Are TJ college admissions a mess this year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It worth knowing if colleges are comparing TJ kids among only TJ kids, 1550 SAT might be in the mid or low range for TJ but high compared to FCPS high schools overall performance.

1550 is low range nowhere, not even TJ.

I believe average hovers just under 1500.

This is usually correct. In a given year the average SAT score at TJ will be just below or just above 1500.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hear more than usual acceptances to top 20 this year. The lawsuit against Harvard caused some ivies to increase Asian acceptances for the past several years hoping to persuade the outcome of the case.

If you need evidence to defend against a lawsuit based on racial discrimination, a good tactic is to artificially manufacture new favorable evidence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hear more than usual acceptances to top 20 this year. The lawsuit against Harvard caused some ivies to increase Asian acceptances for the past several years hoping to persuade the outcome of the case.

If you need evidence to defend against a lawsuit based on racial discrimination, a good tactic is to artificially manufacture new favorable evidence.

It that does not excuse the Ivies from engaging in racist admissions policies in the past.

[Anonymous]

Which among HYPSM do TJ kids have more success with admissions? Which are more popular to apply to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which among HYPSM do TJ kids have more success with admissions? Which are more popular to apply to?

I would say of all of those, Stanford receives the fewest applications from TJ and also the fewest admits. The other four see roughly similar application numbers at the moment because the applicants are still coming from the old TJ admissions process, which tended to produce prestige-oriented families rather than an appropriate focus on fit. I think Yale tends to admit the fewest, MIT the most, and the other two are largely toss-ups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which among HYPSM do TJ kids have more success with admissions? Which are more popular to apply to?

I would say of all of those, Stanford receives the fewest applications from TJ and also the fewest admits. The other four see roughly similar application numbers at the moment because the applicants are still coming from the old TJ admissions process, which tended to produce prestige-oriented families rather than an appropriate focus on fit. I think Yale tends to admit the fewest, MIT the most, and the other two are largely toss-ups.

Is there any information if they admit more legacy or URM? instead of just regular TJ kids like privates. Like there are only few URM kids at TJ, wonder if they get preference in admission to HYPSM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which among HYPSM do TJ kids have more success with admissions? Which are more popular to apply to?

I would say of all of those, Stanford receives the fewest applications from TJ and also the fewest admits. The other four see roughly similar application numbers at the moment because the applicants are still coming from the old TJ admissions process, which tended to produce prestige-oriented families rather than an appropriate focus on fit. I think Yale tends to admit the fewest, MIT the most, and the other two are largely toss-ups.

Is there any information if they admit more legacy or URM? instead of just regular TJ kids like privates. Like there are only few URM kids at TJ, wonder if they get preference in admission to HYPSM.

Who has better chance to get into HYPSM? 1) TJ URM with not so rigorous coursework and subpar GPA, or 2) HS URM with better coursework and higher GPA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which among HYPSM do TJ kids have more success with admissions? Which are more popular to apply to?

I would say of all of those, Stanford receives the fewest applications from TJ and also the fewest admits. The other four see roughly similar application numbers at the moment because the applicants are still coming from the old TJ admissions process, which tended to produce prestige-oriented families rather than an appropriate focus on fit. I think Yale tends to admit the fewest, MIT the most, and the other two are largely toss-ups.

Is there any information if they admit more legacy or URM? instead of just regular TJ kids like privates. Like there are only few URM kids at TJ, wonder if they get preference in admission to HYPSM.

Who has better chance to get into HYPSM? 1) TJ URM with not so rigorous coursework and subpar GPA, or 2) HS URM with better coursework and higher GPA

TJ coursework will (usually) be viewed as just as or more rigorous than the home HS.

To your underlying question, the top 1-4 students at every high school has a chance at HYPSM (look at McLean/Langley stats). At TJ, it's the top 20-40 that have a chance at HYPSM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It worth knowing if colleges are comparing TJ kids among only TJ kids, 1550 SAT might be in the mid or low range for TJ but high compared to FCPS high schools overall performance.

