Tjhsst is it worth it?

[Anonymous]

Having gone to TJ, I know what they are missing out on. And I don't think the drawbacks (and there are many) are worth it. They'll be fine where they are mostly because they have educated parents and are well off, PP. That is the biggest factor in terms of performance on standardized tests and school performance for the bulk of children. I honestly don't care if my kids go to an ivy or follow my footsteps at Stanford or whatever. I care that they have a love of learning, are resilient, have a strong sense of security, and are healthy, balanced kids. I am putting my resources of cultivating this and fostering their innate talents. TJ just isn't a fit for my philosophy (and I say this as an alum -- I stand by my point, unless you teach there or have went, I don't think you truly know what it's like to attend.).

I seriously doubt this person have went to TJ. but the language ability here is typical of some TJ students "We have many first generation immigrants here ..." (that do not speak English very well but get 100% on the English testing) how? think about it. Hint -- its not because they are brilliant. One of the downsides of TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm backing away from this because it's kind of turned into a nonsense attack on me (why yes, dear internet, I am an utter idiot. Please continue to attack my tablet and phone writing skills while I continue to kill time before picking up my kids from yet another thing. These are very important skills. As is having a sense of humor and not taking yourself too seriously).

Anyway, I hope your kids enjoy TJ as much as you clearly like the school. It's a hard place for some kids, but I truly hope your kids blossom there. I stand by my experience and belief the treadmill of being the best of the best isn't as important as being your own best human being. We'll see how it turns out.

The point of the thread was to ask a real question. I tried to answer it, but I'm not going to bother engaging because it's clearly not wanted.

+1

Ignore those TJ cheerleaders. It's supposed to be a science and tech magnet, but most go to state schools studying non STEM fields. Many of the kids there were prepped in and continued their stressful lives for 4 years. Only about 10 or even less out of 500 go to MIT each year, that shows you what elite engineering schools think about TJ.

This is another reason why you (supposed TJ grad) have to be careful about what you say about TJ on these threads since there are plenty of people who are ready to pounce TJ at every chance for whatever reason.

As for the college placement, TJ enjoys one of the best college placements in the country. Also, class of 2015 received some 36 million dollars in merit scholarship money (about 423 graduates). This is in light of the fact that many top privates do not give any merit based scholarships. What this shows is many TJ grads will forego Ivys or other top privates for merit based scholarships. There are grads who still attend Ivys etc. but many will choose scholarship money instead of Ivy prestige.

As for the MIT comment, TJ send the most high school students to MIT of all the high schools if you look at the past 10 years. TJ also sends plenty to Princeton, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Cornell, Michigan, CMU, Caltech, GaTech, Illinois etc. known for STEM education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm backing away from this because it's kind of turned into a nonsense attack on me (why yes, dear internet, I am an utter idiot. Please continue to attack my tablet and phone writing skills while I continue to kill time before picking up my kids from yet another thing. These are very important skills. As is having a sense of humor and not taking yourself too seriously).

Anyway, I hope your kids enjoy TJ as much as you clearly like the school. It's a hard place for some kids, but I truly hope your kids blossom there. I stand by my experience and belief the treadmill of being the best of the best isn't as important as being your own best human being. We'll see how it turns out.

The point of the thread was to ask a real question. I tried to answer it, but I'm not going to bother engaging because it's clearly not wanted.

+1

Ignore those TJ cheerleaders. It's supposed to be a science and tech magnet, but most go to state schools studying non STEM fields. Many of the kids there were prepped in and continued their stressful lives for 4 years. Only about 10 or even less out of 500 go to MIT each year, that shows you what elite engineering schools think about TJ.

This is another reason why you (supposed TJ grad) have to be careful about what you say about TJ on these threads since there are plenty of people who are ready to pounce TJ at every chance for whatever reason.

As for the college placement, TJ enjoys one of the best college placements in the country. Also, class of 2015 received some 36 million dollars in merit scholarship money (about 423 graduates). This is in light of the fact that many top privates do not give any merit based scholarships. What this shows is many TJ grads will forego Ivys or other top privates for merit based scholarships. There are grads who still attend Ivys etc. but many will choose scholarship money instead of Ivy prestige.

As for the MIT comment, TJ send the most high school students to MIT of all the high schools if you look at the past 10 years. TJ also sends plenty to Princeton, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Cornell, Michigan, CMU, Caltech, GaTech, Illinois etc. known for STEM education.

