Concerns about TJ Admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Periodic reminder than students are dropping off in large numbers every year from TJ within the first few weeks of school year due to the poor admissions process.

A friend's son was offered admission to TJ, 2 weeks after the start of classes from the waitlist pool!

This is funny. How many do you consider to be a “large” number? Students are not added after the school year starts even as freshmen because it would interrupt the courses in that year. The students who arrive as sophomores represent exactly the same distribution of talent as the rest of the student body; i.e. they are indistinguishable from anyone else once their sophomore year starts.

The froshmores tend to be better qualified 'on average" than the rest of their class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Periodic reminder than students are dropping off in large numbers every year from TJ within the first few weeks of school year due to the poor admissions process.

A friend's son was offered admission to TJ, 2 weeks after the start of classes from the waitlist pool!

This is funny. How many do you consider to be a “large” number? Students are not added after the school year starts even as freshmen because it would interrupt the courses in that year. The students who arrive as sophomores represent exactly the same distribution of talent as the rest of the student body; i.e. they are indistinguishable from anyone else once their sophomore year starts.

With the new selection process the froshmore's are indistinguishable with the top 10-20% of the class. Most of them make it to the T10/T20 schools or state flagships (class of 2025). The selection process for froshmore is better as it is done by TJ teachers (they know if the kids can handle the TJ rigor) as opposed to the courthouse staff and yes it has the recommendation of the base high school teachers too (biased or not).

You can’t possibly know this. Once they arrive there is no publication of froshmore vs everyone else. So unless you combed through yearbooks and end of year publications you’re just spouting made up numbers.

In fact, did you know that nearly 80% of statistics are made up on the spot?

DP.

I've had 2 kids go throuigh TJ. one graduated before covid and one is there now and I don't thionk there were very many froshmores before the new admissions process.
last year there were at least 8 froshmores coming in from our local high school that all should have been accepted as freshmen. I think the froshmore process captures about half the kids that should have been accepted but didn't get in as freshmen. That means there are probably at least 8 kids that got in as freshmen and returned to their base schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP!

I am the parent of a sophomore at TJ. My child is earning excellent grades, loves TJ, and clearly belongs there.

Please read the thread someone created about rigor at TJ, though feel free to ignore the last few pages, which devolved into the same tired bickering. I’m convinced there is a troll here in the AAP section who worked on the admissions revision and/or is part of the FCPS Chief Equity Officer, Nardos King’s 55-person department at Gatehouse.

Once you have an idea of the rigor, please discuss it and help your child decide whether to apply, with one major caveat:

- please do not push them to attend if they do not want to go to TJ.

TJ has far too many students who were forced, by their parents, to go. Don’t be that parent.

As for the revised standards, the opinions about it really don’t matter on an individual basis. They will not change in time for the next admission cycle.

If your child decides TJ is the right fit, by all means, have them apply. There is little to no guarantee of admission (unless you have the right “experience factors” which account for up to 40% of the decision).

TJ is a wonderful opportunity for the right student.

What are the experience factors? It seems that FFX is really preparing their students for TJHSST as an option, but as a parent from one of the other counties paying for TJHSST it seems we get little to no info or prep... it seems our kids are counted out from the beginning so that the spots can go back to the handful FFX 'feeder middle schools'?!

The other districts get the spots that they paid for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can have concerns about TJ admissions but you can’t change it so just make sure your kid is prepared for the test and understands the pros and cons of attending TJ

As for the students whose base schools did not prepare them, I think TJ should take responsibility for getting those kids the remedial help they need. Clearly those kids are motivated. Teachers should not be accepting that those kids are destined to do poorly - they need additional supports and help and maybe there need to be some lower level classes for freshman available in certain subjects.

These are my thoughts as well...

TJ admissions and TJ itself are 2 totally different entities and do not function in concert with each other. The supports provided by teachers are dictated by the administration. This new regime seems intent on sending kids back to the base school as opposed to actually helping them fill in the gaps. That's not the teachers' fault. As a TJ parent, I can see they're doing the best they can with the time they've been given, but if there's no admin support or vision for talent development, that makes it harder.

