NJ Governor's School(s)

<p>Hi guys, I’m applying to the Engineering and Technology one. Firstly, can I just say that budget cuts suck because apparently, there used to be 6 Governor’s School in NJ. Also,
it sucks that we Engineering applicants have to write 3 short responses in addition to the two essays lol I was just wondering if you anybody knows what the student life is like?
Is it extremely work based or is there a fun social life?</p>

<p>Budget cuts really, really suck! All of my friends are artsy, and it sucks that they don’t get the same opportunity as us science nerds. Also, about nominees - I’m not sure how your school does it, but at least at mine, the guidance office takes all interested applications and then picks the nominee (and we can only have one). Kind of annoying, filling out the whole application when you might not even be selected from your school, let alone the state.</p>

<p>As for the essay, I have no freaking clue what to write about. At all. I feel bad for you Engineering kids, though.</p>

<p>Anyone know if they select a certain proportion from each county? Not poorer vs. richer, but like, a population-based thing so they don’t end up with only Bergen or whatever kids, haha.</p>

<p>I’m really freaking out about my essays, and recs, and ughh… are super geniuses applying to this camp?</p>

<p>My situation is the same as yours, Skittsie. Our guidance counselor picks the nominees from the applications that are sent in.
And yes, TheHelper, (at least for my school) all the super geniuses are applying. :(</p>

<p>Is the math PSAT weighted the most? Also, if you made the NMSF cut off (based off of last year’s), will that be considered well in NJGSS’ admissions process?</p>

<p>Is an 80 math psat good? How competitive is monmouth county? wat r the most competitive ones?</p>

<p>NJSP’s thread has 2 more posts than the NJGSS thread does. Come on guys.</p>

<p>I really hope the math PSAT isn’t weighted the most, mine was awful. I don’t know if they look at the PSAT that much, though - looking at last year’s thread, a lot of the people admitted didn’t have NM-worthy scores for NJ. I even saw one kid sub-200.</p>

<p>I can’t figure out how to format the list of extracurriculars… Do you guys think they want a description or just a list format?</p>

<p>So having NM worthy scores won’t help? Maybe the person with sub-200 had a really high math score, but low writing or something? They specifically say they pick people with 90th+ percentile standardized testing scores…</p>

<p>I mean, sure it would help, but it’s not like they admit solely based on PSAT scores. I believe a 90th percentile score is sub-200; for NM, you need a 99th percentile score. Anyone correct me if I’m wrong, though…</p>

<p>You’re right, anything above 200 is definitely above 90%!</p>

<p>Someone said you needed like all A+'s in all your classes to get in… if you have A-'s in a couple, is that enough?</p>

<p>^Really? I seriously hope not, I have a B+ from a freshman-year math class, but all A’s and A+'s after that… And I’m still ranked second…</p>

<p>I doubt it’s based so strict on grades. From what I can tell from the descriptions, ECs are the important part. </p>

<p>Which sucks because I have like none. :(</p>

<p>Yeah, SineTheta, I think you’re right. I was speaking to the kid from our school who went to the Engineering one last year. I asked him how much it depends on grades. He said not too much. He’s brilliant but not top of the class but he has great E.C.s.</p>

<p>What do you think the chances of getting into Engineering are for someone who has decent but not great ECs (pretty standard, nothing exceptional), excellent grades, and perfect standardized test scores…? Assuming the essays and teacher recs neither help nor hurt, I suppose. I’m asking because it does seems like extracurriculars are the most important part.</p>

<p>These essays will be the death of me.</p>

<p>hey guys, i went to the engineering school last year and it was really one of the best summers of my life. somebody asked about the social life vs. work and its actually a pretty decent blend. Work definitely takes up the majority of your time, but i made a bunch of amazing friends and we had a blast. </p>

<p>As far as the admissions process go, i personally believe the essays are the most important part. although i did have a basically perfect transcript, my PSATs weren’t anything amazing (201). i think what got me in was my passion for engineering which my essays were filled with. </p>

<p>good luck everyone! it really is a great program!</p>

<p>@whiteboynj123: You said it bro!
@painoman429: Thanks for answering my question about social life. Sounds like a blast for any of us who are lucky enough to get in!
Also, apparently, another thread has been started exclusively for Gov. School of Science
so does whoever made this thread mind changing the name to the Engineering one?</p>

<p>guitarfreak, I don’t see what you’re talking about with the separate threads, so I’m just going to ask my question here.
Does anyone know which school is more competitive to get into? I’m kind of nervous about this. (I’m applying to other programs too…but I think I’m more nervous about them than gov school. -.-) Also, (opinions are fine) what do they weight the most?</p>