Did you just make that up? In some recent years, TJ only sent single digit number of students to MIT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm backing away from this because it's kind of turned into a nonsense attack on me (why yes, dear internet, I am an utter idiot. Please continue to attack my tablet and phone writing skills while I continue to kill time before picking up my kids from yet another thing. These are very important skills. As is having a sense of humor and not taking yourself too seriously).

Anyway, I hope your kids enjoy TJ as much as you clearly like the school. It's a hard place for some kids, but I truly hope your kids blossom there. I stand by my experience and belief the treadmill of being the best of the best isn't as important as being your own best human being. We'll see how it turns out.

The point of the thread was to ask a real question. I tried to answer it, but I'm not going to bother engaging because it's clearly not wanted.

+1

Ignore those TJ cheerleaders. It's supposed to be a science and tech magnet, but most go to state schools studying non STEM fields. Many of the kids there were prepped in and continued their stressful lives for 4 years. Only about 10 or even less out of 500 go to MIT each year, that shows you what elite engineering schools think about TJ.

This is another reason why you (supposed TJ grad) have to be careful about what you say about TJ on these threads since there are plenty of people who are ready to pounce TJ at every chance for whatever reason.

As for the college placement, TJ enjoys one of the best college placements in the country. Also, class of 2015 received some 36 million dollars in merit scholarship money (about 423 graduates). This is in light of the fact that many top privates do not give any merit based scholarships. What this shows is many TJ grads will forego Ivys or other top privates for merit based scholarships. There are grads who still attend Ivys etc. but many will choose scholarship money instead of Ivy prestige.

As for the MIT comment, TJ send the most high school students to MIT of all the high schools if you look at the past 10 years. TJ also sends plenty to Princeton, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Cornell, Michigan, CMU, Caltech, GaTech, Illinois etc. known for STEM education.

Did you just make that up? In some recent years, TJ only sent single digit number of students to MIT.

TJ acceptances to MIT:

2010-2011 23
2012-2013 18
2013-2014 12
2014-2015 18

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm backing away from this because it's kind of turned into a nonsense attack on me (why yes, dear internet, I am an utter idiot. Please continue to attack my tablet and phone writing skills while I continue to kill time before picking up my kids from yet another thing. These are very important skills. As is having a sense of humor and not taking yourself too seriously).

Anyway, I hope your kids enjoy TJ as much as you clearly like the school. It's a hard place for some kids, but I truly hope your kids blossom there. I stand by my experience and belief the treadmill of being the best of the best isn't as important as being your own best human being. We'll see how it turns out.

The point of the thread was to ask a real question. I tried to answer it, but I'm not going to bother engaging because it's clearly not wanted.

+1

Ignore those TJ cheerleaders. It's supposed to be a science and tech magnet, but most go to state schools studying non STEM fields. Many of the kids there were prepped in and continued their stressful lives for 4 years. Only about 10 or even less out of 500 go to MIT each year, that shows you what elite engineering schools think about TJ.

This is another reason why you (supposed TJ grad) have to be careful about what you say about TJ on these threads since there are plenty of people who are ready to pounce TJ at every chance for whatever reason.

As for the college placement, TJ enjoys one of the best college placements in the country. Also, class of 2015 received some 36 million dollars in merit scholarship money (about 423 graduates). This is in light of the fact that many top privates do not give any merit based scholarships. What this shows is many TJ grads will forego Ivys or other top privates for merit based scholarships. There are grads who still attend Ivys etc. but many will choose scholarship money instead of Ivy prestige.

As for the MIT comment, TJ send the most high school students to MIT of all the high schools if you look at the past 10 years. TJ also sends plenty to Princeton, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Cornell, Michigan, CMU, Caltech, GaTech, Illinois etc. known for STEM education.

Did you just make that up? In some recent years, TJ only sent single digit number of students to MIT.

TJ acceptances to MIT:

2010-2011 23
2012-2013 18
2013-2014 12
2014-2015 18

What about the enroll numbers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm backing away from this because it's kind of turned into a nonsense attack on me (why yes, dear internet, I am an utter idiot. Please continue to attack my tablet and phone writing skills while I continue to kill time before picking up my kids from yet another thing. These are very important skills. As is having a sense of humor and not taking yourself too seriously).

Anyway, I hope your kids enjoy TJ as much as you clearly like the school. It's a hard place for some kids, but I truly hope your kids blossom there. I stand by my experience and belief the treadmill of being the best of the best isn't as important as being your own best human being. We'll see how it turns out.

The point of the thread was to ask a real question. I tried to answer it, but I'm not going to bother engaging because it's clearly not wanted.

