Important Information to Know Before Applying

Applicants will need to register for a new account before they will be able to start the application. The applicant will input their name and email address and choose a password.

A sidebar is located at the left of each application page. Use this sidebar to navigate the application. Applicants may complete the application sections in any order. At any time, the applicant may click on the "Overall Status" link in the sidebar to view information about how much of the application is complete. These are the areas of the application:

• Contact Information
• Citizenship and Demographics
• Academic Background
• Proposed Area of Study
• Professional Experiences
• Publications & Presentations
• Awards & Honors
• Summary of Goals
• References
• GRE Scores
• SAT/ACT Scores
• How Did You Hear About SMART?
• Transcripts

All applications must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. PST, December 17, 2007 and supporting materials must be received by December 31, 2007. See the descriptions of each element below in the Application Walk-Through. Monitor the application's status to ensure ASEE receives the reference forms, transcripts, and GRE scores. As stated above, applicants must click the "Submit Application" button and select "Yes" before 11:59 p.m. PST, December 17, 2007 in order to submit the application. There is no logout button. Simply exit the application and your saved work will be retained. Please be sure to save your work before exiting, otherwise your information will be lost.

All responses can be changed prior to submission. This allows applicants to save an application-in-progress and return to the application to correct errors and omissions.

Note: Java Script must be enabled on your browser to ensure the best performance of the application. You can find instructions to enable Java Script at
www.teachingpersonnel.com/go/home/enablescript.aspx.

Application Walk-Through

The following is a guide to the application, where you will see what questions will be asked and provided with information on how to answer some of them. Questions that appear on the application in yellow and have asterisks next to them are mandatory. At the bottom of each section where you can enter data, there is a "Save" button. Click this button after entering data to save. Once you have clicked this button, your data is saved and you may move to another area of the application, or leave the application and continue at a later time.

Once all required sections are complete, and once you are satisfied that your application is finished, click the "Submit Application" button in the sidebar and select "Yes" to submit. You will not be able to submit your application if any of the required sections are not complete. You may want to consider asking your advisor to review your application before it is submitted. With the exception of the contact information and references sections, you cannot change any of your responses after you have submitted your application. You may update your contact information after you submit the application to ensure that you can be reached. You may also edit, add, or delete references after you submit your application, and monitor the status of received reference forms, transcripts, and GRE scores.

Personal Data

Contact Information

1. Name - Enter your name and any other name which may appear on your transcripts or reference letters.
2. Resident state - Enter the state of which you are a resident for tuition purposes.
3. Email - Enter your primary email address. Information about your application, including official award notification, will be sent to this email address. Expect notification of awards in March 2008.
4. Primary address - Enter your primary (mailing) address. Same as your primary email address, information about your application, including official award notification, will be sent to your primary address.
5. Secondary address - Enter your permanent address.
6. Phone numbers - List a phone number where you can be reached during March 2008. You may provide an alternate and a mobile phone number, preferably ones at which you can continue to be reached after March.

This information can be edited at any time, even after you submit your application. Simply login and select "Contact Information," then enter and save the updated information.

Citizenship and Demographics

All applicants must be U.S. citizens. Nationals and permanent residents are not eligible. An individual with dual citizenship may need to renounce their non US citizenship.

Citizenship information

1. U.S. Citizen or National - Select "I am a U.S. citizen," "I am a U.S. national," “I am dual citizen” or "I am not a U.S. citizen or national." If you are not a U.S. citizen or national, you are not eligible for the SMART Scholarship for Service Program.
2. Are you registered with Selective Service? - Select "I am not required to register," "Yes" or "No."

Selective Service

1. Please indicate whether you are registered for selective service, not registered for selective service, or not required to register for selective service.
2. Failure to register (if required) will prohibit you from receiving Federal student aid, job training benefits, and most Federal employment opportunities.

Birth Information

1. Please indicate your date of birth.
2. Enter the city, state, and country of birth.

Demographic Information

Gender, Ethnicity, Race, and Disability - This information will not be provided to evaluators, and does not impact your eligibility in any way. It is used to determine the degree to which members of diverse sections of the eligible population are aware of and apply for this program. See the ASEE Privacy Act Statement.

Veteran Status

Please indicate if you are claiming a veteran preference if you have served in the United States Military. If you are claiming the 5 point preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214.

If you are claiming the 10 point preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214, SF-15, and a letter from the VA (including a VA POC) verifying you quality for the 10 point preference. All forms are due by December 31, 2007.

