Disappointed by TJ decision?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The capacity has increased too, which in a way ensures that there is room for error, while top kids would still get in.

If the top kids were getting in while a few weaker ones got thru over some better candidates, it would not be a big deal.
Instead the top kids are mostly not getting in. Not sure how it is at the top feeder schools, but the schools I've seen in Loudoun, Academies of Loudoun is mostly taking the top kids, while TJ is putting them on waitlist or rejecting them.

On the other hand, the top students are mostly getting opportunities for Academies of Loudoun, while the ones accepted to TJ under the current process would have had neither possibility under the old process.

TJ serves mainly fx county.

You keep saying the top kids are going elsewhere, but how can you determine who’s better than the other?

DP. They can't, plain and simple. They know what their kids grades are, and what their kids do with their time, and they assume that the other kids who do the same things (STEM competitions, events, etc) are the "top" kids. But unless they're exceedingly creepy, they have no idea what the other kids do with their time, or what their grades are, and so forth.

It's a bit of circular logic. I make my kid do these activities because they are the activities that TJ admissions should want - therefore my kids and the kids who also do those activities are the top kids, and if TJ admissions is not selecting those kids, then they're not selecting the "top" kids.

Makes you wonder how they expected their kids to get into a place like TJ when that's the level of intellect that the parents are working with.

You are doing the same circular logic- TJ has accepted them, therefore they are the top kids.
I can also use the same argument that these are top kids because they were accepted by Academies of Loudoun, while the kids accepted to TJ were not accepted.
Perhaps you are at a school that sends lots of students, but there are not that many people going to TJ from our school, and kids know who are the top students and if certain students are not good students. They are all good students, but it is relative.
I am hearing the same thing from other schools nearby. And then there is the matter of some superstars who were rejected, not even waitlisted, including some from Fairfax.

That's not true the committee that has access to the actual student data selected them. They are able to make an informed determination, unlike some randoparent who just guesses about others and likely doesn't even understand the criteria.

Propose to change the "Science and Technology" in the name to "Storytelling and Theatre", more aligned to the goal.

DP. The Storytelling and Theater that I'm seeing are the poster/posters who are confident that they know who the "top students" are and that only "less-than-top students" were admitted from multiple schools and multiple school districts.

I mean, really?

This is clearly true, given that students selected to TJ were not selected to Academies of Loudoun and vice versa. So by one measure almost all of these students are less than top. At least with TJ, we can say there weren't as many spots available. However, the students selected as the top in their school by TJ, say top 6, were not considered in the top 12 by Loudoun.
From what I've seen, Loudoun did a better job, with a top student outright rejected by TJ, while accepting students who were either waitlist or rejected by Academies of Loudoun, both AOS and AET.

It appears to be happening at multiple schools. I have heard this from parents elsewhere, with some students I know are top students not getting in, while the parents tell me some of the ones who got in were mediocre. This isn't a matter of jealousy, I have heard this from parents whose kids got in. At one school, the parent saying the kid they most would have expected didn't get in. In other cases it is students I am familiar with who have some substantial accomplishments.
A student posted early in this thread his or her experience with being accepted. It appears to be a student in Fairfax, but initially I thought it was someone from our school who I've met, it was very similar situation being described.

Again with the folks claiming that they know who the "top students" are. These are the same parents who will walk around bewildered when their kid has to accept an offer from Virginia Tech while the "mediocre students" are getting into Duke and Stanford.

Maybe your priorities aren't shared by people who know what's best for their university or school system.

[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:
The capacity has increased too, which in a way ensures that there is room for error, while top kids would still get in.

If the top kids were getting in while a few weaker ones got thru over some better candidates, it would not be a big deal.
Instead the top kids are mostly not getting in. Not sure how it is at the top feeder schools, but the schools I've seen in Loudoun, Academies of Loudoun is mostly taking the top kids, while TJ is putting them on waitlist or rejecting them.

On the other hand, the top students are mostly getting opportunities for Academies of Loudoun, while the ones accepted to TJ under the current process would have had neither possibility under the old process.

TJ serves mainly fx county.

You keep saying the top kids are going elsewhere, but how can you determine who’s better than the other?

DP. They can't, plain and simple. They know what their kids grades are, and what their kids do with their time, and they assume that the other kids who do the same things (STEM competitions, events, etc) are the "top" kids. But unless they're exceedingly creepy, they have no idea what the other kids do with their time, or what their grades are, and so forth.

It's a bit of circular logic. I make my kid do these activities because they are the activities that TJ admissions should want - therefore my kids and the kids who also do those activities are the top kids, and if TJ admissions is not selecting those kids, then they're not selecting the "top" kids.

Makes you wonder how they expected their kids to get into a place like TJ when that's the level of intellect that the parents are working with.

You are doing the same circular logic- TJ has accepted them, therefore they are the top kids.
I can also use the same argument that these are top kids because they were accepted by Academies of Loudoun, while the kids accepted to TJ were not accepted.
Perhaps you are at a school that sends lots of students, but there are not that many people going to TJ from our school, and kids know who are the top students and if certain students are not good students. They are all good students, but it is relative.
I am hearing the same thing from other schools nearby. And then there is the matter of some superstars who were rejected, not even waitlisted, including some from Fairfax.

