Number of Longfellow kids admitted to TJ in 2022

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a rising 7th grader, will be in Algebra 1 and is generally a strong student. He will apply for TJ but if not accepted then he will be equally happy at McLean HS as well.

I am just trying to gauge realistic chances, I googled and it said 62 kids but then on this board someone mentioned 42, I would appreciate if someone can share the correct number. TIA!

Seems like Longfellow kids have some of the best odds of any school!

No... quite literally the exact opposite. If one takes a randomly chosen applicant from the FCPS pool, applying from Longfellow is one of the worst odds as there is a very, very small chance the applicant would fall in the top 1.5%. Take a randomly chosen applicant and send them from Poe MS, then there is a higher probability that they would fall into the top 1.5% of reserved seats.

The odds of getting into TJ from Longfellow were higher than from any other AAP center with a substantial number of TJ applicants, at least last year, as the prior post indicates.

There are some middle schools that only had a limited number of applicants to TJ in the Class of 2026. Schools with less than 20 applicants included Stone (11), Whitman (13), Herndon (15), Liberty (16), and Poe (17). So, depending on the number of kids at those schools who ended up admitted to TJ, either based on the 1.5% set aside or from the residual pool, the admissions rate from some of those schools likely was higher than the rate at Longfellow (26.2%). But then, if you don't get into TJ, you don't have McLean as your back-up option.

I have no idea how they determine top students at Longfellow or anywhere else. My kid is a freshman at mclean. He probably would have gotten into TJ on the old system (he just kills math tests - no idea why). He had all A’s in honors classes at Longfellow. I look at his friend group who also didn’t get into TJ and there are some strong science/math kids there. But the kids that did go to TJ also appear to be strong students - so no complaints on quality of the class. He’s having a great experience at McLean. Your kid will be fine either way.

Between all the grade inflation and application gaming, it's difficult for them to differentiate students beyond a point. Regardless, I'm sure there are many equally strong opportunities available at McLean. One of my kid's is applying next year. They're a total rockstar. Won all kinds of math awards at the state level even. Straight A's in the highest track etc, but I realize it's kind of a crap shoot. Still I'm not really clear whether they'd really be better off at TJ. Their homeschool Langlely is also great so either way I'm fine with however way it goes.

Just math awards does not get the kid to get into TJ. If you look at scoring rubric, 1/3 score is gpa, 1/3 is SPS answers, 1/3 is stem problem and writing the answer. If the kid can solve problem but is a poor writer, they won’t make it

Either way the suggestion that the new system introduces more uncertainty into the process is correct. The net result is that people are less inclined to believe the top candidates are being admitted to TJ and more inclined to shrug when their kid doesn’t get in. Maybe that’s what FCPS wanted.

If by uncertainty, you mean fairness then I agree.

I don't mean that. It's a more subjective process, borne of pandering for political gain, with a not-so-healthy dose of anti-Asian bias tossed into the mix.

Wasn’t it meant to address cheating on an entrance test?

You can’t be that naive.

I know! For years families were gaming admissions which culminated in some prep centers creating question banks so their customers would effectively have early access to the test. These affluent families would buy their way into TJ. So glad they put an end to the cheating with the improved selection criteria. It's also greatly reduced the toxicity at TJ and helped foster a collegial atmosphere.

No one was able to buy their way into TJ.

The "improved" selection criteria is a pork-barrel approach that guarantees seats to schools regardless of whether the students from those schools are the highest achieving in the region or possess the greatest STEM aptitude. It's diminished TJ's reputation and invited debates among current TJ freshmen and sophomores as to which students truly belong there, and which students simply got into because they were among the small number of applicants from schools that weren't AAP centers and generally don't elicit much interest in TJ.

Curious how the old process is guarantee students who got in are posses the greatest STEM aptitude and are the highest achieving student?

Nothing is guaranteed, but they looked at awards won and extracurriculars. Someone who made state MathCounts or USAJMO in 7th grade(about 10 in the entire country) would not be rejected like they have been the past few years.

Someone keeps bringing up USAJMO as though it should be a golden ticket into TJ. There is a lot more to being a strong contributor to a full-service elite high school than scoring well in a math competition.

