Reasons why one would not accept TJ offer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are this year's freshmen doing so far?

Other than Math, what courses are considered difficult in Freshman?

Usually main courses take a lot of time. Sometimes AP eritif.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ is significantly and by a large margin much harder than base HS.

Experience of same kid at base HS and TJ. Kid moved to TJ in 10th grade.

At base HS, all homework is finished at school itself and child home by 3 PM. Absolutely no additional effort needed at home - child took 2 AP classes in 9th, even then school is pretty easy. Tests took maybe 15 minutes more of effort at home. Grade book frequently had 100+ scores out of 100 in many subjects because they give bonus points for some things.

At TJ, the amount of effort is lot more. 2-3 hours per day. Highly kid dependent but heard lot of classmates were spending a lot more time. Some courses are at the same level of rigor as college.

At base HS if you understand the content you are good for an A. At TJ, you need in depth understanding of the subject. So you need to be able to apply the concept in a different situation, so you need to understand it very thoroughly. About 20% of test questions are in this category.

At TJ you get a fantastic education. But when applying to colleges, it might be a slight disadvantage for the top colleges.

At base child's recommendations would have been off the chart. Child was able to get into a very selective program from base HS because one teacher wrote something like "never saw anyone like this in my 18 years of teaching...".

At TJ, same child would get a good recommendation but nothing like at base HS. In one activity child is in top 100 in nation but there is at least one child every two years who is in the top 10. So the recommendation letters would likewise be much less strong coming from TJ than at base HS.

For our second child we decided not to go to TJ.

TJ is the right place for child 1 but not for child 2.

+1

You have to take a step beyond this, though.

Child 1 learns to self-study at TJ, gets into mediocre state school, excels with 4.0 GPA and amazes all her professors who usually don't see this type of student. Gets great recommendation to get into Ivy+ grad school (free since they would be grad TAs). Child 2 is at the top of their class at Base HS and is shocked at when Ivy+ Econ 101 is using grad-level differential equations (based on a true story, BTW). Child 2 has a mediocre (and expensive) Ivy+ undergrad and goes to Mediocre Grad school.

What's the better outcome?

This is a fascinating twist of events. If TJ is right for child 1, can I assume that child 1 is the smarter? Did child 1 do better in college because (1) he/she is smarter and would have succeeded anywhere (2) acquired rigorous study habit from TJ which helped with college, or (3) went to a state school and was able to stand out instead of a harder IVY.

As someone who did a Base HS followed by top-5 college and law school, I find this a little far-fetched. Yes, college was a difficult transition but I worked hard and figured it out and was admitted to an elite law school. Grading at a places like Stanford or Harvard is not particularly difficult outside of the technical fields. Even within those it’s just a matter of being thorough and making liberal use of office hours to ensure the problem sets are perfect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ is significantly and by a large margin much harder than base HS.

Experience of same kid at base HS and TJ. Kid moved to TJ in 10th grade.

At base HS, all homework is finished at school itself and child home by 3 PM. Absolutely no additional effort needed at home - child took 2 AP classes in 9th, even then school is pretty easy. Tests took maybe 15 minutes more of effort at home. Grade book frequently had 100+ scores out of 100 in many subjects because they give bonus points for some things.

At TJ, the amount of effort is lot more. 2-3 hours per day. Highly kid dependent but heard lot of classmates were spending a lot more time. Some courses are at the same level of rigor as college.

At base HS if you understand the content you are good for an A. At TJ, you need in depth understanding of the subject. So you need to be able to apply the concept in a different situation, so you need to understand it very thoroughly. About 20% of test questions are in this category.

At TJ you get a fantastic education. But when applying to colleges, it might be a slight disadvantage for the top colleges.

At base child's recommendations would have been off the chart. Child was able to get into a very selective program from base HS because one teacher wrote something like "never saw anyone like this in my 18 years of teaching...".

At TJ, same child would get a good recommendation but nothing like at base HS. In one activity child is in top 100 in nation but there is at least one child every two years who is in the top 10. So the recommendation letters would likewise be much less strong coming from TJ than at base HS.

For our second child we decided not to go to TJ.

TJ is the right place for child 1 but not for child 2.

+1

You have to take a step beyond this, though.

Child 1 learns to self-study at TJ, gets into mediocre state school, excels with 4.0 GPA and amazes all her professors who usually don't see this type of student. Gets great recommendation to get into Ivy+ grad school (free since they would be grad TAs). Child 2 is at the top of their class at Base HS and is shocked at when Ivy+ Econ 101 is using grad-level differential equations (based on a true story, BTW). Child 2 has a mediocre (and expensive) Ivy+ undergrad and goes to Mediocre Grad school.

What's the better outcome?

This is a fascinating twist of events. If TJ is right for child 1, can I assume that child 1 is the smarter? Did child 1 do better in college because (1) he/she is smarter and would have succeeded anywhere (2) acquired rigorous study habit from TJ which helped with college, or (3) went to a state school and was able to stand out instead of a harder IVY.

Need to add the most important wrinkle from the youngster's perspective ... who has better chances for getting a hot date? college life is not all about studies, dating and girl/boy factors matter too.

[Anonymous]

What is the dating scene like at TJ? The stereotype might suggest it's one big nerd world, but how does it really compare to the base school?
... asking on behalf of an applicant

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents really need to get out of their head the idea that there is (or should be) anything objective about the admissions process at any college.

Colleges, because they have the freedom to do so, evaluate the entire admissions profile and make decisions about how to put together a class that fits and achieves the goals of the university, whatever they might be. Businesses do the same thing when they hire people.

