The Unofficial SMART Scholarship Forum

Hi All,

I'm a freshman that just started university this past week and am excited to be in a position to apply for this scholarship. I'm currently looking to major in Computer Engineering/Science.

I had some questions about maximizing the chance I have for obtaining this scholarship.
1. What are some key points to include in the essays this year to make your story more appealing to the selection committee?
2. How does one know what the best SF is for their major?
3. Is it possible to accept the scholarship for less the than the remaining time to complete the degree? If I get this award I will start funding Fall 2019 resulting in 3 years of funding and then 3 years of working for the DoD. Is it possible to only accept 2 years so that I will only be required to work for the DoD for 2 years?
4. As a undergraduate freshman, my list of awards, journal publications, conference presentations, and scholarships isn't that high. What can I do to distinguish myself from other applicants?

On another note, hello to all other Fall 2018 applicants! I hope we can all get through.

So the big thing I can recommend is to research the sponsoring facilities in the areas you are interested in living in. See what their needs are and if they offer positions for your major. Through research you should discover what branch/SF combo works for you. Also by looking these facilities up you can discover what kind of projects they work on and can incorporate those problems they're working on into your essays with your ideas of solutions.

As far as timing goes, you will be required to work for your SF as soon as you finish the time you agreed to. If you only want 2 years funding I would actually recommend waiting till next year because SMART doesn't differ for a year as far as I understand. And as far as journals and etc. go, talk about awards you got in High School. If you were in Boy/Girl Scouts, talk about awards you got there. If you did extracurricular activities such as robotics or anything like that, talk about what you did there.

Hope this helps.

Work really hard first semester and do your best to get a 4.0, then email SMART once your grades come out and ask to send them a copy of your college transcript. Good grades are really important, and showing that you are likely to succeed in college makes you look really good.