That's not true the committee that has access to the actual student data selected them. They are able to make an informed determination, unlike some randoparent who just guesses about others and likely doesn't even understand the criteria.

Propose to change the "Science and Technology" in the name to "Storytelling and Theatre", more aligned to the goal.

DP. The Storytelling and Theater that I'm seeing are the poster/posters who are confident that they know who the "top students" are and that only "less-than-top students" were admitted from multiple schools and multiple school districts.

I mean, really?

This is clearly true, given that students selected to TJ were not selected to Academies of Loudoun and vice versa. So by one measure almost all of these students are less than top. At least with TJ, we can say there weren't as many spots available. However, the students selected as the top in their school by TJ, say top 6, were not considered in the top 12 by Loudoun.
From what I've seen, Loudoun did a better job, with a top student outright rejected by TJ, while accepting students who were either waitlist or rejected by Academies of Loudoun, both AOS and AET.

It appears to be happening at multiple schools. I have heard this from parents elsewhere, with some students I know are top students not getting in, while the parents tell me some of the ones who got in were mediocre. This isn't a matter of jealousy, I have heard this from parents whose kids got in. At one school, the parent saying the kid they most would have expected didn't get in. In other cases it is students I am familiar with who have some substantial accomplishments.
A student posted early in this thread his or her experience with being accepted. It appears to be a student in Fairfax, but initially I thought it was someone from our school who I've met, it was very similar situation being described.

Top students rejected, mediocre students admitted, sounds like LoCo is going to stop aiming for TJ.

Good.

If the essay if these top students didn’t make it with this process, why do you think it would make it in the old process?

The kids still had to go through that round regardless of the initial selection criteria.

There was more in the previous admissions process that would give the committee more data, like teacher recommendations.
However, you are right that it is confusing how certain students who should have been locks for admission were rejected.
One theory is that if students listed achievements in the essay, as was thought to be the way to stand out, were instead graded down.
Also, the essays were different under the old process I think.
By the way, I am told essay is a poor choice of words, and that these were short answer questions, like a single paragraph.

This is a possibility. TJ Admissions officials have been very public that the most important thing to do with the essay questions was to ANSWER THE QUESTION, and only to discuss achievements if they could be weaved into the response organically.

It would not surprise me at all to learn that some students tried to wedge a discussion of their Science Olympiad trophy somewhere it doesn't belong and got dinged for it.

[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:
The capacity has increased too, which in a way ensures that there is room for error, while top kids would still get in.

If the top kids were getting in while a few weaker ones got thru over some better candidates, it would not be a big deal.
Instead the top kids are mostly not getting in. Not sure how it is at the top feeder schools, but the schools I've seen in Loudoun, Academies of Loudoun is mostly taking the top kids, while TJ is putting them on waitlist or rejecting them.

On the other hand, the top students are mostly getting opportunities for Academies of Loudoun, while the ones accepted to TJ under the current process would have had neither possibility under the old process.

TJ serves mainly fx county.

You keep saying the top kids are going elsewhere, but how can you determine who’s better than the other?

DP. They can't, plain and simple. They know what their kids grades are, and what their kids do with their time, and they assume that the other kids who do the same things (STEM competitions, events, etc) are the "top" kids. But unless they're exceedingly creepy, they have no idea what the other kids do with their time, or what their grades are, and so forth.

It's a bit of circular logic. I make my kid do these activities because they are the activities that TJ admissions should want - therefore my kids and the kids who also do those activities are the top kids, and if TJ admissions is not selecting those kids, then they're not selecting the "top" kids.

Makes you wonder how they expected their kids to get into a place like TJ when that's the level of intellect that the parents are working with.

You are doing the same circular logic- TJ has accepted them, therefore they are the top kids.
I can also use the same argument that these are top kids because they were accepted by Academies of Loudoun, while the kids accepted to TJ were not accepted.
Perhaps you are at a school that sends lots of students, but there are not that many people going to TJ from our school, and kids know who are the top students and if certain students are not good students. They are all good students, but it is relative.
I am hearing the same thing from other schools nearby. And then there is the matter of some superstars who were rejected, not even waitlisted, including some from Fairfax.

That's not true the committee that has access to the actual student data selected them. They are able to make an informed determination, unlike some randoparent who just guesses about others and likely doesn't even understand the criteria.

Propose to change the "Science and Technology" in the name to "Storytelling and Theatre", more aligned to the goal.

DP. The Storytelling and Theater that I'm seeing are the poster/posters who are confident that they know who the "top students" are and that only "less-than-top students" were admitted from multiple schools and multiple school districts.

I mean, really?

This is clearly true, given that students selected to TJ were not selected to Academies of Loudoun and vice versa. So by one measure almost all of these students are less than top. At least with TJ, we can say there weren't as many spots available. However, the students selected as the top in their school by TJ, say top 6, were not considered in the top 12 by Loudoun.
From what I've seen, Loudoun did a better job, with a top student outright rejected by TJ, while accepting students who were either waitlist or rejected by Academies of Loudoun, both AOS and AET.

It appears to be happening at multiple schools. I have heard this from parents elsewhere, with some students I know are top students not getting in, while the parents tell me some of the ones who got in were mediocre. This isn't a matter of jealousy, I have heard this from parents whose kids got in. At one school, the parent saying the kid they most would have expected didn't get in. In other cases it is students I am familiar with who have some substantial accomplishments.
A student posted early in this thread his or her experience with being accepted. It appears to be a student in Fairfax, but initially I thought it was someone from our school who I've met, it was very similar situation being described.