+1

Ignore those TJ cheerleaders. It's supposed to be a science and tech magnet, but most go to state schools studying non STEM fields. Many of the kids there were prepped in and continued their stressful lives for 4 years. Only about 10 or even less out of 500 go to MIT each year, that shows you what elite engineering schools think about TJ.

This is another reason why you (supposed TJ grad) have to be careful about what you say about TJ on these threads since there are plenty of people who are ready to pounce TJ at every chance for whatever reason.

As for the college placement, TJ enjoys one of the best college placements in the country. Also, class of 2015 received some 36 million dollars in merit scholarship money (about 423 graduates). This is in light of the fact that many top privates do not give any merit based scholarships. What this shows is many TJ grads will forego Ivys or other top privates for merit based scholarships. There are grads who still attend Ivys etc. but many will choose scholarship money instead of Ivy prestige.

As for the MIT comment, TJ send the most high school students to MIT of all the high schools if you look at the past 10 years. TJ also sends plenty to Princeton, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Cornell, Michigan, CMU, Caltech, GaTech, Illinois etc. known for STEM education.

Did you just make that up? In some recent years, TJ only sent single digit number of students to MIT.

TJ acceptances to MIT:

2010-2011 23
2012-2013 18
2013-2014 12
2014-2015 18

What about the enroll numbers?

In most years, 1-3 TJ juniors get accepted to MIT and I don't think those numbers are included in the graduating class acceptance numbers since technically those entering MIT after junior year have not graduated HS.

[Anonymous]

How many non-TJ kids from FCPS were accepted to MIT? Did going to TJ improve the upper 0.1% get into MIT? That is the question, really.

[Anonymous]

My son is at TJ. He is not spending too much time on homeworks/tests etc and does not seem stressed at all. But he also reads up the material before the class which makes it a lot easier. The teachers we talked to recommend doing this because the pace is faster.

[Anonymous]

I apologize for being late to this thread but as a current TJ student I just had to share my opinion for future students.

I am a senior in the Class of 2017. I will be graduating in about 4 months and can without a doubt say that TJ was not the right place FOR ME. TJ was not worth it FOR ME. Almost every school, there is a sense of dread that I start feeling as I get ready to drive to school and spend 8 hours in that building.

From freshman year on, students are given college-level material in courses simply titled as "honors." While that might be okay for the kid geniuses with photographic memories, that is not okay for the average students who like math and went to TJ because they got in. If your child does not honestly think they can be in the top half of TJ, it is not worth it college wise. With increased college competition, the average accepted GPA at UVA is a 4.3. Kids rarely receive consideration for UVA if they do not have above a 4.15. I can speak more on the workload later if prompted.

Speaking for the more emotional aspects as a student, dropping out of TJ is a possibility, yes, but once students start at TJ, they feel unfulfilled if they end up leaving. No kid wants to be known as the "quitter who dropped out of TJ." It's a pride thing. I respectfully feel that parents do not understand how difficult of a decision dropping out can really be. Yes parents see the stress their kids go through, but they cannot see the looks kids receive from their peers throughout the day.

I'm going to be completely honest here. I am not in the top half of my class at TJ. I will most likely not be attending a top 30 school. TJ was not worth it for me because it took away all my self-confidence. Yes one can say that I ended up with bad grades because I did not work hard, but that is not the case. I think of 10 weekends off the top of my head where I did not leave my house at all so I could sit at my desk and do homework. I walk into classes now honestly feeling like I am not smart. As I apply to colleges, I know that that is not the real world. I know that being a student at TJ and even attempting to tackle the material I am is an accomplishment. But at the time, all I saw was my bad grades on test I studied hours for and my peers who got a higher grade for half the work. The hardest part of TJ is not comparing yourself to your peers. The hardest part of TJ is not seeing your hard work pay off.

Yes, TJ will challenge you. Yes, TJ will be an easier social environment. Yes, TJ will help some kids get into their "dream school." But, FOR ME, all it did was make me feel like I was not good enough to be there.

I do not share this insecurity for sympathy or to begrudge the school in any way. I simply want to let some prospective students know what the school is like. When I made the decision to attend 4 years ago, I had no idea what the school was really like. Before I graduate, I hope I can make my experience helpful to some people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I apologize for being late to this thread but as a current TJ student I just had to share my opinion for future students.

I am a senior in the Class of 2017. I will be graduating in about 4 months and can without a doubt say that TJ was not the right place FOR ME. TJ was not worth it FOR ME. Almost every school, there is a sense of dread that I start feeling as I get ready to drive to school and spend 8 hours in that building.