+1, it's not a good idea to have any single accomplishment or background serve as a slam-dunk guarantee into TJ. If there is, you can be assured that striver families will move heaven and earth and sacrifice any amount of their child's well-being that is necessary to get them in. That's why I like the new admissions process; there is no golden path.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a rising 7th grader, will be in Algebra 1 and is generally a strong student. He will apply for TJ but if not accepted then he will be equally happy at McLean HS as well.

I am just trying to gauge realistic chances, I googled and it said 62 kids but then on this board someone mentioned 42, I would appreciate if someone can share the correct number. TIA!

Seems like Longfellow kids have some of the best odds of any school!

No... quite literally the exact opposite. If one takes a randomly chosen applicant from the FCPS pool, applying from Longfellow is one of the worst odds as there is a very, very small chance the applicant would fall in the top 1.5%. Take a randomly chosen applicant and send them from Poe MS, then there is a higher probability that they would fall into the top 1.5% of reserved seats.

The odds of getting into TJ from Longfellow were higher than from any other AAP center with a substantial number of TJ applicants, at least last year, as the prior post indicates.

There are some middle schools that only had a limited number of applicants to TJ in the Class of 2026. Schools with less than 20 applicants included Stone (11), Whitman (13), Herndon (15), Liberty (16), and Poe (17). So, depending on the number of kids at those schools who ended up admitted to TJ, either based on the 1.5% set aside or from the residual pool, the admissions rate from some of those schools likely was higher than the rate at Longfellow (26.2%). But then, if you don't get into TJ, you don't have McLean as your back-up option.

I have no idea how they determine top students at Longfellow or anywhere else. My kid is a freshman at mclean. He probably would have gotten into TJ on the old system (he just kills math tests - no idea why). He had all A’s in honors classes at Longfellow. I look at his friend group who also didn’t get into TJ and there are some strong science/math kids there. But the kids that did go to TJ also appear to be strong students - so no complaints on quality of the class. He’s having a great experience at McLean. Your kid will be fine either way.

Between all the grade inflation and application gaming, it's difficult for them to differentiate students beyond a point. Regardless, I'm sure there are many equally strong opportunities available at McLean. One of my kid's is applying next year. They're a total rockstar. Won all kinds of math awards at the state level even. Straight A's in the highest track etc, but I realize it's kind of a crap shoot. Still I'm not really clear whether they'd really be better off at TJ. Their homeschool Langlely is also great so either way I'm fine with however way it goes.

Just math awards does not get the kid to get into TJ. If you look at scoring rubric, 1/3 score is gpa, 1/3 is SPS answers, 1/3 is stem problem and writing the answer. If the kid can solve problem but is a poor writer, they won’t make it

Either way the suggestion that the new system introduces more uncertainty into the process is correct. The net result is that people are less inclined to believe the top candidates are being admitted to TJ and more inclined to shrug when their kid doesn’t get in. Maybe that’s what FCPS wanted.

If by uncertainty, you mean fairness then I agree.

I don't mean that. It's a more subjective process, borne of pandering for political gain, with a not-so-healthy dose of anti-Asian bias tossed into the mix.

Wasn’t it meant to address cheating on an entrance test?

You can’t be that naive.

I know! For years families were gaming admissions which culminated in some prep centers creating question banks so their customers would effectively have early access to the test. These affluent families would buy their way into TJ. So glad they put an end to the cheating with the improved selection criteria. It's also greatly reduced the toxicity at TJ and helped foster a collegial atmosphere.

No one was able to buy their way into TJ.

The "improved" selection criteria is a pork-barrel approach that guarantees seats to schools regardless of whether the students from those schools are the highest achieving in the region or possess the greatest STEM aptitude. It's diminished TJ's reputation and invited debates among current TJ freshmen and sophomores as to which students truly belong there, and which students simply got into because they were among the small number of applicants from schools that weren't AAP centers and generally don't elicit much interest in TJ.

Curious how the old process is guarantee students who got in are posses the greatest STEM aptitude and are the highest achieving student?

Nothing is guaranteed, but they looked at awards won and extracurriculars. Someone who made state MathCounts or USAJMO in 7th grade(about 10 in the entire country) would not be rejected like they have been the past few years.

Someone keeps bringing up USAJMO as though it should be a golden ticket into TJ. There is a lot more to being a strong contributor to a full-service elite high school than scoring well in a math competition.