Top students rejected, mediocre students admitted, sounds like LoCo is going to stop aiming for TJ.

Good.

If the essay if these top students didn’t make it with this process, why do you think it would make it in the old process?

The kids still had to go through that round regardless of the initial selection criteria.

There was more in the previous admissions process that would give the committee more data, like teacher recommendations.
However, you are right that it is confusing how certain students who should have been locks for admission were rejected.
One theory is that if students listed achievements in the essay, as was thought to be the way to stand out, were instead graded down.
Also, the essays were different under the old process I think.
By the way, I am told essay is a poor choice of words, and that these were short answer questions, like a single paragraph.

This is a possibility. TJ Admissions officials have been very public that the most important thing to do with the essay questions was to ANSWER THE QUESTION, and only to discuss achievements if they could be weaved into the response organically.

It would not surprise me at all to learn that some students tried to wedge a discussion of their Science Olympiad trophy somewhere it doesn't belong and got dinged for it.

Digging their essay because they mentioned they were excellent at science seems unlikely given the context.

[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:
The capacity has increased too, which in a way ensures that there is room for error, while top kids would still get in.

If the top kids were getting in while a few weaker ones got thru over some better candidates, it would not be a big deal.
Instead the top kids are mostly not getting in. Not sure how it is at the top feeder schools, but the schools I've seen in Loudoun, Academies of Loudoun is mostly taking the top kids, while TJ is putting them on waitlist or rejecting them.

On the other hand, the top students are mostly getting opportunities for Academies of Loudoun, while the ones accepted to TJ under the current process would have had neither possibility under the old process.

TJ serves mainly fx county.

You keep saying the top kids are going elsewhere, but how can you determine who’s better than the other?

DP. They can't, plain and simple. They know what their kids grades are, and what their kids do with their time, and they assume that the other kids who do the same things (STEM competitions, events, etc) are the "top" kids. But unless they're exceedingly creepy, they have no idea what the other kids do with their time, or what their grades are, and so forth.

It's a bit of circular logic. I make my kid do these activities because they are the activities that TJ admissions should want - therefore my kids and the kids who also do those activities are the top kids, and if TJ admissions is not selecting those kids, then they're not selecting the "top" kids.

Makes you wonder how they expected their kids to get into a place like TJ when that's the level of intellect that the parents are working with.

You are doing the same circular logic- TJ has accepted them, therefore they are the top kids.
I can also use the same argument that these are top kids because they were accepted by Academies of Loudoun, while the kids accepted to TJ were not accepted.
Perhaps you are at a school that sends lots of students, but there are not that many people going to TJ from our school, and kids know who are the top students and if certain students are not good students. They are all good students, but it is relative.
I am hearing the same thing from other schools nearby. And then there is the matter of some superstars who were rejected, not even waitlisted, including some from Fairfax.

That's not true the committee that has access to the actual student data selected them. They are able to make an informed determination, unlike some randoparent who just guesses about others and likely doesn't even understand the criteria.

Propose to change the "Science and Technology" in the name to "Storytelling and Theatre", more aligned to the goal.

DP. The Storytelling and Theater that I'm seeing are the poster/posters who are confident that they know who the "top students" are and that only "less-than-top students" were admitted from multiple schools and multiple school districts.

I mean, really?

This is clearly true, given that students selected to TJ were not selected to Academies of Loudoun and vice versa. So by one measure almost all of these students are less than top. At least with TJ, we can say there weren't as many spots available. However, the students selected as the top in their school by TJ, say top 6, were not considered in the top 12 by Loudoun.
From what I've seen, Loudoun did a better job, with a top student outright rejected by TJ, while accepting students who were either waitlist or rejected by Academies of Loudoun, both AOS and AET.

It appears to be happening at multiple schools. I have heard this from parents elsewhere, with some students I know are top students not getting in, while the parents tell me some of the ones who got in were mediocre. This isn't a matter of jealousy, I have heard this from parents whose kids got in. At one school, the parent saying the kid they most would have expected didn't get in. In other cases it is students I am familiar with who have some substantial accomplishments.
A student posted early in this thread his or her experience with being accepted. It appears to be a student in Fairfax, but initially I thought it was someone from our school who I've met, it was very similar situation being described.

Top students rejected, mediocre students admitted, sounds like LoCo is going to stop aiming for TJ.

Good.

If the essay if these top students didn’t make it with this process, why do you think it would make it in the old process?

The kids still had to go through that round regardless of the initial selection criteria.

There was more in the previous admissions process that would give the committee more data, like teacher recommendations.
However, you are right that it is confusing how certain students who should have been locks for admission were rejected.
One theory is that if students listed achievements in the essay, as was thought to be the way to stand out, were instead graded down.
Also, the essays were different under the old process I think.
By the way, I am told essay is a poor choice of words, and that these were short answer questions, like a single paragraph.

This is a possibility. TJ Admissions officials have been very public that the most important thing to do with the essay questions was to ANSWER THE QUESTION, and only to discuss achievements if they could be weaved into the response organically.

It would not surprise me at all to learn that some students tried to wedge a discussion of their Science Olympiad trophy somewhere it doesn't belong and got dinged for it.