These forms must be mailed to:

The SMART Scholarship for Service Program
c/o ASEE
1818 N Street, NW
Washington, DC, 20036

Academic Background

Current Academic Status - Enter your current academic status (all possible choices are listed in the drop box under academic status) and the name of your current academic advisor. If you are not currently enrolled in an academic institution, select the highest level completed in your academic career.

Schools - Add a new school and enter information about it, or edit information already entered. Saved schools will display information about whether a transcript from that institution is required or not. This information will also be reflected on the "Overall Status" page.

1. Add new school
   • Select/edit school - Select the state of the institution you attend/attended and click "Next," or if it is not in the United States, enter the institution's name, city, and country. If you selected a state and clicked "Next," select the school from the list that appears, or enter its name and city if it is not on the list. Click "Next."
   • Studies - Enter your degree obtained or pursued; your major; the dates you attended the school or expected graduation date; and whether you attend/attended the school as an undergraduate, graduate, or other status.
   • For each school you must also enter:
     • Cumulative GPA on a 4.0 Scale: If your school does not use a 4.0 scale you must contact them to ask for their GPA conversion instructions. If your school cannot provide conversion instructions please contact us at smart@asee.org.
     • Base GPA: Indicate the highest GPA possible at the school (ex. 4.3).
     • GPA credits: Only total the credits which were used in calculating your GPA.
     • School term system: Indicate whether the school uses a semester, quarter, or trimester calendar.
   • Overall Cumulative GPA Score: The application will generate your overall cumulative GPA based on your cumulative GPA at all schools attended. You must have an overall cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 to be eligible to apply. Please note that this calculated GPA may differ from the individual GPAs on your transcripts.
2. Edit or Delete School
   • If you would like to make changes to a school's information or delete the school, click on the appropriate link underneath the school listed.

Proposed Area of Study

Proposed Discipline and Area of Specialization - Select your proposed discipline from the drop-down list provided. Next, specify your area of research within that discipline.

1. Discipline - You should select the discipline to which your particular course of study is most closely related. If you are uncertain as to which discipline is most appropriate, consult with your academic advisor. Panels reserve the right to forward an application to another discipline for further consideration if they judge that doing so may increase your chances of being selected for an award.
2. Area of Specialization- Describe your area of specialization within your chosen discipline. For example, an applicant within the Physics discipline might enter "optics" or "acoustics" in this text box. If you do not have an area of specialization, enter the discipline.

Proposed Academic Program - Indicate the degree for which you seek funding; your estimated date of completion of the degree for which you seek funding; and whether you are currently enrolled in the degree program for which you seek funding.

Proposed Academic Institution - Select or enter the name and location of the institution at which you propose to earn your degree. The academic institution must be a regionally accredited U.S. college or university. If you are undecided, enter "Undecided."

1. Select/edit institution - Select the state of the academic institution you plan to attend and click "Next." Select the school from the list that appears, or enter its name and city if it is not on the list. Click "Next." You may only select one proposed academic institution.
2. Indicate whether you are currently enrolled in this institution.

Which services/agencies do you want to work for? - From the boxes provided, select five services/agencies, in order of preference, with which you would like to work. If you have no particular preference, select “No preference”. If you have less then five preferences, select no preference for the remaining choices.

Professional Experiences

1. Please upload your resume. Be sure to include all relevant professional experiences pertaining to your field. These experiences may include internships and positions of employment.
2. If you are currently a DoD civilian employee you must indicate your place of employment. If you want to use the SMART Scholarship towards your current position you must provide the following supervisor information: name, phone number, email address, and a letter of support.
3. If you are currently a DoD contracted employee you must provide your contract # (if known) and the following supervisor information: name, phone number, and email address.
4. If you are currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Military you must provide: branch of service and estimated date of separation (you must be honorably discharged as of August 1, 2008 to be eligible for the SMART Scholarship).

Publications & Presentations

Publications & Presentations- Enter all relevant publications and presentations pertaining to your field since entering college. These may include articles, journal submissions, and conference proceedings.

1. Add new publication or presentation - List the authors, title of the presentation or publication, when presented or published, and where presented or in what journal published. Click "Save this publication or presentation."
2. Edit/delete publication or presentation - Click the appropriate link beneath the item you wish to edit or delete and make the changes or confirm the deletion.
3. If you do not have any publications or presentations to report, indicate this by clicking on the "No publications or presentations to report" check box and then the "Save" button.
   

Awards & Honors

Enter all scholarships, academic honors, scientific or engineering student leadership roles, honorary societies, and any other recognition relevant to your field since entering college. All awards and honors granted by the U.S. Government should have the "Federal Award" box checked, with the agency granting the award specified in the description, such as NASA or the NSF. It is strongly recommended that you group similar awards together. For example, list together all awards that directly derive from your grade point average such as Dean's List recognition.

