TJ admissions now verifying free and reduced price meal status for successful 2026 applicants

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You all got played, and the result will be that your children will be less safe and that public schools will be less funded.

Youngkin got rid of VMPI as he said he would. Kids will continue to be able to take accelerated math.
In Loudoun, acceleration was taken away ans has now been somewhat reinstated.

Ignorant fool. VMPI wasn’t taking away accelerated/advanced math. You were played.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know many points was saying yes to FARMS worth?

90 points

How many total possible points?

Not sure what it means? I think they just added 90 points to total

How many points were the other components worth? GPA. Essays etc

300 GPA, 300 SPS, 300 Math/Science test. up to 225 additional experience points of which meals was 90.

Stop lying on these threads. GPA is only worth 37.5 points, with a minimum possible value of 262.5 through a maximum of 300. The meals bonus was worth over twice as many points as the entire span from a 3.5 GPA through a 4.0.

Huh?

According to the rubric that was made public as part of discovery during the ongoing lawsuit, the score for GPA is 75 * GPA.

Since there is a 3.5 minimum GPA required to be eligible to apply and a 4.0 maximum GPA based on how it was calculated for the purposes of the application, every student will have. GPA score between 362.5 and 400.

As such, the maximum difference in terms of GPA between any two applicants is 400 - 362.5 = 37.5.

To say that GPA is worth 300 points, while strictly true, is misleading, since every applicant earns at least 362.5 of those points.

Since the experience factors are worth either 45 or 90 points each, that means that a 3.5 GPA combined with any experience factor outweighs a 4.0 GPA with no experience factors. In other words, the experience factors are extremely valuable.

Not that valuable. Only 12% of total possible score.

Almost irrelevant since almost everyone accepted had 4.0.

The high-point components of the application are:
300 for the SPS
300 for the math/science essay

They comprise the vast majority of the applicant’s score. If a kid didn’t get in, they probably didn’t write an exceptional essay or portrait.

The essay was apparently very easy and most of the portrait has nothing to do with STEM

The whole thing was/is a disaster.

According to my kid, very few of the students who were expected to get in actually got in i.e., majority of the kids who are generally known to be smart, stood out in the class, perfect or almost perfect GPA, took advantage (and did well) of STEM electives offered by the school, participated in school offered STEM after-school activities etc didn't get admission, but some random and unexpected kids, few of them even had B's got admissions, which surprised many of his peers. He was initially disappointed to be wait listed, but after learning who else got wait listed (and who actually got admissions..lol), he felt TJ doesn't really matter anymore. Well, my kid isn't good at creative writing, which he knows, so its not totally unexpected and as we know GPA doesn't really carry that much weightage compared to portrait sheet and science essay. He was hoping TJ will look into his electives and how well he did in all the courses (as FCPS has whole course work in hand) and consider the after school activities (even if only school based activities are considered), but it didn't really matter at the end (TJ probably didn't look into any of this). Anyways.. this is is how the TJ cohort is going to look like going forward and I doubt anyone realizes a drop in standards and competitiveness any time soon.

There will be two more TJ classes admitted under the merit-based system, and given the lag during which test scores are accumulated and normalized across states, it will likely take another five years before TJ starts getting downgraded by publications like US News.

In the interim, look for FCPS to publicize every instance in which TJ continues to be highly rated as if it confirms they did something right by changing the admissions process, even though these ratings will be based on the performance of students admitted before the change.

An increasing percentage of the highest achieving kids with the most STEM aptitude will decide to stay at their base schools, and TJ will become an above-average school that provides a better education to kids who'd otherwise be attending Annandale, Justice, Lewis, Mount Vernon, etc. And those schools, conversely, could end up declining further if a greater number of kids who otherwise might have been role models at those schools, even if not really viable candidates for admission to TJ under the old merit-based system, end up at TJ instead.

