Qualifications and How to Apply --School Deadline No Later Than February 10, 2023

Qualifications

Must attend high school in West Virginia and plan to be in attendance next year;
Must be a resident of West Virginia;
Must be a junior at the time of application;
Must not graduate before January 2024;
Must have a grade-point average of at least 3.5 or be in top 10% of class;
Must have no semester/term grade lower than a "C"*;
Must be dedicated to learning and should possess an outstanding native ability;
Must be willing to accept academic challenges;
Must meet immunization requirements set by the West Virginia Department of Education. Non-public-school students must provide proof of immunization.

Preferred, but not required, test scores

A composite score at or above the 90th percentile on the PSAT, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), or another standardized test OR
A score of three (3) or higher on an AP exam. These scores are not requirements, but they will be considered by the state selection team.

Responsibilities

Ascertain that you have met the eligibility requirements;
Find out the date of the school deadline. The school deadline will be considerably earlier than the state deadline;
Complete and submit Part I. You should get a "Your application has been successfully submitted" pop-up screen. If there are errors, the screen will just hang there. Be sure that you get the confirmation and print it. It will eventually be placed on top of your paper application. The applications of the county selections and alternates will be mailed to Charleston by the county superintendent's office. The 2023 final state deadline is February 17. The school deadline may be much earlier. A projected date is February 10, but you need to check with your school counselor to be sure.
Download and complete Part II of the student application. The application is relatively lengthy and requires a teacher recommendation;
Let your counselor know at least ten days in advance that you will need a copy of your transcript without your social security number as well as a copy of all state and standardized testing;
Complete an application and request recommendations from one teacher from grades 9-11. You may submit another letter, but it is not required;
Keep the pages in numerical order with the essay at the end. Submit the completed application to your counselor who will add the transcript, first-semester grades, and test scores after the essay.
Important information about how applications are processed;

Applications for GHA must be processed through the applicant's county. Applications mailed directly to the West Virginia Department of Education will not be considered;
Your guidance counselor will work with a county coordinator to set up meeting dates, and he/she will tell you the date by which you must submit your application to the school; Although February 10 is the final day for any application to be submitted to the school, your school may set an earlier deadline. Be sure to ask your counselor when your application is due.
Students who are home-schooled or who attend a private/parochial school should contact the board of education office in the school's county to find out deadlines for application submission. Home-schooled students will be considered with public-and-private school students, but it is the responsibility of the parents of those students to meet county deadlines;

Students attending private schools, charter schools, and those who are home-schooled must submit documentation that they meet the minimum inoculation requirements for attendance in a West Virginia public school;
Students must participate in GHA the full time with the exception of some career/technical students.
The application is a fillable pdf. Be sure to print and save it before closing the document. You don't want to have to redo it.
The GHA application is to be STAPLED. No paper clips or folders, please.
Parts I and II of the application are accessed by clicking Applications and Forms in the links below.