Do students turn down TJ offers of admittance?

[Anonymous]

Are there stats listed anywhere or how many offers go out and how many of those are accepted? Or do stats just say 10 from this school, 40 from another school? Or is it made public that a school had an initial 10 offers, but 2 kids didn’t accept so another 2 offered spots?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there stats listed anywhere or how many offers go out and how many of those are accepted? Or do stats just say 10 from this school, 40 from another school? Or is it made public that a school had an initial 10 offers, but 2 kids didn’t accept so another 2 offered spots?

1) Yes, students do turn down offers of admission.

2) I don't believe there is any public accounting of how many offers are turned down or from which schools they are turned down.

3) I do not believe that an offer of an allocated space at a school necessarily triggers that spot to be offered to a student from the same school. I am very strongly pro-reform but I would have major problems if that's how they're doing it.

[Anonymous]

Yes, students turn down spots. And then someone on the wait list from the school is offered the spot that another student rejected.

[Anonymous]

https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/registration/thomas-jefferson-high-school-science-and-technology-tjhsst-admissions

1.5% of each school population size is presumptively allocated to that school.

Students outside that 1.5%/school compete at-large for Unallocated seats.

The official policy is ambiguous on the question of what happens if an Allocated invitee declines.

But my read of the policy leans toward the declined seat NOT remaining allocated to the school, because the allocation is "presumptive"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/registration/thomas-jefferson-high-school-science-and-technology-tjhsst-admissions

1.5% of each school population size is presumptively allocated to that school.

Students outside that 1.5%/school compete at-large for Unallocated seats.

The official policy is ambiguous on the question of what happens if an Allocated invitee declines.

But my read of the policy leans toward the declined seat NOT remaining allocated to the school, because the allocation is "presumptive"

I suspect that it depends on the school. Schools admitting only their allocation are more likely to have the seat go to another student from that school who was within the allocation guide lines while schools that are well over the allocation have any allocated seat that chooses not to attend sees that seat go to the unallocated pool. I say this only because I imagine that most of the kids that fall outside the allocated limits have been offered an unallocated seat.

It would be interesting to see what schools have kids choose not to attend. I am guessing that schools who don't use all their allocated seats have kids choose not to go and maybe some of the kids that saw their application as a reach but were accepted from other schools. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some kids who choose not to attend because they realize that they are more likely to be accepted at a top tier STEM school out of South Lakes or Chantilly or Centerville or Westfield then out of TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/registration/thomas-jefferson-high-school-science-and-technology-tjhsst-admissions

1.5% of each school population size is presumptively allocated to that school.

Students outside that 1.5%/school compete at-large for Unallocated seats.

The official policy is ambiguous on the question of what happens if an Allocated invitee declines.

But my read of the policy leans toward the declined seat NOT remaining allocated to the school, because the allocation is "presumptive"

I suspect that it depends on the school. Schools admitting only their allocation are more likely to have the seat go to another student from that school who was within the allocation guide lines while schools that are well over the allocation have any allocated seat that chooses not to attend sees that seat go to the unallocated pool. I say this only because I imagine that most of the kids that fall outside the allocated limits have been offered an unallocated seat.

It would be interesting to see what schools have kids choose not to attend. I am guessing that schools who don't use all their allocated seats have kids choose not to go and maybe some of the kids that saw their application as a reach but were accepted from other schools. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some kids who choose not to attend because they realize that they are more likely to be accepted at a top tier STEM school out of South Lakes or Chantilly or Centerville or Westfield then out of TJ.

More and more above is what I have been hearing people say better to stay at base school if will be middle of TJ -if goal is particular college v just wanting the classes and experience offered at TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/registration/thomas-jefferson-high-school-science-and-technology-tjhsst-admissions

1.5% of each school population size is presumptively allocated to that school.

Students outside that 1.5%/school compete at-large for Unallocated seats.

The official policy is ambiguous on the question of what happens if an Allocated invitee declines.