Digging their essay because they mentioned they were excellent at science seems unlikely given the context.

I think the point was, if the question was: how are you a valuable member of the community? And the answer was: because I win at Sc. Oly., then it shows poor logic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The capacity has increased too, which in a way ensures that there is room for error, while top kids would still get in.

If the top kids were getting in while a few weaker ones got thru over some better candidates, it would not be a big deal.
Instead the top kids are mostly not getting in. Not sure how it is at the top feeder schools, but the schools I've seen in Loudoun, Academies of Loudoun is mostly taking the top kids, while TJ is putting them on waitlist or rejecting them.

On the other hand, the top students are mostly getting opportunities for Academies of Loudoun, while the ones accepted to TJ under the current process would have had neither possibility under the old process.

TJ serves mainly fx county.

You keep saying the top kids are going elsewhere, but how can you determine who’s better than the other?

DP. They can't, plain and simple. They know what their kids grades are, and what their kids do with their time, and they assume that the other kids who do the same things (STEM competitions, events, etc) are the "top" kids. But unless they're exceedingly creepy, they have no idea what the other kids do with their time, or what their grades are, and so forth.

It's a bit of circular logic. I make my kid do these activities because they are the activities that TJ admissions should want - therefore my kids and the kids who also do those activities are the top kids, and if TJ admissions is not selecting those kids, then they're not selecting the "top" kids.

Makes you wonder how they expected their kids to get into a place like TJ when that's the level of intellect that the parents are working with.

You are doing the same circular logic- TJ has accepted them, therefore they are the top kids.
I can also use the same argument that these are top kids because they were accepted by Academies of Loudoun, while the kids accepted to TJ were not accepted.
Perhaps you are at a school that sends lots of students, but there are not that many people going to TJ from our school, and kids know who are the top students and if certain students are not good students. They are all good students, but it is relative.
I am hearing the same thing from other schools nearby. And then there is the matter of some superstars who were rejected, not even waitlisted, including some from Fairfax.

I'm actually not making any sort of claim as to knowing who the best kids are. All I'm doing is telling you that YOU don't know who they are.

There is literally no incentive whatsoever for the folks working in TJ admissions to bring in kids who are going to come in and fail and return to their base schools. That's why the numbers of kids leaving really hasn't changed that much - once you account for Covid - from where they were 5, 10, 15 years ago.

When faced with the choice between who to trust on who's getting in to TJ, I'm probably going to trust the folks who have been doing this for years - there hasn't been any turnover in that office for a long time - over some rando with an agenda who comes on to an anonymous website spewing hateful garbage.

Freshmen applications are not reviewed by TJ staff. They are all from the Gatehouse Admin side from what I have heard.

Only sophomore applications are reviewed by actual TJ teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The capacity has increased too, which in a way ensures that there is room for error, while top kids would still get in.

If the top kids were getting in while a few weaker ones got thru over some better candidates, it would not be a big deal.
Instead the top kids are mostly not getting in. Not sure how it is at the top feeder schools, but the schools I've seen in Loudoun, Academies of Loudoun is mostly taking the top kids, while TJ is putting them on waitlist or rejecting them.

On the other hand, the top students are mostly getting opportunities for Academies of Loudoun, while the ones accepted to TJ under the current process would have had neither possibility under the old process.

So if a student wrote an essay about their passion for some esoteric field like genetic engineering or machine learning would the people reading it have any clue what they're talking about and be able to assess it or would it be complete gibberish to them even if it were actually brilliant?


TJ serves mainly fx county.

You keep saying the top kids are going elsewhere, but how can you determine who’s better than the other?

DP. They can't, plain and simple. They know what their kids grades are, and what their kids do with their time, and they assume that the other kids who do the same things (STEM competitions, events, etc) are the "top" kids. But unless they're exceedingly creepy, they have no idea what the other kids do with their time, or what their grades are, and so forth.

It's a bit of circular logic. I make my kid do these activities because they are the activities that TJ admissions should want - therefore my kids and the kids who also do those activities are the top kids, and if TJ admissions is not selecting those kids, then they're not selecting the "top" kids.

Makes you wonder how they expected their kids to get into a place like TJ when that's the level of intellect that the parents are working with.

You are doing the same circular logic- TJ has accepted them, therefore they are the top kids.
I can also use the same argument that these are top kids because they were accepted by Academies of Loudoun, while the kids accepted to TJ were not accepted.
Perhaps you are at a school that sends lots of students, but there are not that many people going to TJ from our school, and kids know who are the top students and if certain students are not good students. They are all good students, but it is relative.
I am hearing the same thing from other schools nearby. And then there is the matter of some superstars who were rejected, not even waitlisted, including some from Fairfax.

I'm actually not making any sort of claim as to knowing who the best kids are. All I'm doing is telling you that YOU don't know who they are.

There is literally no incentive whatsoever for the folks working in TJ admissions to bring in kids who are going to come in and fail and return to their base schools. That's why the numbers of kids leaving really hasn't changed that much - once you account for Covid - from where they were 5, 10, 15 years ago.

When faced with the choice between who to trust on who's getting in to TJ, I'm probably going to trust the folks who have been doing this for years - there hasn't been any turnover in that office for a long time - over some rando with an agenda who comes on to an anonymous website spewing hateful garbage.

