I have selected 3 SMART scholars over the last 2 years, and have worked with many more.
Looking to help people out so feel free to ask anything. Looking to keep agency anonymous so I do not plan to share that.
I am a hiring manager, ask me anything
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Donttouchmyboats
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Guest
Re: I am a hiring manager, ask me anything
This is great to see! Thank you for looking to lend some advice to some very nervous/anxious applicants! One question, and it may be facility dependent but want to hear some insight - with the program so broad in experience range (BS, MS, PhD), is there any bias in funding? I am a PhD applicant, with myself and a few other of my friends having never heard back during the interview phase. Maybe to tack onto that, is it possible to hear back without having been selected for a SF interview? Don't know how much you may know about these specifics, but thank you for the help either way!
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Guest
Re: I am a hiring manager, ask me anything
How did your facility go about selecting people to interview? What mattered more? GPA? Extracurriculars? Prev. Internship experiences?
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Donttouchmyboats
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Re: I am a hiring manager, ask me anything
I'll go into general process for my facility and answer both questions along the way. I am a recruiter for my agency and my workforce tends to be younger so I've developed my criteria off my own experiences. Other agencies and managers may do things differently.
The applications are released to the hiring managers by our SF coordinator. It is up to us, the hiring managers, to interview candidates and provide nominations back to SF coordinator who in turn submits to SMART office. Not sure how SMART adjudicates but in previous years those nominated by hiring managers had a very strong chance of making it. Every scholar I've nominated has received it.
One the applications are released to us, it it on the hiring managers to filter through and select those to interview. I had 8000 applicants this year to filter through so my filters were aggressive. I filtered by location preference, then major, then graduating year. After that I reviewed individual applications and made my decisions from there.
I focused more on personal statements, extracurriculars, and references more than intern experience or coursework. Your personal statements and extracurriculars speak to your true interests and if they happen to align with my responsibilities/needs, that significantly increases your chances. Attention to detail by your reference goes a long way. Most references are just a long winded way of saying "This person is great, hire them", and I ignore those. There have been some that took the time to give specific examples of students' innovation and those have gone a long way to make the student stand out. The people I have chosen happened to have GPAs on higher end of scale although I do not use GPA as a filter. I do not put as much emphasis on intern experience because projects from internships don't necessarily reflect a person's true interests. Unfortunately just as many internships are landed by "knowing somebody" than merit so I don't put much weight into them. Other hiring managers may think differently.
Regarding education level, that is highly dependent on the individual supervisor's needs. We are encouraged by SF and SMART office to prioritize graduate students but that guidance is generally ignored. My particular needs can be filled by undergrads plus on job training so my selections have mostly been undergrads. I know of other managers working advanced research and they prioritize PhDs. In general I would say content matters more than degree.
I will caveat the above with: This is my criteria for myself within my agency only. Other agencies and managers may be different.
The applications are released to the hiring managers by our SF coordinator. It is up to us, the hiring managers, to interview candidates and provide nominations back to SF coordinator who in turn submits to SMART office. Not sure how SMART adjudicates but in previous years those nominated by hiring managers had a very strong chance of making it. Every scholar I've nominated has received it.
One the applications are released to us, it it on the hiring managers to filter through and select those to interview. I had 8000 applicants this year to filter through so my filters were aggressive. I filtered by location preference, then major, then graduating year. After that I reviewed individual applications and made my decisions from there.
I focused more on personal statements, extracurriculars, and references more than intern experience or coursework. Your personal statements and extracurriculars speak to your true interests and if they happen to align with my responsibilities/needs, that significantly increases your chances. Attention to detail by your reference goes a long way. Most references are just a long winded way of saying "This person is great, hire them", and I ignore those. There have been some that took the time to give specific examples of students' innovation and those have gone a long way to make the student stand out. The people I have chosen happened to have GPAs on higher end of scale although I do not use GPA as a filter. I do not put as much emphasis on intern experience because projects from internships don't necessarily reflect a person's true interests. Unfortunately just as many internships are landed by "knowing somebody" than merit so I don't put much weight into them. Other hiring managers may think differently.
