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.

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.

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.

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!

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!!