Admissions

Interested incoming 9th-grade applicants and their families, should attend the Virtual Recruitment Night for up-to-date information about the application process and information about the school. The Virtual Recruitment Night for parents and students will be on Thursday, October 10, 2024. Applications are accepted from October 11–December 2, 2024.  Applications will not be accepted after December 2, 2024 at 11:59 pm.

The GECA application process includes the following steps:

1.   Application

Complete and submit the online application (available on October 11, 2024) no later than 11:59 p.m. December 2, 2024.

See the Admission Checklist tab below for a list of what to include with application. This information should be gathered during the application period for the most up-to-date information. You may be asked to submit additional information during the application process.

2.   Take the PreACT Exam 

Take the PreACT Exam at GECA on December 10, 2024. More details to follow. 

3.   Interview

Participate in an in-person interview on February 1, 2025. Applicants who successfully completed and submitted an application will be notified in January of their interview time. 

• Applicants will meet with a panel consisting of a student, teacher, and community member and the interview will last approximately 15 minutes.
• Be sure to arrive for your interview time slot five minutes early to allow time for check in. 
• There is no dress code for the interview, but it never hurts to make a good impression!

Final admissions decision notifications will be sent in early March 2025.

Incoming Freshman Orientation, or the Griffin Greet, 
is Thursday, March 27, 2025, time TBD. Attendance is mandatory.

If you have any questions, contact Melissa Avila-Carroll at (408)-848-4797 or email geca.admissions@gilroyunified.org.

Ensure that all of these items (if applicable) are submitted with the online Survey Monkey application:

• Copy of the candidate’s school records (request submitted through the online application and provided by the school registrar). If you attended more than one middle school, you may make multiple requests to the appropriate registrars. Please be sure to use the correct email(s) for your registrar(s). These records include:

  • Academic transcript (cumulative grades for middle school; if no transcript is available, provide final report card for 6th and 7th grade).

  • Current year grade report or progress report from current school. If grades come out during the application period, it is better to wait and submit the latest progress/grade report with the application. If your school does trimester grades, provide a grade summary report and note when the final grades will be released. All grade reports must be received by January 31, 2025.

  • Disciplinary records (including counseling notes if applicable) for middle school (6th, 7th and 8th grades).

  • Attendance records for middle school (6th, 7th and 8th grades).

• Student essay

• Parent essay

• Students with an IEP or Section 504 plan should provide a copy of the plan as well as confirmation either with the application or prior to the student’s February interview that their IEP team has determined that GECA will be an appropriate placement for them.

• Two completed Student Assessment and Recommendation forms (One from your 7th OR 8th grade English teacher and one from your 7th OR 8th grade math teacher.) 

  • Teachers will submit the forms by December 6, 2024. As you complete the application in Survey Monkey, an email will be sent to the teachers with the recommendation form and instructions. Be sure you use the correct email addresses for your teachers.

• Be sure the name and email used to create the account and the application is the student name and student email, NOT the parent/guardian name or email. This is especially important for parents who are helping complete the applications. NOTE: Gilroy Unified students should use their gilroyunified.org email address. Students applying from outside Gilroy Unified should NOT use their school email address, they should use a personal email address. 
• You may start the application and come back to it throughout the application period. It does not need to be completed in one sitting. Please review all the sections before marking all the tasks as complete and submitting the application. Once the application is submitted, it cannot be reopened or changed. 
• Do not request information directly from your registrar. Requests go through the application platform and they will receive and process the request as part of the process.
• Read all the information in the application and on our website to help you to learn more about our program.
• Be sure you double check your spelling, especially on contact info and email addresses you list, and that you use proper punctuation and appropriate capitalization. We suggest that you copy and paste teacher or secretary/registrar email addresses from the school's website to avoid errors. 
• Take your time with the application and turn it in before the deadline. If you can avoid it, don't wait until the last day!
• Students must mark ALL tasks on the application as complete AND click the submit button at the end to turn in the application BEFORE the deadline of Monday, December 2, 2024 at 11:59pm for their application to be accepted and considered. Late applications will NOT be accepted!