+1, it's not a good idea to have any single accomplishment or background serve as a slam-dunk guarantee into TJ. If there is, you can be assured that striver families will move heaven and earth and sacrifice any amount of their child's well-being that is necessary to get them in. That's why I like the new admissions process; there is no golden path.

How illuminating! So jack of all trades, master of none is something that no soul strives for in today's society? Thus it should be deemed the standard metric.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a rising 7th grader, will be in Algebra 1 and is generally a strong student. He will apply for TJ but if not accepted then he will be equally happy at McLean HS as well.

I am just trying to gauge realistic chances, I googled and it said 62 kids but then on this board someone mentioned 42, I would appreciate if someone can share the correct number. TIA!

Seems like Longfellow kids have some of the best odds of any school!

No... quite literally the exact opposite. If one takes a randomly chosen applicant from the FCPS pool, applying from Longfellow is one of the worst odds as there is a very, very small chance the applicant would fall in the top 1.5%. Take a randomly chosen applicant and send them from Poe MS, then there is a higher probability that they would fall into the top 1.5% of reserved seats.

The odds of getting into TJ from Longfellow were higher than from any other AAP center with a substantial number of TJ applicants, at least last year, as the prior post indicates.

There are some middle schools that only had a limited number of applicants to TJ in the Class of 2026. Schools with less than 20 applicants included Stone (11), Whitman (13), Herndon (15), Liberty (16), and Poe (17). So, depending on the number of kids at those schools who ended up admitted to TJ, either based on the 1.5% set aside or from the residual pool, the admissions rate from some of those schools likely was higher than the rate at Longfellow (26.2%). But then, if you don't get into TJ, you don't have McLean as your back-up option.

I have no idea how they determine top students at Longfellow or anywhere else. My kid is a freshman at mclean. He probably would have gotten into TJ on the old system (he just kills math tests - no idea why). He had all A’s in honors classes at Longfellow. I look at his friend group who also didn’t get into TJ and there are some strong science/math kids there. But the kids that did go to TJ also appear to be strong students - so no complaints on quality of the class. He’s having a great experience at McLean. Your kid will be fine either way.

Between all the grade inflation and application gaming, it's difficult for them to differentiate students beyond a point. Regardless, I'm sure there are many equally strong opportunities available at McLean. One of my kid's is applying next year. They're a total rockstar. Won all kinds of math awards at the state level even. Straight A's in the highest track etc, but I realize it's kind of a crap shoot. Still I'm not really clear whether they'd really be better off at TJ. Their homeschool Langlely is also great so either way I'm fine with however way it goes.

Just math awards does not get the kid to get into TJ. If you look at scoring rubric, 1/3 score is gpa, 1/3 is SPS answers, 1/3 is stem problem and writing the answer. If the kid can solve problem but is a poor writer, they won’t make it

Either way the suggestion that the new system introduces more uncertainty into the process is correct. The net result is that people are less inclined to believe the top candidates are being admitted to TJ and more inclined to shrug when their kid doesn’t get in. Maybe that’s what FCPS wanted.

If by uncertainty, you mean fairness then I agree.

I don't mean that. It's a more subjective process, borne of pandering for political gain, with a not-so-healthy dose of anti-Asian bias tossed into the mix.

Wasn’t it meant to address cheating on an entrance test?

You can’t be that naive.

I know! For years families were gaming admissions which culminated in some prep centers creating question banks so their customers would effectively have early access to the test. These affluent families would buy their way into TJ. So glad they put an end to the cheating with the improved selection criteria. It's also greatly reduced the toxicity at TJ and helped foster a collegial atmosphere.

No one was able to buy their way into TJ.

The "improved" selection criteria is a pork-barrel approach that guarantees seats to schools regardless of whether the students from those schools are the highest achieving in the region or possess the greatest STEM aptitude. It's diminished TJ's reputation and invited debates among current TJ freshmen and sophomores as to which students truly belong there, and which students simply got into because they were among the small number of applicants from schools that weren't AAP centers and generally don't elicit much interest in TJ.

Curious how the old process is guarantee students who got in are posses the greatest STEM aptitude and are the highest achieving student?

Nothing is guaranteed, but they looked at awards won and extracurriculars. Someone who made state MathCounts or USAJMO in 7th grade(about 10 in the entire country) would not be rejected like they have been the past few years.