But my read of the policy leans toward the declined seat NOT remaining allocated to the school, because the allocation is "presumptive"

I suspect that it depends on the school. Schools admitting only their allocation are more likely to have the seat go to another student from that school who was within the allocation guide lines while schools that are well over the allocation have any allocated seat that chooses not to attend sees that seat go to the unallocated pool. I say this only because I imagine that most of the kids that fall outside the allocated limits have been offered an unallocated seat.

It would be interesting to see what schools have kids choose not to attend. I am guessing that schools who don't use all their allocated seats have kids choose not to go and maybe some of the kids that saw their application as a reach but were accepted from other schools. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some kids who choose not to attend because they realize that they are more likely to be accepted at a top tier STEM school out of South Lakes or Chantilly or Centerville or Westfield then out of TJ.

More and more above is what I have been hearing people say better to stay at base school if will be middle of TJ -if goal is particular college v just wanting the classes and experience offered at TJ.

Neighbors kid turned it down because he said it wsn't diverse.

[Anonymous]

My son will likely turn it down if admitted. He took the admissions test to see if he could get in, but he does not think he wants to go. (if my son gets in it would likely be because of the 1.5% rule).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/registration/thomas-jefferson-high-school-science-and-technology-tjhsst-admissions

1.5% of each school population size is presumptively allocated to that school.

Students outside that 1.5%/school compete at-large for Unallocated seats.

The official policy is ambiguous on the question of what happens if an Allocated invitee declines.

But my read of the policy leans toward the declined seat NOT remaining allocated to the school, because the allocation is "presumptive"

I suspect that it depends on the school. Schools admitting only their allocation are more likely to have the seat go to another student from that school who was within the allocation guide lines while schools that are well over the allocation have any allocated seat that chooses not to attend sees that seat go to the unallocated pool. I say this only because I imagine that most of the kids that fall outside the allocated limits have been offered an unallocated seat.

It would be interesting to see what schools have kids choose not to attend. I am guessing that schools who don't use all their allocated seats have kids choose not to go and maybe some of the kids that saw their application as a reach but were accepted from other schools. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some kids who choose not to attend because they realize that they are more likely to be accepted at a top tier STEM school out of South Lakes or Chantilly or Centerville or Westfield then out of TJ.

More and more above is what I have been hearing people say better to stay at base school if will be middle of TJ -if goal is particular college v just wanting the classes and experience offered at TJ.

Neighbors kid turned it down because he said it wsn't diverse.

I'll take "things that didn't happen" for $100 Alex.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there stats listed anywhere or how many offers go out and how many of those are accepted? Or do stats just say 10 from this school, 40 from another school? Or is it made public that a school had an initial 10 offers, but 2 kids didn’t accept so another 2 offered spots?

Just anecdotally, about 10% don't accept. You can always return to your base school if you go and don't think it is for you. It is a bit difficult emotionally to go and then come back to base but not overly so.

What TJ offers:

A critical mass of like minded students that will provide an atmosphere where academic activities are widely pursued.

Significantly more rigor that base schools that will prepare you for the academic rigor of college.

More post-calculus and post-physics math and science electives than anywhere else in FCPS.

What TJ doesn't offer:

Better college admissions.
Many TJ students end up at less selective colleges than they would have if they stayed at their base schools

An easy carefree high school career.
TJ students will work significantly harder than their peers at base schools.

[Anonymous]

I personally know of 2 from Longfellow who turned down spots; one did not want to leave his friend group behind. The other was offered a spot off the WL and decided TJ simply was not for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I personally know of 2 from Longfellow who turned down spots; one did not want to leave his friend group behind. The other was offered a spot off the WL and decided TJ simply was not for her.

We know of at least seven from Longfellow that got off the waitlist last year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there stats listed anywhere or how many offers go out and how many of those are accepted? Or do stats just say 10 from this school, 40 from another school? Or is it made public that a school had an initial 10 offers, but 2 kids didn’t accept so another 2 offered spots?

