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Disappointed by TJ decision?
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Anonymous
| I'm an incoming freshman to TJ next year, and I had a few questions about the whole admissions thing. When I went to school today, there was a lot of talk about TJ and who got in and who didn't. From what I've heard, incredibly cracked students didn't get into TJ? I'm talking nationally competing in math, chess, science fair winners, and definitely fitting into the top 1.5% of students. I asked a math kid today and she said that TJ was planning on demagnetizing (mentioned in a school board meeting?), and that these were the first steps to doing so: rejecting/waitlisting all the actually good kids (not sure why they are waitlisting if that's the goal?). Then the top kids would stay in their base schools, make the bad schools better, as there is more competition, and bring them all up as a whole. So even if she got accepted to TJ, it wouldn't be beneficial to her as "the only reason to go there is for the competition and the ecosystem". Which is why TJ is accepting the most mediocre students, which is why i got in. All of these are her words, not mine. It made a little sense though. So, I asked another top tier student next block. He glared at me first, but after I told him I actually want his thoughts on it, he told me that "it's a lottery, they don't want students in STEM anymore" and went back to his chess game. Well, slightly differing opinion. Is TJ really a normal high school now? Is there no point in going anymore? Will this freshman year be nothing but unneeded stress, low scores, but still just a normal high school? The students who got into TJ at our school were in SCA, volunteered, wrote, coded, had a business, were in mathcounts, and/or all county chorus/strings (we're all asian so I doubt it's anything to do with 'evening it out'). None of these students are true toppers like the other kids, so it's unusual that we got in. We are good students, but we're not geniuses. The admissions is really weird this year, and I was wondering what they've changed and if there's a point in going, is it a better community of students now, or was it before? Is it really a lottery? How much of what I've heard is true? Is TJ even right for me if I was accepted to advance their plans without even earning it? Thank you for reading. |
Anonymous
| FCPS should admit who they want to TJ. They simply shouldn’t ask people to play along with the fiction that TJ students are by any stretch of the imagination the best and the brightest in NoVa. It may not have been true before, but it certainly is not true now. |
Anonymous
Congratulations on your admission to TJ. I would strongly recommend that you talk to students at the school and disregard much of what you read here. As for your peers, remember that you don’t know what they wrote in their essays. They may have had a bad day, or may not have written a compelling story as to why they would be a good fit for TJ. You, apparently, did, which is a testament to your skill. |
Anonymous
I was amazed to know this too but a classmate of that student knows that kid got an F. My DC also know a kid who got in and has a B in one subject and got in as too 1.5% and DC has all As and still couldn’t get in. What’s going on? |
Anonymous
It's like GS rankings claiming a top school because it has the fewest low-income and least diverse student body. That has nothing to do with the opportunities available to a student. |
Anonymous
F's are the new A's. My straight F student got in too. |
Anonymous
| Is this true? If all the grades need to average to 3.5 in order to meet the benchmark in order to apply, then for the admissions committee, there is no difference between a 3.5 and 4.0 student and other factors are considered. |
Anonymous
So top 1.5% isnt just grades. Its experience factors and a few other subjective criteria that are used to rate the kids against others in their own MS. Since experience factors includes economically disadvantaged and FARMs numbers went from 41 to 145 in one year, I would say experience factors is definitely a heavy weight. Thats nearly 20% of the incoming class. So while a kid may have perfect scores, being poor may give a bigger boost and edge in decisions of the "top" 1.5%. The goal isnt to take UMC kids from lower tier MS schools with high FARMs rates who are overachievers and hit all the metrics and have strong family support. |
Anonymous
Lol You should put the "/s" at the end of your post so others won't be confused. |
Anonymous
That’s literally impossible. They wouldn’t be eligible and you’re making things up. |
Anonymous
It is not true. You need a 3.5 to apply, but your actual GPA is considered. |
Anonymous
A lot of false information is being spread here. Maybe to get people worked up. Seems to be some angle. |
Anonymous
You're right. I just assumed people would realize this was preposterous. |
Anonymous
Not at all. DC is all As and DC’s close friend has one B. And friend is admitted as top 1.5%. I wish I was wrong as i also advocate diversity. But including diverse culture just for the sake of it is unfair and injustice. |
Anonymous
|
There is a minimum GPA requirement so if you got one B and rest A's, you can still meet that.
They look at GPA from all your core courses (I believe math, science, english, world language and so..the details are on the website). So if you have an F in a subject that is not covered under what they are looking at, then yes you can still get in. |