Gwinnett's math and science magnet fills its freshman class by random draw, and the window is open now. One flyer gives the wrong weekday for the December info night. The dates that check out, the math requirement, and the two bus ride catch.
The lottery application window for the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology (GSMST) runs from November 1, 2026, through January 15, 2027, at 4 p.m. Eastern, for students entering 9th grade in fall 2027. GSMST's Application Eligibility Requirements page gives the deadline as Friday, January 15, 2027, at 4:00 p.m. The GSMST school calendar shows that window and lists the lottery drawing on Tuesday, January 26, 2027.
GSMST is a Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) high school at 970 McElvaney Lane in Lawrenceville. It focuses on bioscience, engineering and emerging technologies, according to its Admissions page. Seats go by random lottery, but only among students who meet GSMST's eligibility rules.
Who can apply to GSMST for 2027 to 2028?
The lottery is open to current 8th graders who meet all three of these criteria, according to GSMST's Application Eligibility Requirements page:
They have custodial residency in Gwinnett County, outside the city limits of Buford.
They're expected to be promoted to 9th grade by June 1, 2027.
They're enrolled in Enhanced Algebra: Concepts and Connections or a higher math course.
Being in that math class isn't enough by itself. The page says students must earn a first semester grade of 90% or higher, and either score 550 or higher on the math section of the PSAT 8/9 or SAT, or score 85% or higher on a GSMST math assessment on April 24, 2027. Students who try both and miss can still qualify with a Distinguished score on the Georgia Milestones Algebra end of course test in May 2027, an option the page says is open only to public school students.
GSMST says the requirements "are subject to change at any time," and that an application with false information will be voided. If your 8th grader isn't in Enhanced Algebra or higher, ask the middle school counselor now.
When are the GSMST info nights?
GSMST holds three 8th grade information sessions at 7 p.m. Eastern in the school cafeteria, and its Admissions page says the information is the same at all three. The sessions are:
Thursday, November 12, 2026
Tuesday, December 8, 2026
Thursday, January 7, 2027, a make up session
The Admissions page splits families by high school cluster. The November 12 session is for the Archer, Brookwood, Dacula, Grayson, Mill Creek, Mountain View, Parkview, Shiloh and South Gwinnett clusters. The December 8 session is for the Berkmar, Central Gwinnett, Collins Hill, Discovery, Duluth, Lanier, Meadowcreek, Norcross, North Gwinnett, Peachtree Ridge and Seckinger clusters.
Check the weekday before you plan around it. A Moore Middle School post lists the second session as "Wednesday, December 8, 2026." December 8, 2026, is a Tuesday, and the GSMST calendar shows the session on Tuesday, December 8. A Grace Snell Middle School post gives only "December 8th at 7:00 p.m." with no weekday. If you can't make it Tuesday, the January 7 make up session is the fallback.
How does the GSMST lottery work?
Every qualified applicant gets a lottery number before the drawing, according to the GSMST Admissions page. The school then draws all numbers in random order and posts them on its website in the order drawn.
"Students with numbers in the first 375 spots will be notified via USPS at the address entered on the application form," the page says. Everyone else goes on the waiting list in the order their numbers were drawn. That makes the mailing address on the application important. Double check it before you submit.
The Admissions page doesn't publish how many families applied last year, so there's no official way to calculate odds. The current page links a spreadsheet of lottery results and the wait list from the last cycle.
Where do I apply?
The application is the GSMST 2027 to 2028 Lottery Application, linked at the bottom of the Application Eligibility Requirements page. Clicking that link confirms that your student meets the eligibility rules above. The GSMST Admissions page says the window opens November 1 at 8 a.m.
Questions about the application go to GSMST at 678 518 6700.
Bring your questions about the math requirement to the info session or your middle school counselor before January 15, 2027.
What does a GSMST freshman take?
Ninth graders take six required courses and one elective, according to GSMST's 9th Grade Curriculum page. Four of those units are science and engineering: a yearlong, project based Physics and Engineering course plus Honors Chemistry.
Freshman math placement depends on earlier success and a test given during the school's Summer STEM experience. The options are Advanced Algebra: Concepts and Connections; Enhanced Advanced Algebra/AP Precalculus: Concepts and Connections, which the page calls "very fast paced" because it covers two years of math in one; and AP Precalculus.
Every freshman also takes Honors Freshman Language Arts and a world language. GSMST offers Chinese, Spanish and German and requires at least two years of the same language for graduation. The elective can be band, chorus, orchestra or another fine arts course, half year Health and Personal Fitness, or a course such as AP Computer Science Principles, Robotics or Artificial Intelligence Concepts.
What is the GSMST campus like?
GSMST began in 2007 as a STEM charter school in borrowed space at Duluth High School, according to its history page. Its own building, on the site of the old Benefield Elementary School in Lawrenceville, opened in fall 2010.
The building was designed to house 1,200 students, the school's Facilities and Technology page says. GSMST calls itself a 1:1 student laptop school, and each 9th grade Physics and Engineering classroom has a fully equipped workshop with power and hand tools.
Later years open up career pathway courses. GSMST's Achievements page lists Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) pathways in Computer Science, Game Design, Graphic Design, Audio Visual Technology, Engineering and Biotechnology, and says the Georgia Department of Education awarded the school STEM Certification in 2012 and again in 2017.
How do GSMST students get to school?
GSMST students ride two buses most days. The Admissions page says a regular GCPS bus takes students to their home high school in the morning, where they board a second bus to GSMST. In the afternoon, students ride a bus to their neighborhood middle school, then home from there.
School hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to the same page.