Regarding education level, that is highly dependent on the individual supervisor's needs. We are encouraged by SF and SMART office to prioritize graduate students but that guidance is generally ignored. My particular needs can be filled by undergrads plus on job training so my selections have mostly been undergrads. I know of other managers working advanced research and they prioritize PhDs. In general I would say content matters more than degree.
I will caveat the above with: This is my criteria for myself within my agency only. Other agencies and managers may be different.
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Donttouchmyboats
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Re: I am a hiring manager, ask me anything
To tack on to the above, my general advice:
1. Know what you want to do. We do no select SMART candidates merely to just bring in talent, we have other means to do that. We utilize SMART to hire specific talent that aligns with specific needs. This is why selection of graduate students is encouraged as they are more likely to know where they want to focus.
2. Research your sponsoring facilities. Some facilities bring in drastically more SMART scholars than others. Do not make selections because "that place sounds cool". You're obviously allowed to have location preferences but they should align with what you want to do. If you are early in your collegiate career and unsure what you want to focus on, try larger facilities.
3. Solid personal statements.
4. Ask your references to give details.
1. Know what you want to do. We do no select SMART candidates merely to just bring in talent, we have other means to do that. We utilize SMART to hire specific talent that aligns with specific needs. This is why selection of graduate students is encouraged as they are more likely to know where they want to focus.
2. Research your sponsoring facilities. Some facilities bring in drastically more SMART scholars than others. Do not make selections because "that place sounds cool". You're obviously allowed to have location preferences but they should align with what you want to do. If you are early in your collegiate career and unsure what you want to focus on, try larger facilities.
3. Solid personal statements.
4. Ask your references to give details.
Re: I am a hiring manager, ask me anything
Hello,
I appreciate your contribution to this body of knowledge about the SMART scholarship and selection. I am curious about the selection process for disciplines that are a small representation of awards, including biomedical engineering and biosciences. Is it helpful to have participated in a summer program with a sponsoring facility of interest? My understanding is that awards are made on sponsoring facility need, but based on the award statistics published, it does not appear that sponsoring facilities have a high need for such majors.
Further, do you have an advice on the application process for someone in these fields (e.g. biosciences, biomedical engineering)?
I appreciate your contribution to this body of knowledge about the SMART scholarship and selection. I am curious about the selection process for disciplines that are a small representation of awards, including biomedical engineering and biosciences. Is it helpful to have participated in a summer program with a sponsoring facility of interest? My understanding is that awards are made on sponsoring facility need, but based on the award statistics published, it does not appear that sponsoring facilities have a high need for such majors.
Further, do you have an advice on the application process for someone in these fields (e.g. biosciences, biomedical engineering)?
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km4ri5
Re: I am a hiring manager, ask me anything
Sorry, but are interviews mandatory for this cycle for all considered applicants? im getting kinda worried lol
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jwk1234
Re: I am a hiring manager, ask me anything
I am an aerospace major, Junior, applied to SMART. I have a 3.46, active Secret level clearance, have experience in rocketry and hypersonic vehicles. I have yet to hear anything back from anyone.
Should I keep my hopes up for an award? Is my GPA too low to be considered?
Should I keep my hopes up for an award? Is my GPA too low to be considered?
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Donttouchmyboats
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Re: I am a hiring manager, ask me anything
Participating a summer program is extremely helpful. Selecting a SMART scholar is a big commitment to the manager too as we will be working with you for a number of years. I would certainly prioritize people I already worked with if good interns. Did you reach out to your supervisor to let them know you applied for SMART and wanted to come back?
Regarding interviews, we were required to interview candidates before selection but sure if that is case for all SFs.
Regarding interviews, we were required to interview candidates before selection but sure if that is case for all SFs.
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Donttouchmyboats
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Re: I am a hiring manager, ask me anything
A 3.46 GPA is not too low. We are encouraged not to select people close to the GPA requirement but you are far enough for it to not matter.
What SFs did you select?
What SFs did you select?
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jwk1234
Re: I am a hiring manager, ask me anything
My top 3 SF were Air Force Test Center 412 Test Wing at Edwards AFB, Air Force Research Lab Aerospace High Speed Systems Division at Wright Patterson AFB, and Fleet Readiness Center East at Cherry Point, North Carolina. I know the Wright Patt one is a long shot, since they take mostly graduate students according to their stats.