Governor's School vs Other Summer Programs (SSP, NASA Sharp, etc.)

I don’t know how many of you live in states where Governor’s School is offered. I personally live in NJ. As a rising junior, I plan to apply for this program. The problem is, it takes up just about the entire summer, taking away time for anything else. Also, the program is binding, meaning if you apply and get in, you have to go (kind of like early decision). My question is, how would Governor’s school compare to some of these other programs out there (ie NASA Sharp, SSP, RSI, etc…). Which one would look better to a college?

<p>I chose Gov. School in PA....nothing like a 10 page paper and 75 page portfolio in the summer :) it was a great experience and i can personally and honestly say that i learned a lot during the program, both about myself and the topic that my Gov. School covered...hope this helps</p>

<p>bump......</p>

<p>i feel like gov school in NJ is worthless. I just fel like the students in there are not really geniuses or really smart people.</p>

<p>which gov school did u go to icyhot? im guessin healthcare?</p>

<p>My state's Governor's School was more like a bunch of electives with a little bit of leadership stuff. I think that NASA and SSP would almost always, if always, beat out Gov school.</p>

<p>Well since you're considering RSI and SHARP I'm guessing you'll be applying to Governor's School for Science at Drew. It's super competitive, anyway.</p>

<p>I'd say apply to as many programs you'd like. If you get into Governor's School AND something like RSI or SHARP, then just make a note on your resume that you were the only male/female nominated for Governor's School by your high school so you couldn't really turn it down, and even though you got into RSI/SHARP/whatever, you didn't have the chance to go, but you're still good enough.</p>

<p>You don't want to risk not getting into anything.</p>

<p>Which school do you go to, by the way? :)</p>

<p>Is there a website for california governor's school? or does california even have such a program?</p>

<p>i don't know about nj, but if it's anything at all like the pa gov schools, you don't need to worry about that...colleges know how selective they are.
and...this sounds all idealistic and crap, but...this isn't the criteria you should be using. think about what program interests you the most or whatever, that's definitely more important than prestige. once you're in college and for the rest of your life, it won't matter how prestigious your summer program was. what will matter is how much you enjoyed it and what you learned.
i went to pa gov school for the arts, in writing, and it was pretty much a utopia. even if colleges had never heard of it, i wouldn't care, i would never trade that experience for any other, that's how valuable it was.
i'm not saying prestige isn't a valid issue, just that it's a very minor one in the whole scheme of things.</p>

<p>i'd rather go to RSI or Sharp</p>

<p>yeah i went to PA Gov School for Health Care...there's some work to be done as i mentioned before but we got to listen and speak to a wide number of professionals who are at the top of their fields, like gloaming said, pick the program that best matches what you're interested in</p>

<p>Hey... I live in Connecticut and I dont think CT has a governor school... Can i apply to a governor school in a neighbouring state? Also, being an Indian citizen, I dont think I can apply for Nasa Sharp.... What are the other equivalent programs to Nasa Sharp and RSI which I could probably apply to?</p>

<p>thanks</p>

<p>to go to a gov school, you must be a resident of that state, because they're free, the money comes from state taxes and everything.
or, at least in pa, you can go if one of your parents lives in that state--my friend who lives in va went to a pa one, because her mom lives here.</p>

<p>Governor's school is held very highly by North Carolina colleges, and the applicant pool is extremely competitive. Summer Ventures in Science & Mathematics is a similar NC program with less competition and prestige, but more focus on science and math. Both GS and SVSM are affiliated with the NC School of Science and Math, which most colleges consider a great school. </p>

<p>I didn't even know about RSI, NASA Sharp, etc. when I was a sophomore/junior. :(</p>

<p>My friend went to NJ Governor's School for the Environment and got into MIT EA.</p>

<p>The people who get nominated for Governor's School for Science all go to Ivies. They're the highest male and female officers at Science Club. The last President of Science Club is now going to Princeton, and the one from three years ago went to Stanford.</p>

<p>you have to be nominated by someone to go to the sciences in nj? that seems highly unfair...what if there was some student who was brilliant at science but didn't suck up to teachers, or something...</p>

<p>According to NJ Governor's School, you have to be nominated in order to apply - and only one male and one female may be nominated for each program.</p>

<p>In my school (I don't know if anyone else does this) we have to apply in October of our junior year in order to be considered for the nomination. You apply to a specific program, and then the guidance department picks who to nominate out of those applicants.</p>

<p>After all, as stated above, if you're admitted, you HAVE to go, and the school doesn't want to nominate someone who will be forced to apply and perhaps attend when s/he doesn't want to go in the first place.</p>

<p>It's a huge honor to be nominated. Both my sisters were (one for creative writing, one for performing arts). I have high expectations to live up to :P. Then again, last year a guy applied for the environment program just because he knew nobody else would apply. I'm not sure if he got into the school, though.</p>

<p>I went to Governor's School of the Sciences at Drew University (2004). I'd never heard of RSI or Sharp, so that influenced my decision alittle. And, all I have to say is that it was definately one of the best experiences of my life, so far. They are definately some of the smartest people in the state (just in my suite of 6, there were 2 MIT, 2 Yale, 1 Princeton, 1 Harvard), and people who want to do science over the summer, just like you! There are classes, and labs, and electives, and research, each of them requiring about the same, or more energy than my hs classes (although homework is not graded and some classes didn't give much). But then there are also parties, and plenty of free time to hang out (can even go off campus, which is unique among gov schools). Your classmates, your teachers, even the weekly lecturers are awesome, funny people.</p>

<p>But, honestly, I don't know much about the prestige of SSP (unless you're talking about the one at Harvard, which is less prestigous, because anyone can go)/NASA SHARP, but RSI is def. more prestigous than Gov School. And correspondingly harder to get into-- just like colleges, the more selective a program is, the better it looks. And I've heard that it's just as much fun. RSI and SHARP are focused more on research, while Gov School is more like the whole science college experience, which research forms the backbone of. I'm sure that whichever you wind up doing will be fun, and none of them will close doors in terms of college admissions, since you will have proven that you truely enjoy science (i hope, otherwise you're looking at the wrong set of programs), and not only because you have to take it during school.</p>

<p>Governor's School in NJ is very competitive; might not be so in other states. Our son attended two years ago (GS of the Arts) and had an unbelievably challenging and rewarding experience. If you think you can be nominated by your school, I would encourage you to try.
As mentioned above, application in NJ requires your school to nominate you, teacher and/or mentor recommendations, essays, and a portfolio or audition(s) for the arts as well.<br>
Our son still maintains friendships with his group from GS. They are all extremely accomplished and motivated in their specialty. In his case, the group was composed of instrumental and vocal musicians, visual artists, theatre arts, etc.<br>
Also, the month long program in NJ is completely taxpayer funded and FREE to participants.
I have no knowledge of the other programs so can't help you there.
Colleges do recognize the significance of winning a spot at GS.
But our son was mostly thrilled to have the chance to learn from professional musicians and hang with like minded kids on a college campus (away from us!) for a month in the summer. Priceless!!</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for the responses!</p>