Does FCPS frequently publicize TJ rankings? I haven’t noticed that.

https://www.fcps.edu/news/fcps-high-schools-ranked-among-best-virginia-and-nation-us-news-and-world-report

Ok. So a press release when the rankings came out. And?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm glad Youngkin won the election. That means the citizens in this State has suffered too much at the hand of Left. It's the hope that VA could become more reasonable.

Youngkin DGAF about public schools. He was to implement vouchers/charters that will defund public schools.

He just said what the idiots wanted to hear to get elected.

You are wrong about Youngkin but you want to keep posting this nonsense about vouchers over public schools. Why do you keep
Posting this?

Sure, that's why he's stacked the state board of education with charter advocates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm glad Youngkin won the election. That means the citizens in this State has suffered too much at the hand of Left. It's the hope that VA could become more reasonable.

Youngkin DGAF about public schools. He was to implement vouchers/charters that will defund public schools.

He just said what the idiots wanted to hear to get elected.

You are wrong about Youngkin but you want to keep posting this nonsense about vouchers over public schools. Why do you keep
Posting this?

Sure, that's why he's stacked the state board of education with charter advocates

Good More charters are needed. At this point TJ should just become a charter, then the best kids can still go and the rest of FCPS will continue to decline because of the idiotic woke policies from the school board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know many points was saying yes to FARMS worth?

90 points

How many total possible points?

Not sure what it means? I think they just added 90 points to total

How many points were the other components worth? GPA. Essays etc

300 GPA, 300 SPS, 300 Math/Science test. up to 225 additional experience points of which meals was 90.

Stop lying on these threads. GPA is only worth 37.5 points, with a minimum possible value of 262.5 through a maximum of 300. The meals bonus was worth over twice as many points as the entire span from a 3.5 GPA through a 4.0.

Huh?

According to the rubric that was made public as part of discovery during the ongoing lawsuit, the score for GPA is 75 * GPA.

Since there is a 3.5 minimum GPA required to be eligible to apply and a 4.0 maximum GPA based on how it was calculated for the purposes of the application, every student will have. GPA score between 362.5 and 400.

As such, the maximum difference in terms of GPA between any two applicants is 400 - 362.5 = 37.5.

To say that GPA is worth 300 points, while strictly true, is misleading, since every applicant earns at least 362.5 of those points.

Since the experience factors are worth either 45 or 90 points each, that means that a 3.5 GPA combined with any experience factor outweighs a 4.0 GPA with no experience factors. In other words, the experience factors are extremely valuable.

Not that valuable. Only 12% of total possible score.

Almost irrelevant since almost everyone accepted had 4.0.

The high-point components of the application are:
300 for the SPS
300 for the math/science essay

They comprise the vast majority of the applicant’s score. If a kid didn’t get in, they probably didn’t write an exceptional essay or portrait.

The essay was apparently very easy and most of the portrait has nothing to do with STEM

The whole thing was/is a disaster.

According to my kid, very few of the students who were expected to get in actually got in i.e., majority of the kids who are generally known to be smart, stood out in the class, perfect or almost perfect GPA, took advantage (and did well) of STEM electives offered by the school, participated in school offered STEM after-school activities etc didn't get admission, but some random and unexpected kids, few of them even had B's got admissions, which surprised many of his peers. He was initially disappointed to be wait listed, but after learning who else got wait listed (and who actually got admissions..lol), he felt TJ doesn't really matter anymore. Well, my kid isn't good at creative writing, which he knows, so its not totally unexpected and as we know GPA doesn't really carry that much weightage compared to portrait sheet and science essay. He was hoping TJ will look into his electives and how well he did in all the courses (as FCPS has whole course work in hand) and consider the after school activities (even if only school based activities are considered), but it didn't really matter at the end (TJ probably didn't look into any of this). Anyways.. this is is how the TJ cohort is going to look like going forward and I doubt anyone realizes a drop in standards and competitiveness any time soon.

