SCGSSM Applicant Thread - C/O 2018

Pre-College Topics High School Life
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I’m creating this thread for people that are applying at the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science & Mathematics (SCGSSM, or simply GSSM) for the class of 2018. I haven’t seen this school discussed enough on CC or even online for that matter, so I figured I would start a thread myself. Hopefully we can get some current students/alumni here to talk about the school as well. In the mean time, feel free to discuss the school, your stats, chances, comments, concerns, etc.

Fun fact: Just in case you didn’t know, Aziz Ansari is an alum of GSSM.

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As a current student, C/O 2016, I wouldn’t bother. If your home high school offers the relevant AP’s (Bio, Chem, Physics, Comp. Sci, whatever language you’re taking, Lang and Lit, AB/BC, Stats, and APUSH) it’s not worth applying. Sure, it has the articulation credit for in state schools and the research program, but if you are in the top of your class, you’d be better off staying and milking your high GPA and having more time for EC’s. GSSM won’t do much for you. In some cases it will get you. Lowers your GPA and takes away your class rank.

On the other hand, if your school has barely any AP’s, it’ll be worth it.

Also, if you come in with Gov/Econ, your language requirements, and BC calc, go for it. You’ll get lots of electives (more fun and the teachers are very enthusiastic) or bare minimum schedule with lots of free time.

Hartsville sucks, very little to do. Walking bounds are pretty strict, but fun to break. Great guidance counselors.

If you go or not, you’ll still end up at USC or Clemson.

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@StuckInState2016 Lol yeah I actually go to Dutch Fork High, whose STEM program is pretty much on par with if not better than GSSM as a whole. We have all, if not more APs than GSSM does and we even have to take a year of research like you guys. We also don’t have that stupid requirement where you have to take AP Bio, Chem, and Physics, and I can stick with orchestra all four years. The only reason why I am considering going to GSSM is for the residential program and the extra math/comp sci/engineering classes, otherwise I am staying put.

But yeah, considering how bad the schools in SC are outside of Columbia (Dutch Fork, Spring Valley, AC Flora)/Lexington (Lexington, River Bluff)/Charleston (Academic Magnet, Wando)/Greenville (Dorman, Riverside), GSSM can be a worthwhile option.

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I’ve already started my application for GSSM C/O of 2018 and I’m really wondering about my chances of getting in. I go to Crestwood High School in Sumter. We about 1,200 students and no AP classes, but we do have a Career Center.

Here’s my rundown:

GPA: 3.9 on 4.0, 4.9 on 5.0 (fluctuates, but a pretty good grasp)
Class Rank: 5th out of 332

8th:
Algebra 1 Honors: A/94
English 1 Honors: A/98

9th:
English 2 Honors: A/98
Algebra 2 Honors: B/92
French 1: A/99
World Geography Honors: A/98
Physical Education 1: A/94
Personal Finance: A/99
IBA 1: A/99
Biology 1 Honors: A/94

Summer 2015: Completed Astrophysics program at GoSciTech at GSSM

10th (grade reflects my coming Q1 grade, blank are S2 classes):
Geometry Honors: A/93
English 3 Honors: A/93
Journalism 1: A/98 (Yearbook + School Newspaper)
Accounting 1: A/99
Chemistry Honors
Psychology Honors
French 2
Journalism 2 (Yearbook + School Newspaper)

Extracurriculars:
Junior Civitan
Treasurer of FBLA (also planning to attend National Leadership Conference next month!)
Play flute and piano
Volunteer Work
Secretary at church for Sunday School

Honors/Awards:
Honor Band
Sumter Evening Optimist Club Outstanding Youth Award (I think 2 students in the city get selected on basis of community service and academic achievement )
Junior Scholar

I’m also planning to take the SAT, ACT, and PSAT (which I’m taking tomorrow!). I took the PSAT once before and I scored around the 94-95th percentile for most subjects. My ACT Explore score was a 24 out of 25.

I’m really hoping that I could get into GSSM, but if I don’t I’m planning to do the dual-enrollment program that my school offers with USC and CCTC so I can get my associate’s degree when I graduate high school.

So what do you guys think my chances would be? Anything you reccomend? Does attending the summer program help? I’m also curious to know more about life at GSSM in general. I had a taste when I stayed in the dorms during the summer, but I doubt that does it actual justice.

