Anyone have the list of colleges TJ's class of 2019 is headed to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
VT is the 13th ranked school in engineering. And also all TJ kids are there for engineering. The kids I know who went had other options— but not other options worth multiples of the cost to get the 9th ranked engineering program instead of the 13th.

I can only tell you why my kid did not choose VT (kid drove there on the admitted students' weekend. I did not go nor did I have significant input into kids' impression).
1) (#1 reason): was just not impressed with the student ambassadors.

2) rankings. the #13th ranked school metric (USNWR best undergrad engineering programs) is often quoted here but when you look at the methodology (peer review consisting of 2 surveys asking for a rank from 1-5) that's simply just surveymonkey. VT is not highly ranked on other rankings: QS, THE, Shanghai. Neither is UVA for that matter but at least UVA ranks highly on the main USNWR

3) outcomes. looked at hiring/salary/specific company outcomes for VT as compared to flagships such as UVA/GaTech/UMich/UIUC/Purdue and there was a difference.

4) previous years incoming class profile e.g significantly lower SATs/GPAs/top 10% than flagships. Of course, I understand this is not an apples-to-apples comparison e.g. VT vs UMich/GaTech

Felt that VT had a beautiful campus. In a nutshell, thought that VT was a good school but not a compelling destination.

You'd have to compare VT engineering only vs the other schools. VT overall is not nearly as selective. UVA may have some good outcomes for engineering, but it certainly would usually be considered overall in engineering at the same level as Michigan, Berkeley, GT, Illinois, etc. Overall, VT is a comprehensive engineering school, but the overall school is not as well regarded. UVA is overall better regarded, but engineering isn't as comprehensive or a match for the top schools like Michigan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A pretty impressive list this year (even to hardcore anti-TJ'ers). I believe these are matriculants, not admittees. Here is a partial list:

Berkley 8
Chicago 8
Columbia 2
Cornell 13
Duke 4
Harvard 5
MIT 7
Michigan 14
Penn 3
Princeton 4
Stanford 3
Washington University (St. Louis) 4
Williams 2
Yale 5

Still unimpressed the number one question remains if these kids would have remained at their base schools what would happened

I would argue for most at TJ they would have gotten better results from base schools

Even with this top 25% or so list

Tufts
CMU (Engineering/CS)
Grinnell
UICU
GA Tech

And as a TJ parent, I know my kids long term results would not have been as good out of a base school. TJ sends kids to College— be it Harvard or UVA who are over prepared and find college easy after TJ. On some campuses, including UVA, TJ kids have the #1 GPA out of all US school with at least 10 kids on campus. Even if my kid could have gotten into the exact same college out of a base school, my kid will do better in college than they would out of a base school. That counts for a lot for kids who will likely continue past undergrad.

Is this because your kid went to TJ or is that because they are smart kids who could get into TJ and would do the same even if they went to base? In other words, are you crediting TJ for your kids success in college, and taking it away from your kids ability. In my knowledge of the school, TJ faculty and admin doesn't do anything extraordinary for the kids success, they do it themselves. So, I tend to agree with the view that the kid who is smart enough to get into TJ would do well not only at base, but also later on in college.

[Anonymous]

Folks, it's real simple.

If your kid is a STEM-only kid, they will have a wonderfully fulfilling HS experience at TJ but will struggle to set themselves apart from the hundreds of other exceptional STEM-only kids at TJ.

If your kid is a well-rounded kid, they will have some frustrating experiences at TJ (small elective class sizes, sports teams that struggle against bigger schools) but you'll be among the top kids of your type coming out of one of the top schools in America and you'll have an easier time with elite college admissions.

Athletes who would get lost in the wash at base schools end up as first-team All-District kids at TJ because they compete with other small schools. Actors who would end up in the ensemble at base schools get nominated for Cappies awards at TJ.

The kid who ends up being best served in the college admissions process by going to TJ is the kid who can hack it from an academic perspective and has something special that sets them apart at TJ because of the one-dimensional student body but wouldn't set them apart at a large base school.

The kid who ends up being worst served is the kid who works their butt off to be a mid-level STEM-only kid in a sea of similar kids at TJ. You can get into a very strong college as a 25th-50th percentile kid at TJ if you have something else going for you, and best if it's something outside of STEM. If you're a STEM-only kid, you need to be in the 90th percentile of TJ kids or above to have a real shot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Folks, it's real simple.

If your kid is a STEM-only kid, they will have a wonderfully fulfilling HS experience at TJ but will struggle to set themselves apart from the hundreds of other exceptional STEM-only kids at TJ.

If your kid is a well-rounded kid, they will have some frustrating experiences at TJ (small elective class sizes, sports teams that struggle against bigger schools) but you'll be among the top kids of your type coming out of one of the top schools in America and you'll have an easier time with elite college admissions.

