Older TJ kids: is there regret w/college app results

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't go to TJ for the college profile.

Go there for the peer group, the chance to study really cool classes that you can't get anywhere else, and the whole TJ experience.

- really old TJ grad

Outdated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Current TJ parent, we are extremely worried. Sometimes I feel my daughter would have been better with base school.

It depends quite a bit on what "better" means to you in this context. Better chance of admission to a top college? Better prepared for college? Better education? Better peer group? Less stressful? Better memories created? Something else?

Obviously which questions you're asking, and the answers to those questions, will vary quite a bit from student to student. For many of us TJ parents, though, there is no doubt that TJ was better (in our sense and our students' sense of "better") for our students, regardless of what happens in college and beyond.

Everything has good and bad with it. You can't tell if your child would have had better memories, better friends, less stress, etc. because you don't know what would have happened at the base school (different friends, different influences, different boyfriend/girlfriend, etc.)

Presumably, most families choosing TJ believe strongly in education and in the abilities of their kids and want the best education and educational opportunities for their kids. You can't extract that mindset and say I only meant for it 9th-12th grades. You either believe these things or you don't. That doesn't make TJ a bad or good choice, but to question this poster and ask what did you mean by "better" is ridiculous. The option was not TJ or crap because the base school would have its own opportunities. I think the above poster makes a lot of sense when they said they wish middle school families went into the consequences of the decision with more information. For example, at info sessions, the college counselor or counseling department could discuss what college outcomes look like (both at the top and the bottom). It doesn't necessarily mean different decisions would be made but whatever decision was made would be made with more information than was previously provided.

Agree. I’m a current TJ parent, and this year has been especially challenging. My kid is a sophomore taking Calc BC along with several other AP classes, and the workload is just simply overwhelming with the sport commitment. She never really needed to study before TJ, but this year she does and more than last year as freshman. Even with a great amount of effort, she doesn’t always earn an A. It is a lot of effort but I am not sure it isn't 100% yet, the process is teaching her how to study and how to push her limit. As a parent, it’s difficult to watch on a daily base, even though I know this is part of the growing process. We know many families who went to TJ and understood this going in, so it’s not a surprise, but that doesn’t make it easy.

For families considering TJ, please know that it is not an easy ride. There will be bad days and long period of frustration. You cannot expect little or mild struggle with TJ’s rigor, no matter how “smart” your child may be. It is a very humbling experience, for both students and parents. Some families may thrive in this environment, while others may not; there is no one-size-fits-all choice.

You know that BC is advanced for a sophomore. You don't have to rub it in to those who really struggled.

I am sorry if it comes across that way, I meant to help not brag. Anyway, I know another kid who took BC as freshman (so truly advanced) and did poorly in it, the parent was pretty chill about it and said the kid has to learn this life lesson sometime somewhere...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regret that TJ was opted for in 9th based on senior year college rejections or acceptances?

Current TJ parent, we are extremely worried. Sometimes I feel my daughter would have been better with base school.

Entire bottom half of TJ class parents share this feeling, especially from non-stem oriented middle schools. FCPS is doing a real disservice to uninformed parents by not being clear about whether their students are truly ready for TJ-level rigor and by downplaying how many years ahead the top half of the class already is in core subjects from day one. It’s hard to understand the logic behind admitting students with such widely different stem knowledge levels into the same class, especially when the course plans for the top and bottom halves end up being so different never sharing same classrooms. Yet, when it comes to college admissions, those students are still compared against each other, which clearly puts the students of uninformed parents at a disadvantage, even with night after night of long study hours with no real GPA improvement.

The bottom third of TJ kids would probably have been better off staying at their base school.
Parents have no real way of telling without an objective measure like a test.

Where are TJ students going to college if they are between bottom 40% and 66% in GPA?

The 40th percentile to 66th percentile? Probably somewhere between VT and W&M.

If you mean 33rd percentile to the 40th percentile, I would think their targets ware somewhere around VT, Perdue engineering, Penn State engineering, Pitt STEM, Basically stem somewhere that doesn't have a sexy name but has a good program and probably a decent football team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No matter what the TJ admissions process happens to be, no matter how "rigorous", half of the students will be in the bottom half. Same is true for Stuy and always has been. It is just math.

And for all of these magnets, the top 20-30% always will have better college admissions than the bottom 50%.

