TJHSST vs Base School for College Admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another thing to consider is the benefits of the rigor of a TJ education. Many, if not most, TJ grads find they are extremely well prepared for college. My D and her TJ friends are finding college easier than HS and this includes rigorous college programs at UChicago, Princeton and Carnegie Mellon. Her friends at UVA are cruising through their coursework there at least through the first 2 years.

I had heard somewhere that TJ students at UVA have among the highest average GPAs of high school cohorts over a certain size.

Over time, the number of TJ students going to UVA has been trending down.

This is a consequence of the fact it is much harder to get into UVA from TJ. Over half of the applicants are rejected from TJ, so you need to be near the upper half of TJ to get in, hence the higher GPA.

Seems yield is perhaps biggest issue. About 200 accepted and 37 attending UVA according to the senior tjToday issue: https://issuu.com/tjtoday/docs/tjtoday_senior_issue_2019_for_web

[Anonymous]

TJ broke my kid....anxiety, depression....took two years to get diagnosis of ADHD on top of everything else.....

[Anonymous]

And TJ made my kid. If they’d staeyd at base they would have totally checked out. TJ absolutely was the right choice for my kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another thing to consider is the benefits of the rigor of a TJ education. Many, if not most, TJ grads find they are extremely well prepared for college. My D and her TJ friends are finding college easier than HS and this includes rigorous college programs at UChicago, Princeton and Carnegie Mellon. Her friends at UVA are cruising through their coursework there at least through the first 2 years.

I had heard somewhere that TJ students at UVA have among the highest average GPAs of high school cohorts over a certain size.

Over time, the number of TJ students going to UVA has been trending down.

This is a consequence of the fact it is much harder to get into UVA from TJ. Over half of the applicants are rejected from TJ, so you need to be near the upper half of TJ to get in, hence the higher GPA.

Seems yield is perhaps biggest issue. About 200 accepted and 37 attending UVA according to the senior tjToday issue: https://issuu.com/tjtoday/docs/tjtoday_senior_issue_2019_for_web

The good ones get better STEM options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If college admissions is the primary reason for you wanting your kid to go to TJ, back the F off. Why? Because 1) it does not help, and 2) TJ is hard and the kid has to be interested.

Now, if the kid wants to go because they are passionate about STEM, and really smart....that is a different story.

The reality of TJ is:

1: every kid should be in the top 15% of the base HS (4.0+ GPA).
2: College admissions from TJ break down as:
top 25%: Elite schools (Ivy, MIT, Stanford, CMU, JHU, etc).
About 50% to good schools/really good schools (e.g., UMD, UVA, W & M, VT Engineering, etc)
25%: more of a meh school (VCU, UDEL, JMU, etc).


At my DD's college, one of the top (but not TJ) schools:
5% elites
25% to good schools
50% meh
leaving 20% to the other schools (which you don't see at TJ).

But, almost every kid at TJ would be in the elite or good category if they stayed at the base.

If college is the primary reason, and you kid is both a Genious and hard-working such that they can be at the top of the class at TJ, then TJ can get you in to a better school. The difference is very few kids get all A's at TJ -- those that do are special. That is not the case at a base school. (actually, it may be the same number of kids, but, the quality of the students are much higher).

This is great analysis and summarizes this discussion. If you think your kid is really smart and is willing to work hard, you have more chance at TJ but if you just got into TJ and have little passion for STEM and no willingness to work really hard, its better to stay at base school.

1000+ If you succeed at TJ, then you have a better shot at top colleges than you would at a base school. And by "succeed," this can mean a variety of things--good GPA is the big one and arguably hardest to maintain, but a couple dozen still manage it every year. There are also some really strong ECs that can get you places. However, the reality is that the majority of TJ students do not fall into these categories.

If you find yourself to be on the bottom half of TJ, then you're most likely better off at base school. UVA is a great indicator (though it really shouldn't be) of this cutoff since it literally just splits the class down the middle based on GPA to determine who to admit. There's always talk about the cutoff getting higher and higher every year, but inter-school drama and rumor mill aside (it's really dumb imo), most talk comes from people getting shocked that they have failed at TJ where they would have succeeded at base.

I realize I'm largely reiterating the two PPs' points, but still wanted to highlight this. Most people with experience at TJ would agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ broke my kid....anxiety, depression....took two years to get diagnosis of ADHD on top of everything else.....

