Not accepting the scholarship

General Discussion for SMART Scholarship Recipients
Peanut1

Not accepting the scholarship

Post by Peanut1 »

Is anyone not accept the award? What was your reason for not accepting?

graduate student

Re: Not accepting the scholarship

Post by graduate student »

I know you asked for responses from people who did not accept the award, but you'll likely end up with responses from people like me who did.

Taking the SMART scholarship poses some risks:
1) If you don't finish your degree, you'll be in a tough spot. Even just delaying completion could put you in noncompliance. This is especially a problem for PhD students, whose road to a doctorate can be unpredictable and subject to the whims of unsympathetic faculty. (Another thing to consider: the onset of mental illness during college is not as uncommon as you might think, and finishing school with anxiety and/or depression is very difficult. I know a couple people who dropped out of college for this reason. They both returned and finished eventually, but it's a rough journey, and taking some extra time to sort things out is part of the process. Fortunately, neither one of them was in the SMART program.)

2) The work commitment may end up being a terrible experience. You're stuck working there, whether you want to or not. You may be underpaid, under-utilized, and undervalued. You may also find you don't like living in that area. Some workplaces with poor recruitment and retention numbers use the SMART program to help recruit new employees.

3) Regardless of how well you follow the law etc., you aren't guaranteed a security clearance, but a clearance denial will put you in noncompliance with the SMART agreement.

4) A scholarship without a post-graduation work requirement is probably a better deal that doesn't pose as many risks.

Reasons to accept:
1) It's better than a loan.

2) For many scholars, it works out wonderfully. Maybe you'll be one of those people!

Guest

Re: Not accepting the scholarship

Post by Guest »

graduate student wrote:
Fri Apr 08, 2022 2:00 am
I know you asked for responses from people who did not accept the award, but you'll likely end up with responses from people like me who did.

Taking the SMART scholarship poses some risks:
1) If you don't finish your degree, you'll be in a tough spot. Even just delaying completion could put you in noncompliance. This is especially a problem for PhD students, whose road to a doctorate can be unpredictable and subject to the whims of unsympathetic faculty. (Another thing to consider: the onset of mental illness during college is not as uncommon as you might think, and finishing school with anxiety and/or depression is very difficult. I know a couple people who dropped out of college for this reason. They both returned and finished eventually, but it's a rough journey, and taking some extra time to sort things out is part of the process. Fortunately, neither one of them was in the SMART program.)

2) The work commitment may end up being a terrible experience. You're stuck working there, whether you want to or not. You may be underpaid, under-utilized, and undervalued. You may also find you don't like living in that area. Some workplaces with poor recruitment and retention numbers use the SMART program to help recruit new employees.

3) Regardless of how well you follow the law etc., you aren't guaranteed a security clearance, but a clearance denial will put you in noncompliance with the SMART agreement.

4) A scholarship without a post-graduation work requirement is probably a better deal that doesn't pose as many risks.

Reasons to accept:
1) It's better than a loan.

2) For many scholars, it works out wonderfully. Maybe you'll be one of those people!

One question I have, has anyone ever not passed security clearance and can share their story? I am curious because they aren’t clear in this situation whether or not repayment is necessary (basically say scholar may or may not be eligible for repayment). It seems like quite a risk to get denied and have to pay back, thoughts?

scholar

Re: Not accepting the scholarship

Post by scholar »

I am a current scholar, and I had some infrequent past substance abuse with weed. I was super scared this would pose a threat to getting a clearance (my SF requires one, I don't think all do, however), however, I confided in my scholarship POC and they essentially very lightheartedly laughed at my worry and said something like that has never disqualified someone for getting a clearance (at least SMART scholars wise), and that I should not be worried as they would have already eliminated me if they didn't think I could get one. I am still waiting to get my clearance, however, as the "mitigation period" has increased, my worry has greatly lessened. Take this with a grain of salt though, but I have talked to numerous scholars who went through something similar and all said they confessed their use and were open and got clearances. I think as long as it isn't habitual for a long period of time or a hard-core drug they're pretty forgiving. If you have smoked or done some drug, I suggest stopping asap, however, don't worry too much, and talk with your scholarship POC if you're really worried. Also, don't freak yourself out by going on Quora or Reddit to see other's experiences, because 1) as weed has become legalized in some states it is much blurrier of an issue now, so I think they are more forgiving given that, and 2) getting a clearance dor the DoD is not as strict as say getting one to work for the FBI or DEA, where they are def. more strict on past drug use (I had a friend get denied one but she was getting one for a position as a data analyst for the FBI in something drug-related). Hope this eases your mind!

Guest

Re: Not accepting the scholarship

Post by Guest »

scholar wrote:
Mon Apr 11, 2022 10:21 am
I am a current scholar, and I had some infrequent past substance abuse with weed. I was super scared this would pose a threat to getting a clearance (my SF requires one, I don't think all do, however), however, I confided in my scholarship POC and they essentially very lightheartedly laughed at my worry and said something like that has never disqualified someone for getting a clearance (at least SMART scholars wise), and that I should not be worried as they would have already eliminated me if they didn't think I could get one. I am still waiting to get my clearance, however, as the "mitigation period" has increased, my worry has greatly lessened. Take this with a grain of salt though, but I have talked to numerous scholars who went through something similar and all said they confessed their use and were open and got clearances. I think as long as it isn't habitual for a long period of time or a hard-core drug they're pretty forgiving. If you have smoked or done some drug, I suggest stopping asap, however, don't worry too much, and talk with your scholarship POC if you're really worried. Also, don't freak yourself out by going on Quora or Reddit to see other's experiences, because 1) as weed has become legalized in some states it is much blurrier of an issue now, so I think they are more forgiving given that, and 2) getting a clearance dor the DoD is not as strict as say getting one to work for the FBI or DEA, where they are def. more strict on past drug use (I had a friend get denied one but she was getting one for a position as a data analyst for the FBI in something drug-related). Hope this eases your mind!
This does ease my mind! It’s moreso even the small probability of not getting it and owing debt that I could never realistically pay to the government that really scares me, not that I actually think I wouldn’t pass or something.

Guest

Re: Not accepting the scholarship

Post by Guest »

Guest wrote:
Mon Apr 11, 2022 9:21 pm
This does ease my mind! It’s moreso even the small probability of not getting it and owing debt that I could never realistically pay to the government that really scares me, not that I actually think I wouldn’t pass or something.
But would you be taking loans anyway? If you do get booted it could be two years before they seek repayment and it might not be the 5-6% interest rate that grad loans have (I bet the discord knows what the rate is). There are plenty of reasons to take or not take the scholarship, but for many people this shouldn't actually be one.

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