Official TJ Admissions Decisions Results for the Class of 2025

[Anonymous]

Accepted.
Frost. AAP. 4.0 GPA. Algebra 1 Honors.

[Anonymous]

My kid got waitlisted-All A’s, Algebra II, All honors. She’s Asian but no prep classes and we do not push her to take higher math. If it wasn’t for COVID and sheer boredom she wouldn’t have taken Geometry last summer.

I know many of her friends also have Algebra II, all honors and also all A’s and waitlisted. As I’m reading kids with Algebra I from my daughter’s school got in, I’m curious as to how they determined top 1.5%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid accepted.

Cooper GPA: 4.0, Algebra I, Asian

Do you believe your kid is the top 1.5% at Cooper?

No idea.. how to find out top % ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid got waitlisted-All A’s, Algebra II, All honors. She’s Asian but no prep classes and we do not push her to take higher math. If it wasn’t for COVID and sheer boredom she wouldn’t have taken Geometry last summer.

I know many of her friends also have Algebra II, all honors and also all A’s and waitlisted. As I’m reading kids with Algebra I from my daughter’s school got in, I’m curious as to how they determined top 1.5%.

I’m sorry but also know your DD will make the school she ends up attending a better place. I don’t think TJ is going to seem like much other than an awkward social experiment for the next several years.

[Anonymous]

Curious. Anyone accepted that has an IEP? Was having an IEP a “bump” up or down? Does a 504 plan “count” the same as having an IEP?

[Anonymous]

From what it looks like from looking at data from different self-reports (including here), the admissions team was aiming for roughly 40% in Algebra I, 60% in Geometry/Algebra II.

I don't think being an high math class increased a child’s “ranking” at all. In fact, at some schools, being in a lower math class may have actually helped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Accepted.
Frost. AAP. 4.0 GPA. Algebra 1 Honors.

Do you think your kid is the top 1.5% academically in Frost? If not, what the main reason that he/she got selected in your opinion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid got waitlisted-All A’s, Algebra II, All honors. She’s Asian but no prep classes and we do not push her to take higher math. If it wasn’t for COVID and sheer boredom she wouldn’t have taken Geometry last summer.

I know many of her friends also have Algebra II, all honors and also all A’s and waitlisted. As I’m reading kids with Algebra I from my daughter’s school got in, I’m curious as to how they determined top 1.5%.

They've been reading DCUM and realized that taking the actual top 1.5% would hurt the kids from URM background. They let Asians in but made sure the advanced Asians were not getting in at huge numbers. My son is in the same boat as your daughter. Asian, no prep, Alg2 honors in a school where only 1% of the 8th graders were taking Algebra 2. Not in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid accepted.

Cooper GPA: 4.0, Algebra I, Asian

Do you believe your kid is the top 1.5% at Cooper?

No idea.. how to find out top % ?

Well, I know there were more than 100 kids taking Geometry, Algebra II, and even pre-Calculus in their 8th grade. At least 30% of these kids got all As in all subjects in Grade 7 and 8. Academically, your kid definitely not top 1.5%. Your child's race definitely will not have the advantage in the selection process, either. In your opinion, what is the main reason that you think your kids stands out to earn the spot? Thank you for sharing the information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious. Anyone accepted that has an IEP? Was having an IEP a “bump” up or down? Does a 504 plan “count” the same as having an IEP?

My kid had an IEP Asian Algebra 2 rejected.

[Anonymous]

Given a large number of kids who got in with Algebra 1 background, the following observations seem to be in order:
1. TJ will get rid of most of its advanced math and science classes. (It’s either coincidental, since few students will have the prerequisites to take them, or by design, given the VMPI reform and all. It also unties the hands of the administration to replace teachers at TJ of specialized advanced classes more easily.)
2. A large number of kids taking higher level math courses will stay at their base schools, which makes it easier for them to get into better engineering and STEM programs as they are not directly competing with each other at a single school. However, college applications aside, it makes it harder for them to access post-calc math and science classes.
3. The students who got in with Algebra 1 but who solved what was reportedly (?) a geometry essay question are either very bright or took geometry ahead of public school offering (in which case they were also prepped outside their public school, so their natural math ability is completely unknown). Perhaps, the problem solving essay was just a distraction and had no real weight in the application process (this would explain why there was no score of any thought attached to it).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Given a large number of kids who got in with Algebra 1 background, the following observations seem to be in order:
1. TJ will get rid of most of its advanced math and science classes. (It’s either coincidental, since few students will have the prerequisites to take them, or by design, given the VMPI reform and all. It also unties the hands of the administration to replace teachers at TJ of specialized advanced classes more easily.)
2. A large number of kids taking higher level math courses will stay at their base schools, which makes it easier for them to get into better engineering and STEM programs as they are not directly competing with each other at a single school. However, college applications aside, it makes it harder for them to access post-calc math and science classes.
3. The students who got in with Algebra 1 but who solved what was reportedly (?) a geometry essay question are either very bright or took geometry ahead of public school offering (in which case they were also prepped outside their public school, so their natural math ability is completely unknown). Perhaps, the problem solving essay was just a distraction and had no real weight in the application process (this would explain why there was no score of any thought attached to it).

