TJ admissions now verifying free and reduced price meal status for successful 2026 applicants
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
Not sure what it means? I think they just added 90 points to total |
Anonymous
How many points were the other components worth? GPA. Essays etc |
Anonymous
Post it or it did not happen. |
Anonymous
Is there any evidence that this is related to applicant decisions and not just the normal LEA requirements to verify a sample? |
Anonymous
|
Dear TJHSST Applicant and Parent/Guardian,
You are receiving this letter because you responded “yes” on page five of your application in response to the question “Are you eligible for free meals?” This question was asked to allow us to identify those applicants who meet the criteria for the Economically Disadvantaged Experience Factor, as outlined in Regulation 3355. In order to confirm your seat in the TJHSST Class of 2026, or in the wait pool, you must confirm your eligibility for the Free and Reduced-Price Meal (FRM) Program. You may do this in one of two ways: By providing a certification from your school or school division showing your inclusion in FRM. If you do not have a copy of this certification, you may obtain it by calling FCPS Food and Nutrition Services at 703-813-4800 or 703-813-4844 (current FCPS students only) or by contacting the Food and Nutrition Services office in your school division. This certification should be sent by email to tjadmissions@fcps.edu no later than 4 p.m. on June 10. 2. By submitting one of the following items by email to tjadmissions@fcps.edu no later than 4 p.m. on June 10: o Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Certification Notice and/or Case Number o Documentation showing that you are a foster child under the case of a foster agency or court (alternatively, provide the name and contact information for a person at the agency or court who can verify your foster status) o A letter from your school or division verifying your status as a homeless, migrant, or runaway youth o Documentation showing your family’s household income falls below the 2021-22 SY USDA Income Eligibility Guidelines outlined below: o We will review all submissions promptly. Once your FRM eligibility is confirmed, we will notify you that your submission is adequate and no further action is necessary. If your FRM eligibility is not confirmed, or if you fail to submit documentation showing your FRM eligibility, we will consider you FRM ineligible and will re-evaluate your application accordingly. Reevaluation of your application may result in a change of admission decision, so it is critical that you confirm your FRM eligibility by the June 10, 4 p.m. deadline. If you have any questions, or need any assistance obtaining or submitting your documentation, please contact TJHSST Admissions; tjadmissions@fcps.edu or call 571-423-3770. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Regards, Jeremy Jeremy Shughart, ED.S. Director of Admissions Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Fairfax County Public Schools 571-423-3770 |
Anonymous
Looks like documentation is required to remain on the waitlist too! |
Anonymous
| FARMS has always been determined based on income. That is the documentation that they are looking for. |
Anonymous
the 2021-2022 USDA income eligibility guidelines chart didn't copy with the body of the email text - but it is available online "2021-2022 SY USDA Income Eligibility Guidelines" |
Anonymous
| so why didn't TJ admissions ask for this information before? They are incompetent. |
Anonymous
Exactly. They are stressing the kids. Someone needs to sue TJ |
Anonymous
LOL For someone whose kids are smart enough to be applying to TJ, it's hilarious that you are pretending like you truly believe this is what being eligible for FARMS means. Good luck convincing the admission board that you thought you were eligible because lunches were free this year. |
Anonymous
GPA is effectively with 37.5 points (262.5 points for a 3.5 to 300 points for a 4.0) The essays are each effectively 240 points (60 floor-300 max), but we have no info about what scores are typically being given. |
Anonymous
If families were honest in answering this question and are eligibility for the FARMS program then there is no stress as they will Be able to verify eligibility. But This verification should have been done way earlier. Not sure why it’s being done now after decisions were made and after accepted students confirmed they would be attending |
Anonymous
|
I don't have much sympathy for anyone who knowingly misrepresented their FARMS status, but it seems like FCPS should have been clearer in their prior communications.
Either way it just makes TJ seem less appealing and more like a "look at all our poor STEM kids" demonstration project. |
Anonymous
|
This is a DCUM success.
There was this crazy poster who keeps claiming that FCPS has IRS data to validate FARMS eligibility. We now know that they dont. They should have done this before issuing their self-serving press-release. But better late than never. I am glad the DCUM community shone the spotlight of this egregious piece of FCPS incompetence. |