Freshmen applications are not reviewed by TJ staff. They are all from the Gatehouse Admin side from what I have heard.

Only sophomore applications are reviewed by actual TJ teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The capacity has increased too, which in a way ensures that there is room for error, while top kids would still get in.

If the top kids were getting in while a few weaker ones got thru over some better candidates, it would not be a big deal.
Instead the top kids are mostly not getting in. Not sure how it is at the top feeder schools, but the schools I've seen in Loudoun, Academies of Loudoun is mostly taking the top kids, while TJ is putting them on waitlist or rejecting them.

On the other hand, the top students are mostly getting opportunities for Academies of Loudoun, while the ones accepted to TJ under the current process would have had neither possibility under the old process.

TJ serves mainly fx county.

You keep saying the top kids are going elsewhere, but how can you determine who’s better than the other?

DP. They can't, plain and simple. They know what their kids grades are, and what their kids do with their time, and they assume that the other kids who do the same things (STEM competitions, events, etc) are the "top" kids. But unless they're exceedingly creepy, they have no idea what the other kids do with their time, or what their grades are, and so forth.

It's a bit of circular logic. I make my kid do these activities because they are the activities that TJ admissions should want - therefore my kids and the kids who also do those activities are the top kids, and if TJ admissions is not selecting those kids, then they're not selecting the "top" kids.

Makes you wonder how they expected their kids to get into a place like TJ when that's the level of intellect that the parents are working with.

You are doing the same circular logic- TJ has accepted them, therefore they are the top kids.
I can also use the same argument that these are top kids because they were accepted by Academies of Loudoun, while the kids accepted to TJ were not accepted.
Perhaps you are at a school that sends lots of students, but there are not that many people going to TJ from our school, and kids know who are the top students and if certain students are not good students. They are all good students, but it is relative.
I am hearing the same thing from other schools nearby. And then there is the matter of some superstars who were rejected, not even waitlisted, including some from Fairfax.

I'm actually not making any sort of claim as to knowing who the best kids are. All I'm doing is telling you that YOU don't know who they are.

There is literally no incentive whatsoever for the folks working in TJ admissions to bring in kids who are going to come in and fail and return to their base schools. That's why the numbers of kids leaving really hasn't changed that much - once you account for Covid - from where they were 5, 10, 15 years ago.

When faced with the choice between who to trust on who's getting in to TJ, I'm probably going to trust the folks who have been doing this for years - there hasn't been any turnover in that office for a long time - over some rando with an agenda who comes on to an anonymous website spewing hateful garbage.

Freshmen applications are not reviewed by TJ staff. They are all from the Gatehouse Admin side from what I have heard.

Only sophomore applications are reviewed by actual TJ teachers.

If a student wrote an essay about their passion for some esoteric field like genetic engineering or machine learning, would the people reading it have any clue what they're talking about and be able to assess it, or would it be complete gibberish to them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The capacity has increased too, which in a way ensures that there is room for error, while top kids would still get in.

If the top kids were getting in while a few weaker ones got thru over some better candidates, it would not be a big deal.
Instead the top kids are mostly not getting in. Not sure how it is at the top feeder schools, but the schools I've seen in Loudoun, Academies of Loudoun is mostly taking the top kids, while TJ is putting them on waitlist or rejecting them.

On the other hand, the top students are mostly getting opportunities for Academies of Loudoun, while the ones accepted to TJ under the current process would have had neither possibility under the old process.

TJ serves mainly fx county.

You keep saying the top kids are going elsewhere, but how can you determine who’s better than the other?

DP. They can't, plain and simple. They know what their kids grades are, and what their kids do with their time, and they assume that the other kids who do the same things (STEM competitions, events, etc) are the "top" kids. But unless they're exceedingly creepy, they have no idea what the other kids do with their time, or what their grades are, and so forth.

It's a bit of circular logic. I make my kid do these activities because they are the activities that TJ admissions should want - therefore my kids and the kids who also do those activities are the top kids, and if TJ admissions is not selecting those kids, then they're not selecting the "top" kids.

Makes you wonder how they expected their kids to get into a place like TJ when that's the level of intellect that the parents are working with.

You are doing the same circular logic- TJ has accepted them, therefore they are the top kids.
I can also use the same argument that these are top kids because they were accepted by Academies of Loudoun, while the kids accepted to TJ were not accepted.
Perhaps you are at a school that sends lots of students, but there are not that many people going to TJ from our school, and kids know who are the top students and if certain students are not good students. They are all good students, but it is relative.
I am hearing the same thing from other schools nearby. And then there is the matter of some superstars who were rejected, not even waitlisted, including some from Fairfax.

I'm actually not making any sort of claim as to knowing who the best kids are. All I'm doing is telling you that YOU don't know who they are.

There is literally no incentive whatsoever for the folks working in TJ admissions to bring in kids who are going to come in and fail and return to their base schools. That's why the numbers of kids leaving really hasn't changed that much - once you account for Covid - from where they were 5, 10, 15 years ago.

When faced with the choice between who to trust on who's getting in to TJ, I'm probably going to trust the folks who have been doing this for years - there hasn't been any turnover in that office for a long time - over some rando with an agenda who comes on to an anonymous website spewing hateful garbage.