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@aikades Coming from another applicant your stats look fantastic, especially for somebody at a school with no APs. The GoSciTech course should also definite help boost your app. Depending on how well you score on the PSAT and your essays you should have a high chance of getting in. I personally did not get to attend GoSciTech this summer but am going to the Lexington Smart Talk and the 11/7 campus tour, so that should help me.

My stats:
Rank- 3/478
GPA- 4.0 UW/5.173 W
PSAT (9th grade)- 185C 53V 73M 59W

Middle School-
Algebra I HN/98
English I HN/98
Geometry HN/98
Spanish I/100

Freshman-
English II HN/98
AP Human Geography/100/5
Spanish II/99
Freshman Orchestra/100
Algebra II HN/100
Biology HN/97
Physical Science HN/100
Intro to Engineering PLTW/100

Sophomore (current)-
AP Statistics
Java I HN
Spanish III HN
Chemistry HN
AP World History
Precalculus HN
Orchestra Masterclass II
English III HN

ECs/Awards:
District Orchestra
Region Orchestra-1st chair last year
School iPad Tech Support
FIRST Robotics Assistant Head Programmer (going to be head next year if I stay)
JV Tennis
Math Team
Science Olympiad
Article published in school newspaper
CofC Math Meet- highest team composite score
South Carolina Junior Scholar
Richland County Public Library Summer Volunteer

Our PSAT got postponed to the 28th due to the flooding in Columbia. Thank god, as now I have time to study for it.

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@ish512 Your stats are amazing as well! Seems like you should do pretty well applying! How competitive is your current school? I really do hope that the GoSciTech course helps me, I’m guessing it must have been pretty competitive considering that my roommate was from Academic Magnet and she got wait listed when she applied. My application was a day late due to not knowing whether or not I’d be able go and I was accepted pretty quickly. I also talked to another student from Astrobiology and she was wait listed as well so she didn’t get into her first choice which was Astrophysics. I’m hoping that I’ll get to do a campus tour, but if I’m unable to that’s okay. I try to take each step one at time, so even if I make it to just the interviews I’ll still feel a bit fulfilled.

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@ish512 I go to Dutch Fork High, a really competitive STEM school to begin with- part of the reason why I am applying to GSSM is the fact that it does not have class rank. Though I have a really good class rank right now it is going to absolutely plummet because I couldn’t take AP Biology this year (weighted as 2 AP classes, close to 40ish people in my grade taking it). However, back to the point, only 3 or 4 people are applying from my school (also at the top of the class and will probably get in too), since most people stay here to complete their junior and senior years. I think only 2 of the people went to GoSciTech, one did Arduino Robotics and the other did Pharmacy, which I don’t think are as competitive as Astrophysics (the Arduino guy was telling me that his class full of annoying seventh graders lol). I personally wanted to do Astrophysics too but forgot about the deadline for registration :P. From what I have heard about the interview process, it is actually very relaxed and laid back- all they are looking for is whether you are a good fit for living at GSSM, since they already know you have the mental aptitude to make it there. More info from people actually at the school would be great, however.

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I was just thinking about this yesterday! I’ve considered applying, but then again I’ve heard horror stories of kids with 4.0’s dropping down to 3.0’s and really only getting into Clemson/USC. Really I just want to get out of the house, but then again I have so much stuff going on around home that I don’t want to leave behind. We’ve got an IB program that I’ll be doing and good teachers that have experience putting kids into top tier schools, so I think I’ll being staying put. Hope y’all are all safe in wake of all this flooding!

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@Madeline25 Same, I want to get out of my neighborhood so I’m applying to GSSM mostly for the boarding experience. My school doesn’t have an IB program either (only Sumter High does in our area). I don’t even think our school has sent any students to top tier schools.

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Hi all,

GSSM Alum here. Happy to answer any questions you all have about the school.

@aikades and @ish512 - You both seem to have very strong resumes. Stronger than mine when I got in, but the school has gotten more competitive…

I’ll definitely disagree with @StuckInState2016 about the outcomes. While it’s true that most of our students go in state, we have a much higher proportion of students go to elite colleges than most (probably all) schools in the state. I had friends go to Harvard, Brown, Carnegie Melon, Cal Tech, etc. The most common out of state school for our grads is Duke, followed by Georgia Tech, which our guidance counselors consider to be a safety school for us.

If you go to GSSM and your grades drop significantly, it’s likely that you wouldn’t do well at an elite university anyway. And we actually encourage students to attend undergrad in state even if they’re accepted elsewhere if they plan to go to grad school. It’s a much better financial decision to get a 4.0 for free at Clemson or USC then go elsewhere for grad school.