Someone keeps bringing up USAJMO as though it should be a golden ticket into TJ. There is a lot more to being a strong contributor to a full-service elite high school than scoring well in a math competition.

+1, it's not a good idea to have any single accomplishment or background serve as a slam-dunk guarantee into TJ. If there is, you can be assured that striver families will move heaven and earth and sacrifice any amount of their child's well-being that is necessary to get them in. That's why I like the new admissions process; there is no golden path.

In vast majority of the cases, you have a very valid point that no single achievement should as a slam-dunk. I agree with that in general.

There are a few exceptions like USAJMO. You do need to understand what it entails - and no just reading up online about it does not tell you much, you need to actually experience something like that. It is like saying a two time MVP in NBA should not be an automatic choice for the next season. Dont go too deep into this analogy, just trying to make a point about the level of significance of USAJMO at a young age.

Someone who is or was even close to qualifying for USAJMO by 8th grade should be an automatic admit to TJ. We are talking about maybe 20 kids across the entire nation, forget Virginia. No you cannot just prep to 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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a rising 7th grader, will be in Algebra 1 and is generally a strong student. He will apply for TJ but if not accepted then he will be equally happy at McLean HS as well.

I am just trying to gauge realistic chances, I googled and it said 62 kids but then on this board someone mentioned 42, I would appreciate if someone can share the correct number. TIA!

Seems like Longfellow kids have some of the best odds of any school!

No... quite literally the exact opposite. If one takes a randomly chosen applicant from the FCPS pool, applying from Longfellow is one of the worst odds as there is a very, very small chance the applicant would fall in the top 1.5%. Take a randomly chosen applicant and send them from Poe MS, then there is a higher probability that they would fall into the top 1.5% of reserved seats.

The odds of getting into TJ from Longfellow were higher than from any other AAP center with a substantial number of TJ applicants, at least last year, as the prior post indicates.

There are some middle schools that only had a limited number of applicants to TJ in the Class of 2026. Schools with less than 20 applicants included Stone (11), Whitman (13), Herndon (15), Liberty (16), and Poe (17). So, depending on the number of kids at those schools who ended up admitted to TJ, either based on the 1.5% set aside or from the residual pool, the admissions rate from some of those schools likely was higher than the rate at Longfellow (26.2%). But then, if you don't get into TJ, you don't have McLean as your back-up option.

I have no idea how they determine top students at Longfellow or anywhere else. My kid is a freshman at mclean. He probably would have gotten into TJ on the old system (he just kills math tests - no idea why). He had all A’s in honors classes at Longfellow. I look at his friend group who also didn’t get into TJ and there are some strong science/math kids there. But the kids that did go to TJ also appear to be strong students - so no complaints on quality of the class. He’s having a great experience at McLean. Your kid will be fine either way.

Between all the grade inflation and application gaming, it's difficult for them to differentiate students beyond a point. Regardless, I'm sure there are many equally strong opportunities available at McLean. One of my kid's is applying next year. They're a total rockstar. Won all kinds of math awards at the state level even. Straight A's in the highest track etc, but I realize it's kind of a crap shoot. Still I'm not really clear whether they'd really be better off at TJ. Their homeschool Langlely is also great so either way I'm fine with however way it goes.

Just math awards does not get the kid to get into TJ. If you look at scoring rubric, 1/3 score is gpa, 1/3 is SPS answers, 1/3 is stem problem and writing the answer. If the kid can solve problem but is a poor writer, they won’t make it

Either way the suggestion that the new system introduces more uncertainty into the process is correct. The net result is that people are less inclined to believe the top candidates are being admitted to TJ and more inclined to shrug when their kid doesn’t get in. Maybe that’s what FCPS wanted.

If by uncertainty, you mean fairness then I agree.

I don't mean that. It's a more subjective process, borne of pandering for political gain, with a not-so-healthy dose of anti-Asian bias tossed into the mix.

Wasn’t it meant to address cheating on an entrance test?

You can’t be that naive.

I know! For years families were gaming admissions which culminated in some prep centers creating question banks so their customers would effectively have early access to the test. These affluent families would buy their way into TJ. So glad they put an end to the cheating with the improved selection criteria. It's also greatly reduced the toxicity at TJ and helped foster a collegial atmosphere.

No one was able to buy their way into TJ.

