2012 Applicants

[Remember_When]

I wonder if the DoD is waiting until there are 50,000 views and 1,000 posts ...

[Guest]

I wonder if the DoD is waiting until there are 50,000 views and 1,000 posts ...

I've totally got this....

1

[Guest]

I wonder if the DoD is waiting until there are 50,000 views and 1,000 posts ...

I've totally got this...


2....

ok i quit.

[kem0022]

I emailed ASEE today because I was freaking out about people saying that maybe the program was being cancelled. I asked about a) whether there was any truth to that rumor, b) if they had any clue when we'd next hear back, and c) whether we should make any sort of contact with the SF we are interested in. Here is the response:

Hello, *********-

As of today there is no additional update available from the Department of Defense. No, the SMART Program is not being shut down. Once ASEE receives an update we will send a notification to all applicants. There is no need to contact Sponsoring Facilities at this time. Thank you for your continued interest in the SMART Scholarship Program.

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

[guest111]

Hahaha I take it from the silence on a Monday that our collective wills to hope for a prompt answer have been broken. You win, DOD. We've stopped holding our breath.

They just passed out. Soon they will wake back up and be just as strong.

[Guest 2012]

The cake is a lie.
The cake is a lie.
The cake is a lie.
The cake is a lie.
The cake is a lie.
The cake is a lie.
The cake is a lie.

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[smart_hopeful]

Unless it's the cake for the 40,000 minute anniversary of our last official SMART email. Then it's about to be true.

[ORgirl]

Unless it's the cake for the 40,000 minute anniversary of our last official SMART email. Then it's about to be true.

But who's counting, right?

[currentfed]

I emailed ASEE today because I was freaking out about people saying that maybe the program was being cancelled. I asked about a) whether there was any truth to that rumor, b) if they had any clue when we'd next hear back, and c) whether we should make any sort of contact with the SF we are interested in. Here is the response:

Hello, *********-

As of today there is no additional update available from the Department of Defense. No, the SMART Program is not being shut down. Once ASEE receives an update we will send a notification to all applicants. There is no need to contact Sponsoring Facilities at this time. Thank you for your continued interest in the SMART Scholarship Program.

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

/begin rant

UGH. How has the DoD still not given any update? What could they possibly be doing that is so damn difficult? I'll find myself hoping that this torture is nearing an end, but then someone will post an email like this. If the program office hasn't even heard anything from the DoD yet, it seems there is little hope of us hearing anything before the end of the week, at the earliest. Probably not this week at all. Now if only I could use this knowledge to stop checking my email and this forum incessantly.

This. Sucks.

/end rant

[2012_UMD]

Not a single suggestion that it may have been today. We're all so dejected!

[Tico Suave]

Ok so if you goto http://www.physicstoday.org/resource/1/ ... ypassSSO=1
you'll see that it has been requested from the DOD to get more funding for the national defense education program. Im also seeing in the top of it that they want to consolidate these different stem scholarships? Somebody please read this with more sense than me and tell me if its relevant

[Tico Suave]

Ok so if you goto http://www.physicstoday.org/resource/1/ ... ypassSSO=1
you'll see that it has been requested from the DOD to get more funding for the national defense education program. Im also seeing in the top of it that they want to consolidate these different stem scholarships? Somebody please read this with more sense than me and tell me if its relevant

P.S. we fall under the national defense education program NDEP

[Tico Suave]

Ok so if you goto http://www.physicstoday.org/resource/1/ ... ypassSSO=1
you'll see that it has been requested from the DOD to get more funding for the national defense education program. Im also seeing in the top of it that they want to consolidate these different stem scholarships? Somebody please read this with more sense than me and tell me if its relevant

P.S. we fall under the national defense education program NDEP

oh and this one talks a little about it too

http://www.aip.org/fyi/2012/056.html

[summerplans]

Question---if we're offered a scholarship (one year of scholarship, I'm going into my senior year) do we get an internship for this summer? It's not clear if that's only for multiyear and anyway at this point it would be impossible to get a security clearance in time......need to make summer plans.

[Realtalk]

Question---if we're offered a scholarship (one year of scholarship, I'm going into my senior year) do we get an internship for this summer? It's not clear if that's only for multiyear and anyway at this point it would be impossible to get a security clearance in time......need to make summer plans.

The internship starts after the first academic year you've recieved support. My guess is that you'd not do an internship but go right into working since you're graduating.

[bulldog]

It says somewhere on the SMART site (Handbook?) that if you're a 1-year participant, you're required to do a 5-day site visit prior to Feb 1 in lieu of the internship.

[hahah]

So you better set some time aside during Christmas break.