From freshman year on, students are given college-level material in courses simply titled as "honors." While that might be okay for the kid geniuses with photographic memories, that is not okay for the average students who like math and went to TJ because they got in. If your child does not honestly think they can be in the top half of TJ, it is not worth it college wise. With increased college competition, the average accepted GPA at UVA is a 4.3. Kids rarely receive consideration for UVA if they do not have above a 4.15. I can speak more on the workload later if prompted.

Speaking for the more emotional aspects as a student, dropping out of TJ is a possibility, yes, but once students start at TJ, they feel unfulfilled if they end up leaving. No kid wants to be known as the "quitter who dropped out of TJ." It's a pride thing. I respectfully feel that parents do not understand how difficult of a decision dropping out can really be. Yes parents see the stress their kids go through, but they cannot see the looks kids receive from their peers throughout the day.

I'm going to be completely honest here. I am not in the top half of my class at TJ. I will most likely not be attending a top 30 school. TJ was not worth it for me because it took away all my self-confidence. Yes one can say that I ended up with bad grades because I did not work hard, but that is not the case. I think of 10 weekends off the top of my head where I did not leave my house at all so I could sit at my desk and do homework. I walk into classes now honestly feeling like I am not smart. As I apply to colleges, I know that that is not the real world. I know that being a student at TJ and even attempting to tackle the material I am is an accomplishment. But at the time, all I saw was my bad grades on test I studied hours for and my peers who got a higher grade for half the work. The hardest part of TJ is not comparing yourself to your peers. The hardest part of TJ is not seeing your hard work pay off.

Yes, TJ will challenge you. Yes, TJ will be an easier social environment. Yes, TJ will help some kids get into their "dream school." But, FOR ME, all it did was make me feel like I was not good enough to be there.

I do not share this insecurity for sympathy or to begrudge the school in any way. I simply want to let some prospective students know what the school is like. When I made the decision to attend 4 years ago, I had no idea what the school was really like. Before I graduate, I hope I can make my experience helpful to some people.

Thank you for being so open and sharing. You have a great head on your shoulders and are clearly academically gifted based on the fact that you are graduating from this magnet school. I know you will go far. Hang in there kiddo. Dont beat yourself up and enjoy the rest of your high school career. College will be better and you will be well positioned to kill it in grad school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I apologize for being late to this thread but as a current TJ student I just had to share my opinion for future students.

I am a senior in the Class of 2017. I will be graduating in about 4 months and can without a doubt say that TJ was not the right place FOR ME. TJ was not worth it FOR ME. Almost every school, there is a sense of dread that I start feeling as I get ready to drive to school and spend 8 hours in that building.

From freshman year on, students are given college-level material in courses simply titled as "honors." While that might be okay for the kid geniuses with photographic memories, that is not okay for the average students who like math and went to TJ because they got in. If your child does not honestly think they can be in the top half of TJ, it is not worth it college wise. With increased college competition, the average accepted GPA at UVA is a 4.3. Kids rarely receive consideration for UVA if they do not have above a 4.15. I can speak more on the workload later if prompted.

Speaking for the more emotional aspects as a student, dropping out of TJ is a possibility, yes, but once students start at TJ, they feel unfulfilled if they end up leaving. No kid wants to be known as the "quitter who dropped out of TJ." It's a pride thing. I respectfully feel that parents do not understand how difficult of a decision dropping out can really be. Yes parents see the stress their kids go through, but they cannot see the looks kids receive from their peers throughout the day.

I'm going to be completely honest here. I am not in the top half of my class at TJ. I will most likely not be attending a top 30 school. TJ was not worth it for me because it took away all my self-confidence. Yes one can say that I ended up with bad grades because I did not work hard, but that is not the case. I think of 10 weekends off the top of my head where I did not leave my house at all so I could sit at my desk and do homework. I walk into classes now honestly feeling like I am not smart. As I apply to colleges, I know that that is not the real world. I know that being a student at TJ and even attempting to tackle the material I am is an accomplishment. But at the time, all I saw was my bad grades on test I studied hours for and my peers who got a higher grade for half the work. The hardest part of TJ is not comparing yourself to your peers. The hardest part of TJ is not seeing your hard work pay off.

Yes, TJ will challenge you. Yes, TJ will be an easier social environment. Yes, TJ will help some kids get into their "dream school." But, FOR ME, all it did was make me feel like I was not good enough to be there.