There will be two more TJ classes admitted under the merit-based system, and given the lag during which test scores are accumulated and normalized across states, it will likely take another five years before TJ starts getting downgraded by publications like US News.

In the interim, look for FCPS to publicize every instance in which TJ continues to be highly rated as if it confirms they did something right by changing the admissions process, even though these ratings will be based on the performance of students admitted before the change.

An increasing percentage of the highest achieving kids with the most STEM aptitude will decide to stay at their base schools, and TJ will become an above-average school that provides a better education to kids who'd otherwise be attending Annandale, Justice, Lewis, Mount Vernon, etc. And those schools, conversely, could end up declining further if a greater number of kids who otherwise might have been role models at those schools, even if not really viable candidates for admission to TJ under the old merit-based system, end up at TJ instead.

Does FCPS frequently publicize TJ rankings? I haven’t noticed that.

https://www.fcps.edu/news/fcps-high-schools-ranked-among-best-virginia-and-nation-us-news-and-world-report

Ok. So a press release when the rankings came out. And?

You said you hadn't noticed that FCPS publicized TJ rankings and PP provides an example from last month. Go find something else to argue about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm glad Youngkin won the election. That means the citizens in this State has suffered too much at the hand of Left. It's the hope that VA could become more reasonable.

Youngkin DGAF about public schools. He was to implement vouchers/charters that will defund public schools.

He just said what the idiots wanted to hear to get elected.

Public schools are a failure and are the biggest source of systemic racism as the education gap has only increased over time. #schoolchoice

Welcome back to the chat, Harry Jackson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Don’t be obtuse.

We don’t need to hear your twisted rationalizations for cheating.

Calling me obtuse and my arguments twisted doesn't make it so. Why not just clearly point out the flaws in my reasoning if they're so evident to you?

We aren’t talking about job interviews or studying for a test.

We are talking about the ways parents are cheating the system to give their kids an unfair advantage in AAP/TJ admissions.

It’s unethical to prep for the CogAT and it’s unethical to use former test questions for the old TJ test. It’s cheating the system. If your kids are bright enough let them qualify for AAP/TJ on their own.

You still haven't explained *why* it's unethical to prep for the Cogat. I don't think you can do so successfully, but you should at least try.

Of course one preps to give oneself an advantage, but what's wrong with that? It's not an *unfair* advantage if I prepare well and others prepare less well.

Simply repeating your ad hominem attacks does nothing to prove that you're right. I have provided arguments in support of my view that preparation per se is never unethical. (I grant that illegal activity, breaches of confidentiality, and cheating are unethical - but then one wasn't unethical for prepping, but for prepping *in that fashion*. Prepping without resort to such unethical means, e.g. by studying, familiarizing oneself with publicly available information, and/or practicing, is perfectly ethical and should be encouraged.) You have neither rebutted my arguments not provided counterarguments of your own - you're just banging your fist on the table and repeating "unethical!"

Why isn't it equally unethical, by your reasoning, to prep for *anything*? When is prepping OK according to you and when is it not OK?

The sports analogy fits so well here

Do sports teams care about geographic diversity or SES status, or whether a kid practices more than another and does the "test" multiple times beforehand????

No they care about the kids with the most talent in sports period. Just like TJ should take the best STEAM students period.

And PS to the liberal posters that keep posting about politics. Get the f out of here. There are adults trying to have a conversation.

The sports analogy NEVER works when it comes to educational and academic opportunities - especially those that are publicly funded.

The job of a sports team is to compete and to win games. While TJ wins many competitions and is frequently highly recognized, it is NO part of the school's mission to win any competitions or top any rankings, and nowhere in any document does it say that its mission is to find the BEST or MOST qualified students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm glad Youngkin won the election. That means the citizens in this State has suffered too much at the hand of Left. It's the hope that VA could become more reasonable.

Youngkin DGAF about public schools. He was to implement vouchers/charters that will defund public schools.

He just said what the idiots wanted to hear to get elected.