Freshmen applications are not reviewed by TJ staff. They are all from the Gatehouse Admin side from what I have heard.

Only sophomore applications are reviewed by actual TJ teachers.

PP. When I said "TJ Admissions", I was referring to the staff of the TJ Admissions Office, which is indeed in Gatehouse and isn't affiliated with the school. The bolded, however, is not quite true.

The admissions committee that reviews freshmen TJ applications has historically included folks from the actual TJ building and has included both current and former TJ teachers.

[Anonymous]

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The capacity has increased too, which in a way ensures that there is room for error, while top kids would still get in.

If the top kids were getting in while a few weaker ones got thru over some better candidates, it would not be a big deal.
Instead the top kids are mostly not getting in. Not sure how it is at the top feeder schools, but the schools I've seen in Loudoun, Academies of Loudoun is mostly taking the top kids, while TJ is putting them on waitlist or rejecting them.

On the other hand, the top students are mostly getting opportunities for Academies of Loudoun, while the ones accepted to TJ under the current process would have had neither possibility under the old process.

TJ serves mainly fx county.

You keep saying the top kids are going elsewhere, but how can you determine who’s better than the other?

DP. They can't, plain and simple. They know what their kids grades are, and what their kids do with their time, and they assume that the other kids who do the same things (STEM competitions, events, etc) are the "top" kids. But unless they're exceedingly creepy, they have no idea what the other kids do with their time, or what their grades are, and so forth.

It's a bit of circular logic. I make my kid do these activities because they are the activities that TJ admissions should want - therefore my kids and the kids who also do those activities are the top kids, and if TJ admissions is not selecting those kids, then they're not selecting the "top" kids.

Makes you wonder how they expected their kids to get into a place like TJ when that's the level of intellect that the parents are working with.

You are doing the same circular logic- TJ has accepted them, therefore they are the top kids.
I can also use the same argument that these are top kids because they were accepted by Academies of Loudoun, while the kids accepted to TJ were not accepted.
Perhaps you are at a school that sends lots of students, but there are not that many people going to TJ from our school, and kids know who are the top students and if certain students are not good students. They are all good students, but it is relative.
I am hearing the same thing from other schools nearby. And then there is the matter of some superstars who were rejected, not even waitlisted, including some from Fairfax.

I'm actually not making any sort of claim as to knowing who the best kids are. All I'm doing is telling you that YOU don't know who they are.

There is literally no incentive whatsoever for the folks working in TJ admissions to bring in kids who are going to come in and fail and return to their base schools. That's why the numbers of kids leaving really hasn't changed that much - once you account for Covid - from where they were 5, 10, 15 years ago.

When faced with the choice between who to trust on who's getting in to TJ, I'm probably going to trust the folks who have been doing this for years - there hasn't been any turnover in that office for a long time - over some rando with an agenda who comes on to an anonymous website spewing hateful garbage.

Freshmen applications are not reviewed by TJ staff. They are all from the Gatehouse Admin side from what I have heard.

Only sophomore applications are reviewed by actual TJ teachers.

If a student wrote an essay about their passion for some esoteric field like genetic engineering or machine learning, would the people reading it have any clue what they're talking about and be able to assess it, or would it be complete gibberish to them?

It's likely that they'd be assessing the student's passion rather than their content knowledge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The capacity has increased too, which in a way ensures that there is room for error, while top kids would still get in.

If the top kids were getting in while a few weaker ones got thru over some better candidates, it would not be a big deal.
Instead the top kids are mostly not getting in. Not sure how it is at the top feeder schools, but the schools I've seen in Loudoun, Academies of Loudoun is mostly taking the top kids, while TJ is putting them on waitlist or rejecting them.

On the other hand, the top students are mostly getting opportunities for Academies of Loudoun, while the ones accepted to TJ under the current process would have had neither possibility under the old process.

TJ serves mainly fx county.

You keep saying the top kids are going elsewhere, but how can you determine who’s better than the other?

DP. They can't, plain and simple. They know what their kids grades are, and what their kids do with their time, and they assume that the other kids who do the same things (STEM competitions, events, etc) are the "top" kids. But unless they're exceedingly creepy, they have no idea what the other kids do with their time, or what their grades are, and so forth.

It's a bit of circular logic. I make my kid do these activities because they are the activities that TJ admissions should want - therefore my kids and the kids who also do those activities are the top kids, and if TJ admissions is not selecting those kids, then they're not selecting the "top" kids.

Makes you wonder how they expected their kids to get into a place like TJ when that's the level of intellect that the parents are working with.

You are doing the same circular logic- TJ has accepted them, therefore they are the top kids.
I can also use the same argument that these are top kids because they were accepted by Academies of Loudoun, while the kids accepted to TJ were not accepted.
Perhaps you are at a school that sends lots of students, but there are not that many people going to TJ from our school, and kids know who are the top students and if certain students are not good students. They are all good students, but it is relative.
I am hearing the same thing from other schools nearby. And then there is the matter of some superstars who were rejected, not even waitlisted, including some from Fairfax.

I'm actually not making any sort of claim as to knowing who the best kids are. All I'm doing is telling you that YOU don't know who they are.

There is literally no incentive whatsoever for the folks working in TJ admissions to bring in kids who are going to come in and fail and return to their base schools. That's why the numbers of kids leaving really hasn't changed that much - once you account for Covid - from where they were 5, 10, 15 years ago.