The "improved" selection criteria is a pork-barrel approach that guarantees seats to schools regardless of whether the students from those schools are the highest achieving in the region or possess the greatest STEM aptitude. It's diminished TJ's reputation and invited debates among current TJ freshmen and sophomores as to which students truly belong there, and which students simply got into because they were among the small number of applicants from schools that weren't AAP centers and generally don't elicit much interest in TJ.

Curious how the old process is guarantee students who got in are posses the greatest STEM aptitude and are the highest achieving student?

Nothing is guaranteed, but they looked at awards won and extracurriculars. Someone who made state MathCounts or USAJMO in 7th grade(about 10 in the entire country) would not be rejected like they have been the past few years.

Someone keeps bringing up USAJMO as though it should be a golden ticket into TJ. There is a lot more to being a strong contributor to a full-service elite high school than scoring well in a math competition.

+1, it's not a good idea to have any single accomplishment or background serve as a slam-dunk guarantee into TJ. If there is, you can be assured that striver families will move heaven and earth and sacrifice any amount of their child's well-being that is necessary to get them in. That's why I like the new admissions process; there is no golden path.

In vast majority of the cases, you have a very valid point that no single achievement should as a slam-dunk. I agree with that in general.

There are a few exceptions like USAJMO. You do need to understand what it entails - and no just reading up online about it does not tell you much, you need to actually experience something like that. It is like saying a two time MVP in NBA should not be an automatic choice for the next season. Dont go too deep into this analogy, just trying to make a point about the level of significance of USAJMO at a young age.

Someone who is or was even close to qualifying for USAJMO by 8th grade should be an automatic admit to TJ. We are talking about maybe 20 kids across the entire nation, forget Virginia. No you cannot just prep to it.

TJ should in fact actually be sending admission invitations to these students.

I am sure likewise there are things in arts/music/literature etc. where exceptional students can be identified without the current nonsense test.

At the very least, you need teacher recommendation letters which should provide a much more honest and accurate assessment than the current "test".

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a rising 7th grader, will be in Algebra 1 and is generally a strong student. He will apply for TJ but if not accepted then he will be equally happy at McLean HS as well.

I am just trying to gauge realistic chances, I googled and it said 62 kids but then on this board someone mentioned 42, I would appreciate if someone can share the correct number. TIA!

Seems like Longfellow kids have some of the best odds of any school!

No... quite literally the exact opposite. If one takes a randomly chosen applicant from the FCPS pool, applying from Longfellow is one of the worst odds as there is a very, very small chance the applicant would fall in the top 1.5%. Take a randomly chosen applicant and send them from Poe MS, then there is a higher probability that they would fall into the top 1.5% of reserved seats.

The odds of getting into TJ from Longfellow were higher than from any other AAP center with a substantial number of TJ applicants, at least last year, as the prior post indicates.

There are some middle schools that only had a limited number of applicants to TJ in the Class of 2026. Schools with less than 20 applicants included Stone (11), Whitman (13), Herndon (15), Liberty (16), and Poe (17). So, depending on the number of kids at those schools who ended up admitted to TJ, either based on the 1.5% set aside or from the residual pool, the admissions rate from some of those schools likely was higher than the rate at Longfellow (26.2%). But then, if you don't get into TJ, you don't have McLean as your back-up option.

I have no idea how they determine top students at Longfellow or anywhere else. My kid is a freshman at mclean. He probably would have gotten into TJ on the old system (he just kills math tests - no idea why). He had all A’s in honors classes at Longfellow. I look at his friend group who also didn’t get into TJ and there are some strong science/math kids there. But the kids that did go to TJ also appear to be strong students - so no complaints on quality of the class. He’s having a great experience at McLean. Your kid will be fine either way.

Between all the grade inflation and application gaming, it's difficult for them to differentiate students beyond a point. Regardless, I'm sure there are many equally strong opportunities available at McLean. One of my kid's is applying next year. They're a total rockstar. Won all kinds of math awards at the state level even. Straight A's in the highest track etc, but I realize it's kind of a crap shoot. Still I'm not really clear whether they'd really be better off at TJ. Their homeschool Langlely is also great so either way I'm fine with however way it goes.