And for virtually all if these magnets, many in the bottom 50% would have better college admissions from their base HS (even if they might get a better education at their magnet).

Life is about choices and tradeoffs. TJ is a big choice.

The bottom half of the graduating class pre-2024 has different results than the most recent graduating class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Current TJ parent, we are extremely worried. Sometimes I feel my daughter would have been better with base school.

It depends quite a bit on what "better" means to you in this context. Better chance of admission to a top college? Better prepared for college? Better education? Better peer group? Less stressful? Better memories created? Something else?

Obviously which questions you're asking, and the answers to those questions, will vary quite a bit from student to student. For many of us TJ parents, though, there is no doubt that TJ was better (in our sense and our students' sense of "better") for our students, regardless of what happens in college and beyond.

Everything has good and bad with it. You can't tell if your child would have had better memories, better friends, less stress, etc. because you don't know what would have happened at the base school (different friends, different influences, different boyfriend/girlfriend, etc.)

Presumably, most families choosing TJ believe strongly in education and in the abilities of their kids and want the best education and educational opportunities for their kids. You can't extract that mindset and say I only meant for it 9th-12th grades. You either believe these things or you don't. That doesn't make TJ a bad or good choice, but to question this poster and ask what did you mean by "better" is ridiculous. The option was not TJ or crap because the base school would have its own opportunities. I think the above poster makes a lot of sense when they said they wish middle school families went into the consequences of the decision with more information. For example, at info sessions, the college counselor or counseling department could discuss what college outcomes look like (both at the top and the bottom). It doesn't necessarily mean different decisions would be made but whatever decision was made would be made with more information than was previously provided.

Agree. I’m a current TJ parent, and this year has been especially challenging. My kid is a sophomore taking Calc BC along with several other AP classes, and the workload is just simply overwhelming with the sport commitment. She never really needed to study before TJ, but this year she does and more than last year as freshman. Even with a great amount of effort, she doesn’t always earn an A. It is a lot of effort but I am not sure it isn't 100% yet, the process is teaching her how to study and how to push her limit. As a parent, it’s difficult to watch on a daily base, even though I know this is part of the growing process. We know many families who went to TJ and understood this going in, so it’s not a surprise, but that doesn’t make it easy.

For families considering TJ, please know that it is not an easy ride. There will be bad days and long period of frustration. You cannot expect little or mild struggle with TJ’s rigor, no matter how “smart” your child may be. It is a very humbling experience, for both students and parents. Some families may thrive in this environment, while others may not; there is no one-size-fits-all choice.

Intelligence is not enough to nullify the sheer amount of work that comes with that rigor. Quantity has a quality all its own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Current TJ parent, we are extremely worried. Sometimes I feel my daughter would have been better with base school.

It depends quite a bit on what "better" means to you in this context. Better chance of admission to a top college? Better prepared for college? Better education? Better peer group? Less stressful? Better memories created? Something else?

Obviously which questions you're asking, and the answers to those questions, will vary quite a bit from student to student. For many of us TJ parents, though, there is no doubt that TJ was better (in our sense and our students' sense of "better") for our students, regardless of what happens in college and beyond.

Everything has good and bad with it. You can't tell if your child would have had better memories, better friends, less stress, etc. because you don't know what would have happened at the base school (different friends, different influences, different boyfriend/girlfriend, etc.)

Presumably, most families choosing TJ believe strongly in education and in the abilities of their kids and want the best education and educational opportunities for their kids. You can't extract that mindset and say I only meant for it 9th-12th grades. You either believe these things or you don't. That doesn't make TJ a bad or good choice, but to question this poster and ask what did you mean by "better" is ridiculous. The option was not TJ or crap because the base school would have its own opportunities. I think the above poster makes a lot of sense when they said they wish middle school families went into the consequences of the decision with more information. For example, at info sessions, the college counselor or counseling department could discuss what college outcomes look like (both at the top and the bottom). It doesn't necessarily mean different decisions would be made but whatever decision was made would be made with more information than was previously provided.

Agree. I’m a current TJ parent, and this year has been especially challenging. My kid is a sophomore taking Calc BC along with several other AP classes, and the workload is just simply overwhelming with the sport commitment. She never really needed to study before TJ, but this year she does and more than last year as freshman. Even with a great amount of effort, she doesn’t always earn an A. It is a lot of effort but I am not sure it isn't 100% yet, the process is teaching her how to study and how to push her limit. As a parent, it’s difficult to watch on a daily base, even though I know this is part of the growing process. We know many families who went to TJ and understood this going in, so it’s not a surprise, but that doesn’t make it easy.