A lot of these kids are in over their heads. There isn't enough there to "fill in the gaps" they can't make up for 8 years of mediocre education with a remedial summer class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a child who is currently in 8th grade, and went to our school's TJ info session last night. After listening to the presentation, I had a couple of concerns.

According to the presenter, the only official records that the admissions people are allowed to take into consideration are grades and experience factors. Everything else is on the essays. No test scores or teacher recommendations. We were counseled that if our child has noteworthy STEM-related achievements or experiences, they should write about it in their reflections essays. This made me wonder - what's to keep children from flat-out lying and inventing a fantastical tale of grand STEM accomplishment? It sounds like the admissions group isn't allowed to cross-check them and cannot even rely on the endorsement of trusted sources like teachers.

Second, I'm somewhat concerned that so much of the admissions process relies on essays. I've been on plenty of hiring committees where some people love a candidate while others consider it awful, and it all hinges on a few relatively mundane lines in their cover letter. I've also had research paper where one reviewer calls the work remarkable and novel, while another recommends it for rejection. It seems like a lot hinges on something that can be taken very subjectively, and the fate of our children depends a lot on having the luck to land sympathetic reviewers.

The presenter refused to comment on the specifics of the process, in terms of how each piece of information is taken into account. This is understandable. However, I'm worried that the information that they have to start with isn't enough to ensure a fair process.

Oh it's super easy. They take the top kids from every school.

They randomly select kids from every school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently all the teachers are racist in middle school. In high school none of the teachers are racist so they use recommendations for colleges.

All the tests are unfair in middle school and amazingly SAT/ACT are fair in HS.

It is a mystery.

There are academic studies that there were very clear differences in how letters of recommendation where written for similarly qualified kids based on race. I am not sure that applied to TJ applicants but it does happen and it is studied.

I think the dropping of letters of recommendation was great for teachers at the feeder schools due to the number of kids who were asking for them. I can’t imagine how many kids were asking the same people, their Math and Science teachers, for letters at Carson. There are 4 science teachers for 8th grade, I am not sure about the number of math teachers. I can see the science and math teachers being asked to write 30-40 letters of recommendation. That is a ton of extra work that would be needed on top of grading and lesson planning.

People on this board consistently complain about the HOPE scores that are given by second grade teachers and talk about how the teachers cannot see how gifted their kid and how poorly educated the teacher is to pick out the gifted traits in their kid. It is one of the factors that people want to get rid of.

There is plenty of literature out there that demonstrate that the SAT/ACT are written in a way that is biased towards white, upper middle class, life experiences. And one of the common criticisms is that the SAT/ACT are easily gamed by people who can afford prep and to take it 5 times to get a super score. The SAT/ACT scores that people see that are so amazing are rarely from a kids first attempt.

I call bullshit. Can you provide a cite?

And the "common criticism" of the gamification of the SAT is not data it's complaining because your kid isn't as smart as you thought they were.

There are in fact studies showing that rich kids and poor kids with the same test scores get the same GPA. I do think the college board should limit how many times you can take the exam to the same number of times you can take the exam for free if you are poor. Right now you can only take the exam twice for free and some school systems pay for your first one.

https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/racist-beginnings-standardized-testing

NP.

Is that link meant to some sort of joke? It leads to the site of largest teachers’ union in the USA, the NEA.

Teachers’ unions do NOT represent students nor students best interests.

Furthermore, the NEA is a far-left organization which is politically-aligned with the same groups of people who entirely eliminated the advanced academic programs of NYC and Seattle public schools. The linked article is not based on believable research.

+1

In addition, if Mamdani wins the NYC mayoral election, he plans to go even further than his socialist predecessor, Mayor DiBlasio, by prohibiting advanced educational programs in K through 2nd grade, according to the NYT:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/nyregion/mamdani-schools-gifted-and-talented-program.html#:~:text=Mr.%2520Mamdani's%2520campaign%2520said%2520in,nurtures%2520their%2520curiosity%2520and%2520learning.%E2%80%9D

I don't understand why NYC keeps doing this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since merit-based evaluation did not yield the intended level of student diversity, the system transitioned to the current subjective, essay-based lottery process. While a school-based quota exists, many students from lower-performing schools decline their offers. Consequently, those spots are reallocated to the top four middle schools, which nurture overwhelming number of FCPS’s advanced STEM students.