Just math awards does not get the kid to get into TJ. If you look at scoring rubric, 1/3 score is gpa, 1/3 is SPS answers, 1/3 is stem problem and writing the answer. If the kid can solve problem but is a poor writer, they won’t make it

Either way the suggestion that the new system introduces more uncertainty into the process is correct. The net result is that people are less inclined to believe the top candidates are being admitted to TJ and more inclined to shrug when their kid doesn’t get in. Maybe that’s what FCPS wanted.

If by uncertainty, you mean fairness then I agree.

I don't mean that. It's a more subjective process, borne of pandering for political gain, with a not-so-healthy dose of anti-Asian bias tossed into the mix.

Wasn’t it meant to address cheating on an entrance test?

You can’t be that naive.

I know! For years families were gaming admissions which culminated in some prep centers creating question banks so their customers would effectively have early access to the test. These affluent families would buy their way into TJ. So glad they put an end to the cheating with the improved selection criteria. It's also greatly reduced the toxicity at TJ and helped foster a collegial atmosphere.

No one was able to buy their way into TJ.

The "improved" selection criteria is a pork-barrel approach that guarantees seats to schools regardless of whether the students from those schools are the highest achieving in the region or possess the greatest STEM aptitude. It's diminished TJ's reputation and invited debates among current TJ freshmen and sophomores as to which students truly belong there, and which students simply got into because they were among the small number of applicants from schools that weren't AAP centers and generally don't elicit much interest in TJ.

Curious how the old process is guarantee students who got in are posses the greatest STEM aptitude and are the highest achieving student?

Nothing is guaranteed, but they looked at awards won and extracurriculars. Someone who made state MathCounts or USAJMO in 7th grade(about 10 in the entire country) would not be rejected like they have been the past few years.

Someone keeps bringing up USAJMO as though it should be a golden ticket into TJ. There is a lot more to being a strong contributor to a full-service elite high school than scoring well in a math competition.

+1, it's not a good idea to have any single accomplishment or background serve as a slam-dunk guarantee into TJ. If there is, you can be assured that striver families will move heaven and earth and sacrifice any amount of their child's well-being that is necessary to get them in. That's why I like the new admissions process; there is no golden path.

In vast majority of the cases, you have a very valid point that no single achievement should as a slam-dunk. I agree with that in general.

There are a few exceptions like USAJMO. You do need to understand what it entails - and no just reading up online about it does not tell you much, you need to actually experience something like that. It is like saying a two time MVP in NBA should not be an automatic choice for the next season. Dont go too deep into this analogy, just trying to make a point about the level of significance of USAJMO at a young age.

Someone who is or was even close to qualifying for USAJMO by 8th grade should be an automatic admit to TJ. We are talking about maybe 20 kids across the entire nation, forget Virginia. No you cannot just prep to it.

TJ should in fact actually be sending admission invitations to these students.

I am sure likewise there are things in arts/music/literature etc. where exceptional students can be identified without the current nonsense test.

At the very least, you need teacher recommendation letters which should provide a much more honest and accurate assessment than the current "test".

We definitely agree on this. Despite being extremely pro-reform, I have sent a number of proposals to this board space that have been very well-received on both sides and what many of us agree on is that some form of teacher recommendation needs to be part of the overall package. To be honest, the greatest value in that would be in making sure TJ is getting the right kids from places like Longfellow, Carson, and Rocky Run - not necessarily the most advanced, but the ones who will make the greatest overall contribution to the academic environment. While the kids TJ is now getting from historically less-represented schools are mostly very strong (with very few exceptions), the kids they are getting from the traditional feeders are less so than they were before.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a rising 7th grader, will be in Algebra 1 and is generally a strong student. He will apply for TJ but if not accepted then he will be equally happy at McLean HS as well.

I am just trying to gauge realistic chances, I googled and it said 62 kids but then on this board someone mentioned 42, I would appreciate if someone can share the correct number. TIA!

Seems like Longfellow kids have some of the best odds of any school!

No... quite literally the exact opposite. If one takes a randomly chosen applicant from the FCPS pool, applying from Longfellow is one of the worst odds as there is a very, very small chance the applicant would fall in the top 1.5%. Take a randomly chosen applicant and send them from Poe MS, then there is a higher probability that they would fall into the top 1.5% of reserved seats.

The odds of getting into TJ from Longfellow were higher than from any other AAP center with a substantial number of TJ applicants, at least last year, as the prior post indicates.