For families considering TJ, please know that it is not an easy ride. There will be bad days and long period of frustration. You cannot expect little or mild struggle with TJ’s rigor, no matter how “smart” your child may be. It is a very humbling experience, for both students and parents. Some families may thrive in this environment, while others may not; there is no one-size-fits-all choice.

You know that BC is advanced for a sophomore. You don't have to rub it in to those who really struggled.

Not by much, almost a third of the class is doing this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Current TJ parent, we are extremely worried. Sometimes I feel my daughter would have been better with base school.

It depends quite a bit on what "better" means to you in this context. Better chance of admission to a top college? Better prepared for college? Better education? Better peer group? Less stressful? Better memories created? Something else?

Obviously which questions you're asking, and the answers to those questions, will vary quite a bit from student to student. For many of us TJ parents, though, there is no doubt that TJ was better (in our sense and our students' sense of "better") for our students, regardless of what happens in college and beyond.

Everything has good and bad with it. You can't tell if your child would have had better memories, better friends, less stress, etc. because you don't know what would have happened at the base school (different friends, different influences, different boyfriend/girlfriend, etc.)

Presumably, most families choosing TJ believe strongly in education and in the abilities of their kids and want the best education and educational opportunities for their kids. You can't extract that mindset and say I only meant for it 9th-12th grades. You either believe these things or you don't. That doesn't make TJ a bad or good choice, but to question this poster and ask what did you mean by "better" is ridiculous. The option was not TJ or crap because the base school would have its own opportunities. I think the above poster makes a lot of sense when they said they wish middle school families went into the consequences of the decision with more information. For example, at info sessions, the college counselor or counseling department could discuss what college outcomes look like (both at the top and the bottom). It doesn't necessarily mean different decisions would be made but whatever decision was made would be made with more information than was previously provided.

Agree. I’m a current TJ parent, and this year has been especially challenging. My kid is a sophomore taking Calc BC along with several other AP classes, and the workload is just simply overwhelming with the sport commitment. She never really needed to study before TJ, but this year she does and more than last year as freshman. Even with a great amount of effort, she doesn’t always earn an A. It is a lot of effort but I am not sure it isn't 100% yet, the process is teaching her how to study and how to push her limit. As a parent, it’s difficult to watch on a daily base, even though I know this is part of the growing process. We know many families who went to TJ and understood this going in, so it’s not a surprise, but that doesn’t make it easy.

For families considering TJ, please know that it is not an easy ride. There will be bad days and long period of frustration. You cannot expect little or mild struggle with TJ’s rigor, no matter how “smart” your child may be. It is a very humbling experience, for both students and parents. Some families may thrive in this environment, while others may not; there is no one-size-fits-all choice.

You know that BC is advanced for a sophomore. You don't have to rub it in to those who really struggled.

I am sorry if it comes across that way, I meant to help not brag. Anyway, I know another kid who took BC as freshman (so truly advanced) and did poorly in it, the parent was pretty chill about it and said the kid has to learn this life lesson sometime somewhere...

Better to learn it early in high school with your suipport system there to scaffold you than to learn it while on your own at college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No matter what the TJ admissions process happens to be, no matter how "rigorous", half of the students will be in the bottom half. Same is true for Stuy and always has been. It is just math.

And for all of these magnets, the top 20-30% always will have better college admissions than the bottom 50%.

And for virtually all if these magnets, many in the bottom 50% would have better college admissions from their base HS (even if they might get a better education at their magnet).

Life is about choices and tradeoffs. TJ is a big choice.

The bottom half of the graduating class pre-2024 has different results than the most recent graduating class.

Like?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regret that TJ was opted for in 9th based on senior year college rejections or acceptances?

Current TJ parent, we are extremely worried. Sometimes I feel my daughter would have been better with base school.

Entire bottom half of TJ class parents share this feeling, especially from non-stem oriented middle schools. FCPS is doing a real disservice to uninformed parents by not being clear about whether their students are truly ready for TJ-level rigor and by downplaying how many years ahead the top half of the class already is in core subjects from day one. It’s hard to understand the logic behind admitting students with such widely different stem knowledge levels into the same class, especially when the course plans for the top and bottom halves end up being so different never sharing same classrooms. Yet, when it comes to college admissions, those students are still compared against each other, which clearly puts the students of uninformed parents at a disadvantage, even with night after night of long study hours with no real GPA improvement.