Anonymous wrote: And TJ made my kid. If they’d staeyd at base they would have totally checked out. TJ absolutely was the right choice for my kid.

Neither PP, but these two essentially show the dichotomy between being at the bottom half of TJ and top half of TJ. From experience, the former tends to be louder on these forums (and in general), and the concern for mental health is very real. However, the latter is very much present as well--more kids than you'd think leave TJ with few regrets. It's the most interesting thing asking TJ seniors about it and what they factor into the answer to "was it worth it?"

[Anonymous]

Do you mean few regrets about leaving or few regrets about their decision to go there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ broke my kid....anxiety, depression....took two years to get diagnosis of ADHD on top of everything else.....

Anonymous wrote: And TJ made my kid. If they’d staeyd at base they would have totally checked out. TJ absolutely was the right choice for my kid.

Neither PP, but these two essentially show the dichotomy between being at the bottom half of TJ and top half of TJ. From experience, the former tends to be louder on these forums (and in general), and the concern for mental health is very real. However, the latter is very much present as well--more kids than you'd think leave TJ with few regrets. It's the most interesting thing asking TJ seniors about it and what they factor into the answer to "was it worth it?"

And this is why TJ should be half the size it currently is. The top half are the ones who have some talent, and the bottom half are the preppers who want to be there less than their parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If college admissions is the primary reason for you wanting your kid to go to TJ, back the F off. Why? Because 1) it does not help, and 2) TJ is hard and the kid has to be interested.

Now, if the kid wants to go because they are passionate about STEM, and really smart....that is a different story.

The reality of TJ is:

1: every kid should be in the top 15% of the base HS (4.0+ GPA).
2: College admissions from TJ break down as:
top 25%: Elite schools (Ivy, MIT, Stanford, CMU, JHU, etc).
About 50% to good schools/really good schools (e.g., UMD, UVA, W & M, VT Engineering, etc)
25%: more of a meh school (VCU, UDEL, JMU, etc).


At my DD's college, one of the top (but not TJ) schools:
5% elites
25% to good schools
50% meh
leaving 20% to the other schools (which you don't see at TJ).

But, almost every kid at TJ would be in the elite or good category if they stayed at the base.

If college is the primary reason, and you kid is both a Genious and hard-working such that they can be at the top of the class at TJ, then TJ can get you in to a better school. The difference is very few kids get all A's at TJ -- those that do are special. That is not the case at a base school. (actually, it may be the same number of kids, but, the quality of the students are much higher).

This is great analysis and summarizes this discussion. If you think your kid is really smart and is willing to work hard, you have more chance at TJ but if you just got into TJ and have little passion for STEM and no willingness to work really hard, its better to stay at base school.

1000+ If you succeed at TJ, then you have a better shot at top colleges than you would at a base school. And by "succeed," this can mean a variety of things--good GPA is the big one and arguably hardest to maintain, but a couple dozen still manage it every year. There are also some really strong ECs that can get you places. However, the reality is that the majority of TJ students do not fall into these categories.

If you find yourself to be on the bottom half of TJ, then you're most likely better off at base school. UVA is a great indicator (though it really shouldn't be) of this cutoff since it literally just splits the class down the middle based on GPA to determine who to admit. There's always talk about the cutoff getting higher and higher every year, but inter-school drama and rumor mill aside (it's really dumb imo), most talk comes from people getting shocked that they have failed at TJ where they would have succeeded at base.

I realize I'm largely reiterating the two PPs' points, but still wanted to highlight this. Most people with experience at TJ would agree.

My DC is a freshman at TJ. We are considering to switch to base school.
How do you know if you are on the bottom half or not? What GPA would be a mid point for a rising sophomore?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ broke my kid....anxiety, depression....took two years to get diagnosis of ADHD on top of everything else.....

Anonymous wrote: And TJ made my kid. If they’d staeyd at base they would have totally checked out. TJ absolutely was the right choice for my kid.

Neither PP, but these two essentially show the dichotomy between being at the bottom half of TJ and top half of TJ. From experience, the former tends to be louder on these forums (and in general), and the concern for mental health is very real. However, the latter is very much present as well--more kids than you'd think leave TJ with few regrets. It's the most interesting thing asking TJ seniors about it and what they factor into the answer to "was it worth it?"

