jfs4691

I was wondering which program, SSP or NJ Govs school was more prestigious (better)...it seems that everyone who goes to NJ Gov school goes to some of the best schools in the country (hypms), I was wondering if the same is true of SSP.

http://www.summerscience.org/home/index.php
http://depts.drew.edu/govschl/

Cressida

If you are from NJ then the New Jersey Governor's School would be the better choice.

siusplau

It's difficult to say which is considered to be more prestigious--certainly the SSP Alums get accepted to very good schools at the same or better rate as the Gov. School Alums. DS was a Gov. School County finalist who didn't make the final cut, and he elected to go to SSP instead. SSP was a FANTASTIC experience for him, and at the end of the day, I think a better one simply because he was with an extremely diverse group of kids from around the world rather than the same number of kids just from NJ. But for us, it's all about the experience--not necessarily the prestige, and he has learned an incredible amount and made lifelong friends. The SSP Alumni network runs deep (50 years!) and spreads around the world, which is really pretty cool!

lavenderdream

Went to NJGSS a few years back and loved it. I went onto Harvard, as did many of the other alumni, though my serious boyfriend (from gov school ... oh, summer romances) was rejected to every Ivy League he applied to - and wasn't the only one from gov school to experience that. It's the people who get in, not the prestige of the program.

Nato

Not sure what the prestige of the government program is, but I can tell you what I know of SSP (Which I went to last summer).

1) As mentioned previously, the people there are wonderful. You will make lifelong friends
2) The connections do run deep. In nearly every field of science and/or business there is someone influential who is an SSP alum, and bumping into that connection often has many positive repercusions for a future career (connections in the workplace)
3) In terms of prestige, SSP is up there. Of a group of 72 students accepted nationwide (Acceptence rate is aprox 25%, which is low for a summer program and hard since pool is highly qualified), here was the college "success" of the class of 2005 (Remember this is out of 72 students):

MIT: 9
Harvard:8
Princeton:6
Stanford: 5
Caltech: 6
Yale: 3

Thats already 37 students out of 72, in the top 6 or 7 schools (according to USnews, which I know is slightly bogus....but I think we can agree the aformentioned schools are considered to be the top tier)

It doesn't stop there, the remaining 35 students are sprinkled across the top schools in the country (The other Ivies, Berkley, Duke, etc).

If prestige is important to you, SSP certianly has high marks in that. I think for reccomended summer programs on MIT's website, SSP is mentioned right after RSI.

Do with that information what you will

PKswmr76

hmm...are these summer programs "hooks" or things that will help in college admissions or is it just the students that are ridiculously talented and get in because of other things?

vin

what "stats" do you need, so to speak to get into SSP? what were your stats when you applied nato?

jerzgrlmom

My son went to NJ Gov School in the Sciences. All the kids in the program are now attending top notch schools (mostly Ivies, MIT, etc). The kids were able to keep in touch, getting together throughout the yr (being from NJ) and he now has friends at top schools all over the country. Some of the Gov kids were also in the Columbia University Science Honors Program with him.

Not sure whether SSP or NJ Gov School program is more selective. When my son interviewed at top schools, they all knew and respected the NJ Gov School Pgm. I'd say go to the program that appeals to you more. The kids who get accepted to these programs are driven by a passion for learning, not resume building. Same thing goes for the top colleges.

I hadn't heard of SSP before so I just looked at the website. It costs the student $3400 plus transportation to/from. About 250 apply each year and they select 72. NJ Gov School is a highly selective FREE 4 week residential program.

oasis

Just for the record, cost should never be an issue in deciding whether to go to SSP. SSP is incredibly generous with their finaid program (a lot of people I knew from my year actually went with full rides).

I think when confronted with a choice like this, you should look for what kind of experience you want to get out of your summer. I know people that went to NJ Gov and SSP, and from what I've been able to gather from their accounts, I can't see too much of a difference between the two programs, at least in terms of prestige.

By no means is SSP "easy" to get into - the people that apply are very self-selective and if you get in and decide to attend, you will literally have 6 weeks of the time of your life. You get to spend your summer in a residential setting in California (I went to Ojai) or New Mexico, getting to know your peers through a rigorous academic program (charting the path of an asteroid) and also having a nice summer together. The friendships at SSP runs deep - I still know about 80% of my class at Ojai (and I'm actually going to school with ~6 of them). I obviously haven't attended NJ Gov, so I don't want to pass a judgment on it, but I can say the summer I spent at SSP was the best summer in my life so far.

You really don't need to worry about prestige - I'm almost certain that 10+ from SSP got into MIT this year (we had around 6 from Ojai alone), not mentioning the people who got into Harvard, Princeton, Caltech (there's a fair amount there too), Stanford...etc. Like what people have said before, the people who get into these programs aren't just looking for resume building. They are intelligent, fun, and eager to learn.

p.s. - Oh, and you probably won't know this until you've finished the program, but the SSP Alumni Network is, in short, impressive. The databases go back almost 50 years (it will be the fiftieth anniversary of SSP this year - so go this year! You'll see a lot of alumni during Reunion Day for sure) and the alums are a fine group of people - scientists, engineers, bankers, businessmen, CEOs - you name it, SSP has it.

compwiz3000

Is the NJ Governor's school for Engineering and Technology as prestigious as the science one? If not, is it close?