Keep telling yourself that. It apparently makes you feel better about yourself.

The DEI nonsense is dead. Merit is back

Apparently only on paper, but not in reality, if you read the College Threads...

Because DEI makes sense.

DEI initiatives are a form of unlawful discrimination because they result in education and employment actions based on protected characteristics such as race or sex, violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Further, DEI practices lead to preferential treatment and segregation based on these characteristics.

They lead to slightly decreased preferential treatment for groups with oversized opportunities.

What preferential treatment and oversized opportunities do chinese immigrants get?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG the parents whats app group... it's so out of control, and it's obvious a ton of parents got their kids into TJ via HEAVY use of tutors and test coaching. My kid has excellent grades and I have done exactly zero - both now and in prior years. No tutoring, nothing.

I now absolutely share the concerns about TJ admissions because many of the kids who now "hate school" (or their parents want to tell the teachers to make it easier) simply should not be at this school. Maybe up the GPA requirements or have a more rigorous entrance exam.

I was surprised that you can apply with a 3.5 given how easy it is to get As in middle school

Admitted average was far higher. This is just to increase the applicant pool.

The 3.5 was an increase from a 3.0. it was the one concession to merit in the new admissions process. It was a meaningless standard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently all the teachers are racist in middle school. In high school none of the teachers are racist so they use recommendations for colleges.

All the tests are unfair in middle school and amazingly SAT/ACT are fair in HS.

It is a mystery.

There are academic studies that there were very clear differences in how letters of recommendation where written for similarly qualified kids based on race. I am not sure that applied to TJ applicants but it does happen and it is studied.

I think the dropping of letters of recommendation was great for teachers at the feeder schools due to the number of kids who were asking for them. I can’t imagine how many kids were asking the same people, their Math and Science teachers, for letters at Carson. There are 4 science teachers for 8th grade, I am not sure about the number of math teachers. I can see the science and math teachers being asked to write 30-40 letters of recommendation. That is a ton of extra work that would be needed on top of grading and lesson planning.

People on this board consistently complain about the HOPE scores that are given by second grade teachers and talk about how the teachers cannot see how gifted their kid and how poorly educated the teacher is to pick out the gifted traits in their kid. It is one of the factors that people want to get rid of.

There is plenty of literature out there that demonstrate that the SAT/ACT are written in a way that is biased towards white, upper middle class, life experiences. And one of the common criticisms is that the SAT/ACT are easily gamed by people who can afford prep and to take it 5 times to get a super score. The SAT/ACT scores that people see that are so amazing are rarely from a kids first attempt.

I call bullshit. Can you provide a cite?

And the "common criticism" of the gamification of the SAT is not data it's complaining because your kid isn't as smart as you thought they were.

There are in fact studies showing that rich kids and poor kids with the same test scores get the same GPA. I do think the college board should limit how many times you can take the exam to the same number of times you can take the exam for free if you are poor. Right now you can only take the exam twice for free and some school systems pay for your first one.

https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/racist-beginnings-standardized-testing

NP.

Is that link meant to some sort of joke? It leads to the site of largest teachers’ union in the USA, the NEA.

Teachers’ unions do NOT represent students nor students best interests.

Furthermore, the NEA is a far-left organization which is politically-aligned with the same groups of people who entirely eliminated the advanced academic programs of NYC and Seattle public schools. The linked article is not based on believable research.

+1

In addition, if Mamdani wins the NYC mayoral election, he plans to go even further than his socialist predecessor, Mayor DiBlasio, by prohibiting advanced educational programs in K through 2nd grade, according to the NYT:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/nyregion/mamdani-schools-gifted-and-talented-program.html#:~:text=Mr.%2520Mamdani's%2520campaign%2520said%2520in,nurtures%2520their%2520curiosity%2520and%2520learning.%E2%80%9D

I don't understand why NYC keeps doing this.

Because it's embarrassing

[Anonymous]

Not that hard to get into tj la, easy school, easy admission, best students at TJ would be worst in China. My son's father went to Tsinghua, honestly sad my son didn't get into Exeter. Going to kick him out if he doesn't get into arvard like his sister

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not that hard to get into tj la, easy school, easy admission, best students at TJ would be worst in China. My son's father went to Tsinghua, honestly sad my son didn't get into Exeter. Going to kick him out if he doesn't get into arvard like his sister

And yet, you reside here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a child who is currently in 8th grade, and went to our school's TJ info session last night. After listening to the presentation, I had a couple of concerns.