You are wrong about Youngkin but you want to keep posting this nonsense about vouchers over public schools. Why do you keep
Posting this?

Sure, that's why he's stacked the state board of education with charter advocates

Good More charters are needed. At this point TJ should just become a charter, then the best kids can still go and the rest of FCPS will continue to decline because of the idiotic woke policies from the school board.

I'd support that if nothing else than for the infusion of cash when the charter company has to buy the land and facilities. That money could pay for a lot of renovations in the rest of the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know many points was saying yes to FARMS worth?

90 points

How many total possible points?

Not sure what it means? I think they just added 90 points to total

How many points were the other components worth? GPA. Essays etc

300 GPA, 300 SPS, 300 Math/Science test. up to 225 additional experience points of which meals was 90.

Stop lying on these threads. GPA is only worth 37.5 points, with a minimum possible value of 262.5 through a maximum of 300. The meals bonus was worth over twice as many points as the entire span from a 3.5 GPA through a 4.0.

Huh?

According to the rubric that was made public as part of discovery during the ongoing lawsuit, the score for GPA is 75 * GPA.

Since there is a 3.5 minimum GPA required to be eligible to apply and a 4.0 maximum GPA based on how it was calculated for the purposes of the application, every student will have. GPA score between 362.5 and 400.

As such, the maximum difference in terms of GPA between any two applicants is 400 - 362.5 = 37.5.

To say that GPA is worth 300 points, while strictly true, is misleading, since every applicant earns at least 362.5 of those points.

Since the experience factors are worth either 45 or 90 points each, that means that a 3.5 GPA combined with any experience factor outweighs a 4.0 GPA with no experience factors. In other words, the experience factors are extremely valuable.

Not that valuable. Only 12% of total possible score.

Almost irrelevant since almost everyone accepted had 4.0.

The high-point components of the application are:
300 for the SPS
300 for the math/science essay

They comprise the vast majority of the applicant’s score. If a kid didn’t get in, they probably didn’t write an exceptional essay or portrait.

The essay was apparently very easy and most of the portrait has nothing to do with STEM

The whole thing was/is a disaster.

According to my kid, very few of the students who were expected to get in actually got in i.e., majority of the kids who are generally known to be smart, stood out in the class, perfect or almost perfect GPA, took advantage (and did well) of STEM electives offered by the school, participated in school offered STEM after-school activities etc didn't get admission, but some random and unexpected kids, few of them even had B's got admissions, which surprised many of his peers. He was initially disappointed to be wait listed, but after learning who else got wait listed (and who actually got admissions..lol), he felt TJ doesn't really matter anymore. Well, my kid isn't good at creative writing, which he knows, so its not totally unexpected and as we know GPA doesn't really carry that much weightage compared to portrait sheet and science essay. He was hoping TJ will look into his electives and how well he did in all the courses (as FCPS has whole course work in hand) and consider the after school activities (even if only school based activities are considered), but it didn't really matter at the end (TJ probably didn't look into any of this). Anyways.. this is is how the TJ cohort is going to look like going forward and I doubt anyone realizes a drop in standards and competitiveness any time soon.

Well, talk to some other parents, get organized and take your facts to Coalition for TJ or Governor Youngkin. Bellyaching on DCUM is not going to do anything.

I understand you are being sarcastic, which is fine. I hope you do understand that there is no easy to quantify this. Unless the admissions break the rules, you can't really do much. So, if my kid isn't good at writing, then we have to accept for what it is. The question is are the new rules really identifying the true STEM talent and interest. I think it is not and I am sure you assume the opposite. Only time will tell which direction the TJ is headed. For kids who go to better rated HS and supported by parents, TJ shouldn't make much of a difference. So, yes, my kid isn't happy, but is fine with the outcome as many (not all) of his peers that usually competes/collaborates academically are in the same boat as him and will continue to be peers at base HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know many points was saying yes to FARMS worth?

90 points

How many total possible points?