When faced with the choice between who to trust on who's getting in to TJ, I'm probably going to trust the folks who have been doing this for years - there hasn't been any turnover in that office for a long time - over some rando with an agenda who comes on to an anonymous website spewing hateful garbage.

Freshmen applications are not reviewed by TJ staff. They are all from the Gatehouse Admin side from what I have heard.

Only sophomore applications are reviewed by actual TJ teachers.

If a student wrote an essay about their passion for some esoteric field like genetic engineering or machine learning, would the people reading it have any clue what they're talking about and be able to assess it, or would it be complete gibberish to them?

If it doesn't answer the question, then it doesn't answer the question. No matter how esoteric it is.

[Anonymous]

DC is waitlisted for TJ. School is from LCPS, a competitive middle school. Not selected for AET/AOS. Wondering realistically what are the chances and how long should we wait? Not sure if there are/would be many declines from DC's school. And even if there are some, what is the possibility that other school/county would get the slot? I read somewhere that spots declined by Loudoun are going to Fairfax. DC also mentioned they thought the test went well but did not provide more details. DC has no 'experience factors'. So just wondering if we should still keep our hopes up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is waitlisted for TJ. School is from LCPS, a competitive middle school. Not selected for AET/AOS. Wondering realistically what are the chances and how long should we wait? Not sure if there are/would be many declines from DC's school. And even if there are some, what is the possibility that other school/county would get the slot? I read somewhere that spots declined by Loudoun are going to Fairfax. DC also mentioned they thought the test went well but did not provide more details. DC has no 'experience factors'. So just wondering if we should still keep our hopes up.

Honest answer: Your hopes have no impact on the process. Just keep your options open, plan on going to your base school (Loudoun publics are by and large excellent) and if you get the call, you can make a decision at that point.

But sitting around waiting for the call won't do you any good. Some families will withdraw from the waitlist - you should only do that if you have a good reason to, but otherwise don't give it a second thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is waitlisted for TJ. School is from LCPS, a competitive middle school. Not selected for AET/AOS. Wondering realistically what are the chances and how long should we wait? Not sure if there are/would be many declines from DC's school. And even if there are some, what is the possibility that other school/county would get the slot? I read somewhere that spots declined by Loudoun are going to Fairfax. DC also mentioned they thought the test went well but did not provide more details. DC has no 'experience factors'. So just wondering if we should still keep our hopes up.

What are you waiting for? Are you considering whether to attend a private school?
You do not need declines from your child's school for TJ. You would need it for AOS/AET, if you are on waitlist.

However, the spots are open to the overall waitlist, and not reserved for Loudoun.
So at this point you would need someone probably from the waitlist who was accepted to then decline admission, your child would have to be the next highest ranked on the waitlist, and Loudoun would have to be below its allotted maximum.
The third of these conditions is likely, as I have heard of several students who have declined, and it is unlikely all of these spots were taken from the waitlist by Loudoun kids.
The first condition is unlikely, as people already had an opportunity to drop from the waitlist.
The second is also unlikely as there are >1000 students on the waitlist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The capacity has increased too, which in a way ensures that there is room for error, while top kids would still get in.

If the top kids were getting in while a few weaker ones got thru over some better candidates, it would not be a big deal.
Instead the top kids are mostly not getting in. Not sure how it is at the top feeder schools, but the schools I've seen in Loudoun, Academies of Loudoun is mostly taking the top kids, while TJ is putting them on waitlist or rejecting them.

On the other hand, the top students are mostly getting opportunities for Academies of Loudoun, while the ones accepted to TJ under the current process would have had neither possibility under the old process.

TJ serves mainly fx county.

You keep saying the top kids are going elsewhere, but how can you determine who’s better than the other?

DP. They can't, plain and simple. They know what their kids grades are, and what their kids do with their time, and they assume that the other kids who do the same things (STEM competitions, events, etc) are the "top" kids. But unless they're exceedingly creepy, they have no idea what the other kids do with their time, or what their grades are, and so forth.

It's a bit of circular logic. I make my kid do these activities because they are the activities that TJ admissions should want - therefore my kids and the kids who also do those activities are the top kids, and if TJ admissions is not selecting those kids, then they're not selecting the "top" kids.

Makes you wonder how they expected their kids to get into a place like TJ when that's the level of intellect that the parents are working with.

You are doing the same circular logic- TJ has accepted them, therefore they are the top kids.
I can also use the same argument that these are top kids because they were accepted by Academies of Loudoun, while the kids accepted to TJ were not accepted.
Perhaps you are at a school that sends lots of students, but there are not that many people going to TJ from our school, and kids know who are the top students and if certain students are not good students. They are all good students, but it is relative.
I am hearing the same thing from other schools nearby. And then there is the matter of some superstars who were rejected, not even waitlisted, including some from Fairfax.

That's not true the committee that has access to the actual student data selected them. They are able to make an informed determination, unlike some randoparent who just guesses about others and likely doesn't even understand the criteria.

Propose to change the "Science and Technology" in the name to "Storytelling and Theatre", more aligned to the goal.

DP. The Storytelling and Theater that I'm seeing are the poster/posters who are confident that they know who the "top students" are and that only "less-than-top students" were admitted from multiple schools and multiple school districts.

