TJ Admissions question

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rent an apartment in one of the school districts.

Another tiger tj parent.

I thought the schools with the highest admit rate were in McLean and Langley feeders.

Yes, but students who were not admitted at those schools had higher scores than students who were admitted at the weaker schools.

That's a big assumption that just shows your bias.

Not that big an assumption, given the drop in number of admissions from those typical feeder schools.

The drop was because it was common for parents at those wealthy feeder schools to game admissions with those prep classes where their kids were fed the test answers. Fortunately, the school board put an end to those shenanigans with the improvements to the admissions process which also helped detoxify TJ as a bonus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rent an apartment in one of the school districts.

Another tiger tj parent.

I thought the schools with the highest admit rate were in McLean and Langley feeders.

Yes, but students who were not admitted at those schools had higher scores than students who were admitted at the weaker schools.

Well, if that is true, and there's no real evidence of that, some schools are demonstrably better than others. Many people pay hundreds of thousands more to live in those school boundaries. It isn't right to penalize kids who are just as bright but lack the same advantages.

DP. FCPS has not released the cutoff scores for the top 1.5% of each school. So you are correct that there's no evidence that a higher score is required to make it into the top 1.5% of a McLean school vs. a lower SES school. What we do know is that after the top 1.5% is taken, the rest of the applicants are selected from a common pool based on their scores. Some schools had zero kids selected. Others had 30. So, we flat out know that the 40th best kid at, say, Carson had a higher score than the 9th best kid (who didn't get picked in the general pool) at one of the schools only sending their top 1.5%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rent an apartment in one of the school districts.

Another tiger tj parent.

I thought the schools with the highest admit rate were in McLean and Langley feeders.

Yes, but students who were not admitted at those schools had higher scores than students who were admitted at the weaker schools.

Well, if that is true, and there's no real evidence of that, some schools are demonstrably better than others. Many people pay hundreds of thousands more to live in those school boundaries. It isn't right to penalize kids who are just as bright but lack the same advantages.

DP. FCPS has not released the cutoff scores for the top 1.5% of each school. So you are correct that there's no evidence that a higher score is required to make it into the top 1.5% of a McLean school vs. a lower SES school. What we do know is that after the top 1.5% is taken, the rest of the applicants are selected from a common pool based on their scores. Some schools had zero kids selected. Others had 30. So, we flat out know that the 40th best kid at, say, Carson had a higher score than the 9th best kid (who didn't get picked in the general pool) at one of the schools only sending their top 1.5%.

Seems more than adequate and fair to me. I guess the crazies are just mad it's not as easy to buy their way into TJ now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rent an apartment in one of the school districts.

Another tiger tj parent.

I thought the schools with the highest admit rate were in McLean and Langley feeders.

Yes, but students who were not admitted at those schools had higher scores than students who were admitted at the weaker schools.

Well, if that is true, and there's no real evidence of that, some schools are demonstrably better than others. Many people pay hundreds of thousands more to live in those school boundaries. It isn't right to penalize kids who are just as bright but lack the same advantages.

DP. FCPS has not released the cutoff scores for the top 1.5% of each school. So you are correct that there's no evidence that a higher score is required to make it into the top 1.5% of a McLean school vs. a lower SES school. What we do know is that after the top 1.5% is taken, the rest of the applicants are selected from a common pool based on their scores. Some schools had zero kids selected. Others had 30. So, we flat out know that the 40th best kid at, say, Carson had a higher score than the 9th best kid (who didn't get picked in the general pool) at one of the schools only sending their top 1.5%.

Seems more than adequate and fair to me. I guess the crazies are just mad it's not as easy to buy their way into TJ now.

No dog in this fight, but I’m not sure that anything is crazier than suggesting people could just buy their kids’ way into TJ. But you sure seem committed to repeating that ad nauseam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rent an apartment in one of the school districts.

Another tiger tj parent.

I thought the schools with the highest admit rate were in McLean and Langley feeders.

Yes, but students who were not admitted at those schools had higher scores than students who were admitted at the weaker schools.

Well, if that is true, and there's no real evidence of that, some schools are demonstrably better than others. Many people pay hundreds of thousands more to live in those school boundaries. It isn't right to penalize kids who are just as bright but lack the same advantages.

DP. FCPS has not released the cutoff scores for the top 1.5% of each school. So you are correct that there's no evidence that a higher score is required to make it into the top 1.5% of a McLean school vs. a lower SES school. What we do know is that after the top 1.5% is taken, the rest of the applicants are selected from a common pool based on their scores. Some schools had zero kids selected. Others had 30. So, we flat out know that the 40th best kid at, say, Carson had a higher score than the 9th best kid (who didn't get picked in the general pool) at one of the schools only sending their top 1.5%.

