2023 TJHSST Student - Ask me anything

[Anonymous]

Parent of a recent TJ grad and I really think the "there are no kids who don't care about school" really does sum it up. Now some of the kids cared about school bc their parents were raging nut jobs about grades and some kids cared about school bc they were really interested in learning and a million other reasons in between but pretty much every kid at TJ wanted to be in school. I have a kid at a base HS, and while he's having a great experience and I'm happy he's there, the environment is different regarding taking school seriously (and yes there are kids at base who are very serious scholars -its just not the whole school). I'm not sure what this all means in terms of admissions or how you measure for it, but it really does exist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you want to attend TJ because you truly love science and math or did you want to attend because you felt like it would get you into a better college?

Honestly, neither.

This is a good place to sort of counter a thing that most people believe about TJ. You don’t have to be passionate about or “love” STEM stuff to fit in here. What you have to be is serious about school. There are a surprising number of people in my class who love TJ for the other stuff that it provides - like you get to play sports with people who care about school and do clubs with people who care about school. Yes, TJ is a super-intense STEM school, but I think you grow to enjoy STEM more because of the experiences you get to have here and the people you do them with.

Yes, some of the teachers are trash, but that’s the case anywhere and even the trash teachers are really smart and helpful if you ask them questions (and there aren’t that many of them). It’s the feeling that everyone is in it together and there are NO kids who just don’t care.

The thing about TJ and college is that I think it helps you find the right college. And the other thing is that no matter where you go, you’re gonna be prepared. My older friends in 2020 and 2021 always talk about how easy college is compared to TJ and they appreciate it when they see their base school friends struggling.

Parent of 2020 here: this rings so true. Our TJ grad thought undergrad was easy compared to TJ. She is now in grad school (engineering). The preparation was intense but she has no regrets and really is grateful. She also agrees wholeheartedly about the community aspect of TJ. The feeling that they are all in this thing together, the bonds that it creates is hard to quantify.

[Anonymous]

^^^sorry, meant to say my daughter is class of 2018! Getting my kids all mixed up, I have another grad from 2020 (not TJ).

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much everyone for your kind words! I’m so glad that my experiences are helpful.

Feel free to keep the thread going!

[Anonymous]

How many geniuses have you met at TJ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many hours of sleep do kids get at TJ? I have heard so many parents complain about kids only getting 4-6 hours of sleep.

How many APs + Post APs would you have done by the end of 12th grade? I was shocked to hear most kids get around 10+. Is it true?

Most kids at any school can do 10-12.

My DS is from 2023. On weekdays he is almost always up till 1 or 2 am doing his homework or studying for some test. It's a catch-up game with the amount of work these kids are expected to do. It's insane and I am not sure what long-term impacts this will have on his health. He complains about digestive problems and his doctor told us it's because of stress. Honestly, TJ's parents are not transparent about how the kids are doing. They may be getting c's but it's always A's to friends and family and how well prepared they are for college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many geniuses have you met at TJ?

A few! I would say I’ve run across probably a dozen kids in my time at TJ who were just scary bright, and I’m sure there are others. I’m talking about the kids with eidetic memories, or who can multiply four digit numbers together at the same speed as a calculator. Some of the kids who are really advanced, like a couple of the freshmen in my BC class, are really remarkable too, although I’m told they’re only outliers in math.

It’s probably not as many as people think though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many hours of sleep do kids get at TJ? I have heard so many parents complain about kids only getting 4-6 hours of sleep.

How many APs + Post APs would you have done by the end of 12th grade? I was shocked to hear most kids get around 10+. Is it true?

Most kids at any school can do 10-12.

My DS is from 2023. On weekdays he is almost always up till 1 or 2 am doing his homework or studying for some test. It's a catch-up game with the amount of work these kids are expected to do. It's insane and I am not sure what long-term impacts this will have on his health. He complains about digestive problems and his doctor told us it's because of stress. Honestly, TJ's parents are not transparent about how the kids are doing. They may be getting c's but it's always A's to friends and family and how well prepared they are for college.

Ah, so he’s in my class. Yeah, there are definitely a few kids who struggle like that, especially during sophomore and junior year. I’m sorry he’s struggling so much and I hope that it’s fulfilling for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many hours of sleep do kids get at TJ? I have heard so many parents complain about kids only getting 4-6 hours of sleep.

How many APs + Post APs would you have done by the end of 12th grade? I was shocked to hear most kids get around 10+. Is it true?

Most kids at any school can do 10-12.

My DS is from 2023. On weekdays he is almost always up till 1 or 2 am doing his homework or studying for some test. It's a catch-up game with the amount of work these kids are expected to do. It's insane and I am not sure what long-term impacts this will have on his health. He complains about digestive problems and his doctor told us it's because of stress. Honestly, TJ's parents are not transparent about how the kids are doing. They may be getting c's but it's always A's to friends and family and how well prepared they are for college.

My DD is from 2022 and it's a relief that she is done. She came from one of the feeder schools and we thought she was well prepared for TJ but unless you are a genius in all subjects, you can never be prepared. It's like climbing K2 without a break for 4 years. My DS is from 2025 and is going to a base school. Definitely a much-rounded education and a happier kid. We should never have sent my DD to TJ but at least did not repeat our mistake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many hours of sleep do kids get at TJ? I have heard so many parents complain about kids only getting 4-6 hours of sleep.

How many APs + Post APs would you have done by the end of 12th grade? I was shocked to hear most kids get around 10+. Is it true?

Most kids at any school can do 10-12.

My DS is from 2023. On weekdays he is almost always up till 1 or 2 am doing his homework or studying for some test. It's a catch-up game with the amount of work these kids are expected to do. It's insane and I am not sure what long-term impacts this will have on his health. He complains about digestive problems and his doctor told us it's because of stress. Honestly, TJ's parents are not transparent about how the kids are doing. They may be getting c's but it's always A's to friends and family and how well prepared they are for college.

Ah, so he’s in my class. Yeah, there are definitely a few kids who struggle like that, especially during sophomore and junior year. I’m sorry he’s struggling so much and I hope that it’s fulfilling for him.

He is stuck in a bubble and does not want to come back to his base school. He feels he has a better chance with college admissions from TJ. If he has to redo he would not have picked TJ.

[Anonymous]

You are not alone PP. We were at the same spot and could not pull the kid out of TJ because of these grades. They would have been placed low in the base school. It's a no-win situation and had to put the kid through the stress. Believe me, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are not alone PP. We were at the same spot and could not pull the kid out of TJ because of these grades. They would have been placed low in the base school. It's a no-win situation and had to put the kid through the stress. Believe me, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are not alone PP. We were at the same spot and could not pull the kid out of TJ because of these grades. They would have been placed low in the base school. It's a no-win situation and had to put the kid through the stress. Believe me, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Very much. Sometimes it is just a time management issue. It will get better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are not alone PP. We were at the same spot and could not pull the kid out of TJ because of these grades. They would have been placed low in the base school. It's a no-win situation and had to put the kid through the stress. Believe me, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Very much. Sometimes it is just a time management issue. It will get better.

PP of a TJ student. The work is brutal. If anyone is telling you otherwise, they are lying! Don't believe TJ is a FUN story! If you are unlucky and get into a hard teacher's class, life dips to a new low. I have been seeing my DC go through so many lows in the last three years that it makes you feel sick to your stomach. I completely agree with the PP who said they live in a bubble. We are just glad DC will be done in a year and we don't have to ever think about it again!

[Anonymous]

DS's happiness, self-esteem, and motivation levels are at an all-time low thanks to TJ. He feels everyone but him is smart at TJ.