How important is TJ for college?

[Anonymous]

TJ is overrated. Our son got into 3 Ivy league universities and other good colleges. He did well in his local HS and teachers were supportive. He got the result that he was looking for.

[Anonymous]

I went through the FCPS system. As a first gen immigrant family, my parents did not know the ins/outs of the AAP/GT system. I went to my local public school. In middle school I took advantage of the opportunity to take language early and Algebra. It wasn't until 9th grade when my World History teacher noticed my abilities and recommended that I started taking more advanced classes. Senior year I took all AP classes, got a 1410 on my SATs and was admitted to William and Mary undergrad and Georgetown for grad school. I blossomed at my own time. My experience has been that self-motivation and grit is a far more indicator of success than ability. Your child does not need AAP or TJ to get into a top school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went through the FCPS system. As a first gen immigrant family, my parents did not know the ins/outs of the AAP/GT system. I went to my local public school. In middle school I took advantage of the opportunity to take language early and Algebra. It wasn't until 9th grade when my World History teacher noticed my abilities and recommended that I started taking more advanced classes. Senior year I took all AP classes, got a 1410 on my SATs and was admitted to William and Mary undergrad and Georgetown for grad school. I blossomed at my own time. My experience has been that self-motivation and grit is a far more indicator of success than ability. Your child does not need AAP or TJ to get into a top school.

But today a 1410 is not going to get you into WM unless you are URM or 1st gen. Normal UMC kids would likely be locked out of UVA/ WM with that GPA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went through the FCPS system. As a first gen immigrant family, my parents did not know the ins/outs of the AAP/GT system. I went to my local public school. In middle school I took advantage of the opportunity to take language early and Algebra. It wasn't until 9th grade when my World History teacher noticed my abilities and recommended that I started taking more advanced classes. Senior year I took all AP classes, got a 1410 on my SATs and was admitted to William and Mary undergrad and Georgetown for grad school. I blossomed at my own time. My experience has been that self-motivation and grit is a far more indicator of success than ability. Your child does not need AAP or TJ to get into a top school.

Doesn't this describe a large portion of TJ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went through the FCPS system. As a first gen immigrant family, my parents did not know the ins/outs of the AAP/GT system. I went to my local public school. In middle school I took advantage of the opportunity to take language early and Algebra. It wasn't until 9th grade when my World History teacher noticed my abilities and recommended that I started taking more advanced classes. Senior year I took all AP classes, got a 1410 on my SATs and was admitted to William and Mary undergrad and Georgetown for grad school. I blossomed at my own time. My experience has been that self-motivation and grit is a far more indicator of success than ability. Your child does not need AAP or TJ to get into a top school.

Doesn't this describe a large portion of TJ?

Depends. The phrasing is unclear. TJ has a decent proportion of first gen Asian Americans— parents moved here from Asia. But they aren’t first gen college students. Parents are highly educated. Some in Asian and some in the ZuS.

[Anonymous]

Here is average SAT score for all fairfax county schools https://www.fcps.edu/index.php/news/fcps-student-sat-scores-jump-significantly-best-national-and-state-peers Look at TJ and other high schools and you will see why it is important to go to a good high school like TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is average SAT score for all fairfax county schools https://www.fcps.edu/index.php/news/fcps-student-sat-scores-jump-significantly-best-national-and-state-peers Look at TJ and other high schools and you will see why it is important to go to a good high school like TJ.

Why? It is ridiculous to compare a selective magnet's results to a regular FCPS school. Totally meaningless.

[Anonymous]

12/27/2018 17:33 - It is not ridiculous to compare because he is asking how important TJ is for college applications. College applications look for GPA and SAT score and lot of other things also. SAT score is imprtant along with others. Comparing schools are important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:12/27/2018 17:33 - It is not ridiculous to compare because he is asking how important TJ is for college applications. College applications look for GPA and SAT score and lot of other things also. SAT score is imprtant along with others. Comparing schools are important.

I fail to see your point. They would have had the same SAT scores at their base school. Yes, kids are compared with other students who apply to the same place...but that is a big disadvantage for TJ kids, especially at the top schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is average SAT score for all fairfax county schools https://www.fcps.edu/index.php/news/fcps-student-sat-scores-jump-significantly-best-national-and-state-peers Look at TJ and other high schools and you will see why it is important to go to a good high school like TJ.

Those are average scores. It is not hard to understand why TJ average would be far superior to other schools. It is competitive to get in. That does not mean there are not many high scores in some of those high schools that are not TJ. After all, many kids are now taking the SAT who would not have taken it ten or fifteen years ago--and low scores are to be expected with some of these kids.

Does anyone have a source for the range of scores at the high schools?

TJ does not CAUSE the high SAT scores--it benefits from th em.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went through the FCPS system. As a first gen immigrant family, my parents did not know the ins/outs of the AAP/GT system. I went to my local public school. In middle school I took advantage of the opportunity to take language early and Algebra. It wasn't until 9th grade when my World History teacher noticed my abilities and recommended that I started taking more advanced classes. Senior year I took all AP classes, got a 1410 on my SATs and was admitted to William and Mary undergrad and Georgetown for grad school. I blossomed at my own time. My experience has been that self-motivation and grit is a far more indicator of success than ability. Your child does not need AAP or TJ to get into a top school.

But today a 1410 is not going to get you into WM unless you are URM or 1st gen. Normal UMC kids would likely be locked out of UVA/ WM with that GPA

I find that doubtful. 1410 is a good score. It is not a GPA.
https://www.wm.edu/admission/undergraduateadmission/how-to-apply/counselors/classprofile/index.php

midrange: 1270-1470.

1410 is a good mid-range score for any applicant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not at all. A kid smart and driven enough for TJ will get into a great college from their base school. You go to TJ for the peer group and the experience and the education. You don’t go for a college edge.

Exception: if you have a strong interest in an area of STEM, like engineering or CS, and take the advanced classes and do a mentorship and/ or research lab in that area, it might help you get into a top engineering or CS school. So if you take 2 years of post-AP CS and do substantive senior research in CS, plus a summer internship, you might have an easier path to Carnegie Melon’s program CS.

— TJ parent

Plus 1 from a CMU alumni.

[Anonymous]

TJ is a damn pressure cooker that squashes the life out of many students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ is a damn pressure cooker that squashes the life out of many students.

Those students chose to attend challenging school. Taking on a difficult challenge is a good thing.

[Anonymous]

They have no idea what the school is doing to them. No idea.