<p>Although I am applying to TASP, New Jersey's Scholar's Program and the Governor's School, the governor's school is the one I'm most interested in. Unfortunately, this program is the one that stresses academic achievement the most. The school I attend is a small high school that rarely sends students to the Governor's school. However, I am extremely interested in the program.
GPA: 4.42
Class Rank: 2 (I was 1 my sophomore year, but now one person is .05 above me, really stinks)
PSAT: don't know yet, but on practice tests in the past i've gotten 2150's, so hopefully around there or better!
Transcript: Great freshman and sophomore year (A's/A+'s), but so far in AP Calc AB/BC and AP Chem I have A-'s for the first cycle, and I'm afraid this is going to hurt me.
Extracurricular Activities: This is where I hope to stand out. I was an unpaid intern at a stem cell lab out of state last summer, and I am eager to explore the field more in depth. I also volunteer at a local hospital, worked with mentally/physically challenged kids in India over the summer, and work with kids with autism every weekend now, in addition to various time-consuming activities in music (dance, orchestra, choir, etc.)
For the most part, I am the case that they keep mentioning in the application where I am not the top, but close to it. For the scholar's program and TASP, interest proved in the essays are the most important component. For the governor's school, it seems that academic achievement is more important. Do you think I have a chance?</p>
<p>Hi there, </p>
<p>I was actually a New Jersey Scholar last year and personally, I strongly recommend the program to whomever is interested in having an opportunity in experiencing a collegiate level program that focuses in on cross-disciplinary studies of a specific topic. The Governor School certainly has its benefits. I had a friend last year who was accepted into the Governor School, declined to go, and was very happy with her decision to attend New Jersey Scholars. </p>
<p>However in response to your inquiry: I would say you have a good chance of being admitted. However, you should realize there will be plenty of qualified applicants and a limited amount of spots. I can tell you that in order to get into the Governor School it will take more than just strong academic achievement, they will be looking for above-average essays that express intellectual curiosity. But just remember, it can go either way.</p>
<p>I am a governor’s school alumnus and loved every minute of the program. I think the governor’s school would perhaps be a great fit for you if science/math is your true passion. Are you applying to GSET or GSS? Your research experience and extracurriculars make you as strong an applicant as any. Coming from a school that doesn’t send many to gov school is only a slight disadvantage, as many of my friends from gov school were from small schools with little gss experience. Definitely spend a lot of time on your essays, and try to make your love of science pervade through your app. PSAT scores are also quite important to them, especially the math section. On the first day of gss they showed us a scatter plot of all the applicants’ psat scores and most accepted scholars had scores between 73-80, although there were (of course) some outliers. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks to both of you! I’m applying for them right now, and I’m really excited. I’m applying to be nominated at my school, and I have to write the essay on a discovery in science. Should this be more like a school essay or more personalized?</p>
<p>I’m applying right now also… but I have no research or outside of school lab experience. :/</p>