Lake Braddock vs. Irving and better chance to TJ

[Anonymous]

Hello moms and dads,

We just moved to Irving MS neighborhood from another state and my DS got accepted to LB AAP for 8th grade. He is enthusiastic in STEM and did well in some STEM competition previously. He wants to apply to TJ next year.

So my questions is which school preps students well for the application process? And my understanding is that TJ accepts top 1.5% students in each MS. Would it be more competitive to be in LB top 1.5% than in Irving?

And could you share your experience with your DC at LB AAP and Irving part-time AAP?

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Class of 2026 stats:
https://www.fcps.edu/news/thomas-jefferson-high-school-continues-increase-access-all

[Anonymous]

@19:43 — (OP) Thank you for the link. The numbers still do not tell which school preps better as they are missing the total number of students and number of students who applied to TJ.
We like Irving vibe, but we also respect our DS’s enthusiasm to try for TJ. So we want to choose the best fit for him.

[Anonymous]

6 of one, half a dozen of the other in terms of Irving v lbss.

TJ is a crap shoot and your child is statistically unlikely to get in no matter their stats. I would stay at irving personally so your kid knows more kids at WSHS which the statistically most likely scenario.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello moms and dads,

We just moved to Irving MS neighborhood from another state and my DS got accepted to LB AAP for 8th grade. He is enthusiastic in STEM and did well in some STEM competition previously. He wants to apply to TJ next year.

So my questions is which school preps students well for the application process? And my understanding is that TJ accepts top 1.5% students in each MS. Would it be more competitive to be in LB top 1.5% than in Irving?

And could you share your experience with your DC at LB AAP and Irving part-time AAP?

Thank you!

LB is more competitive, meaning your child will likely not be in the top 1.5% at LB and would have a better chance to be in the top 1.5% at Irving. Not being in the top 1.5% means the application is then considered against the rest of the applications across the entire county.

There is no middle school that provides better prep -- they all offer the courses needed for eligibility. As long as your child is enrolled in as many Honors courses as they can and are getting As, they will have a chance. Most of it comes down to how they handle the problem-solving essay in the application process.

[Anonymous]

I would just stay at Irving. It’s not “part time,” it’s “local Level VI” and the students are in classes with all LLVI students same as at LBSS. Like others have said, in all likelihood your child will go to WSHS and then they will know more classmates. TJ admissions are basically a lottery. There are so many talented 8th graders in FCPS (and the other counties that feed TJ!) and they just cannot all be admitted.

[Anonymous]

You are arriving in 8th grade—the prep is over. The time between now and application process is trivial.

The harder part is going to be getting strong recommendation letters since you don’t have 7th grade relationships.

I would go to Irving. I think the chances from either school are basically equal, but if he doesn’t get in he will go to WSHS regardless of middle school based on your address, so let him keep his 8th grade friends instead of starting over again in 9th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are arriving in 8th grade—the prep is over. The time between now and application process is trivial.

The harder part is going to be getting strong recommendation letters since you don’t have 7th grade relationships.

I would go to Irving. I think the chances from either school are basically equal, but if he doesn’t get in he will go to WSHS regardless of middle school based on your address, so let him keep his 8th grade friends instead of starting over again in 9th grade.

What recommendation letters?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are arriving in 8th grade—the prep is over. The time between now and application process is trivial.

The harder part is going to be getting strong recommendation letters since you don’t have 7th grade relationships.

I would go to Irving. I think the chances from either school are basically equal, but if he doesn’t get in he will go to WSHS regardless of middle school based on your address, so let him keep his 8th grade friends instead of starting over again in 9th grade.

What recommendation letters?

Not PP but I do think rec letters are required in the application to TJ. My kid didn't apply because I'm not impressed with TJ - I think our local base turns out more well rounded kids but my spouse is a MS teacher and I believe does rec letters

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are arriving in 8th grade—the prep is over. The time between now and application process is trivial.

The harder part is going to be getting strong recommendation letters since you don’t have 7th grade relationships.

I would go to Irving. I think the chances from either school are basically equal, but if he doesn’t get in he will go to WSHS regardless of middle school based on your address, so let him keep his 8th grade friends instead of starting over again in 9th grade.

What recommendation letters?

Not PP but I do think rec letters are required in the application to TJ. My kid didn't apply because I'm not impressed with TJ - I think our local base turns out more well rounded kids but my spouse is a MS teacher and I believe does rec letters

Not required in the new admission process for freshmen (starting class of 2025). Needed (2 STEM and 1 non-STEM teachers) only if you are applying in the sophomore round, which will be from high school teachers. The lack of recommendation letters is one of the weak points in the current admission process.

[Anonymous]

I’d stay with Irving. I have a rising 9th grader that just finished AAP at Irving and a rising 7th grader that is about to start. It’s considered local level, not part time, and is a good program.

My kids have the choice to go to Lake Braddock or Irving as well and we picked Irving. The general thought used to be that LB was better for getting into TJ but that seems to have changed since they changed the application process. It’s more of a lottery now. However, LB is larger and has more AAP kids than Irving so perhaps chances of success are higher with Irving now. My kids are not interested in TJ so we didn’t base our choice on that factor.

[Anonymous]

please listen to the posters - do not change to try to influence TJ admission chances..