Rising juniors and senior students who are bright, highly motivated, and enrolled in Tennessee‘s public and private high schools. To be eligible, students can either rank at the top of their high school class in performance/capability or be highly talented in the fields to which they are applying. Each student applying must submit confidential recommendations from their guidance counselor and two teachers who identify the applicant as talented, highly motivated, mature, and dedicated. Rising juniors will apply during their sophomore year of high school, while rising seniors will apply during their junior year. 

The only costs to attend Governor's School include:

• Personal spending money for outings and trips ($100 suggested)
• Personal items
• Off-campus meals

All other living expenses - residence halls, university tuition & fees, and on-campus meals- will be covered. The Department of Education funds the Governor's School program through funds appropriated by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee. If transportation to the school is a financial problem, applicants should contact the school's director to which they are applying.

Applications must be received by January 17, 2024. NOTE: Guidance counselors may set an earlier deadline for materials to be returned to the student's home school so that the applications can be mailed by the required deadline. Guidance Counselors should send all application materials directly to the governor's school(s) to which the students apply. Students applying to multiple schools must rank the schools in order of preference on the top right corner of the Certification of Application Form. Applications received directly from students will not be considered.

Notifications will be emailed out to all applicants in early February. Applicants will receive separate notification letters from each school to which they applied. Suppose an applicant does not meet the Governor‘s School GPA requirement and other prerequisites. In that case, the application will go into an ineligible file, and the Governor‘s School will not send any correspondence regarding the ineligible application.

You will find out your roommate upon arrival at Governor's School.

Committees appointed by the directors in consultation with the state Department of Education must receive all required application material, transcripts, personal data sheets, and recommendations. Based on the application information, the committees will be looking for the most exceptional students in Tennessee. The committees will also select several alternates for each school. Applicants will receive a letter from each school they apply to notify them if they have been accepted, rejected, or selected as an alternate.

Applicants may obtain transportation information from the directors of the individual schools.

Yes, but the applicant must rank the schools (1 = most preferred, 2, 3, etc.) in order of preference. However, since the dates of the programs overlap, students accepted to more than one school will have to decide which program they would most like to attend.

No. The program is intensive and highly individualized. Classes and special activities are planned for the entire four weeks, INCLUDING WEEKENDS. Absences from scheduled activities will not be permitted except in the case of emergencies or religious activities, with permission from the director. Students will not be excused to attend other camps, family vacations, weddings, etc. Students should come prepared to stay, study, and have fun!