IOWA test results and it's correlation to TJHSST

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The activities the poster listed above are not all going on at the same time. Some are only seasonal, some only meet once per month. On any particular day or week, he would only be doing one or some of those activities.
My own child did one extremely time-consuming sport in middle school, not a laundry list of once-a-week or once-a-month activities. Just the one sport, for two hours or so every day, more on the weekends. His teachers hadn't even realized how much time he spent doing his sport until he asked them for recs, and then they were surprised at the high levels of achievement he managed both in and out of school. They knew that a kid who could maintain that schedule would be able to handle the schedule at TJ without much trouble.

Kids should do what they really like and enjoy and then write about that. Admissions just wants to know a little of what the child is like and that he can string a sentence together.

Isn't sport a seasonal activity as well?

My child's sport was year-round, including summers. Many high level athletes train year-round.

Each child is different in what activities he/she pursues or how intensely they are pursued. A sport activity can be very intense and so can activities like spelling bee, math count etc. I know some students who spend hours each day just on spelling bee preparation for example. It all depends on how committed the child is for a particular activity.

Right, my point is that whatever excites the child is what they should be spending their time on, whether it is a number of activities for a few hours each per month or one or two that take up a large percentage of the child's out of school time.

Participation in time-consuming non-academic activities while achieving at a very high level at school shows that the child is very intelligent and very organized, good qualities for a TJ student to exhibit. I was just pointing out that there is no requirement to do a particular set of activities and that high achievement in one non-academic activity is perfectly acceptable.

Saying I am a very good soccer player and soccer is my passion is unlikely to earn many points in demonstrating commitment, curiosity and passion for science, technology, engineering or math. That kid probably should go to a high school with a good soccer team rather than TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The activities the poster listed above are not all going on at the same time. Some are only seasonal, some only meet once per month. On any particular day or week, he would only be doing one or some of those activities.
My own child did one extremely time-consuming sport in middle school, not a laundry list of once-a-week or once-a-month activities. Just the one sport, for two hours or so every day, more on the weekends. His teachers hadn't even realized how much time he spent doing his sport until he asked them for recs, and then they were surprised at the high levels of achievement he managed both in and out of school. They knew that a kid who could maintain that schedule would be able to handle the schedule at TJ without much trouble.

Kids should do what they really like and enjoy and then write about that. Admissions just wants to know a little of what the child is like and that he can string a sentence together.

Isn't sport a seasonal activity as well?

My child's sport was year-round, including summers. Many high level athletes train year-round.

Each child is different in what activities he/she pursues or how intensely they are pursued. A sport activity can be very intense and so can activities like spelling bee, math count etc. I know some students who spend hours each day just on spelling bee preparation for example. It all depends on how committed the child is for a particular activity.

Right, my point is that whatever excites the child is what they should be spending their time on, whether it is a number of activities for a few hours each per month or one or two that take up a large percentage of the child's out of school time.

Participation in time-consuming non-academic activities while achieving at a very high level at school shows that the child is very intelligent and very organized, good qualities for a TJ student to exhibit. I was just pointing out that there is no requirement to do a particular set of activities and that high achievement in one non-academic activity is perfectly acceptable.

Saying I am a very good soccer player and soccer is my passion is unlikely to earn many points in demonstrating commitment, curiosity and passion for science, technology, engineering or math. That kid probably should go to a high school with a good soccer team rather than TJ.

Not if the child can demonstrate how he relates his sport to science and is a high achieving student even with all the time spent on the outside activity. A high ability math student is a high ability math student no matter what he or she does after school. And yes, I've known a few kids whose main activity was a non-academic one, went to TJ, did quite well, and went on to top 10 schools, including Ivies. A few are still there and doing fine as far as I can tell: I know that they weren't among the 15% who needed Algebra II help as freshmen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The activities the poster listed above are not all going on at the same time. Some are only seasonal, some only meet once per month. On any particular day or week, he would only be doing one or some of those activities.
My own child did one extremely time-consuming sport in middle school, not a laundry list of once-a-week or once-a-month activities. Just the one sport, for two hours or so every day, more on the weekends. His teachers hadn't even realized how much time he spent doing his sport until he asked them for recs, and then they were surprised at the high levels of achievement he managed both in and out of school. They knew that a kid who could maintain that schedule would be able to handle the schedule at TJ without much trouble.

