Is Summer Residential Governor’s Schools a big deal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much for the tuition, does they need teacher reference?

It's free. Part of the reason it's a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Free for public school students. Private school kids pay per my son. He attended the MST this past summer. He loved it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Free for public school students. Private school kids pay per my son. He attended the MST this past summer. He loved it.

Correct, free for public while private schools have to pay half the cost - and generally pass that expense on to the student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the kids who got in last year for engineering or agriculture, how competitive was it? My son is a junior with 3 AP’s and has. 3.8 weighted but probably not in 10% of class and hasn’t been labeled as gifted. He’s a smart motivated kid who has navigated dyslexia and severe ADHD wonderfully but it sounds like he probably doesn’t stand out? I don’t want to encourage him to apply if it’s nonstarter as a junior

I would speak with the contact at your school about it. What’s competitive in one part of Virginia may not be enough in another, and schools/districts are limited on how many students they can move forward in the process

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much for the tuition, does they need teacher reference?

teacher recommendations are an important part of the submission, but may not be necessary in the first stage depending on how your school handles it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much for the tuition, does they need teacher reference?

It's free. Part of the reason it's a big deal.

Tuition is covered… but website says parents may need to pay up to $300 in fees (but there’s a waiver for families who cannot afford it).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do they have any program for business kids?

no they do not. Kid #2 isn't going to apply for this reason. Kid #1 did humanities a few years back and loved it.

[Anonymous]

Best thing my kid did all of HS…..had an absolute blast…..and a bonus…they had several unique experiences to write about at college essay time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I'm a Junior applying this year, and I'm wondering about what extracurriculars, awards, research projects, etc. your child had. Do you know if the essay portion is a big deal? I don't know anyone who has done the Agriculture Program in the past. Thank you so much!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I'm a Junior applying this year, and I'm wondering about what extracurriculars, awards, research projects, etc. your child had. Do you know if the essay portion is a big deal? I don't know anyone who has done the Agriculture Program in the past. Thank you so much!

The good news is that agriculture is considered one of the easier admissions. The essay portion is definitely important. The VDOE shares scoring guidelines so you can get an idea of how each section of the application is weighted. https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/59052/638695009470500000

My DC loved gov school, and we’d definitely recommend it. Good luck!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: My child attended the Governor's School of Agriculture at Virginia Tech a couple years ago. It is not only a great resume builder, it's a life-changing experience. For many of the kids, it's their first time away from home for an extended period of time (a month). They build the independence skills they need for college. Plus, it's a great to meet other awesome, nerdy kids from across the state. My child still talks to the awesome friends she made at Governor's School daily. Plus, they get to learn about something they actually enjoy from world-class professors on a beautiful college campus!

As far as college goes, most of my child's classmates have either ended up at UVA or Virginia Tech with about 15-20 of them going to other T20 schools and service academies. It's a very competitive program to get into. First, the student has to meet the qualifications of top 10% of the class and classified as gifted, then the student has to compete against highly qualified kids at the school level, then compete again at the county level, and then advance on to the state level where hopefully they get accepted. The Governor's School of Agriculture had a 50% acceptance rate at the state level, but it gets far more competitive if you consider how many highly-qualified students they had to weed out at the school, county, and state level before deciding on their final cohort. Having the Governor's School experience looks great on any college resume especially for Virginia public universities because they know how competitive the process is and how enriching the experience is. Hope this helps!

My daughters both went to Governors School. One a full academic ride to Michigan and the other to Princeton. The Governors School was helpful in facilitating their expression.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: My child attended the Governor's School of Agriculture at Virginia Tech a couple years ago. It is not only a great resume builder, it's a life-changing experience. For many of the kids, it's their first time away from home for an extended period of time (a month). They build the independence skills they need for college. Plus, it's a great to meet other awesome, nerdy kids from across the state. My child still talks to the awesome friends she made at Governor's School daily. Plus, they get to learn about something they actually enjoy from world-class professors on a beautiful college campus!

As far as college goes, most of my child's classmates have either ended up at UVA or Virginia Tech with about 15-20 of them going to other T20 schools and service academies. It's a very competitive program to get into. First, the student has to meet the qualifications of top 10% of the class and classified as gifted, then the student has to compete against highly qualified kids at the school level, then compete again at the county level, and then advance on to the state level where hopefully they get accepted. The Governor's School of Agriculture had a 50% acceptance rate at the state level, but it gets far more competitive if you consider how many highly-qualified students they had to weed out at the school, county, and state level before deciding on their final cohort. Having the Governor's School experience looks great on any college resume especially for Virginia public universities because they know how competitive the process is and how enriching the experience is. Hope this helps!

My daughters both went to Governors School. One a full academic ride to Michigan and the other to Princeton. The Governors School was helpful in facilitating their expression.

Which gov school program did they do?

[Anonymous]

Our son did the French governor’s school last summer. He wasn’t sure he would enjoy the French only and no technology. He came out three weeks literally changed. He had an amazing time. Just got into UVA. Participating in the school was a huge boost to him. More importantly, he genuinely loved it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our son did the French governor’s school last summer. He wasn’t sure he would enjoy the French only and no technology. He came out three weeks literally changed. He had an amazing time. Just got into UVA. Participating in the school was a huge boost to him. More importantly, he genuinely loved it.

Friend’s kid also did French at the Gov Sch. Unhappy UVA was the best school admitted to, after rejection from Princeton and Brown. If UVA is the wanted outcome, I think Gov Sch IS probably helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our son did the French governor’s school last summer. He wasn’t sure he would enjoy the French only and no technology. He came out three weeks literally changed. He had an amazing time. Just got into UVA. Participating in the school was a huge boost to him. More importantly, he genuinely loved it.

Friend’s kid also did French at the Gov Sch. Unhappy UVA was the best school admitted to, after rejection from Princeton and Brown. If UVA is the wanted outcome, I think Gov Sch IS probably helpful.

Well, UVA is the only school he applied to because he wanted to go there. And since it’s a T25 school generating a nearly $250K savings compared to certain slightly higher ranked private universities of interest, we are all happy.