Thomas Jefferson Test
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Anonymous
I'm a parent of a TJ student and I agree. You are taking exactly the right approach. I just answered on the other thread and noted that my child never prepped. He does well at TJ without being up studying till 2 or 3 in the morning and needs no outside tutoring. He participates in a sport for 15+ hours every week, so doesn't get home till about 6:45 every night. If a kid needs to prep to get in, the schedule there will be difficult for that child to keep up with. |
Anonymous
Looks like your TJ kid is not taking 4 to 6 APs/Post-APs that the top TJ kids typically take in sophomore (4) to junior (6) years. |
Anonymous
Actually, just about every kid at TJ takes those, including mine. My kid is very organized and manages his time really well, mainly because of his years of playing sports. He's lucky to be very intelligent, but he also works hard and uses his time efficiently. He really loves what he does, which I think helps him a lot. |
Anonymous
I have a kid at TJ and it is not true that just about every TJ kid takes 4 AP/post AP courses during sophomore year and 6 such courses during junior year. I am fairly certain that your kid is not taking 4 AP/post AP courses as a sophomore or 6 AP/post AP courses as a junior while playing sport for at least 15 hours per week and going to sleep relatively early. This is fantasyland. You or your kid is exaggerating. |
Anonymous
He had a similar sports schedule for a few years before high school, so he learned early how to manage his time well. He likes what he does, so he is very motivated. When he has group projects with other kids, he realizes that some kids are not as efficient with their time, and it is frustrating when that affects him. |
Anonymous
What are some of the AP/post AP courses he is taking? |
Anonymous
Why would anyone make their kid so easily identifiable on a public message board as to list their exact courses? |
Anonymous
PP said "some" not "exact" courses. |
Anonymous
Just admit it was an exaggeration. |
Anonymous
Why would you care what other kids do? Kids can take many different routes to get to the same destination. My job is to see that my child has a healthy childhood and I take that job seriously, but I do not concern myself with what other families do except sometimes as an example for my own edification as to what not to do. My kid has taken a variety of APs, covering the gamut of math and science and also humanities. Scored all 5s and one 4, on a humanities exam. The scores we got back a few weeks ago were all 5s. Is it that difficult to believe that a kid can devote a lot of hours to a sport or the arts and still be successful academically? And how does it affect anyone else if he does? |
Anonymous
I don't care. You claimed that your kid takes/took 4 ap or post ap courses in sophomore year and 6 ap or post ap courses in junior year and engaged in sport which takes at least 15 hours per week or more (he must have engaged in other clubs or activities, volunteering work, writing contests, other competitions that practically all TJ kids participate in) and goes to sleep at relatively early (for TJ junior) and did well academically so I said that is highly unlikely or almost impossible based on my TJ kid's experience, other TJ kids experiences over the years etc. My kid did take 3 ap/post ap courses in 10th and 6 ap/post-ap courses in 11th at TJ and I know what it takes to do that and do well in all those courses and engage in other activities. He did it but he had to stay up until 2 or 3 am at times and study on weekends at times to do it (especially due to ap physics c, multivar, linear, AI, AMT etc.) Just don't give a false impression that "just about all TJ kids" take these number of ap/post ap courses on a regular basis and does well academically while doing this and does time consuming sport and goes to sleep relatively early. It is possible your kid did well but don't make it seem like it's a common thing and that it doesn't take lot of work especially to get all As in these rigorous courses while getting all the sleep necessary and doing other time consuming activities as well. |
Anonymous
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Sure it takes work, but the amount if work it takes varies from person to person. People are different. Two people can work for the same amount of time but have different results at the end of that time. Some people grasp new concepts easily and work very efficiently. Kids who learn quickly, work efficiently, and have good time management skills will likely find TJ to be a good fit for them. And, of course, have a love and enjoyment of math and science.
The point of the response to the original post was to agree that it is a good idea to avoid over prepping for the TJ application process because if the child is accepted than it is probably a good fit. Our family's experience was that our child did not prep and TJ has been a good match for our child's abilities and needs. Lots of kids at TJ spend at least two hours after school every day practicing with their sports teams and also do well academically. Our child knows other kids who are members of sports teams at TJ who have gone on to top colleges, so they must have been doing pretty well academically, also. Other parents have told me that, a few years ago, four kids from the cross county/track team were all accepted to MIT, so they must have had good grades along with a rigorous course load. |
Anonymous
You're kind of making her point. Her child has the aptitude for math/science and demonstrated it on the test without a lot of prep. It would make sense that the course load is now appropriate for him as a high school student (ie he is able to participate in a time consuming activity and keep his grades up without staying up all night doing homework). Again, this is why I think parents do a disservice to their children by forcing a high score on the test with all of the prep classes. |
Anonymous
She didn't just say the courses were appropriate but that the kid was doing well academically taking all these courses, participating in a time consuming sport (and presumably other activities) and getting plenty of sleep and this that this was common occurrence at TJ. It is not common and her definition of doing "well academically" may be different from mine. Doing well at TJ at least means all As or All As and A-s. |
Anonymous
Sure it takes work, but the amount if work it takes varies from person to person. People are different. Two people can work for the same amount of time but have different results at the end of that time. Some people grasp new concepts easily and work very efficiently. Kids who learn quickly, work efficiently, and have good time management skills will likely find TJ to be a good fit for them. And, of course, have a love and enjoyment of math and science. The point of the response to the original post was to agree that it is a good idea to avoid over prepping for the TJ application process because if the child is accepted than it is probably a good fit. Our family's experience was that our child did not prep and TJ has been a good match for our child's abilities and needs. Lots of kids at TJ spend at least two hours after school every day practicing with their sports teams and also do well academically. Our child knows other kids who are members of sports teams at TJ who have gone on to top colleges, so they must have been doing pretty well academically, also. Other parents have told me that, a few years ago, four kids from the cross county/track team were all accepted to MIT, so they must have had good grades along with a rigorous course load. |