Not sure what it means? I think they just added 90 points to total

How many points were the other components worth? GPA. Essays etc

300 GPA, 300 SPS, 300 Math/Science test. up to 225 additional experience points of which meals was 90.

Stop lying on these threads. GPA is only worth 37.5 points, with a minimum possible value of 262.5 through a maximum of 300. The meals bonus was worth over twice as many points as the entire span from a 3.5 GPA through a 4.0.

Huh?

According to the rubric that was made public as part of discovery during the ongoing lawsuit, the score for GPA is 75 * GPA.

Since there is a 3.5 minimum GPA required to be eligible to apply and a 4.0 maximum GPA based on how it was calculated for the purposes of the application, every student will have. GPA score between 362.5 and 400.

As such, the maximum difference in terms of GPA between any two applicants is 400 - 362.5 = 37.5.

To say that GPA is worth 300 points, while strictly true, is misleading, since every applicant earns at least 362.5 of those points.

Since the experience factors are worth either 45 or 90 points each, that means that a 3.5 GPA combined with any experience factor outweighs a 4.0 GPA with no experience factors. In other words, the experience factors are extremely valuable.

Not that valuable. Only 12% of total possible score.

Almost irrelevant since almost everyone accepted had 4.0.

The high-point components of the application are:
300 for the SPS
300 for the math/science essay

They comprise the vast majority of the applicant’s score. If a kid didn’t get in, they probably didn’t write an exceptional essay or portrait.

The essay was apparently very easy and most of the portrait has nothing to do with STEM

The whole thing was/is a disaster.

According to my kid, very few of the students who were expected to get in actually got in i.e., majority of the kids who are generally known to be smart, stood out in the class, perfect or almost perfect GPA, took advantage (and did well) of STEM electives offered by the school, participated in school offered STEM after-school activities etc didn't get admission, but some random and unexpected kids, few of them even had B's got admissions, which surprised many of his peers. He was initially disappointed to be wait listed, but after learning who else got wait listed (and who actually got admissions..lol), he felt TJ doesn't really matter anymore. Well, my kid isn't good at creative writing, which he knows, so its not totally unexpected and as we know GPA doesn't really carry that much weightage compared to portrait sheet and science essay. He was hoping TJ will look into his electives and how well he did in all the courses (as FCPS has whole course work in hand) and consider the after school activities (even if only school based activities are considered), but it didn't really matter at the end (TJ probably didn't look into any of this). Anyways.. this is is how the TJ cohort is going to look like going forward and I doubt anyone realizes a drop in standards and competitiveness any time soon.

There will be two more TJ classes admitted under the merit-based system, and given the lag during which test scores are accumulated and normalized across states, it will likely take another five years before TJ starts getting downgraded by publications like US News.

In the interim, look for FCPS to publicize every instance in which TJ continues to be highly rated as if it confirms they did something right by changing the admissions process, even though these ratings will be based on the performance of students admitted before the change.

An increasing percentage of the highest achieving kids with the most STEM aptitude will decide to stay at their base schools, and TJ will become an above-average school that provides a better education to kids who'd otherwise be attending Annandale, Justice, Lewis, Mount Vernon, etc. And those schools, conversely, could end up declining further if a greater number of kids who otherwise might have been role models at those schools, even if not really viable candidates for admission to TJ under the old merit-based system, end up at TJ instead.

+ 1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know many points was saying yes to FARMS worth?

90 points

How many total possible points?

Not sure what it means? I think they just added 90 points to total

How many points were the other components worth? GPA. Essays etc

300 GPA, 300 SPS, 300 Math/Science test. up to 225 additional experience points of which meals was 90.

Stop lying on these threads. GPA is only worth 37.5 points, with a minimum possible value of 262.5 through a maximum of 300. The meals bonus was worth over twice as many points as the entire span from a 3.5 GPA through a 4.0.

Huh?

According to the rubric that was made public as part of discovery during the ongoing lawsuit, the score for GPA is 75 * GPA.