Kids should do what they really like and enjoy and then write about that. Admissions just wants to know a little of what the child is like and that he can string a sentence together.

Isn't sport a seasonal activity as well?

My child's sport was year-round, including summers. Many high level athletes train year-round.

Each child is different in what activities he/she pursues or how intensely they are pursued. A sport activity can be very intense and so can activities like spelling bee, math count etc. I know some students who spend hours each day just on spelling bee preparation for example. It all depends on how committed the child is for a particular activity.

Right, my point is that whatever excites the child is what they should be spending their time on, whether it is a number of activities for a few hours each per month or one or two that take up a large percentage of the child's out of school time.

Participation in time-consuming non-academic activities while achieving at a very high level at school shows that the child is very intelligent and very organized, good qualities for a TJ student to exhibit. I was just pointing out that there is no requirement to do a particular set of activities and that high achievement in one non-academic activity is perfectly acceptable.

Saying I am a very good soccer player and soccer is my passion is unlikely to earn many points in demonstrating commitment, curiosity and passion for science, technology, engineering or math. That kid probably should go to a high school with a good soccer team rather than TJ.

Not if the child can demonstrate how he relates his sport to science and is a high achieving student even with all the time spent on the outside activity. A high ability math student is a high ability math student no matter what he or she does after school. And yes, I've known a few kids whose main activity was a non-academic one, went to TJ, did quite well, and went on to top 10 schools, including Ivies. A few are still there and doing fine as far as I can tell: I know that they weren't among the 15% who needed Algebra II help as freshmen.

How would a kid in middle school relate his sport to science when he hasn't yet taken physics, physiology, anatomy, calculus, statistics, bioinformatics etc. ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The activities the poster listed above are not all going on at the same time. Some are only seasonal, some only meet once per month. On any particular day or week, he would only be doing one or some of those activities.
My own child did one extremely time-consuming sport in middle school, not a laundry list of once-a-week or once-a-month activities. Just the one sport, for two hours or so every day, more on the weekends. His teachers hadn't even realized how much time he spent doing his sport until he asked them for recs, and then they were surprised at the high levels of achievement he managed both in and out of school. They knew that a kid who could maintain that schedule would be able to handle the schedule at TJ without much trouble.

Kids should do what they really like and enjoy and then write about that. Admissions just wants to know a little of what the child is like and that he can string a sentence together.

Isn't sport a seasonal activity as well?

My child's sport was year-round, including summers. Many high level athletes train year-round.

Each child is different in what activities he/she pursues or how intensely they are pursued. A sport activity can be very intense and so can activities like spelling bee, math count etc. I know some students who spend hours each day just on spelling bee preparation for example. It all depends on how committed the child is for a particular activity.

Right, my point is that whatever excites the child is what they should be spending their time on, whether it is a number of activities for a few hours each per month or one or two that take up a large percentage of the child's out of school time.

Participation in time-consuming non-academic activities while achieving at a very high level at school shows that the child is very intelligent and very organized, good qualities for a TJ student to exhibit. I was just pointing out that there is no requirement to do a particular set of activities and that high achievement in one non-academic activity is perfectly acceptable.

Saying I am a very good soccer player and soccer is my passion is unlikely to earn many points in demonstrating commitment, curiosity and passion for science, technology, engineering or math. That kid probably should go to a high school with a good soccer team rather than TJ.

Not if the child can demonstrate how he relates his sport to science and is a high achieving student even with all the time spent on the outside activity. A high ability math student is a high ability math student no matter what he or she does after school. And yes, I've known a few kids whose main activity was a non-academic one, went to TJ, did quite well, and went on to top 10 schools, including Ivies. A few are still there and doing fine as far as I can tell: I know that they weren't among the 15% who needed Algebra II help as freshmen.

How would a kid in middle school relate his sport to science when he hasn't yet taken physics, physiology, anatomy, calculus, statistics, bioinformatics etc. ?