According to the presenter, the only official records that the admissions people are allowed to take into consideration are grades and experience factors. Everything else is on the essays. No test scores or teacher recommendations. We were counseled that if our child has noteworthy STEM-related achievements or experiences, they should write about it in their reflections essays. This made me wonder - what's to keep children from flat-out lying and inventing a fantastical tale of grand STEM accomplishment? It sounds like the admissions group isn't allowed to cross-check them and cannot even rely on the endorsement of trusted sources like teachers.

Second, I'm somewhat concerned that so much of the admissions process relies on essays. I've been on plenty of hiring committees where some people love a candidate while others consider it awful, and it all hinges on a few relatively mundane lines in their cover letter. I've also had research paper where one reviewer calls the work remarkable and novel, while another recommends it for rejection. It seems like a lot hinges on something that can be taken very subjectively, and the fate of our children depends a lot on having the luck to land sympathetic reviewers.

The presenter refused to comment on the specifics of the process, in terms of how each piece of information is taken into account. This is understandable. However, I'm worried that the information that they have to start with isn't enough to ensure a fair process.

Oh it's super easy. They take the top kids from every school.

They randomly select kids from every school.

Randomly select and still be the 5th HS rank in the US, what a skill in cherry picking those kids!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a child who is currently in 8th grade, and went to our school's TJ info session last night. After listening to the presentation, I had a couple of concerns.

According to the presenter, the only official records that the admissions people are allowed to take into consideration are grades and experience factors. Everything else is on the essays. No test scores or teacher recommendations. We were counseled that if our child has noteworthy STEM-related achievements or experiences, they should write about it in their reflections essays. This made me wonder - what's to keep children from flat-out lying and inventing a fantastical tale of grand STEM accomplishment? It sounds like the admissions group isn't allowed to cross-check them and cannot even rely on the endorsement of trusted sources like teachers.

Second, I'm somewhat concerned that so much of the admissions process relies on essays. I've been on plenty of hiring committees where some people love a candidate while others consider it awful, and it all hinges on a few relatively mundane lines in their cover letter. I've also had research paper where one reviewer calls the work remarkable and novel, while another recommends it for rejection. It seems like a lot hinges on something that can be taken very subjectively, and the fate of our children depends a lot on having the luck to land sympathetic reviewers.

The presenter refused to comment on the specifics of the process, in terms of how each piece of information is taken into account. This is understandable. However, I'm worried that the information that they have to start with isn't enough to ensure a fair process.

Oh it's super easy. They take the top kids from every school.

They randomly select kids from every school.

Randomly select and still be the 5th HS rank in the US, what a skill in cherry picking those kids!!

USNWR still thinks that average TJ sat scores are 1520.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since merit-based evaluation did not yield the intended level of student diversity, the system transitioned to the current subjective, essay-based lottery process. While a school-based quota exists, many students from lower-performing schools decline their offers. Consequently, those spots are reallocated to the top four middle schools, which nurture overwhelming number of FCPS’s advanced STEM students.

Keep telling yourself that. It apparently makes you feel better about yourself.

The DEI nonsense is dead. Merit is back

Apparently only on paper, but not in reality, if you read the College Threads...

Because DEI makes sense.

DEI initiatives are a form of unlawful discrimination because they result in education and employment actions based on protected characteristics such as race or sex, violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Further, DEI practices lead to preferential treatment and segregation based on these characteristics.

They lead to slightly decreased preferential treatment for groups with oversized opportunities.

What preferential treatment and oversized opportunities do chinese immigrants get?

They’re actually doing much better under the new process than under the old one.

The dirty little secret is that low-income Asian students (overwhelmingly of East Asian descent) now have access to TJ where they did not before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not that hard to get into tj la, easy school, easy admission, best students at TJ would be worst in China. My son's father went to Tsinghua, honestly sad my son didn't get into Exeter. Going to kick him out if he doesn't get into arvard like his sister

You know there are Chinese kids at TJ who attend cram school right?