Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:TJ works only for the top 10%. For all the others its a struggle and schools like UVa and VT are out of reach.
Colleges look first at GPA. If it is not over 4.3 or so - you chances are hard
Getting a 4.3 at TJ is VERY HARD!
I don't know where my kid ended up in his TJ graduating class, but he finished with a 4.4 wGPA at TJ (albeit class of 2020). He got into UVa and W&M, but was shut out of most of the top tier SLACs he applied to (Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Carlton). He did get into Grinnell (with good merit), but ultimately picked W&M. He's about to graduate with degrees in CS and Mathematics. I'll echo earlier posters and say that I don't think TJ is particularly helpful from a college-admissions perspective, but it does (did?) provide a really good education. He has not found W&M to be very hard, and has done really well there.
I have another kid who turned down TJ and stayed at his base school to do the full IB program (in Arlington). He also seems to have gotten a really good education. His grades, scores, and EC's were all excellent, and he shot really high with his college apps. He did not get in to many places, but did get into Northeastern with excellent merit aid. He is very happy there and is doing well. He also reports that his HS education really prepared him well for college.