They don't need to write a thesis, just the child's own perceptions. They are, after all, 12 and 13 year olds. I'm just saying that there is no magic formula of activities that a child needs to do to be accepted at TJ. When a kid really enjoys an activity, they tend to get the most out of it. My own observation is that kids who are excited about whatever activities they choose tend to have a good experience if they end up at TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The activities the poster listed above are not all going on at the same time. Some are only seasonal, some only meet once per month. On any particular day or week, he would only be doing one or some of those activities.
My own child did one extremely time-consuming sport in middle school, not a laundry list of once-a-week or once-a-month activities. Just the one sport, for two hours or so every day, more on the weekends. His teachers hadn't even realized how much time he spent doing his sport until he asked them for recs, and then they were surprised at the high levels of achievement he managed both in and out of school. They knew that a kid who could maintain that schedule would be able to handle the schedule at TJ without much trouble.

Kids should do what they really like and enjoy and then write about that. Admissions just wants to know a little of what the child is like and that he can string a sentence together.

Isn't sport a seasonal activity as well?

My child's sport was year-round, including summers. Many high level athletes train year-round.

Each child is different in what activities he/she pursues or how intensely they are pursued. A sport activity can be very intense and so can activities like spelling bee, math count etc. I know some students who spend hours each day just on spelling bee preparation for example. It all depends on how committed the child is for a particular activity.

Right, my point is that whatever excites the child is what they should be spending their time on, whether it is a number of activities for a few hours each per month or one or two that take up a large percentage of the child's out of school time.

Participation in time-consuming non-academic activities while achieving at a very high level at school shows that the child is very intelligent and very organized, good qualities for a TJ student to exhibit. I was just pointing out that there is no requirement to do a particular set of activities and that high achievement in one non-academic activity is perfectly acceptable.

Saying I am a very good soccer player and soccer is my passion is unlikely to earn many points in demonstrating commitment, curiosity and passion for science, technology, engineering or math. That kid probably should go to a high school with a good soccer team rather than TJ.

Not if the child can demonstrate how he relates his sport to science and is a high achieving student even with all the time spent on the outside activity. A high ability math student is a high ability math student no matter what he or she does after school. And yes, I've known a few kids whose main activity was a non-academic one, went to TJ, did quite well, and went on to top 10 schools, including Ivies. A few are still there and doing fine as far as I can tell: I know that they weren't among the 15% who needed Algebra II help as freshmen.

How would a kid in middle school relate his sport to science when he hasn't yet taken physics, physiology, anatomy, calculus, statistics, bioinformatics etc. ?

They don't need to write a thesis, just the child's own perceptions. They are, after all, 12 and 13 year olds. I'm just saying that there is no magic formula of activities that a child needs to do to be accepted at TJ. When a kid really enjoys an activity, they tend to get the most out of it. My own observation is that kids who are excited about whatever activities they choose tend to have a good experience if they end up at TJ.

I agree that "When a kid really enjoys an activity, they tend to get the most out of it." However, you are being optimistic and giving too much credit to the admissions' committee. The committee has a specific scoring rubric to score the application package including the essay/SIS in a "holistic" manner and each member may have few minutes at most to read/score hundreds of essays/SIS. I don't think the committee members will score an applicant being passionate about 1 sport and someone being passionate and possibly doing well in mathcount, science olympiad and robotics the same way. I think the committee is under an obligation to look for : High ability, aptitude, and interest in math, science, and technology, Intellectual curiosity and self-motivation to pursue scientific research, Desire to be challenged with an extensive curriculum focused in math, science, and technology as well as "diversity in student body" among other things under FCPS 3355.12.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The activities the poster listed above are not all going on at the same time. Some are only seasonal, some only meet once per month. On any particular day or week, he would only be doing one or some of those activities.
My own child did one extremely time-consuming sport in middle school, not a laundry list of once-a-week or once-a-month activities. Just the one sport, for two hours or so every day, more on the weekends. His teachers hadn't even realized how much time he spent doing his sport until he asked them for recs, and then they were surprised at the high levels of achievement he managed both in and out of school. They knew that a kid who could maintain that schedule would be able to handle the schedule at TJ without much trouble.

Kids should do what they really like and enjoy and then write about that. Admissions just wants to know a little of what the child is like and that he can string a sentence together.