Since there is a 3.5 minimum GPA required to be eligible to apply and a 4.0 maximum GPA based on how it was calculated for the purposes of the application, every student will have. GPA score between 362.5 and 400.

As such, the maximum difference in terms of GPA between any two applicants is 400 - 362.5 = 37.5.

To say that GPA is worth 300 points, while strictly true, is misleading, since every applicant earns at least 362.5 of those points.

Since the experience factors are worth either 45 or 90 points each, that means that a 3.5 GPA combined with any experience factor outweighs a 4.0 GPA with no experience factors. In other words, the experience factors are extremely valuable.

Not that valuable. Only 12% of total possible score.

Almost irrelevant since almost everyone accepted had 4.0.

The high-point components of the application are:
300 for the SPS
300 for the math/science essay

They comprise the vast majority of the applicant’s score. If a kid didn’t get in, they probably didn’t write an exceptional essay or portrait.

The essay was apparently very easy and most of the portrait has nothing to do with STEM

The whole thing was/is a disaster.

According to my kid, very few of the students who were expected to get in actually got in i.e., majority of the kids who are generally known to be smart, stood out in the class, perfect or almost perfect GPA, took advantage (and did well) of STEM electives offered by the school, participated in school offered STEM after-school activities etc didn't get admission, but some random and unexpected kids, few of them even had B's got admissions, which surprised many of his peers. He was initially disappointed to be wait listed, but after learning who else got wait listed (and who actually got admissions..lol), he felt TJ doesn't really matter anymore. Well, my kid isn't good at creative writing, which he knows, so its not totally unexpected and as we know GPA doesn't really carry that much weightage compared to portrait sheet and science essay. He was hoping TJ will look into his electives and how well he did in all the courses (as FCPS has whole course work in hand) and consider the after school activities (even if only school based activities are considered), but it didn't really matter at the end (TJ probably didn't look into any of this). Anyways.. this is is how the TJ cohort is going to look like going forward and I doubt anyone realizes a drop in standards and competitiveness any time soon.

There was no reason to think that anyone would look at anything other then what the application called for. Your child should have been able to write a solid essay. It was a part of the application.

Yes, I am not denying what you said. If TJ is not a STEM focussed school, but a general selective school, then I agree that creating writing is very important. But do you think creating writing should be more important for STEM magnet school like TJ than actual activities that demonstrates the the interest in STEM? As many others have noted earlier in this thread there is only 37.5 points diff for min GPA of 3.5 and 4.0. Where as portrait sheet carries 300 points (or 60 points for each question) and 300 points for a single science/math essay (note: this is not really math, but just an essay explaining your point). Nothing else is taked into consideration and no input from teachers. If you are convinced that this is an ideal process to screen the kids for school like TJ, then you will be happy. Those of who think grades and STEM needs to have more weight will be unhappy. Thats all I am trying to convey here. My kid is done here and any changes in future will not help my kid. I am just concerned about future direction of TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know many points was saying yes to FARMS worth?

90 points

How many total possible points?

Not sure what it means? I think they just added 90 points to total

How many points were the other components worth? GPA. Essays etc

300 GPA, 300 SPS, 300 Math/Science test. up to 225 additional experience points of which meals was 90.

Stop lying on these threads. GPA is only worth 37.5 points, with a minimum possible value of 262.5 through a maximum of 300. The meals bonus was worth over twice as many points as the entire span from a 3.5 GPA through a 4.0.

Huh?

According to the rubric that was made public as part of discovery during the ongoing lawsuit, the score for GPA is 75 * GPA.

Since there is a 3.5 minimum GPA required to be eligible to apply and a 4.0 maximum GPA based on how it was calculated for the purposes of the application, every student will have. GPA score between 362.5 and 400.

As such, the maximum difference in terms of GPA between any two applicants is 400 - 362.5 = 37.5.