It is. I had the chance to overhear my senior answering that question when it was asked by a newly admitted freshman in our neighborhood recently. His answer? Absolutely. Because for the first time school wasn’t boring and he got to do all of these really cool tech classes (and he took a number of classes that are unique to TJ) and that he got to learn about and do research in a niche area that he wanted to pursue in college. And that TJ had a sense of community that wasn’t like a normal school, and he had spent so much time there with his ECs (which were non-academic but demanding and time intensive) that it had become his home away from home.

I will say that their were times, especially end of freshman year and beginning of sophomore year when as parents we wondered if it was worth it and asked our kid if perhaps a base school was a better idea. He would never consider it.

[Anonymous]

Past performance may not mean much, re admissions. The world has changed. Current TJ kids are a known quantity to admissions officers, who will have fewer tools to differentiate base school kids (no captains of sports teams now, standardized testing is a mess, etc.). TJ kids may fare even better in future years than they had in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Past performance may not mean much, re admissions. The world has changed. Current TJ kids are a known quantity to admissions officers, who will have fewer tools to differentiate base school kids (no captains of sports teams now, standardized testing is a mess, etc.). TJ kids may fare even better in future years than they had in the past.

lol yall are ridiculous there are plenty of kids at base schools that are just as good as an average TJ kid. Colleges understand this. There is no bump for TJ and actually a negative unless you are going Engineering/Tech which gasp is the actual purpose of the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Past performance may not mean much, re admissions. The world has changed. Current TJ kids are a known quantity to admissions officers, who will have fewer tools to differentiate base school kids (no captains of sports teams now, standardized testing is a mess, etc.). TJ kids may fare even better in future years than they had in the past.

lol yall are ridiculous there are plenty of kids at base schools that are just as good as an average TJ kid. Colleges understand this. There is no bump for TJ and actually a negative unless you are going Engineering/Tech which gasp is the actual purpose of the school.

No. The PP is right because the TJ curriculum is so uniform and all the kids take the same basic classes. So it is known that kids can do high level high stress math, are thoroughly grounded in 4 science disciplines, have strong writing skills, both scientific and in analysis of fiction and non-fiction texts. There is no way to take an “easier math track” until AB bs BC Calc. No way to take an easier science track. No way to get an easier English track at all. And year, after year, after year, kids come out with the same classes. So admin offers know what a B in TJ AP Physics means. And TJ prove themselves over and over once they get on campus. A UVA dean did an analysis and AP said they carried the highest GPAS of any school sending 10 or more kids.

Of course there are kids that can do this well at base schools. But it’s a lot harder to figure out who they are. Vs TJ, where a kid literally cannot graduate without certain important skill sets, certain classes, and proving that they can manage a difficult, intense workload, conduct scientific research, have a deep understanding of math, collaborate in group projects...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Past performance may not mean much, re admissions. The world has changed. Current TJ kids are a known quantity to admissions officers, who will have fewer tools to differentiate base school kids (no captains of sports teams now, standardized testing is a mess, etc.). TJ kids may fare even better in future years than they had in the past.

lol yall are ridiculous there are plenty of kids at base schools that are just as good as an average TJ kid. Colleges understand this. There is no bump for TJ and actually a negative unless you are going Engineering/Tech which gasp is the actual purpose of the school.

No. The PP is right because the TJ curriculum is so uniform and all the kids take the same basic classes. So it is known that kids can do high level high stress math, are thoroughly grounded in 4 science disciplines, have strong writing skills, both scientific and in analysis of fiction and non-fiction texts. There is no way to take an “easier math track” until AB bs BC Calc. No way to take an easier science track. No way to get an easier English track at all. And year, after year, after year, kids come out with the same classes. So admin offers know what a B in TJ AP Physics means. And TJ prove themselves over and over once they get on campus. A UVA dean did an analysis and AP said they carried the highest GPAS of any school sending 10 or more kids.

Of course there are kids that can do this well at base schools. But it’s a lot harder to figure out who they are. Vs TJ, where a kid literally cannot graduate without certain important skill sets, certain classes, and proving that they can manage a difficult, intense workload, conduct scientific research, have a deep understanding of math, collaborate in group projects...

hey booster it's actually easier to get into TJ from a base school vs TJ lol

[Anonymous]

I went to MIT and I'm against my child going to TJ. No need to burn out before college.