[Random1313]

Ok so if you goto http://www.physicstoday.org/resource/1/ ... ypassSSO=1
you'll see that it has been requested from the DOD to get more funding for the national defense education program. Im also seeing in the top of it that they want to consolidate these different stem scholarships? Somebody please read this with more sense than me and tell me if its relevant

P.S. we fall under the national defense education program NDEP

I don't mind the wait at all then if it is because they are requesting more funding

[Kem0022]

Ok so if you goto http://www.physicstoday.org/resource/1/ ... ypassSSO=1
you'll see that it has been requested from the DOD to get more funding for the national defense education program. Im also seeing in the top of it that they want to consolidate these different stem scholarships? Somebody please read this with more sense than me and tell me if its relevant

P.S. we fall under the national defense education program NDEP

I don't mind the wait at all then if it is because they are requesting more funding

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that would influence this year's selection. All of our funding would come out of the current (2012) budget, not the proposed (2013) budget, since the fiscal year begins in October.

[smart_hopeful]

Here's another potential fly in the bureaucratic ointment. According to the "FY 2012" section of the NDEP budget document, their first goal for this year is to:

Successfully transition the administration of the Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART) program from the Naval Postgraduate School to OASD(R&E)/RD.

So not only is are there budgetary concerns, I'm worried that it may not even be clear even within DoD itself just who exactly has the power to make a decision in the first place.

For the curious, "OASD(R&E)/RD" is apparently the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Research Directorate. The brave and/or foolhardy (I am neither) can find their contact information here.

[gatsby]

For the curious, "OASD(R&E)/RD" is apparently the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Research Directorate. The brave and/or foolhardy (I am neither) can find their contact information here.

OASD(R&E)/RD STEM Development Office administers NDEP, which administers SMART. Dr. Laura D. Adolfie is the Director of the STEM Development Office (laura.adolfie@osd.mil) or (STEM@osd.mil).

[Guest]

For the curious, "OASD(R&E)/RD" is apparently the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Research Directorate. The brave and/or foolhardy (I am neither) can find their contact information here.

OASD(R&E)/RD STEM Development Office administers NDEP, which administers SMART. Dr. Laura D. Adolfie is the Director of the STEM Development Office (laura.adolfie@osd.mil) or (STEM@osd.mil).

You're poking a bear by emailing her. She IS aware of the delay. She KNOWS that it's causing potential recipients a lot of stress and anxiety. She has assistants who are well aware of this forum.

The SMART Program is waiting on Office of General Counsel before they send out acceptance notifications. It is out of Dr. Adolfie's hands ATM.

[gatsby]

You're poking a bear by emailing her.

Agreed. I wouldn't do it... but I would be interested to hear what she has to say if someone else is up for sending a courteous inquiry.

She has assistants who are well aware of this forum.

Really?? How do you know?

[ohhhhhh]

For the curious, "OASD(R&E)/RD" is apparently the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Research Directorate. The brave and/or foolhardy (I am neither) can find their contact information here.

OASD(R&E)/RD STEM Development Office administers NDEP, which administers SMART. Dr. Laura D. Adolfie is the Director of the STEM Development Office (laura.adolfie@osd.mil) or (STEM@osd.mil).

You're poking a bear by emailing her. She IS aware of the delay. She KNOWS that it's causing potential recipients a lot of stress and anxiety. She has assistants who are well aware of this forum.

The SMART Program is waiting on Office of General Counsel before they send out acceptance notifications. It is out of Dr. Adolfie's hands ATM.

YOU're the assistant, aren't you?

[Guest123]

For the curious, "OASD(R&E)/RD" is apparently the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Research Directorate. The brave and/or foolhardy (I am neither) can find their contact information here.

OASD(R&E)/RD STEM Development Office administers NDEP, which administers SMART. Dr. Laura D. Adolfie is the Director of the STEM Development Office (laura.adolfie@osd.mil) or (STEM@osd.mil).

You're poking a bear by emailing her. She IS aware of the delay. She KNOWS that it's causing potential recipients a lot of stress and anxiety. She has assistants who are well aware of this forum.

The SMART Program is waiting on Office of General Counsel before they send out acceptance notifications. It is out of Dr. Adolfie's hands ATM.

I'm tired of outlining how this process is out of everyone's hands, and reminding ourselves that it's all up to the OGC at the moment. Whatever the proposed changes to the contract are, I doubt that it's so complicated that the OGC couldn't have gotten the kinks worked out in the past month. Which means that the appropriate people haven't been pestering them often enough or hard enough. Seriously, it's time for someone with authority to light a fire under their collective butts.

Maybe it's no one's fault directly, but I'm willing to spread the blame liberally to a lot of people. This is getting beyond ridiculous, and it's beginning to have negative repercussions on a lot of people's ability to plan their next year.