The bottom third of TJ kids would probably have been better off staying at their base school.
Parents have no real way of telling without an objective measure like a test.

Where are TJ students going to college if they are between bottom 40% and 66% in GPA?

The 40th percentile to 66th percentile? Probably somewhere between VT and W&M.

If you mean 33rd percentile to the 40th percentile, I would think their targets ware somewhere around VT, Perdue engineering, Penn State engineering, Pitt STEM, Basically stem somewhere that doesn't have a sexy name but has a good program and probably a decent football team.

The schools are fine…but the perception of those schools by the kids themselves after enduring TJ is what is difficult to accept.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regret that TJ was opted for in 9th based on senior year college rejections or acceptances?

Current TJ parent, we are extremely worried. Sometimes I feel my daughter would have been better with base school.

Entire bottom half of TJ class parents share this feeling, especially from non-stem oriented middle schools. FCPS is doing a real disservice to uninformed parents by not being clear about whether their students are truly ready for TJ-level rigor and by downplaying how many years ahead the top half of the class already is in core subjects from day one. It’s hard to understand the logic behind admitting students with such widely different stem knowledge levels into the same class, especially when the course plans for the top and bottom halves end up being so different never sharing same classrooms. Yet, when it comes to college admissions, those students are still compared against each other, which clearly puts the students of uninformed parents at a disadvantage, even with night after night of long study hours with no real GPA improvement.

The bottom third of TJ kids would probably have been better off staying at their base school.
Parents have no real way of telling without an objective measure like a test.

Where are TJ students going to college if they are between bottom 40% and 66% in GPA?

The 40th percentile to 66th percentile? Probably somewhere between VT and W&M.

If you mean 33rd percentile to the 40th percentile, I would think their targets ware somewhere around VT, Perdue engineering, Penn State engineering, Pitt STEM, Basically stem somewhere that doesn't have a sexy name but has a good program and probably a decent football team.

The schools are fine…but the perception of those schools by the kids themselves after enduring TJ is what is difficult to accept.

?
VT engineering and Perdue engineering are really strong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regret that TJ was opted for in 9th based on senior year college rejections or acceptances?

Current TJ parent, we are extremely worried. Sometimes I feel my daughter would have been better with base school.

Entire bottom half of TJ class parents share this feeling, especially from non-stem oriented middle schools. FCPS is doing a real disservice to uninformed parents by not being clear about whether their students are truly ready for TJ-level rigor and by downplaying how many years ahead the top half of the class already is in core subjects from day one. It’s hard to understand the logic behind admitting students with such widely different stem knowledge levels into the same class, especially when the course plans for the top and bottom halves end up being so different never sharing same classrooms. Yet, when it comes to college admissions, those students are still compared against each other, which clearly puts the students of uninformed parents at a disadvantage, even with night after night of long study hours with no real GPA improvement.

The bottom third of TJ kids would probably have been better off staying at their base school.
Parents have no real way of telling without an objective measure like a test.

Where are TJ students going to college if they are between bottom 40% and 66% in GPA?

The 40th percentile to 66th percentile? Probably somewhere between VT and W&M.

If you mean 33rd percentile to the 40th percentile, I would think their targets ware somewhere around VT, Perdue engineering, Penn State engineering, Pitt STEM, Basically stem somewhere that doesn't have a sexy name but has a good program and probably a decent football team.

The schools are fine…but the perception of those schools by the kids themselves after enduring TJ is what is difficult to accept.

?
VT engineering and Perdue engineering are really strong.

The schools are fine but I don’t know if those kids would be happy with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regret that TJ was opted for in 9th based on senior year college rejections or acceptances?

Current TJ parent, we are extremely worried. Sometimes I feel my daughter would have been better with base school.

Entire bottom half of TJ class parents share this feeling, especially from non-stem oriented middle schools. FCPS is doing a real disservice to uninformed parents by not being clear about whether their students are truly ready for TJ-level rigor and by downplaying how many years ahead the top half of the class already is in core subjects from day one. It’s hard to understand the logic behind admitting students with such widely different stem knowledge levels into the same class, especially when the course plans for the top and bottom halves end up being so different never sharing same classrooms. Yet, when it comes to college admissions, those students are still compared against each other, which clearly puts the students of uninformed parents at a disadvantage, even with night after night of long study hours with no real GPA improvement.

