<p>Gov School may be easier to get into and may not be as challenging, but it seems select a group of students that do very well in college admissions. That or it provides a significant leg up. </p>
<p>Of my NJGSS class, here are the matriculation numbers:
Princeton 11
Yale 9
Harvard 9
Cornell 6
Penn 6
Columbia 5
Rutgers 5
Drew 4 (Drew promised us lofty scholarships)
Caltech 3
TCNJ 3
MIT 2
Swarthmore 2
JHU 2
Brown 2
Duke 2
NYU
Dartmouth
BU
Stockton/Kansas State University
Villanova
Catholic University
Harvey Mudd
Bryn Mawr
UCLA
Stevens
Georgetown
Pitt
Rice
McGill</p>
<p>There were a significant number of cross-admits and as it was science, a significant number chose direct med-school programs. I attended govschool after junior year, thinking it was a step down from the program I attended the summer before (SSP) in terms of both academic challenge and the success of my peers. The college admissions numbers kind of contradict that. </p>
<p>All in all. Take that for what it’s worth. Summer is a time when you should be having fun and pursuing interests that you can’t during the school year. Both PPPL and govschool are wonderful programs with very very different things to offer. You will do very different things at each program. I’m sure both look good on an application, and that really shouldn’t be your deciding factor.</p>