The initial offers extended numbers that come out in news release is drastically from the actual final accepted offers.


https://www.fcps.edu/news/thomas-jefferson-high-school-continues-increase-access-all
For the above 2026 class release,
Cooper Middle School had 16 initial offers, 55 waitlisted, 92 applicants
Sandburg Middle School had 12 intial offers, 17 waitlisted, 54 applicants

Cooper has 8th grade SOL math pass rate of 94%, and English pass rate of 85%
Sandburg has 8th grade SOL math pass rate of 47%, and English pass rate of 65%

Given the stark difference in SOL scores and the significantly different number of applicants, it's unclear how TJ admissions determined to offer nearly the similar number of spots to each school. However, students responded to the offers quite differently.

After the initial offers were declined and resent to others on waiting list, apparently Cooper sent well over 25+ students and Sandburg fewer than 5 at the start of the class.

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/thomas.jefferson4130/viz/TJHSSTClassof2025-2028AdmissionsDatabyMiddleSchool-ByEduAvenuesTJTestPrep_17331596719390/TJHSSTClassof2025-2028AdmissionsDatabyMiddleSchool-ByEduAvenuesTJTestPrep

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there stats listed anywhere or how many offers go out and how many of those are accepted? Or do stats just say 10 from this school, 40 from another school? Or is it made public that a school had an initial 10 offers, but 2 kids didn’t accept so another 2 offered spots?

The initial offers extended numbers that come out in news release is drastically from the actual final accepted offers.


https://www.fcps.edu/news/thomas-jefferson-high-school-continues-increase-access-all
For the above 2026 class release,
Cooper Middle School had 16 initial offers, 55 waitlisted, 92 applicants
Sandburg Middle School had 12 intial offers, 17 waitlisted, 54 applicants

Cooper has 8th grade SOL math pass rate of 94%, and English pass rate of 85%
Sandburg has 8th grade SOL math pass rate of 47%, and English pass rate of 65%

Given the stark difference in SOL scores and the significantly different number of applicants, it's unclear how TJ admissions determined to offer nearly the similar number of spots to each school. However, students responded to the offers quite differently.

After the initial offers were declined and resent to others on waiting list, apparently Cooper sent well over 25+ students and Sandburg fewer than 5 at the start of the class.

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/thomas.jefferson4130/viz/TJHSSTClassof2025-2028AdmissionsDatabyMiddleSchool-ByEduAvenuesTJTestPrep_17331596719390/TJHSSTClassof2025-2028AdmissionsDatabyMiddleSchool-ByEduAvenuesTJTestPrep

Interesting Carson had more than Longfellow and Cooper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there stats listed anywhere or how many offers go out and how many of those are accepted? Or do stats just say 10 from this school, 40 from another school? Or is it made public that a school had an initial 10 offers, but 2 kids didn’t accept so another 2 offered spots?

The initial offers extended numbers that come out in news release is drastically from the actual final accepted offers.


https://www.fcps.edu/news/thomas-jefferson-high-school-continues-increase-access-all
For the above 2026 class release,
Cooper Middle School had 16 initial offers, 55 waitlisted, 92 applicants
Sandburg Middle School had 12 intial offers, 17 waitlisted, 54 applicants

Cooper has 8th grade SOL math pass rate of 94%, and English pass rate of 85%
Sandburg has 8th grade SOL math pass rate of 47%, and English pass rate of 65%

Given the stark difference in SOL scores and the significantly different number of applicants, it's unclear how TJ admissions determined to offer nearly the similar number of spots to each school. However, students responded to the offers quite differently.

After the initial offers were declined and resent to others on waiting list, apparently Cooper sent well over 25+ students and Sandburg fewer than 5 at the start of the class.

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/thomas.jefferson4130/viz/TJHSSTClassof2025-2028AdmissionsDatabyMiddleSchool-ByEduAvenuesTJTestPrep_17331596719390/TJHSSTClassof2025-2028AdmissionsDatabyMiddleSchool-ByEduAvenuesTJTestPrep

Thanks for posting links. Interesting to read.