Seems more than adequate and fair to me. I guess the crazies are just mad it's not as easy to buy their way into TJ now.

No dog in this fight, but I’m not sure that anything is crazier than suggesting people could just buy their kids’ way into TJ. But you sure seem committed to repeating that ad nauseam.

+1. "Buying your kid's way into TJ" means setting your kid up to wash out of the school or work their asses off only to end up in the bottom 1/4 of the class and then get poor college admissions. Nobody is doing that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does FCPs school determines top 1.5% student who gets admitted to TJ due to quota system?

The top 1.5% are determined using a merit system. The old method was a quota system based on access to test answers.

What criteria merit system includes? Just GPA? I would think there will be lot of kids with 4.0 GPA. Also, does the GPA of AAP kids will be different than non-aap kids who is looking to apply?

Look at the link posted above for the info on FCPS selection process. GPA, math level floor and an honors course # floor. No, GPA of all kids is counted the same - no weighting.

I have heard anyone taking Alg 1 Hon gets extra credit in GPA calculations. Does anyone know how GPA is calculated to dtermine top 1.5 % strudent in MS? FCPS posts percentage and Grade (A = 93-100), does that mean all students having Grade A will have same GPA? Thanks!

Yes, taking honor class give you 0.5 points in weighted GPA calculation, the unweighted one still cap at 4. Not sure which GPA they will look at in the application though.

It says right on FCPS website (and earlier in this thread) that the GPA calculation for TJ admission is unweighted. Minimum cutoff for application is 3.5 technically, but the applicant average is ~3.85 and accepted average is ~3.95... basically the vast majority have 4.0s (again unweighted). The GPA calculation uses all of 7th grade plus the first quarter of 8th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does FCPs school determines top 1.5% student who gets admitted to TJ due to quota system?

The top 1.5% are determined using a merit system. The old method was a quota system based on access to test answers.

What criteria merit system includes? Just GPA? I would think there will be lot of kids with 4.0 GPA. Also, does the GPA of AAP kids will be different than non-aap kids who is looking to apply?

Look at the link posted above for the info on FCPS selection process. GPA, math level floor and an honors course # floor. No, GPA of all kids is counted the same - no weighting.

I have heard anyone taking Alg 1 Hon gets extra credit in GPA calculations. Does anyone know how GPA is calculated to dtermine top 1.5 % strudent in MS? FCPS posts percentage and Grade (A = 93-100), does that mean all students having Grade A will have same GPA? Thanks!

Yes, taking honor class give you 0.5 points in weighted GPA calculation, the unweighted one still cap at 4. Not sure which GPA they will look at in the application though.

It says right on FCPS website (and earlier in this thread) that the GPA calculation for TJ admission is unweighted. Minimum cutoff for application is 3.5 technically, but the applicant average is ~3.85 and accepted average is ~3.95... basically the vast majority have 4.0s (again unweighted). The GPA calculation uses all of 7th grade plus the first quarter of 8th grade.

+1. Technically speaking, the kid taking Precalc Honors in 8th with As in all math classes and taking AAP for English, History, and Science who gets one A- in AAP English would be ranked lower than the kid taking Algebra I Honors in 8th, with Honors History, Honors Science, and Gen ed English, but As in everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does FCPs school determines top 1.5% student who gets admitted to TJ due to quota system?

The top 1.5% are determined using a merit system. The old method was a quota system based on access to test answers.

What criteria merit system includes? Just GPA? I would think there will be lot of kids with 4.0 GPA. Also, does the GPA of AAP kids will be different than non-aap kids who is looking to apply?

Look at the link posted above for the info on FCPS selection process. GPA, math level floor and an honors course # floor. No, GPA of all kids is counted the same - no weighting.

I have heard anyone taking Alg 1 Hon gets extra credit in GPA calculations. Does anyone know how GPA is calculated to dtermine top 1.5 % strudent in MS? FCPS posts percentage and Grade (A = 93-100), does that mean all students having Grade A will have same GPA? Thanks!

Yes, taking honor class give you 0.5 points in weighted GPA calculation, the unweighted one still cap at 4. Not sure which GPA they will look at in the application though.

It says right on FCPS website (and earlier in this thread) that the GPA calculation for TJ admission is unweighted. Minimum cutoff for application is 3.5 technically, but the applicant average is ~3.85 and accepted average is ~3.95... basically the vast majority have 4.0s (again unweighted). The GPA calculation uses all of 7th grade plus the first quarter of 8th grade.