The bottom third of TJ kids would probably have been better off staying at their base school.
Parents have no real way of telling without an objective measure like a test.

Where are TJ students going to college if they are between bottom 40% and 66% in GPA?

The 40th percentile to 66th percentile? Probably somewhere between VT and W&M.

If you mean 33rd percentile to the 40th percentile, I would think their targets ware somewhere around VT, Perdue engineering, Penn State engineering, Pitt STEM, Basically stem somewhere that doesn't have a sexy name but has a good program and probably a decent football team.

The schools are fine…but the perception of those schools by the kids themselves after enduring TJ is what is difficult to accept.

?
VT engineering and Perdue engineering are really strong.

Perdue is chicken.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regret that TJ was opted for in 9th based on senior year college rejections or acceptances?

Current TJ parent, we are extremely worried. Sometimes I feel my daughter would have been better with base school.

Entire bottom half of TJ class parents share this feeling, especially from non-stem oriented middle schools. FCPS is doing a real disservice to uninformed parents by not being clear about whether their students are truly ready for TJ-level rigor and by downplaying how many years ahead the top half of the class already is in core subjects from day one. It’s hard to understand the logic behind admitting students with such widely different stem knowledge levels into the same class, especially when the course plans for the top and bottom halves end up being so different never sharing same classrooms. Yet, when it comes to college admissions, those students are still compared against each other, which clearly puts the students of uninformed parents at a disadvantage, even with night after night of long study hours with no real GPA improvement.

The bottom third of TJ kids would probably have been better off staying at their base school.
Parents have no real way of telling without an objective measure like a test.

My bad. I meant purdue.

Where are TJ students going to college if they are between bottom 40% and 66% in GPA?

The 40th percentile to 66th percentile? Probably somewhere between VT and W&M.

If you mean 33rd percentile to the 40th percentile, I would think their targets ware somewhere around VT, Perdue engineering, Penn State engineering, Pitt STEM, Basically stem somewhere that doesn't have a sexy name but has a good program and probably a decent football team.

The schools are fine…but the perception of those schools by the kids themselves after enduring TJ is what is difficult to accept.

?
VT engineering and Perdue engineering are really strong.

Perdue is chicken.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regret that TJ was opted for in 9th based on senior year college rejections or acceptances?

Current TJ parent, we are extremely worried. Sometimes I feel my daughter would have been better with base school.

Entire bottom half of TJ class parents share this feeling, especially from non-stem oriented middle schools. FCPS is doing a real disservice to uninformed parents by not being clear about whether their students are truly ready for TJ-level rigor and by downplaying how many years ahead the top half of the class already is in core subjects from day one. It’s hard to understand the logic behind admitting students with such widely different stem knowledge levels into the same class, especially when the course plans for the top and bottom halves end up being so different never sharing same classrooms. Yet, when it comes to college admissions, those students are still compared against each other, which clearly puts the students of uninformed parents at a disadvantage, even with night after night of long study hours with no real GPA improvement.

The bottom third of TJ kids would probably have been better off staying at their base school.
Parents have no real way of telling without an objective measure like a test.

Where are TJ students going to college if they are between bottom 40% and 66% in GPA?

The 40th percentile to 66th percentile? Probably somewhere between VT and W&M.

If you mean 33rd percentile to the 40th percentile, I would think their targets ware somewhere around VT, Perdue engineering, Penn State engineering, Pitt STEM, Basically stem somewhere that doesn't have a sexy name but has a good program and probably a decent football team.

The schools are fine…but the perception of those schools by the kids themselves after enduring TJ is what is difficult to accept.

?
VT engineering and Perdue engineering are really strong.

Perdue is chicken.

My bad I meant Purdue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No matter what the TJ admissions process happens to be, no matter how "rigorous", half of the students will be in the bottom half. Same is true for Stuy and always has been. It is just math.

And for all of these magnets, the top 20-30% always will have better college admissions than the bottom 50%.

And for virtually all if these magnets, many in the bottom 50% would have better college admissions from their base HS (even if they might get a better education at their magnet).

Life is about choices and tradeoffs. TJ is a big choice.

The bottom half of the graduating class pre-2024 has different results than the most recent graduating class.

Like?

Look at the class of 2024 instagram vs the class of 2025 instagram