FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where is the Governor's School located?
The Governor's School has two sites:
G. S. West is located on the campus of Salem College in Winston–Salem and G. S. East is located on the campus of Meredith College in Raleigh.
May students request which campus they would like to attend and request roommates?
No. Students and roommates are randomly assigned. Students must attend the campus to which they are assigned.
Are the programs the same at Governor's School East and West?
Yes, except that Governor's School West offers Spanish and an orchestra and Governor's School East offers French and a wind ensemble. Otherwise the curriculum of both schools is the same.
How are students nominated for the Governor's School?
The nomination process has multiple steps at the school and district levels. In individual schools, teachers, principals, and counselors nominate applicants to the local public school superintendent or private school headmaster. (If a discipline studied at the Governor's School is not offered in an individual high school, a student may request to be nominated in that discipline. All applicants must meet the criteria established for the N. C. Governor's School.) Each public school system determines which of the school nominees will be sent for final selection at the state level.
How are nominated students selected to attend the Governor's School?
The process differs for academic nominees and performing/visual arts nominees. All students are informed of their selection by letter in March. To ensure statewide representation of students, public school superintendents nominate two academic area students who are automatically admitted. A statewide selection committee reads all other academic applications and chooses the remaining academic students, just as college admissions' committees choose between college applicants.
- Performing and visual arts students' selection is determined by audition before judges complemented by the students' applications.
May school systems nominate as many students as they wish?
No. Each school system is allotted a certain number of students based on its tenth and eleventh grade student population.
May the performing/visual arts students audition in more than one area?
No. They may only audition in one area of nomination.
How do I get information about auditions?
The Department of Public Instruction will mail information about auditions during January, four weeks prior to auditions. These letters will include general instructions about the audition day, audition times and places (buildings), and directions to Meredith College, the audition site.
How is a typical Governor's School class conducted?
Highly energized and committed teachers invite students to explore new and significant ideas, not principally through lecture but through discussion. Teachers may use an occasional mini-lecture to present a formula in math or physics, demonstrate a new movement in art or music, or explain a recent theory of social groups or literary texts. But the hallmark of our intellectual work is the interplay between theory and students' responses, between the abstract and the personal. Without the common burdens of covering a defined body of material and being tested on it, students and teachers can forge a safe, non-competitive intellectual environment where ideas from many disciplines are entertained and all active learners are taken seriously.
What kinds of dance, drama, and music are performed?
The emphasis throughout the arts (and academic) curriculum is on modern and contemporary ideas and forms of expression. This emphasis has been one of the most successful parts of this 44 year old program for several reasons: it surprises and energizes students with its often unexpected uniqueness; it alerts students to current ideas; it encourages students and teachers to become creative explorers of uncharted territory; it introduces intellectual inquiries that often do not come into view until advanced college and graduate study.
What do students do after classes end in the afternoon?
Governor's School provides many options for afternoon and evening hours that complement and extend the work of classes. Major outside speakers who are active contributors to current knowledge in their fields address students once a week. Student performances in dance, drama, and music electrify both campuses. Daily optional seminars or electives range from the Aesthetics of Choreography (dance faculty) to a discussion of Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time (natural science faculty). Several different film series offer not only provocative films, but discussions that deepen the understanding of the particular film and sharpen the ability to see and interpret any film.
What kinds of recreational and social activities are offered?
Each afternoon and evening, swimming pools, gyms, tennis courts, fields (for soccer, ultimate Frisbee, and softball) are open for individual and group recreation. Later in the evening, students can choose social events such as swing dance instruction, ultimate Frisbee tournaments, poetry slams, and scavenger hunts. For many, the high social moments are the masquerade ball and, on the final evening, a semi-formal dance. Others say that the best free moments are spent in the spontaneous conversations, gatherings, and activities that students initiate on the benches of quads and by fountains, at meals and on dormitory halls.
How strict are the rules at the Governor's School?
Governor's School is clearly situated between high school and college – a highly ambitious residential school for high school students. It grants students many freedoms associated with university study, especially the freedom of choice between many different intellectual and community experiences. It is also governed by a number of rules and regulations associated with residential life for high school students. These are enumerated in an honor code and the Student Handbook – documents mailed with acceptance letters so that students will know what is expected of them before they decide to attend. The Governor's School is not a rule-bound place, but those few rules that exist are taken seriously. Strict adherence to them exercises student self-discipline and responsibility, ensures student safety, and frees the community to focus on vital and essential new ideas and experiences.
Do students have to attend the Governor's School the entire six weeks?
Yes. If a student accepts the invitation to attend the Governor's School, he/she must agree to attend for the entire six weeks. (NOTE: Any student who does not stay until the closing session on the last day will not receive a Governor's School certificate, nor be permitted to use the Governor's School experience on college and scholarship applications.)
May students go home on weekends?
No. Students must remain at the Governor's School through the weekends except the third weekend of the session when all students go home on Thursday and return on the following Sunday evening.
What is the cost to students to attend the Governor's School?
The program is funded by the North Carolina General Assembly. Students furnish only their transportation to and from the campus and any spending money they may need.