+1. Technically speaking, the kid taking Precalc Honors in 8th with As in all math classes and taking AAP for English, History, and Science who gets one A- in AAP English would be ranked lower than the kid taking Algebra I Honors in 8th, with Honors History, Honors Science, and Gen ed English, but As in everything.

Possibly, but any semi-competent reader is going to notice Precalc Honors on a transcript. If TJ Admissions is purely going off of rank like this, then they should go back to the drawing board.

[Anonymous]

Supposedly they don't look at the transcript.

My child is in the most advanced math but did get an A- in history last year and we are at a top feeder so I'm not sure if it means the child is out. So they really should take the transcript into account.

Colleges definitely do look at rigor.

[Anonymous]

Maybe set a certain threshold for the weighted GPA, then select the kids who applied the school by lottery. Fair and square, and cost effective

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Supposedly they don't look at the transcript.

My child is in the most advanced math but did get an A- in history last year and we are at a top feeder so I'm not sure if it means the child is out. So they really should take the transcript into account.

Colleges definitely do look at rigor.

Huh? If they’re not looking at the transcript, then that’s laughably easy to game. They can’t be that stupid… right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Supposedly they don't look at the transcript.

My child is in the most advanced math but did get an A- in history last year and we are at a top feeder so I'm not sure if it means the child is out. So they really should take the transcript into account.

Colleges definitely do look at rigor.

Huh? If they’re not looking at the transcript, then that’s laughably easy to game. They can’t be that stupid… right?

Game how? The middle school verifies the GPA and that the kid is at least in Algebra I Honors in 8th grade with the required number of Honors/AAP classes in the other subjects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Supposedly they don't look at the transcript.

My child is in the most advanced math but did get an A- in history last year and we are at a top feeder so I'm not sure if it means the child is out. So they really should take the transcript into account.

Colleges definitely do look at rigor.

Huh? If they’re not looking at the transcript, then that’s laughably easy to game. They can’t be that stupid… right?

Game how? The middle school verifies the GPA and that the kid is at least in Algebra I Honors in 8th grade with the required number of Honors/AAP classes in the other subjects.

If they're not looking at the transcript, can't you just take the easiest classes that will pass the cutoffs, get A's, and be ranked ahead of someone else who takes harder classes but doesn't get quite as good grades? (e.g. kid A, with an A in Alg. 1 Honors, gets placed above kid B, with an A- in Precalc Honors)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Supposedly they don't look at the transcript.

My child is in the most advanced math but did get an A- in history last year and we are at a top feeder so I'm not sure if it means the child is out. So they really should take the transcript into account.

Colleges definitely do look at rigor.

Huh? If they’re not looking at the transcript, then that’s laughably easy to game. They can’t be that stupid… right?

Game how? The middle school verifies the GPA and that the kid is at least in Algebra I Honors in 8th grade with the required number of Honors/AAP classes in the other subjects.

If they're not looking at the transcript, can't you just take the easiest classes that will pass the cutoffs, get A's, and be ranked ahead of someone else who takes harder classes but doesn't get quite as good grades? (e.g. kid A, with an A in Alg. 1 Honors, gets placed above kid B, with an A- in Precalc Honors)

I don't think getting into TJ should be the end goal here. Almost all courses at TJ are honor if not AP, taking easiest classes for the sake of cutoff won't prepare them well for the challenges later on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Supposedly they don't look at the transcript.

My child is in the most advanced math but did get an A- in history last year and we are at a top feeder so I'm not sure if it means the child is out. So they really should take the transcript into account.

Colleges definitely do look at rigor.

Huh? If they’re not looking at the transcript, then that’s laughably easy to game. They can’t be that stupid… right?

Game how? The middle school verifies the GPA and that the kid is at least in Algebra I Honors in 8th grade with the required number of Honors/AAP classes in the other subjects.

If they're not looking at the transcript, can't you just take the easiest classes that will pass the cutoffs, get A's, and be ranked ahead of someone else who takes harder classes but doesn't get quite as good grades? (e.g. kid A, with an A in Alg. 1 Honors, gets placed above kid B, with an A- in Precalc Honors)

That's not really gaming the system. FCPS has decided that Algebra I + 3 honors courses is good enough, and they don't especially value any rigor beyond that. They've also decided not to weight the honors or AAP classes. They have most likely made these choices to promote equity. Sure, a kid could choose to take the easiest allowed course progression to maximize their TJ chances, and some probably will. It's not gaming the system. It's pretty blatantly allowed/encouraged by FCPS.