UVA admits and gives full scholarships to kids with low-3 GPAs and 11-1200 SAT scores because they need help on the football, baseball, or lacrosse team. They have the right to do that and it's in their best interest to do so. They have the capacity to admit more students than they might otherwise because of money that flows in either directly from their extremely successful athletic program or because of donations that are inspired by their extremely successful athletic program. That's how many colleges work.

Stop obsessing over all of the metrics - they matter a lot less than you think they do - and start developing kids that universities believe will either give donations or inspire them.

To follow up on this - parents and students who spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out the "magic formula" are wasting their time. There isn't one.

Schools are looking for what they are looking for and they don't publish that information for very understandable reasons. And what they are looking for changes constantly in response to how each admitted class looks and how each admitted class performs.

I don't blame parents for wanting to understand exactly what the rules of the game are so that they can follow them to the letter - but expecting that schools are going to tell you exactly what to do, or even have an explicit set of rules that they follow relentlessly, is just silly nonsense.

That's a presumptuous thing to say.

Uhhh, how so? NP but seems pretty spot on to me, and franky empathetic, but certainly nothing there that seems particularly bold or out-of-bounds.

Really? Everyone on this board is obsessing over all the metrics which is a problem because metrics do not equate to acceptance rate? I disagree. All else being equal, the higher the score, the better the odds.

But "obsessing" (as you put it) over all the metrics implies that you are putting more time, energy, and focus on maximizing those. There's an opportunity cost for that, including but not limited to investing more in cultivating some of the other dimensions/criteria that schools care about.... hobbies, community service, arts, sports, music/band, etc. or other self-initiative endeavors... telling the stories of obstacles overcome (or helping others overcome) or the type of person you are and want to become... developing and pursuing specific interests and passions and on and on with other such non-metrics aspects of an application that colleges seem to care as much or more about. I don't think a college really cares about a X point vs X+20 point SAT score, those kids are basically in the same bucket (all else being equal) and the decision is going to be made based on non-metric factors.

[Anonymous]

What GPA is required for a TJ student to rank in the top half of their class compared to a student at Falls Church High?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the dating scene like at TJ? The stereotype might suggest it's one big nerd world, but how does it really compare to the base school?
... asking on behalf of an applicant

There’s a surprisingly robust dating scene. Girls there are not the nerdy types you might expect. They are stylish and outgoing as a group. Boys take a bit longer to mature, but get there by sophomore/Junior year. There’s a dating scene and social life for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the dating scene like at TJ? The stereotype might suggest it's one big nerd world, but how does it really compare to the base school?
... asking on behalf of an applicant

We are talking about 14 to 18 yo. Is this even a topic to consider at this young age? seriously??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the dating scene like at TJ? The stereotype might suggest it's one big nerd world, but how does it really compare to the base school?
... asking on behalf of an applicant

We are talking about 14 to 18 yo. Is this even a topic to consider at this young age? seriously??

You must not have attended HS in the US. Of course kids in HS date.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the dating scene like at TJ? The stereotype might suggest it's one big nerd world, but how does it really compare to the base school?
... asking on behalf of an applicant

We are talking about 14 to 18 yo. Is this even a topic to consider at this young age? seriously??

You must not have attended HS in the US. Of course kids in HS date.

HS Kids outside of US date as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What GPA is required for a TJ student to rank in the top half of their class compared to a student at Falls Church High?

Around 3.75 unweighted at TJ.
Falls Church not sure, maybe 2.5 to 3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the dating scene like at TJ? The stereotype might suggest it's one big nerd world, but how does it really compare to the base school?
... asking on behalf of an applicant

We are talking about 14 to 18 yo. Is this even a topic to consider at this young age? seriously??

You must not have attended HS in the US. Of course kids in HS date.

HS Kids outside of US date as well.

I was not implying HS kids do not date. I was just surprised why would anyone give much thought so to ask "What is the dating scene like at TJ?" .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the dating scene like at TJ? The stereotype might suggest it's one big nerd world, but how does it really compare to the base school?
... asking on behalf of an applicant

We are talking about 14 to 18 yo. Is this even a topic to consider at this young age? seriously??

You must not have attended HS in the US. Of course kids in HS date.

HS Kids outside of US date as well.

I was not implying HS kids do not date. I was just surprised why would anyone give much thought so to ask "What is the dating scene like at TJ?" .

As PP said she was asking for an applicant, I assume an 8th grade boy is pondering this question. while yes we might view that as a silly thing to fixate on, for an 8th grade boy it may feel important.

[Anonymous]

Fellas, you all talking or expecting TJ to be some sort of a religious school with restrictions on romantic relationships, holding hands, public displays of affection, and so on. TJ is just like any other public school with a nerdy tilt, but kids form teenage relationships as they please, with parents closely monitoring them like hawks, ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the dating scene like at TJ? The stereotype might suggest it's one big nerd world, but how does it really compare to the base school?
... asking on behalf of an applicant

We are talking about 14 to 18 yo. Is this even a topic to consider at this young age? seriously??

You must not have attended HS in the US. Of course kids in HS date.

HS Kids outside of US date as well.

I was not implying HS kids do not date. I was just surprised why would anyone give much thought so to ask "What is the dating scene like at TJ?" .

As PP said she was asking for an applicant, I assume an 8th grade boy is pondering this question. while yes we might view that as a silly thing to fixate on, for an 8th grade boy it may feel important.

Ha. It’s the 8th grade girls who should worry. TJ boys aren’t ready for prime time. They need another year or two to mature. 😀