1. Add new award or honor - Enter the name of the award, the date received, whether it is a federal award or not, and a brief description of the award. Click "Save this award/honor."
2. Edit/delete award or honor - Click the appropriate link beneath the item you wish to edit or delete and make the changes or confirm the deletion.
3. If you do not have any awards to report, indicate this by clicking on the "No awards or honors to report" check box and then the "Save" button.

Summary of Goals

This section of the application reads:
In a concise statement, provide a summary of your current educational program objectives and your long-range professional goals.

As part of this statement, we are interested in your ideas about the kinds of research in which you have engaged and in which you would like to engage during your studies as well as during your expected tenure with the Department of Defense (DoD). Please address how you think your employment with a Department of Defense lab will benefit both you and the DoD science and technology enterprise. You may wish to discuss specific research questions that interest you and how you became interested in them. Please discuss these research interests in sufficient detail for an expert who is technically competent in your field to judge your understanding of the questions to be addressed, relevant hypotheses and approaches one might take to answering the questions, and other research principles required to investigate in the research area you identify.

Your response must be a minimum of 1.500 and a maximum of 3,000 characters, including spaces.

The statement you present in this part of the application should be reflective of your ability to think independently and creatively, as well as your ability to write about your research or study plans accurately, thoughtfully, and concisely. The panelists evaluating your responses will be highly qualified professionals and faculty members, generally with doctoral degrees in the discipline you have selected. Be sure to include in your written response all relevant information pertaining to your goals.

References

This section of the application reads:

Enter contact information for at least two references in order to send a request to each. References should be scientists, engineers, or faculty members who have current or recent knowledge of your academic accomplishments or your professional experiences. They will be contacted electronically and asked to fill out a brief form and attach a reference letter. You may add as many references as you like; however, you can only include a maximum of three references in your application.

You may change this information at any time, even after you have submitted your application. You may monitor the status of your references by looking at the "Overall Status" page.

You may send reminder emails to your references by clicking "Send reminder email" underneath the reference to who you wish to send a reminder."

A minimum of two references must be added for you to be able to submit your application. You should confirm the references' information with them prior to adding them to your list. When you click "Add new reference," the information you will need is:

1. Name - The first and last name of the reference.
2. Institution - The current institutional affiliation of the reference.
3. Department - The current departmental affiliation of the reference.
4. Position - The current position of the reference.
5. Email address – Enter the reference's email address. Keep in mind that once you save the email address, you will not be able to change it, and an email will be sent to the reference when you click the "Save this reference" button.
6. Use this reference - If you select "Yes," this reference will be included in your final application. Select the appropriate "Yes" or "No" radio button depending on whether you want to use the reference or not. You can change this at any time, including after you submit your application.
7. Click "Save this reference."

When you click the "Save this reference" button, the reference will automatically be notified and sent a link to fill out a reference form. Any number of references can be saved; however, you must add at least two references, and you must select two to be included in your application.

If you wish to send a reminder email to a reference, click on "Send reminder email" underneath the reference to who you wish to send a reminder. If you wish to edit or delete a reference, click on the appropriate link underneath the reference you wish to edit or delete, and then either edit the information or confirm deletion. You will not be able to change their email address.

Applicants can send reference requests to both preferred and alternate references early in the application process, and then use alternate references only if needed or desired. For example, if a preferred reference is on sabbatical and is unable to respond in time, an alternate reference may be used as the final required reference; however, if the preferred reference does respond, the applicant may elect not to use the alternate reference. References are not notified as to whether you have elected to use their reference form/letter.

You may edit reference information even after you have submitted your application. You can edit or add references, as well as change your selection of which references to use. You are responsible for ensuring that two reference forms are submitted to ASEE by your references prior to the application deadline. You may login and monitor which references have been received at any time, though you will not be able to review the contents of the materials received.

GRE Scores (General Test required)

This section of the application reads:

Enter the registration number for at least one GRE General Test; Subject Tests are optional, but highly recommended where applicable. You are responsible for ensuring that ETS sends official copies of your GRE scores to ASEE prior to the application deadline. All official GRE scores are sent electronically to ASEE. You must take the GRE General Test by November 15, 2007 to ensure your scores are received by the deadline of December 31, 2007.

Official GRE scores must be submitted by individuals applying for graduate funding. Undergraduate applicants who have taken the GRE are welcome to submit their scores in support of their application.