There are some middle schools that only had a limited number of applicants to TJ in the Class of 2026. Schools with less than 20 applicants included Stone (11), Whitman (13), Herndon (15), Liberty (16), and Poe (17). So, depending on the number of kids at those schools who ended up admitted to TJ, either based on the 1.5% set aside or from the residual pool, the admissions rate from some of those schools likely was higher than the rate at Longfellow (26.2%). But then, if you don't get into TJ, you don't have McLean as your back-up option.

I have no idea how they determine top students at Longfellow or anywhere else. My kid is a freshman at mclean. He probably would have gotten into TJ on the old system (he just kills math tests - no idea why). He had all A’s in honors classes at Longfellow. I look at his friend group who also didn’t get into TJ and there are some strong science/math kids there. But the kids that did go to TJ also appear to be strong students - so no complaints on quality of the class. He’s having a great experience at McLean. Your kid will be fine either way.

Between all the grade inflation and application gaming, it's difficult for them to differentiate students beyond a point. Regardless, I'm sure there are many equally strong opportunities available at McLean. One of my kid's is applying next year. They're a total rockstar. Won all kinds of math awards at the state level even. Straight A's in the highest track etc, but I realize it's kind of a crap shoot. Still I'm not really clear whether they'd really be better off at TJ. Their homeschool Langlely is also great so either way I'm fine with however way it goes.

Just math awards does not get the kid to get into TJ. If you look at scoring rubric, 1/3 score is gpa, 1/3 is SPS answers, 1/3 is stem problem and writing the answer. If the kid can solve problem but is a poor writer, they won’t make it

Either way the suggestion that the new system introduces more uncertainty into the process is correct. The net result is that people are less inclined to believe the top candidates are being admitted to TJ and more inclined to shrug when their kid doesn’t get in. Maybe that’s what FCPS wanted.

If by uncertainty, you mean fairness then I agree.

I don't mean that. It's a more subjective process, borne of pandering for political gain, with a not-so-healthy dose of anti-Asian bias tossed into the mix.

Wasn’t it meant to address cheating on an entrance test?

You can’t be that naive.

I know! For years families were gaming admissions which culminated in some prep centers creating question banks so their customers would effectively have early access to the test. These affluent families would buy their way into TJ. So glad they put an end to the cheating with the improved selection criteria. It's also greatly reduced the toxicity at TJ and helped foster a collegial atmosphere.

No one was able to buy their way into TJ.

The "improved" selection criteria is a pork-barrel approach that guarantees seats to schools regardless of whether the students from those schools are the highest achieving in the region or possess the greatest STEM aptitude. It's diminished TJ's reputation and invited debates among current TJ freshmen and sophomores as to which students truly belong there, and which students simply got into because they were among the small number of applicants from schools that weren't AAP centers and generally don't elicit much interest in TJ.

Curious how the old process is guarantee students who got in are posses the greatest STEM aptitude and are the highest achieving student?

Nothing is guaranteed, but they looked at awards won and extracurriculars. Someone who made state MathCounts or USAJMO in 7th grade(about 10 in the entire country) would not be rejected like they have been the past few years.

Someone keeps bringing up USAJMO as though it should be a golden ticket into TJ. There is a lot more to being a strong contributor to a full-service elite high school than scoring well in a math competition.

+1, it's not a good idea to have any single accomplishment or background serve as a slam-dunk guarantee into TJ. If there is, you can be assured that striver families will move heaven and earth and sacrifice any amount of their child's well-being that is necessary to get them in. That's why I like the new admissions process; there is no golden path.

In vast majority of the cases, you have a very valid point that no single achievement should as a slam-dunk. I agree with that in general.

There are a few exceptions like USAJMO. You do need to understand what it entails - and no just reading up online about it does not tell you much, you need to actually experience something like that. It is like saying a two time MVP in NBA should not be an automatic choice for the next season. Dont go too deep into this analogy, just trying to make a point about the level of significance of USAJMO at a young age.

Someone who is or was even close to qualifying for USAJMO by 8th grade should be an automatic admit to TJ. We are talking about maybe 20 kids across the entire nation, forget Virginia. No you cannot just prep to it.

Serious question: why? What evidence does that one achievement give that a student will be a superior contributor to the overall environment?