Isn't sport a seasonal activity as well?

My child's sport was year-round, including summers. Many high level athletes train year-round.

Each child is different in what activities he/she pursues or how intensely they are pursued. A sport activity can be very intense and so can activities like spelling bee, math count etc. I know some students who spend hours each day just on spelling bee preparation for example. It all depends on how committed the child is for a particular activity.

Right, my point is that whatever excites the child is what they should be spending their time on, whether it is a number of activities for a few hours each per month or one or two that take up a large percentage of the child's out of school time.

Participation in time-consuming non-academic activities while achieving at a very high level at school shows that the child is very intelligent and very organized, good qualities for a TJ student to exhibit. I was just pointing out that there is no requirement to do a particular set of activities and that high achievement in one non-academic activity is perfectly acceptable.

Saying I am a very good soccer player and soccer is my passion is unlikely to earn many points in demonstrating commitment, curiosity and passion for science, technology, engineering or math. That kid probably should go to a high school with a good soccer team rather than TJ.

Not if the child can demonstrate how he relates his sport to science and is a high achieving student even with all the time spent on the outside activity. A high ability math student is a high ability math student no matter what he or she does after school. And yes, I've known a few kids whose main activity was a non-academic one, went to TJ, did quite well, and went on to top 10 schools, including Ivies. A few are still there and doing fine as far as I can tell: I know that they weren't among the 15% who needed Algebra II help as freshmen.

How would a kid in middle school relate his sport to science when he hasn't yet taken physics, physiology, anatomy, calculus, statistics, bioinformatics etc. ?

They don't need to write a thesis, just the child's own perceptions. They are, after all, 12 and 13 year olds. I'm just saying that there is no magic formula of activities that a child needs to do to be accepted at TJ. When a kid really enjoys an activity, they tend to get the most out of it. My own observation is that kids who are excited about whatever activities they choose tend to have a good experience if they end up at TJ.

I agree that "When a kid really enjoys an activity, they tend to get the most out of it." However, you are being optimistic and giving too much credit to the admissions' committee. The committee has a specific scoring rubric to score the application package including the essay/SIS in a "holistic" manner and each member may have few minutes at most to read/score hundreds of essays/SIS. I don't think the committee members will score an applicant being passionate about 1 sport and someone being passionate and possibly doing well in mathcount, science olympiad and robotics the same way. I think the committee is under an obligation to look for : High ability, aptitude, and interest in math, science, and technology, Intellectual curiosity and self-motivation to pursue scientific research, Desire to be challenged with an extensive curriculum focused in math, science, and technology as well as "diversity in student body" among other things under FCPS 3355.12.

I am not trying to argue with you, I am just saying that there is no fill-in-the-blank, one-size-fits-all check off list of activities that kids need to do in middle school if they are interested in TJ. I personally know of a about a dozen kids who participated in one very time consuming athletic activity and they had or are having successful high school careers at TJ. I've known kids like this going back to 2002 and a few of them are students there now. They are all outstandingly bright young people who have a strong work ethic and great time management skills because of their athletic participation. Walking in the door at TJ doesn't mean you have to drop all other interests and only engage in math and science activities!

[Anonymous]

I don't think the committee members will score an applicant being passionate about 1 sport and someone being passionate and possibly doing well in mathcount, science olympiad and robotics the same way.

I think these could possibly be scored the same. The one sport can take up as much and more time as mathcounts, science Olympiad, and robotics. The difference I see is the fact that the activities with more academic content might enhance and reinforce academic achievement at school, thus helping the child to get better grades. So the child might do better at school partly because of his outside activities. On the other hand, a sport can take away from study time. So the kid who achieves highly in school while devoting hours to a sport actually can have a more impressive record when it is fully considered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I don't think the committee members will score an applicant being passionate about 1 sport and someone being passionate and possibly doing well in mathcount, science olympiad and robotics the same way.

I think these could possibly be scored the same. The one sport can take up as much and more time as mathcounts, science Olympiad, and robotics. The difference I see is the fact that the activities with more academic content might enhance and reinforce academic achievement at school, thus helping the child to get better grades. So the child might do better at school partly because of his outside activities. On the other hand, a sport can take away from study time. So the kid who achieves highly in school while devoting hours to a sport actually can have a more impressive record when it is fully considered.