As for the school experience itself, it’s true that Hartsville is small and boring. The town isn’t the draw though. Living full time with people who share your talent, drive, and interests is epic. If you can’t have fun with ~275 other smart high school kids, you aren’t trying.

In any case, just let me know if there’s anything you want to know. They don’t have any power over me so I can tell the whole truth.

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@GSSMAlum It’s great an alumni finally found this thread! Do you think you could talk about how the admissions process was for you?

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@GSSMAlum It’s great to see another GSSM graduate on the thread! I have only completed parts 1 & 4 of my app (basics/teacher recommendations) and am probably going to do the essays over Thanksgiving & Christmas breaks. I’m also holding back on submitting 2 & 3 because I want to wait until I have toured the campus on December 5 so I can put that down on my app as well (was going to go to the Nov 7 one but ended up having to attend a wedding instead!).

@aikades A couple weeks ago I went to the SmartTalk at Midlands Tech, and I ended up receiving some useful information from Mr. Cote, the admissions director (who is a nice guy, by the way). For a start, the admissions rate was about 1 in 3 last year but is expected to go up to 1 in 4 this year. He said that the external review committee that grades the essays pays close attention to whether you can actually write a good sentence, e.g. proper grammar, syntax, punctuation, etc., since a lot of the people that read the essays are scientists and mathematicians. However, how you format your essay does not matter as much; it does not have to be a 5 paragraph essay with a three-pronged thesis, for instance. He also said that GPA and PSAT scores do actually play a large role in determining whether you will be invited back for an interview–in his words, “a bit more than I think they should.” When you get admitted, however, they take a snapshot of your class rank from sophomore year, and this class rank will be used to determine your eligibility for in-state scholarships/merit aid from other schools (like Hope, Life, Fellows). If @GSSMAlum can correct me with anything I said wrong that would be great.

@Madeline25 Mr. Cote did mention that some people end up with 3.0’s, though these people tend to be from schools are nowhere near the caliber which GSSM performs at (ex. few or no AP or even honors classes, classes are too easy), so it is to be expected to some extent. However, he did stay that GPA’s tend to be picked back up, and the average unweighted GPA is a 3.9.

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I must have heard some really wrong info! Great to know I was wrong. I don’t think I will be applying, but I hope all of y’all who do make the cut!

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@ish512 I’m at the same stage in my app too, I plan to do my essays over breaks as well. I’ve met the admissions director during the admissions Q&A at GoSciTech, and I think he’s a nice guy too. I didn’t know about the admissions rate for this year, so that’s really good to know. I just recently took the ACT and SAT, so I’m hoping when those scores come in they’re pretty decent or better (my first time for both).

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I’m currently in 9th grade, and on the path to apply to gssm. But recently ive been contemplating more and more if i should go. My gut is telling me to apply, but i dont want to if it would jeopardize my chances of scholarships (which i need) and ruin my class rank. What are your inputs?
I feel like im just pushing myself to go for the independence and for the residential life aspects. My school offers great programs that could give me the same education as GSSM such as the accelerate program. Should i just apply for that and stay home?

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@Bab2001b I’m in the same boat. I’m forcing myself to tough it out as I have many more extracurricular activities and opportunities at home compared to like none if I went there.

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@Madeline25 I think im going to talk to my school counselors or someone to get their input. Im so frustrated because if im in the top 6% of my class at my current school, i will get scholarships and possibly even free rides if i go in state. But at GSSM if that same rule applies, there is no way ill be able to make it into the top 6%. As sad as this whole dilemma is, im probably going to wind up staying at home.

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@Bab2001b Yeah I’d been intrested to see how students there who are at the lower end of their class, but still obviously bright, do

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@Bab2001b Don’t worry about your class rank! GSSM does not rank its students, precisely for this reason. They don’t want their students worrying about rank or competing. When I left my home high school, I saw the kids at the top fighting over individual percentage points on tests because it impacted their class rank. That kind of stuff never happens at GSSM.

As for scholarships and college applications, you’re absolutely allowed to use your class rank from your home high school at the time you went to GSSM. So for the Palmetto Fellows scholarship, you simply need to be in the top 6% at the end of your last year (usually 10th grade, 9th if you’re applying early).

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Just submitted my application yesterday. Good luck to everybody!