To say that GPA is worth 300 points, while strictly true, is misleading, since every applicant earns at least 362.5 of those points.

Since the experience factors are worth either 45 or 90 points each, that means that a 3.5 GPA combined with any experience factor outweighs a 4.0 GPA with no experience factors. In other words, the experience factors are extremely valuable.

Not that valuable. Only 12% of total possible score.

Almost irrelevant since almost everyone accepted had 4.0.

The high-point components of the application are:
300 for the SPS
300 for the math/science essay

They comprise the vast majority of the applicant’s score. If a kid didn’t get in, they probably didn’t write an exceptional essay or portrait.

The essay was apparently very easy and most of the portrait has nothing to do with STEM

The whole thing was/is a disaster.

According to my kid, very few of the students who were expected to get in actually got in i.e., majority of the kids who are generally known to be smart, stood out in the class, perfect or almost perfect GPA, took advantage (and did well) of STEM electives offered by the school, participated in school offered STEM after-school activities etc didn't get admission, but some random and unexpected kids, few of them even had B's got admissions, which surprised many of his peers. He was initially disappointed to be wait listed, but after learning who else got wait listed (and who actually got admissions..lol), he felt TJ doesn't really matter anymore. Well, my kid isn't good at creative writing, which he knows, so its not totally unexpected and as we know GPA doesn't really carry that much weightage compared to portrait sheet and science essay. He was hoping TJ will look into his electives and how well he did in all the courses (as FCPS has whole course work in hand) and consider the after school activities (even if only school based activities are considered), but it didn't really matter at the end (TJ probably didn't look into any of this). Anyways.. this is is how the TJ cohort is going to look like going forward and I doubt anyone realizes a drop in standards and competitiveness any time soon.

Well, talk to some other parents, get organized and take your facts to Coalition for TJ or Governor Youngkin. Bellyaching on DCUM is not going to do anything.

I understand you are being sarcastic, which is fine. I hope you do understand that there is no easy to quantify this. Unless the admissions break the rules, you can't really do much. So, if my kid isn't good at writing, then we have to accept for what it is. The question is are the new rules really identifying the true STEM talent and interest. I think it is not and I am sure you assume the opposite. Only time will tell which direction the TJ is headed. For kids who go to better rated HS and supported by parents, TJ shouldn't make much of a difference. So, yes, my kid isn't happy, but is fine with the outcome as many (not all) of his peers that usually competes/collaborates academically are in the same boat as him and will continue to be peers at base HS.

Exact same experience at a different MS. The kids sailing through Algebra II with 4.0s and STEM achievements got waitlisted. At least one of the kids who got in had much lower than a 4.0 GPA and needed extensive tutoring just to get through the AAP courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Don’t be obtuse.

We don’t need to hear your twisted rationalizations for cheating.

Calling me obtuse and my arguments twisted doesn't make it so. Why not just clearly point out the flaws in my reasoning if they're so evident to you?

We aren’t talking about job interviews or studying for a test.

We are talking about the ways parents are cheating the system to give their kids an unfair advantage in AAP/TJ admissions.

It’s unethical to prep for the CogAT and it’s unethical to use former test questions for the old TJ test. It’s cheating the system. If your kids are bright enough let them qualify for AAP/TJ on their own.

You still haven't explained *why* it's unethical to prep for the Cogat. I don't think you can do so successfully, but you should at least try.

Of course one preps to give oneself an advantage, but what's wrong with that? It's not an *unfair* advantage if I prepare well and others prepare less well.

Simply repeating your ad hominem attacks does nothing to prove that you're right. I have provided arguments in support of my view that preparation per se is never unethical. (I grant that illegal activity, breaches of confidentiality, and cheating are unethical - but then one wasn't unethical for prepping, but for prepping *in that fashion*. Prepping without resort to such unethical means, e.g. by studying, familiarizing oneself with publicly available information, and/or practicing, is perfectly ethical and should be encouraged.) You have neither rebutted my arguments not provided counterarguments of your own - you're just banging your fist on the table and repeating "unethical!"