In this country sport is worshiped while academics is not. One of the reasons the public education is doing so poorly compared to other countries. High school's primary mission is to educate students not sport. College's primary mission is to educate not football or basketball. Public education will never improve with this twisted priority and mentality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't think the committee members will score an applicant being passionate about 1 sport and someone being passionate and possibly doing well in mathcount, science olympiad and robotics the same way.

I think these could possibly be scored the same. The one sport can take up as much and more time as mathcounts, science Olympiad, and robotics. The difference I see is the fact that the activities with more academic content might enhance and reinforce academic achievement at school, thus helping the child to get better grades. So the child might do better at school partly because of his outside activities. On the other hand, a sport can take away from study time. So the kid who achieves highly in school while devoting hours to a sport actually can have a more impressive record when it is fully considered.

In this country sport is worshiped while academics is not. One of the reasons the public education is doing so poorly compared to other countries. High school's primary mission is to educate students not sport. College's primary mission is to educate not football or basketball. Public education will never improve with this twisted priority and mentality.

As the old saying goes, the ideal to strive for is, "A sound mind in a sound body."

Balance is important and a kid who can excel in more than one area at once will be highly successful, especially at such a demanding high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't think the committee members will score an applicant being passionate about 1 sport and someone being passionate and possibly doing well in mathcount, science olympiad and robotics the same way.

I think these could possibly be scored the same. The one sport can take up as much and more time as mathcounts, science Olympiad, and robotics. The difference I see is the fact that the activities with more academic content might enhance and reinforce academic achievement at school, thus helping the child to get better grades. So the child might do better at school partly because of his outside activities. On the other hand, a sport can take away from study time. So the kid who achieves highly in school while devoting hours to a sport actually can have a more impressive record when it is fully considered.

In this country sport is worshiped while academics is not. One of the reasons the public education is doing so poorly compared to other countries. High school's primary mission is to educate students not sport. College's primary mission is to educate not football or basketball. Public education will never improve with this twisted priority and mentality.

As the old saying goes, the ideal to strive for is, "A sound mind in a sound body."

Balance is important and a kid who can excel in more than one area at once will be highly successful, especially at such a demanding high school.

How ironic though we have a terrible public schools in general and the highest obesity rate of all the developed nations. An uneducated mind in an obese body.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't think the committee members will score an applicant being passionate about 1 sport and someone being passionate and possibly doing well in mathcount, science olympiad and robotics the same way.

I think these could possibly be scored the same. The one sport can take up as much and more time as mathcounts, science Olympiad, and robotics. The difference I see is the fact that the activities with more academic content might enhance and reinforce academic achievement at school, thus helping the child to get better grades. So the child might do better at school partly because of his outside activities. On the other hand, a sport can take away from study time. So the kid who achieves highly in school while devoting hours to a sport actually can have a more impressive record when it is fully considered.

In this country sport is worshiped while academics is not. One of the reasons the public education is doing so poorly compared to other countries. High school's primary mission is to educate students not sport. College's primary mission is to educate not football or basketball. Public education will never improve with this twisted priority and mentality.

As the old saying goes, the ideal to strive for is, "A sound mind in a sound body."

Balance is important and a kid who can excel in more than one area at once will be highly successful, especially at such a demanding high school.

How ironic though we have a terrible public schools in general and the highest obesity rate of all the developed nations. An uneducated mind in an obese body.

Of course, not every individual in any culture achieves the ultimate ideals of that culture.

Here, we are talking about kids who combine outstanding achievement in both academics and athletics. A TJ student who participates in athletic activities for 12-15 and more hours per week is neither obese nor uneducated.

[Anonymous]

If any TJ parents on here can honestly say their children stated or discussed nothing except for 1 sport the child was passionate about on both the essay and the SIS and was accepted to TJ, please let us know. That would be surprising.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If any TJ parents on here can honestly say their children stated or discussed nothing except for 1 sport the child was passionate about on both the essay and the SIS and was accepted to TJ, please let us know. That would be surprising.