Athletes who would get lost in the wash at base schools end up as first-team All-District kids at TJ because they compete with other small schools. Actors who would end up in the ensemble at base schools get nominated for Cappies awards at TJ.

The kid who ends up being best served in the college admissions process by going to TJ is the kid who can hack it from an academic perspective and has something special that sets them apart at TJ because of the one-dimensional student body but wouldn't set them apart at a large base school.
M
The kid who ends up being worst served is the kid who works their butt off to be a mid-level STEM-only kid in a sea of similar kids at TJ. You can get into a very strong college as a 25th-50th percentile kid at TJ if you have something else going for you, and best if it's something outside of STEM. If you're a STEM-only kid, you need to be in the 90th percentile of TJ kids or above to have a real shot.

This must be the most arrogant piece of crap I ever read

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous
This must be the most arrogant piece of crap I ever read

No. There's some truth to that perspective; the delivery could've been improved but I'd prefer realism vs sugar-coating.

Like anywhere else (college, work, life), there's some at TJ touched by the gift of genius. Most others are extraordinarily bright. Some can outwork and outhustle anyone else. But all of them need to think of brand and segmentation when the seek to distinguish themselves from a sea of great others.

Don't have to be the brightest, but don't be like the rest.

My opinion: TJ is reflected best, however, by a previous poster[s](2 of them I think) who said her kids were better prepped for college than anywhere else. Outside perhaps 4-5 colleges total in the US, everywhere else will be comparatively simple for a TJ grad (unless they discover gurlz/boyz)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't have to be the brightest, but don't be like the rest.

I disagree (and I know quite a few TJ grads).

They don't have to do a song and dance and pretend extracurriculars and all that BS that people think makes a good college application once they are in college.
All they have to do is ace their classes, ace their interviews and interships in their area of STEM specialty, and they're set to be hired at Tier 1 companies. The ones I know were able to do that.

The "well-rounded" BS really ends with high school, and good riddance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A pretty impressive list this year (even to hardcore anti-TJ'ers). I believe these are matriculants, not admittees. Here is a partial list:

Berkley 8
Chicago 8
Columbia 2
Cornell 13
Duke 4
Harvard 5
MIT 7
Michigan 14
Penn 3
Princeton 4
Stanford 3
Washington University (St. Louis) 4
Williams 2
Yale 5

Still unimpressed the number one question remains if these kids would have remained at their base schools what would happened

I would argue for most at TJ they would have gotten better results from base schools

Even with this top 25% or so list

Tufts
CMU (Engineering/CS)
Grinnell
UICU
GA Tech

And as a TJ parent, I know my kids long term results would not have been as good out of a base school. TJ sends kids to College— be it Harvard or UVA who are over prepared and find college easy after TJ. On some campuses, including UVA, TJ kids have the #1 GPA out of all US school with at least 10 kids on campus. Even if my kid could have gotten into the exact same college out of a base school, my kid will do better in college than they would out of a base school. That counts for a lot for kids who will likely continue past undergrad.

Is this because your kid went to TJ or is that because they are smart kids who could get into TJ and would do the same even if they went to base? In other words, are you crediting TJ for your kids success in college, and taking it away from your kids ability. In my knowledge of the school, TJ faculty and admin doesn't do anything extraordinary for the kids success, they do it themselves. So, I tend to agree with the view that the kid who is smart enough to get into TJ would do well not only at base, but also later on in college.

NP. TJ is off the charts rigorous. They have great teachers. But not all teachers are great. I think the issue is they cover work fast, more in depth, and are required to apply it at a much higher level. This applies to STEM, of course, where math and physics require use of concepts in novel situations on tests, for example. But, TJ also has a strong focus on writing and on class discussions that requiring arguing one’s point of view and responding to others, with substantive evidence to support your position.

The level of work is high, and the quantity of work is enormous. And there a quite a few very large projects that require ongoing work for a semester or more. After 4 years, kids come to think of 4 hours of homework a night and math tests for difficult that half the class flunks as normal. And they have developed great time management.

Most TJ kids who don’t go to MIT say there is much less homework, and college— even T20 colleges— are not as rigorous. And, of course, they are usually balancing about 4 classes— not 7.

[Anonymous]

I would have to agree that I believe college will be very easy after what my DC has done at TJ. The expectations on their work, the rigor, the time management really are hard for anyone to believe unless your DC has attended.

I do think that it is much harder for the superior stem kids to stand out at TJ because there are just so many amazing kids.