I mean, really?

This is clearly true, given that students selected to TJ were not selected to Academies of Loudoun and vice versa. So by one measure almost all of these students are less than top. At least with TJ, we can say there weren't as many spots available. However, the students selected as the top in their school by TJ, say top 6, were not considered in the top 12 by Loudoun.
From what I've seen, Loudoun did a better job, with a top student outright rejected by TJ, while accepting students who were either waitlist or rejected by Academies of Loudoun, both AOS and AET.

It appears to be happening at multiple schools. I have heard this from parents elsewhere, with some students I know are top students not getting in, while the parents tell me some of the ones who got in were mediocre. This isn't a matter of jealousy, I have heard this from parents whose kids got in. At one school, the parent saying the kid they most would have expected didn't get in. In other cases it is students I am familiar with who have some substantial accomplishments.
A student posted early in this thread his or her experience with being accepted. It appears to be a student in Fairfax, but initially I thought it was someone from our school who I've met, it was very similar situation being described.

Again with the folks claiming that they know who the "top students" are. These are the same parents who will walk around bewildered when their kid has to accept an offer from Virginia Tech while the "mediocre students" are getting into Duke and Stanford.

Maybe your priorities aren't shared by people who know what's best for their university or school system.

Exactly and at least the actual decision-makers have access to real student information and can make an informed decision instead of relying on vague and unsubstantiated impressions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The capacity has increased too, which in a way ensures that there is room for error, while top kids would still get in.

If the top kids were getting in while a few weaker ones got thru over some better candidates, it would not be a big deal.
Instead the top kids are mostly not getting in. Not sure how it is at the top feeder schools, but the schools I've seen in Loudoun, Academies of Loudoun is mostly taking the top kids, while TJ is putting them on waitlist or rejecting them.

On the other hand, the top students are mostly getting opportunities for Academies of Loudoun, while the ones accepted to TJ under the current process would have had neither possibility under the old process.

TJ serves mainly fx county.

You keep saying the top kids are going elsewhere, but how can you determine who’s better than the other?

DP. They can't, plain and simple. They know what their kids grades are, and what their kids do with their time, and they assume that the other kids who do the same things (STEM competitions, events, etc) are the "top" kids. But unless they're exceedingly creepy, they have no idea what the other kids do with their time, or what their grades are, and so forth.

It's a bit of circular logic. I make my kid do these activities because they are the activities that TJ admissions should want - therefore my kids and the kids who also do those activities are the top kids, and if TJ admissions is not selecting those kids, then they're not selecting the "top" kids.

Makes you wonder how they expected their kids to get into a place like TJ when that's the level of intellect that the parents are working with.

You are doing the same circular logic- TJ has accepted them, therefore they are the top kids.
I can also use the same argument that these are top kids because they were accepted by Academies of Loudoun, while the kids accepted to TJ were not accepted.
Perhaps you are at a school that sends lots of students, but there are not that many people going to TJ from our school, and kids know who are the top students and if certain students are not good students. They are all good students, but it is relative.
I am hearing the same thing from other schools nearby. And then there is the matter of some superstars who were rejected, not even waitlisted, including some from Fairfax.

That's not true the committee that has access to the actual student data selected them. They are able to make an informed determination, unlike some randoparent who just guesses about others and likely doesn't even understand the criteria.

Propose to change the "Science and Technology" in the name to "Storytelling and Theatre", more aligned to the goal.

DP. The Storytelling and Theater that I'm seeing are the poster/posters who are confident that they know who the "top students" are and that only "less-than-top students" were admitted from multiple schools and multiple school districts.

I mean, really?

This is clearly true, given that students selected to TJ were not selected to Academies of Loudoun and vice versa. So by one measure almost all of these students are less than top. At least with TJ, we can say there weren't as many spots available. However, the students selected as the top in their school by TJ, say top 6, were not considered in the top 12 by Loudoun.
From what I've seen, Loudoun did a better job, with a top student outright rejected by TJ, while accepting students who were either waitlist or rejected by Academies of Loudoun, both AOS and AET.

It appears to be happening at multiple schools. I have heard this from parents elsewhere, with some students I know are top students not getting in, while the parents tell me some of the ones who got in were mediocre. This isn't a matter of jealousy, I have heard this from parents whose kids got in. At one school, the parent saying the kid they most would have expected didn't get in. In other cases it is students I am familiar with who have some substantial accomplishments.
A student posted early in this thread his or her experience with being accepted. It appears to be a student in Fairfax, but initially I thought it was someone from our school who I've met, it was very similar situation being described.

Top students rejected, mediocre students admitted, sounds like LoCo is going to stop aiming for TJ.

Good.

I know one top student admitted by both, who opted for Loudoun. Several more who are turning it down who are weaker candidates and probably TJ would be too hard for them. Too bad they can't do a swap system between the admissions.

So which is it? Top students are being rejected in favor of mediocre students or top students are getting in but choosing something else? I’m sensing you TJ reject parents are having trouble keeping your theories straight. For the record, you’d have no way of knowing that my child, who was accepted, is a straight A student with historically great test scores - who doesn’t participate in your child’s robotics competition. Your very small world doesn’t actually mean you have knowledge of “top students.” This is really pathetic. You won’t get off the waitlist by gaslighting other parents.