In the questions relating to outside activities, they ask the kids specifically to answer about just one activity or one accomplishment. My child at TJ and a number of others I know wrote mostly about one specific athletic activity that is highly time consuming. These are kids who are highly academically accomplished, in addition to being very strong athletes. Not all the questions refer to outside activities, some ask about school, also, but even those ask the child to focus the answers on one accomplishment or interest for each question.

TJ students have many different interests. The school is not looking for kids who have zero interest in anything outside of math and science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If any TJ parents on here can honestly say their children stated or discussed nothing except for 1 sport the child was passionate about on both the essay and the SIS and was accepted to TJ, please let us know. That would be surprising.

In the questions relating to outside activities, they ask the kids specifically to answer about just one activity or one accomplishment. My child at TJ and a number of others I know wrote mostly about one specific athletic activity that is highly time consuming. These are kids who are highly academically accomplished, in addition to being very strong athletes. Not all the questions refer to outside activities, some ask about school, also, but even those ask the child to focus the answers on one accomplishment or interest for each question.

TJ students have many different interests. The school is not looking for kids who have zero interest in anything outside of math and science.

Ok, but you are not saying the kids only discussed 1 sport activity. They must have discussed other activities as well. I am not sure why you would want to give the impression all those kids only discussed 1 sport activity and nothing else and were accepted. That is misleading.

This is directly from the admissions office website:

For the SIS:

3. Think about what you have done to help show that TJHSST is a right fit for you.
Remember, TJ is a STEM focused school and the SIS helps us figure out which
applicants would be the best fit for the school. Have you shown an interest in science,
technology, engineering, or math prior to now? What have you done to pursue that
interest?

Sample essay prompts:

“Please discuss in detail an activity in science, mathematics, or technology in which you
have been involved in the 6th, 7th, or 8th grade that has had a significant impact on your
interest in science, mathematics, or technology.”

“If you could invite three individuals who have had an impact in the fields of
mathematics, science, or technology (either present day or in history) to come together
for a group discussion with you, whom would you invite? Why would you invite each
person? What questions would you ask them?”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If any TJ parents on here can honestly say their children stated or discussed nothing except for 1 sport the child was passionate about on both the essay and the SIS and was accepted to TJ, please let us know. That would be surprising.

In the questions relating to outside activities, they ask the kids specifically to answer about just one activity or one accomplishment. My child at TJ and a number of others I know wrote mostly about one specific athletic activity that is highly time consuming. These are kids who are highly academically accomplished, in addition to being very strong athletes. Not all the questions refer to outside activities, some ask about school, also, but even those ask the child to focus the answers on one accomplishment or interest for each question.

TJ students have many different interests. The school is not looking for kids who have zero interest in anything outside of math and science.

Ok, but you are not saying the kids only discussed 1 sport activity. They must have discussed other activities as well. I am not sure why you would want to give the impression all those kids only discussed 1 sport activity and nothing else and were accepted. That is misleading.

This is directly from the admissions office website:

For the SIS:

3. Think about what you have done to help show that TJHSST is a right fit for you.
Remember, TJ is a STEM focused school and the SIS helps us figure out which
applicants would be the best fit for the school. Have you shown an interest in science,
technology, engineering, or math prior to now? What have you done to pursue that
interest?

Sample essay prompts:

“Please discuss in detail an activity in science, mathematics, or technology in which you
have been involved in the 6th, 7th, or 8th grade that has had a significant impact on your
interest in science, mathematics, or technology.”

“If you could invite three individuals who have had an impact in the fields of
mathematics, science, or technology (either present day or in history) to come together
for a group discussion with you, whom would you invite? Why would you invite each
person? What questions would you ask them?”

I was discussing the SIS. That first essay prompt could easily be answered by discussing an in-school activity; it does not ask that the activity be an out-of-school one. I do know kids whose only extracurricular was an athletic activity. Obviously these kids were interested in and highly accomplished in math and science at school or else they would not have applied to TJ.

There is no need for middle school kids to restrict their outside activities to just math and science. Kids can deeply pursue interests in sports or music or arts outside of school while achieving in math and science at school. Again, TJ kids have many interests in addition to math and science. Of course, they love and are highly accomplished in math and science, but that is not all they do.