Question about Moving to SF after graduation

[ctarr008]

Hi everyone! I'm a 2023 recipient of the scholarship.

I gradate in Spring 2026. I have been living and attending college in Florida, but my SF is in California. I want to get started looking into housing, so I'm hoping to get a rough estimate as to when I will move to California.

I saw on the SMART scholarship FAQ that recipients must begin employment "immediately" after graduating. The handbook says "Requests for a short delay to the commencement of the service commitment (...) are rarely approved." It seems like there's no set amount of time between graduation and employment to reference. Moving across the country right after graduation sounds rigorous.

For anybody who had to move closer to their SF before employment, what was your experience? How much time did you have after graduation before employment? Is it something you set personally with your POC? Were you given extra time for organizing relocation? If so, how long?

Thank you for any input!

[SMART18402]

Personally, I just arranged my start date with my POC at my sponsoring facility and then told my SMART coordinator when I would be starting. Originally, my SF wanted me to start in early July and I requested a start of September instead for time to get settled (and enjoy a summer off after college). They were very accommodating and had no issue with me starting mid-September.