1550 is low range nowhere, not even TJ.

I believe average hovers just under 1500.

The average about 1530 unless it changed in the past few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which among HYPSM do TJ kids have more success with admissions? Which are more popular to apply to?

I would say of all of those, Stanford receives the fewest applications from TJ and also the fewest admits. The other four see roughly similar application numbers at the moment because the applicants are still coming from the old TJ admissions process, which tended to produce prestige-oriented families rather than an appropriate focus on fit. I think Yale tends to admit the fewest, MIT the most, and the other two are largely toss-ups.

Is there any information if they admit more legacy or URM? instead of just regular TJ kids like privates. Like there are only few URM kids at TJ, wonder if they get preference in admission to HYPSM.

Who has better chance to get into HYPSM? 1) TJ URM with not so rigorous coursework and subpar GPA, or 2) HS URM with better coursework and higher GPA

No. 1 definitely - speaking from experience of having my kid attend before all the crazies started.

[Anonymous]

Hear me out for a second... being obsessed with getting into "HYPSM" is one of the best ways to ensure that you don't get into them.

The reason is because you're focusing on prestige rather than fit. Those are five completely different schools with completely different strengths and weaknesses. The only thing that the five of them all share in common is the prestige element and that they're among the most highly rejective schools in America. It's a thing that you want because it's a status symbol, not because it's the best thing for you/your kid - and CERTAINLY not because it's the best thing for the school to admit your kid.

The grades, the academic rigor, and the board scores are all relative necessities to get into those schools, but they are FAR from sufficient. They all reject literally thousands of kids every single year who have flawless applications on paper. So what's a family to do?

You have to make the case that the school will be better off with you attending. You have to convince them that you are going to add value to the university's environment that they won't get from admitting someone else. And, yes - this is one of the reasons that people from underrepresented groups get favorable treatment in admissions processes: BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT AND WERE NEVER DESIGNED TO BE MERITOCRACIES.

Harvard is not in the business of choosing "the best" 2,000 applicants on paper - they are in the business of constructing a class of 2,000 or so students that will be the best for Harvard's present and future. Harvard likes having a $50 billion endowment, so they need kids who are likely to either make or to generate major gifts. Sometimes that comes from their football team, sometimes that comes from an alum making a huge discovery, and sometimes that comes from a really rich family writing a check to get their name on a building because four generations went to Harvard. And those major gifts are used to enhance the student experience and make it more likely that the next major gift will come along.

Fair? No, but neither is anything else in this world. So, post-SCOTUS, Harvard will figure out another way to admit the class of kids that they want to admit. And it will continue to be a top-ranked institution even while Indian families in Northern Virginia mutter about how it's not as prestigious as it used to be. And the exact same thing will happen with TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which among HYPSM do TJ kids have more success with admissions? Which are more popular to apply to?

I would say of all of those, Stanford receives the fewest applications from TJ and also the fewest admits. The other four see roughly similar application numbers at the moment because the applicants are still coming from the old TJ admissions process, which tended to produce prestige-oriented families rather than an appropriate focus on fit. I think Yale tends to admit the fewest, MIT the most, and the other two are largely toss-ups.

Is there any information if they admit more legacy or URM? instead of just regular TJ kids like privates. Like there are only few URM kids at TJ, wonder if they get preference in admission to HYPSM.

Who has better chance to get into HYPSM? 1) TJ URM with not so rigorous coursework and subpar GPA, or 2) HS URM with better coursework and higher GPA

(2) if you want a happy stress free child with sufficient sleep, with plenty of time to do extracurriculars and be on school team.
We made the unfortunate choice of accepting TJ, and going through a stressful freshman with Bs and Cs. Now back at base school with decent grades and a social life.

[Anonymous]

I’ve heard of 6 or maybe 7 in at Chicago early.

[Anonymous]

14 to Michigan.

[Anonymous]

19 to Harvard