I do not share this insecurity for sympathy or to begrudge the school in any way. I simply want to let some prospective students know what the school is like. When I made the decision to attend 4 years ago, I had no idea what the school was really like. Before I graduate, I hope I can make my experience helpful to some people.

I have two kids who graduated from TJ, Classes of 2011 and 2015. They were feeling the same way as you are after they graduated from TJ. However, lives were easy for them when they were a Freshman year at UVA and Stanford. When you are a Freshman year at college, you will appreciate the hard work you have done at TJ. You are going to do great kiddo. Hanging in there, only three more months to go. You should look forward to your all night party. Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

Thank you for sharing PP. TJ parent and this is interesting. It seems like every parent says that TJ is a great fit, and there was no pressure to attend and some kids are miserable but their kid is a great fit. I feel this way, and have said to my kid that if he is unhappy, please go back to his base school. And he is so insistent he stay. But I can see him being too proud to walk away. My younger DD says she is applying for class of 2022, and I'm concerned. I think many parents are trying to do the right thing and struggling.

Please, please consider doing an I attend TJ AMA on here. Decision for c/o 2021 come out soon and I think that parents tell other parents what TJ is like. But it would be very valuable for you to tell parents. Because most of us know what our kids want us to know. So, if you have time, think about it.

Also, if you know anyone who is willing, it would be great if groups of 3-4 kids each middle school could go back to their old middle school each spring and meet with admitted incoming freshmen with no adults around and give their honest impressions. Just putting that out there if anyone is looking for an outreach project. I would have loved that for my kid. And I offer him to any parent I know with a kid applying to talk to the kid without an adult around about what to expect.

I think TJ has a lot to offer. But I think it can also do better. I agree with you that they seem to take bright kids who work hard and flunk their math and Bio quizzes because ??? In my dream world, TJ ditches grades. All the kids their are motivated enough. There has to be a better way.

Good luck. I think you feel bad now because every kid is amazing, and you are missing that even a below average kid in the middle of super amazing is amazing.

So please-- AMA??

[Anonymous]

First of all, I have mad respect for the senior above and I, myself, have 3.5 years to go at this school.

Many of these inputs are from TJ alum or parents, but I don't think they really understand what is going on at TJ.

As a freshmen, I haven't been exposed to the super "hard" classes yet, but I think I have enough experience to give some advice. I think I am pretty well off, maybe even average in my class. You have to learn to accept bad grades and learn from them, you have to learn how to study efficiently, you have to learn lots of things to be successful here. I have noticed a trend among the class of 2020 and beyond, the people who get As or A-s (which is equally amazing btw) aren't the smartest ones, they are the hardest working ones. If your child isn't willing to work hard, then DO NOT GO HERE. This isn't some college applicant factory. If your child has a strong interest in STEM, then come, but if he or she is relying on "intelligence" alone, don't even walk in to the dome doors. I have seen way to many smart, capable beings leave TJ, and it is so sad because their spot could've gone to a well deserving kid out there who would've done amazing at TJ. And parents, do not judge your child's success on the grades but on the learning. I can confidently say that I have learned probably 200% more material in my classes than the base school curriculum (given, I am not from fcps ha). I apologize, this was very sporadic, but I consider myself content at TJ yet this doesn't mean I love it. It doesn't mean I have straight As and it doesn't mean your child will be happy here either.

Good luck to all....I would post any contact info here for anymore questions, but what would be the point of posting anonymously?

[Anonymous]

As a parent of TJ student who does not spend a whole lot of time studying but does okay, I can say that the amount learned is phenomenal, but your child is unlikely to get straight As unless they study 12-16 hours a day (including weekends). If you and your student can let go of needing to have straight As, they can have a good time, but academic ego needs to be checked at the door of TJ because there is so much to learn and all the students are so talented. Guaranteed many kids will be smarter than yours in at least one area, and probably every area. A good learning experience but also humbling.

[Anonymous]

To either of the TJ students posting above. Or both. Or any of you friends. Or any TJ kid lurking. Start a thread in AAP entitled "I am A TJ student AMA." And field some questions from parents and applicants. As a TJ parent, it seems like what kids think, and what parents think their kids think about TJ are very different. You would be doing a really good deed if just a few parents of your classmates could get a handle on the care and feeding for a TJ kid. not to mention, should my kid be there at all. We want to help and support you. We really do. But as parents, it's sometimes hard to know when to push you, when to back off, how to support you, and what we can do to make the school better or ourselves better parents. It may seem to you like we know what we are doing. But we are often just guessing.

So please, please, help us help you. Start an AMA thread.