Indicate your GRE registration number on your application. Your GRE registration number was assigned to you by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and appears on your test results.

You can monitor whether ASEE has received your GREs by looking at the "Overall Status" page, both before and after you submit your application. All official GRE scores are sent electronically to ASEE. The GRE code for ASEE is 5140 (with no department code). Please keep in mind that only current GRE scores (as defined by ETS policy, generally those taken within the last 5 years) will be sent, and that GMAT/MCAT/LSAT test scores cannot be substituted for GRE test scores.

For information about the GRE, reporting your scores to ASEE, and your GRE Registration Number, contact ETS at http://www.gre.org or (609) 771-7670.

SAT/ACT Scores

If your current academic status is Freshman you must mail a copy of your SAT or ACT scores to the address below:

The SMART Scholarship for Service Program
c/o ASEE
1818 N Street, NW
Washington, DC, 20036

You may submit either SAT or ACT scores if you have taken both tests. Please only submit one set of scores. If you have taken either test multiple times you may choose which scores to submit. You are responsible for ensuring your scores are received by the deadline of December 31, 2007.

How Did You Hear About SMART?

Indicate how you learned about the SMART Scholarship for Service Program.

The How Did You Hear About SMART? section of the application is voluntary. Information on how applicants learn of the SMART Scholarship for Service Program is collected in this section of the application in order to determine the effectiveness of the outreach campaign in reaching diverse sections of the eligible population.

Official Transcripts

The SMART Scholarship for Service Program will determine which transcripts are required based on the information you provide in the "Academic Background" section of the application. You can view the transcripts needed to complete your application in the "Academic Background" section as well as in the "Overall Status" section of your application.

It is recommended that you request transcripts immediately upon deciding to apply. Allow at least four weeks for most institutions to respond to a request for transcripts. Transcripts should include courses in the most recently completed semester or quarter.

As ASEE receives your transcripts, the "Overall Status" page on your application will be updated, which you can use to monitor transcript status even after you submit your application. Additionally, you will receive emails notifying you when ASEE receives a transcript. These emails will contain information about which transcripts have been received to date and which have not been received. Once all transcripts have been received by ASEE, you will no longer receive emails. All transcripts are due by December 31, 2007.

Transcripts should be mailed to:

The SMART Scholarship for Service Program
1818 N St, NW
Suite T-50
Washington, DC 20036

Submission of Application

All applications must be submitted by the applicant by clicking the "Submit Application" button on the sidebar by December 17, 2007 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. The button will be inactive until you have entered and saved data for all required sections of the application, at which point the button will become active. When you click "Submit Application," a dialog box will pop up asking if you are sure, and you will select "Yes" or "No" depending on whether you are ready to submit the application or not. Once you click "Yes," your application will be electronically submitted.

Once you have submitted your application, you will still be able to login and check the status of transcripts, GREs, and references. Additionally, you will be able to add or edit reference information as well as change your contact information. If you have any questions, please contact the ASEE SMART Scholarship for Service Program Office at (202) 331-3544 or via email at smart@asee.org.

Privacy Act Statement

Science Mathematics And Research for Transformation Defense Scholarship for Service Program recipients are awarded under the authority of section 2191 of Title 10, United States Code. Information requested on application forms and fellows’ progress reports is solicited under this authority. The application information may be disclosed to reviewers and assistants as part of the SMART selection process for evaluation and selection of qualified applicants. Information provided in applications and fellows’ progress reports may be disclosed to academic institutions attended by applicants and fellows to provide or obtain data regarding the applicant review process, award decisions, or the administration of awards. Aggregated data based on application materials may be used in management reports designed to evaluate the direction and progress of the program as a whole and for reporting within the Department of Defense (DoD) and Federal Government. Attribution of specific data to individual applicants will be avoided, whenever possible, in using information provided. A fellow’s application information may be shared with DoD laboratory personnel, for the purposes of receiving information about summer employment or other opportunities, only if an applicant consents to sharing of the application information using the check box within the application. A list of fellowship winners may be published.

Submission of the information requested on the application is voluntary. Omission of any particular item not necessary to establish eligibility will not preclude the application review, although failure to provide full and complete information needed to evaluate all of the merits of the application may reduce the possibility of receiving an award. In order to determine the degree to which members of diverse sections of the eligible population are aware of and apply for this program, completion of the demographic fields on the application relating to gender, ethnicity, and race, is requested, but voluntary; omission of any demographic field information will not affect award consideration. Applicants will be considered for award of scholarships based on merit and without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, or age. My contact information may be used to inform me of additional scholarship/fellowship opportunities.