But when looking at the college list what's really the most impressive to me is what colleges are not on the list. Every school on there is a good school. Even the kids toward the bottom of the class are going to great colleges. No random colleges or community colleges I've never heard of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would have to agree that I believe college will be very easy after what my DC has done at TJ. The expectations on their work, the rigor, the time management really are hard for anyone to believe unless your DC has attended.

I do think that it is much harder for the superior stem kids to stand out at TJ because there are just so many amazing kids.

But when looking at the college list what's really the most impressive to me is what colleges are not on the list. Every school on there is a good school. Even the kids toward the bottom of the class are going to great colleges. No random colleges or community colleges I've never heard of.

Like every other HS, the vast majority go to match schools, the very top go to reach schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would have to agree that I believe college will be very easy after what my DC has done at TJ. The expectations on their work, the rigor, the time management really are hard for anyone to believe unless your DC has attended.

I do think that it is much harder for the superior stem kids to stand out at TJ because there are just so many amazing kids.

But when looking at the college list what's really the most impressive to me is what colleges are not on the list. Every school on there is a good school. Even the kids toward the bottom of the class are going to great colleges. No random colleges or community colleges I've never heard of.

Like every other HS, the vast majority go to match schools, the very top go to reach schools.

TJ has the best college acceptances and merit based scholarships of all the public high schools in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would have to agree that I believe college will be very easy after what my DC has done at TJ. The expectations on their work, the rigor, the time management really are hard for anyone to believe unless your DC has attended.

I do think that it is much harder for the superior stem kids to stand out at TJ because there are just so many amazing kids.

But when looking at the college list what's really the most impressive to me is what colleges are not on the list. Every school on there is a good school. Even the kids toward the bottom of the class are going to great colleges. No random colleges or community colleges I've never heard of.

Like every other HS, the vast majority go to match schools, the very top go to reach schools.

TJ has the best college acceptances and merit based scholarships of all the public high schools in the country.

One would have to be an idiot to compare a STEM school with selective admissions to a regular public school. What do you expect?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would have to agree that I believe college will be very easy after what my DC has done at TJ. The expectations on their work, the rigor, the time management really are hard for anyone to believe unless your DC has attended.

I do think that it is much harder for the superior stem kids to stand out at TJ because there are just so many amazing kids.

But when looking at the college list what's really the most impressive to me is what colleges are not on the list. Every school on there is a good school. Even the kids toward the bottom of the class are going to great colleges. No random colleges or community colleges I've never heard of.

Like every other HS, the vast majority go to match schools, the very top go to reach schools.

TJ has the best college acceptances and merit based scholarships of all the public high schools in the country.

One would have to be an idiot to compare a STEM school with selective admissions to a regular public school. What do you expect?

Al the STEM schools, selective schools and magnet schools are PUBLIC high schools. Think about who is an actual idiot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is the downward trend for TJ students going to Virginia state schools:

179 in 2015
170 in 2016
161 in 2017
140 in 2018

Not all reported for 2019, but trend is toward 130.

So with all the hubbub about Virginia schools on this board, particularly UVA, the creme de la creme increasingly want to get out of the state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
VT is the 13th ranked school in engineering. And also all TJ kids are there for engineering. The kids I know who went had other options— but not other options worth multiples of the cost to get the 9th ranked engineering program instead of the 13th.

I can only tell you why my kid did not choose VT (kid drove there on the admitted students' weekend. I did not go nor did I have significant input into kids' impression).
1) (#1 reason): was just not impressed with the student ambassadors.

2) rankings. the #13th ranked school metric (USNWR best undergrad engineering programs) is often quoted here but when you look at the methodology (peer review consisting of 2 surveys asking for a rank from 1-5) that's simply just surveymonkey. VT is not highly ranked on other rankings: QS, THE, Shanghai. Neither is UVA for that matter but at least UVA ranks highly on the main USNWR

3) outcomes. looked at hiring/salary/specific company outcomes for VT as compared to flagships such as UVA/GaTech/UMich/UIUC/Purdue and there was a difference.

4) previous years incoming class profile e.g significantly lower SATs/GPAs/top 10% than flagships. Of course, I understand this is not an apples-to-apples comparison e.g. VT vs UMich/GaTech

Felt that VT had a beautiful campus. In a nutshell, thought that VT was a good school but not a compelling destination.

USNWR undergraduate ranking is also based in part on surveys.

[Anonymous]

Of the kids I know personally, comparing TJ to the base schools, I see no difference in college matriculation. Actually, the base school is doing a bit better.

Base school:
Princeton
MIT
Harvard
Cornell
Penn
Yale
UVA (many)
VT (many)
Chicago
Ga Tech
+lesser schools

TJ:
UVA and UMD. (6 at uva, 1 at umd)

Of course, I know a lot more at the base school, but the point is the students from TJ did not end up at schools better than the better students from the base school