Is TJ worth it for student aiming aiming for top schools like HPSM, Duke, Caltech?

[Anonymous]

Hello,

Planning ahead for DS. We understand that a big advantage of TJ is simply the peer group and great teachers. However, for college admissions we are wondering if sticking out and graduating high in the base HS is better than going to TJ and risking being in the middle of the pack. I recognize admissions for TJ are also different now and getting in is never guaranteed anyways.

[Anonymous]

Hard to say. My stepson went to Stuyvesant in NYC, which is similar to TJ in many ways. He wanted to go to an Ivy, and was a straight A student and athlete (swimming). He only made one Ivy, and was really disappointed. His brother went to a small private, and his grades were weaker, and he did not do a sport (although he did do chess club). He got into two Ivies. But that doesn't speak to whether a large base school, vs small private, would give you a better chance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hard to say. My stepson went to Stuyvesant in NYC, which is similar to TJ in many ways. He wanted to go to an Ivy, and was a straight A student and athlete (swimming). He only made one Ivy, and was really disappointed. His brother went to a small private, and his grades were weaker, and he did not do a sport (although he did do chess club). He got into two Ivies. But that doesn't speak to whether a large base school, vs small private, would give you a better chance.

How many Ivy admissions does a person need ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello,

Planning ahead for DS. We understand that a big advantage of TJ is simply the peer group and great teachers. However, for college admissions we are wondering if sticking out and graduating high in the base HS is better than going to TJ and risking being in the middle of the pack. I recognize admissions for TJ are also different now and getting in is never guaranteed anyways.

Ask TJ college guidance counselors.

[Anonymous]

It’s hard to say. Last year there were ~5 acceptances to Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, and ~10 acceptances to MIT, Duke, Princeton. However most of these admits were overlapping (ie same students gobbling multiple acceptances).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s hard to say. Last year there were ~5 acceptances to Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, and ~10 acceptances to MIT, Duke, Princeton. However most of these admits were overlapping (ie same students gobbling multiple acceptances).

How many students were in the graduating class last year ?

[Anonymous]

Hard to say. My stepson went to Stuyvesant in NYC, which is similar to TJ in many ways. He wanted to go to an Ivy, and was a straight A student and athlete (swimming). He only made one Ivy, and was really disappointed. His brother went to a small private, and his grades were weaker, and he did not do a sport (although he did do chess club). He got into two Ivies. But that doesn't speak to whether a large base school, vs small private, would give you a better chance.


How many Ivy admissions does a person need ?

From Stuyvesant, kids expect a fair number. Plus, if you are someone interested in going to Cornell, Brown (which some might consider comparable in terms of prestige) probably isn't comparable to you in terms of the feel and size of the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s hard to say. Last year there were ~5 acceptances to Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, and ~10 acceptances to MIT, Duke, Princeton. However most of these admits were overlapping (ie same students gobbling multiple acceptances).

How many students were in the graduating class last year ?

Answering my own question: 451 in 2021

Class of 2021 had 6 or more acceptances to: Harvard, Duke, MIT, UC-Berkeley, U Chicago, Georgetown & Carnegie Mellon University.

[Anonymous]

I am going out on a limb here and suggesting that a great education is more important then the prestige of the high school or college.

In the long run, very few jobs actually care if they end up with people from a top 10 school or a top 20 school. Only 1/4 of the adult population in the US have a college degree at all. Let your kid decide where they want to go at the next level of school and apply. If that is TJ then great. Maybe they end up at a top 25 school instead of an Ivy, the world is not going to end and they will be just fine.

[Anonymous]

If your student can stand out amongst the TJ students then it’s worth it. TJ average SAT is 1530, and the course rigor is real. The school is filled with STEM stars, 2or 3 years ahead in math, math/physics/biology Olympics medalist, national competition winners, all-state instruments performers, and so on. If you kid can manage to be the top 20% in grades and also has one or two super big spikes, then yeah, it’ll be worth it.

This might change in a few years though given the mess TJ is in now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am going out on a limb here and suggesting that a great education is more important then the prestige of the high school or college.

In the long run, very few jobs actually care if they end up with people from a top 10 school or a top 20 school. Only 1/4 of the adult population in the US have a college degree at all. Let your kid decide where they want to go at the next level of school and apply. If that is TJ then great. Maybe they end up at a top 25 school instead of an Ivy, the world is not going to end and they will be just fine.

This. I cringe thinking that OP’s kid is in elementary school. Even thinking about this in middle school is painful. Your kid needs to go where they will do their best and be happiest. Let it happen.

[Anonymous]

On average, not worth it for college admissions. Better off excelling at a less competitive school.

Otherwise, a good peer group is always a positive for the long term.

[Anonymous]

In the long run, very few jobs actually care if they end up with people from a top 10 school or a top 20 school. Only 1/4 of the adult population in the US have a college degree at all.

Just curious, does that figure include community college degrees, or just 4 year degrees? If the former, it sounds low.

[Anonymous]

Among TJ graduates, there are about 50-70 acceptances to top 10 universities (HYPSM, UC, etc..) each year. At other FCPS schools, there are less than 5 per year.

If you think your kid has a chance to be a "top50" TJ kid, then I think TJ will give your kid better opportunities and a good shot at a top10 school. But if your kid is outside top50, it might be better to be a top5 kid at, e.g., Madison, than a top100 kid at TJ, if you're looking at top10 universities.

How do you know your kid has teh potential to be a top50 TJ kid? I would say that, supposing they are in 7th grade, they should be scoring 1450+ on their PSAT 8/9s or 1200+ on the SATs. They should breeze through all of their school work because they can remember stuff taught in school without effort. Since they hardly need to study, they should be invovled in an outside school activity that they excel in (i.e. recognized as one of the best in the state).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am going out on a limb here and suggesting that a great education is more important then the prestige of the high school or college.

In the long run, very few jobs actually care if they end up with people from a top 10 school or a top 20 school. Only 1/4 of the adult population in the US have a college degree at all. Let your kid decide where they want to go at the next level of school and apply. If that is TJ then great. Maybe they end up at a top 25 school instead of an Ivy, the world is not going to end and they will be just fine.

Alma Mater doesn't matter unless it does, and having HYPSM will always open doors. Of course, at the end of the day, performance matter most, but I've heard countless times where an potential list of interviewees is being considered and a candidate being "a Harvard grad" wins the tiebreaker.

I mean, even in the NFL, where an Ivy League pedigree means you didn't go to teh best football school, Ryan Fitzpatrick is known as "The QB who went to Harvard."