*sort*
Sorry for the typo…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid got waitlisted-All A’s, Algebra II, All honors. She’s Asian but no prep classes and we do not push her to take higher math. If it wasn’t for COVID and sheer boredom she wouldn’t have taken Geometry last summer.

I know many of her friends also have Algebra II, all honors and also all A’s and waitlisted. As I’m reading kids with Algebra I from my daughter’s school got in, I’m curious as to how they determined top 1.5%.

They've been reading DCUM and realized that taking the actual top 1.5% would hurt the kids from URM background. They let Asians in but made sure the advanced Asians were not getting in at huge numbers. My son is in the same boat as your daughter. Asian, no prep, Alg2 honors in a school where only 1% of the 8th graders were taking Algebra 2. Not in.

Maybe Algebra 2 in 8th grade is code for Asian as far as the selection committee goes and they eliminate such kids? Y'all should ask them to explain the process and hold them accountable for doing their jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So.... they are admitting more Alg1 kids and almost no Al2 kids with 4.0. I guess this is how they make sure the URM and FARM admits don't fall too obviously behind in their class

please don't conflate URM with the lack of those criteria you list above, plenty of URM parents posted here about their 4.0 Al2 kids also ending up on the waitlist. I am starting to believe they had some coarse selection round and then just randomly picked out some kids...

My DC is in from a feeder. We know plenty who are in and those who are waitlisted. There are a few surprises if you just look at the stats. Having known these kids for a long time, the TJ admissions staff really did a good job. The preppers did not get in and parents are angry. The kids have been pushed by their parents for years so I hope they find stress relief at their base school. Or you are going to see the stress at the base HSs really amp up. Don't worry, there will be plenty of high achieving high IQ students in the TJ class of 2025.

What math class were most of the admitted kids taking? Algebra I? Geometry? Algebra II?

The math class they’re taking doesn’t necessarily tell you all that much because, 1) some kids were really pushed ahead in math by their parents and, 2) a lot of those kids, especially those who were pushed, don’t have a strong fundamental understanding but instead have just learned how to answer questions.

Very, very, very few kids have the mental maturity to understand more advanced math concepts before the early teen years. This was the problem at TJ back in 2012- lots of kids who had been prepped and pushed ahead in math just didn’t have a strong grounding in the fundamentals and then needed extra tutoring. Being in an advanced math class doesn’t necessarily mean a student has a true talent for math.

So what happened in 2013-2021? Did the kids suddenly get smarter and not need extra tutoring or do you have a different "truth" to share?

Some of these tropes here are mind-boggling. All Asians prep. Prepped kids are stupid. Math-accelerated kids don't know the fundamentals. How stupid can YOU be? You are probably the same fools that go about believing that all blondes are stupid.

You are so right. I cannot understand why people keep saying the tutoring is the main reason those Asian kids got into TJ before 2021. I wish life can be that easy. You pay for tutoring and your kids just become a genius and know everything. If this is true, the celebrities do not need to pay so much money to bribe the college admission officer to get their kids in the top colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid got waitlisted-All A’s, Algebra II, All honors. She’s Asian but no prep classes and we do not push her to take higher math. If it wasn’t for COVID and sheer boredom she wouldn’t have taken Geometry last summer.

I know many of her friends also have Algebra II, all honors and also all A’s and waitlisted. As I’m reading kids with Algebra I from my daughter’s school got in, I’m curious as to how they determined the top 1.5%.

My DD is in the same boat but took Algebra 1 in 6th, Geometry in 7th, and Algebra 2 in 8th. She feels discouraged to see Algebra 1 students with no STEM activities get in from her school. I'm curious as to how the decisions have been made.