Why isn't it equally unethical, by your reasoning, to prep for *anything*? When is prepping OK according to you and when is it not OK?

By the same token why is it unethical to lie about FARMS status or make up accomplishments on your essay?

Not the same token at all. Lying is unethical (perhaps with limited exceptions when a white lie brings about a greater good). Preparing is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Don’t be obtuse.

We don’t need to hear your twisted rationalizations for cheating.

Calling me obtuse and my arguments twisted doesn't make it so. Why not just clearly point out the flaws in my reasoning if they're so evident to you?

We aren’t talking about job interviews or studying for a test.

We are talking about the ways parents are cheating the system to give their kids an unfair advantage in AAP/TJ admissions.

It’s unethical to prep for the CogAT and it’s unethical to use former test questions for the old TJ test. It’s cheating the system. If your kids are bright enough let them qualify for AAP/TJ on their own.

You still haven't explained *why* it's unethical to prep for the Cogat. I don't think you can do so successfully, but you should at least try.

Of course one preps to give oneself an advantage, but what's wrong with that? It's not an *unfair* advantage if I prepare well and others prepare less well.

Simply repeating your ad hominem attacks does nothing to prove that you're right. I have provided arguments in support of my view that preparation per se is never unethical. (I grant that illegal activity, breaches of confidentiality, and cheating are unethical - but then one wasn't unethical for prepping, but for prepping *in that fashion*. Prepping without resort to such unethical means, e.g. by studying, familiarizing oneself with publicly available information, and/or practicing, is perfectly ethical and should be encouraged.) You have neither rebutted my arguments not provided counterarguments of your own - you're just banging your fist on the table and repeating "unethical!"

Why isn't it equally unethical, by your reasoning, to prep for *anything*? When is prepping OK according to you and when is it not OK?

The sports analogy fits so well here

Do sports teams care about geographic diversity or SES status, or whether a kid practices more than another and does the "test" multiple times beforehand????

No they care about the kids with the most talent in sports period. Just like TJ should take the best STEAM students period.

And PS to the liberal posters that keep posting about politics. Get the f out of here. There are adults trying to have a conversation.

The sports analogy NEVER works when it comes to educational and academic opportunities - especially those that are publicly funded.

The job of a sports team is to compete and to win games. While TJ wins many competitions and is frequently highly recognized, it is NO part of the school's mission to win any competitions or top any rankings, and nowhere in any document does it say that its mission is to find the BEST or MOST qualified students.

Lol. You are basically admitting that TJ isn't a magnet school and those who are admitted aren't necessarily the most qualified. Then what is TJ supposed to be? I am fine if my kid doesn't get into TJ, but unfortunately base schools have gotten a lot more competitive, so reduced advantage in college admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It’s wrong to prepare for some tests. Cogat. The old TJ test.

At the risking of opening up an old can of worms, I've never understood this line of reasoning. Is it better to be unprepared than to be prepared, for anything?

If I'm going to be tested, I want to do as well as I can. Knowing the format of the test and the type of content it addresses seems like an obvious aspect of preparation to undertake. If it's a timed test, then practicing to get a feel for how quickly I need to work also makes sense.

Don't athletes, musicians, actors practice before a tryout? Don't students study before a class exam? Don't job candidates prepare for interviews?

This was exactly my point too. Preparation shows determination, dedication, willingness to learn and grow, and shows the kid will be successful.

How do the kids know to prepare for the cogat or how to do?

Same for TJ - how are they signing up for these prep programs?

Now you're just being silly. Kids also don't know how to improve at sports or a musical instrument - that's why there are coaches and teachers. Kids only know to study for a school exam because the tacher tells them to - is that also unethical? Is it cheating if they study for a test rather than passing based on their own merits?

Why go to school at all? After all, the point is to learn and grow and improve, which sounds just as unethical by your reasoning.