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2025 - TJ Admission Results Thread
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Anonymous
I don't know about that, but TJ is missing out on some of the most elite mathematicians in the area. The USA(J)MO awards came out. TJ had 9 awardees. The rest of Fairfax county had 5, including one kid who is a top winner and will be invited to MOP. Either the admissions process is missing out on some of the top kids in the entire country, or for whatever reason, some elite kids are no longer interested in TJ. |
Anonymous
| From what I knew, current 11 and 12 graders in TJ don't include some highest scored math kids from basically every MS when they were in 8th grade. |
Anonymous
None of the data for this year's admitted students has been released so you have no way of knowing how anything changed or not. The Poster commented that they were surprised at the number of Longfellow students their kid knew who were accepted. It could be that this is the first time that poster has had a kid who is in classes with kids applying to TJ. Longfellow, Carson, Cooper, and Rocky Run all have a good number of kids admitted to TJ. I fully expect that DS knows a bunch of kids at Carson who were accepted, I also would guess that DS will be clueless if they got in because he is not likely to ask. The fact that the poster knows a cluster of kids does not indicate that anything changed in how kids were admitted. That said, I would expect that the Admissions office might change how they handle admissions if they notice that a lot of kids from specific MS return to their base school. It could mean that the kids from those schools are less prepared for TJ or are overwhelmed at TJ.
I am not sure what standardized test that you are referencing, the essay test and math problem are not standardized. They are not using CoGAT or NNAT scores from ES. I wouldn't be surprised if they prioritize opportunity because that is a way to demonstrate interest in STEM. They could increase opportunity at all the MS by sponsoring Mathcounts and Science Olympiad clubs at all the MS. Give every school an opportunity to put a team together and a venue to work on more challenging and creative math problems or Science problems. Help nurture the kids' interest in STEM and learn to use the skills they are learning in school after school. Those type of activities help nurture a student's interest and develop more creative approaches to math and science while increasing resilience because the students will be exposed to material that they will get wrong and have to think about in order to learn how to get the correct answer. Or they could end MS Centers and spread out the kids who are interested in Mathcounts and Science Olympiad to a number of different schools which would open up opportunities for more kids at those schools instead of concentrating them at the 4 feeder schools. |
Anonymous
I know Mathcounts participants who will choose their base over TJ because they are aware that they have better college outcomes from their base school. The STEM classes and clubs at the base school are strong so they don't see TJ as necessary to have access to what they are interested in doing. |
Anonymous
“Appeal”? That’s not how this works. |
Anonymous
Wealth played a bigger factor getting into the pool in the first place. |
Anonymous
It's not quite the same, though. The TJ math club is very strong and a great resource for helping kids like this reach the highest levels. They also participate in a ton of competitions. It's difficult to imagine so many top notch kids being willing to miss out on that. The base schools would have nothing remotely comparable to the TJ math team. |
Anonymous
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Accepted
Arlington middle school grades: 4.0 geometry no experience factors he's likely to accept. |
Anonymous
Actually….There is a process to appeal: https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/CEHHLJ490428/$file/R3355.pdf Appeals A. Exceptional Circumstances Appeal An Exceptional Circumstances Appeal form must be submitted within 10 business days after receiving official notice of the admissions decision. The Appeal form will ask the parent and/or guardian to provide a written explanation of the exceptional circumstance that the Appeals Committee should consider. The Appeal form must be submitted to the TJHSST Admissions Office. The TJHSST Admissions Office will ensure that all appeal documents are submitted to the Appeals Committee. The parent and/or guardian is not allowed to submit additional credentials, documents, or letters of recommendation. The Appeals Committee will review the appeal. The decision of the Appeals Committee will be communicated to the parent and/or guardian in writing and the Appeals Committee decision is final. |
Anonymous
It really isn't when you look at how well the kids at McLean, Langley, and Oakton do at competitions. Also, some kids will participate on teams with organizations outside of the schools so you might see them listed in a different category. If you are confident that you can make one of the stronger HS math team, then you probably have as many opportunities as the kids in the TJ math club. The club at TJ is large but the number of kids who will make the cut to participate in those competitions is small. You stand a better chance of making the national competitions at Mclean, Langley, or Oakton then you do at TJ. Which means you have a better chance of participating in high-ranking competitions, which is great for your college application. You still have access to strong teachers and STEM programs and are in a less stressful environment. You miss out on a few classes, but you can take those classes in college. TJ is going to be a bigger draw for the kids who are at the mid-range HS where there is a far smaller pool of STEM focused kids, fewer STEM or the kids who don't think that they have an easy shot at the math competition teams or science competition teams at schools like McLean, Langly, and Oakton. The kids who can be big fish in the STEM program at McLean, Langly, and Oakton are better served there for college purposes. The kids who are less likely to dominate those clubs are likely to land the same college results at TJ as they would at McLean, Langley, and Oakton and they might be able to improve their options if they work hard enough at TJ. |
Anonymous
Too much cheating coming from Asia before the test is released. |
Anonymous
I think you've reduced TJ to an unfair level. Different kids will thrive in different schools, but no base school will make TJ "unnecessary". |
Anonymous
The kids earning awards in USA(J)MO would easily make the cut to participate in all of the competitions through the TJ math team. They would have much more access to high level competitions through TJ than through the base school. Your point stands, though, for the kids who are still strong at math but not at an olympiad level. The only potential benefit of remaining at a school like McLean for kids at an olympiad level is that they would have much more time for independent study due to the easier course load and lack of a long commute. |
Anonymous
I am simply responding based on kids I know from one of the 4 feeders who participate in Mathcounts and Science Olympiad. I know kids at the same school who are TJ driven and did not make the Mathcounts or Science Olympiad club and choose TJ. There are many reasons to attend or not attend TJ. It is not a given that the kids who are top at their MS in STEM are interested in TJ because a good percentage are not. We know kids who choose TJ as well and are thriving and happy there. The default thought process on this board is that the kids who are advanced in STEM all want to go to TJ and that simply isn't the case. Some kids apply because people expect them to but have no intention of accepting the offer. They are interested to see if they get in but that is about it. |
Anonymous
I'm the PP who posted the USA(J)MO stuff. We really don't know which of these kids wanted to attend but got rejected due to the somewhat random nature of the admissions process. It's entirely possible that at least some of these kids decided to attend the local school and use the extra time to take college math classes or prep on their own. I only posted the info in the first place in a quasi-response to the person asking about 8th grade pre-calc kids and TJ admissions. It's quite possible that they didn't get admitted or didn't want to attend. Unless they've changed the process, math level is not considered. The kid with the A in pre-calc and the kid with the A in Algebra I are treated the same. |