panel. The panel consists of professors from civilian universities and DoD employees with expertise in the STEM disciplines funded by the Program. Applicants determined by the panel to be the most academically qualified are forwarded to DoD agencies for review. All other applicants are removed from award consideration.
Approximately 50% of all applicants reviewed by the panel are forwarded for review by DoD agencies.

February 1 - March 15 Evaluation Level 3
DoD Workforce Needs Assessment DoD agencies review and interview candidates with backgrounds and interests meeting the agency's workforce needs. Candidates determined to be a good fit for known DoD workforce needs are recommended for review by the SMART Program Office.

In recent years, approximately 1/4 of all candidates reviewed by DoD agencies were recommended for review by the SMART Program Office. All others are removed for award consideration.

March 15 - March 28 Evaluation Level 4
Program The SMART Program Office reviews application materials from and conducts phone interviews with, all candidates recommended for review by DoD agencies.

As a result of information obtained during the phone interview and application review, some candidates may be disqualified from award consideration. Reasons for disqualification include; inability or unwillingness to comply with the terms of the service agreement, change in degree type or field of study, change in required award length, degree type not offered at intended university, academic program not sufficiently technical**

The SMART Program Office offers awards to eligible recommended candidates based upon budget and programmatic considerations, as well as the best interests of the DoD. In recent years, approximately 2/3 of all recommended candidates were offered awards.

The number of awards made each year varies and is subject to availability of government funds.

March 31 Award Notifications Sent Awardees will have 2 weeks to return their signed award documents and may be required to furnish additional information.

April 16*** 2nd Round Award Notifications Sent

*Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact ASEE to make appropriate arrangements.
**Applicants pursuing degrees in Systems/Industrial Engineering or Operations Research must pursue their degrees in academic programs that are predominantly technical rather than managerial in scope. It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide the SMART Program Office with sufficient documentation (such as copies of appropriate pages from the university course catalogue) for it to make a determination.
***On or about depending on award acceptance rates

The acceptance rate in 2011 was about 4%, because almost 7000 applied. If 10000 people applied this year, I don't think we can assume that the semi-finalist cut was 50%. It could be less, could be more. We also could not be certain how many might move on in next rounds. If they still only award 300 scholarships, that's a 3% acceptance rate.

Also, you didn't even address the question I was asking.

[Kibeth]

Has anyone who has made it to the semi-finals received a call or email about an interview yet?

[TicoSuave]

Timothy,



Congratulations on advancing in the SMART Scholarship selection process.



We anticipate that the SMART Program will award approximately 300 SMART Scholarships this year. The number of awards made each year varies and is subject to availability of government funds.



In the current evaluation phase, DoD agencies review and interview candidates with backgrounds and interests meeting the agency’s workforce needs.



It is at the discretion of the DoD Sponsoring Facilities whether or not they will call applicants for an interview. Sponsoring Facilities do not contact us with information about phone interviews and contacts; however, it is our understanding that not all facilities will contact applicants, even if they are recommending them for a SMART Scholarship. The DoD Sponsoring Facilities will determine scheduling of any interviews.



In the next phase, the SMART Program Office will review application materials of all candidates recommended for review by DoD agencies. Award Notifications will be announced on or about April 9.



The ASEE SMART Program Team

c/o American Society for Engineering Education

1818 N St. NW

Suite 600

Washington, DC 20036

Email: smart@asee.org







From: Timothy **** [mailto:*******@hotmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2012 1:44 PM
To: SMART
Subject: Funding




Good Afternoon,





I know this question probably cannot be answered but I have to ask. Are we anticipating a possibility that more than 300 scholarships will be awarded this year? Also If I have reached Level 2 does that mean I have two more rounds to go?





Thank you for your time,

[Guesters]

So pretty much its like...you probably are good enough, but we arent sure if you meet our needs or are a match

so at this point i feel like after you made it to this cut, serendipity takes over...you cant control what they need or what...you just have been identified as someone that fits the profile of what they are looking for if they had that need

which doesnt make you feel that bad if you make it or not...b/c its out of your hands

thanks tico

[Guest54321]

Hey, I was just wondering if anyone has actually recieved interview phone calls from the labs yet....

[Greengoroy]

Nothing here

[guest01234]

Not I =/

[Guest2012]

I received a call today.

[Guest2012]

I was selected as a semi-finalist, but no phone call yet. I would be interested in hearing when others receive a call.

[Xenos2012]

The above post was mine. Didn't realized I stepped on someone's name.

[meme1]

I got a call the day after the email. I think it it up to the facility when and even if they call.

[Guesters]

can you say what facility contacted you ?