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a rising 7th grader, will be in Algebra 1 and is generally a strong student. He will apply for TJ but if not accepted then he will be equally happy at McLean HS as well.

I am just trying to gauge realistic chances, I googled and it said 62 kids but then on this board someone mentioned 42, I would appreciate if someone can share the correct number. TIA!

Seems like Longfellow kids have some of the best odds of any school!

No... quite literally the exact opposite. If one takes a randomly chosen applicant from the FCPS pool, applying from Longfellow is one of the worst odds as there is a very, very small chance the applicant would fall in the top 1.5%. Take a randomly chosen applicant and send them from Poe MS, then there is a higher probability that they would fall into the top 1.5% of reserved seats.

The odds of getting into TJ from Longfellow were higher than from any other AAP center with a substantial number of TJ applicants, at least last year, as the prior post indicates.

There are some middle schools that only had a limited number of applicants to TJ in the Class of 2026. Schools with less than 20 applicants included Stone (11), Whitman (13), Herndon (15), Liberty (16), and Poe (17). So, depending on the number of kids at those schools who ended up admitted to TJ, either based on the 1.5% set aside or from the residual pool, the admissions rate from some of those schools likely was higher than the rate at Longfellow (26.2%). But then, if you don't get into TJ, you don't have McLean as your back-up option.

I have no idea how they determine top students at Longfellow or anywhere else. My kid is a freshman at mclean. He probably would have gotten into TJ on the old system (he just kills math tests - no idea why). He had all A’s in honors classes at Longfellow. I look at his friend group who also didn’t get into TJ and there are some strong science/math kids there. But the kids that did go to TJ also appear to be strong students - so no complaints on quality of the class. He’s having a great experience at McLean. Your kid will be fine either way.

Between all the grade inflation and application gaming, it's difficult for them to differentiate students beyond a point. Regardless, I'm sure there are many equally strong opportunities available at McLean. One of my kid's is applying next year. They're a total rockstar. Won all kinds of math awards at the state level even. Straight A's in the highest track etc, but I realize it's kind of a crap shoot. Still I'm not really clear whether they'd really be better off at TJ. Their homeschool Langlely is also great so either way I'm fine with however way it goes.

Just math awards does not get the kid to get into TJ. If you look at scoring rubric, 1/3 score is gpa, 1/3 is SPS answers, 1/3 is stem problem and writing the answer. If the kid can solve problem but is a poor writer, they won’t make it

Either way the suggestion that the new system introduces more uncertainty into the process is correct. The net result is that people are less inclined to believe the top candidates are being admitted to TJ and more inclined to shrug when their kid doesn’t get in. Maybe that’s what FCPS wanted.

If by uncertainty, you mean fairness then I agree.

I don't mean that. It's a more subjective process, borne of pandering for political gain, with a not-so-healthy dose of anti-Asian bias tossed into the mix.

Wasn’t it meant to address cheating on an entrance test?

You can’t be that naive.

I know! For years families were gaming admissions which culminated in some prep centers creating question banks so their customers would effectively have early access to the test. These affluent families would buy their way into TJ. So glad they put an end to the cheating with the improved selection criteria. It's also greatly reduced the toxicity at TJ and helped foster a collegial atmosphere.

No one was able to buy their way into TJ.

The "improved" selection criteria is a pork-barrel approach that guarantees seats to schools regardless of whether the students from those schools are the highest achieving in the region or possess the greatest STEM aptitude. It's diminished TJ's reputation and invited debates among current TJ freshmen and sophomores as to which students truly belong there, and which students simply got into because they were among the small number of applicants from schools that weren't AAP centers and generally don't elicit much interest in TJ.

Curious how the old process is guarantee students who got in are posses the greatest STEM aptitude and are the highest achieving student?

Nothing is guaranteed, but they looked at awards won and extracurriculars. Someone who made state MathCounts or USAJMO in 7th grade(about 10 in the entire country) would not be rejected like they have been the past few years.

Someone keeps bringing up USAJMO as though it should be a golden ticket into TJ. There is a lot more to being a strong contributor to a full-service elite high school than scoring well in a math competition.

+1, it's not a good idea to have any single accomplishment or background serve as a slam-dunk guarantee into TJ. If there is, you can be assured that striver families will move heaven and earth and sacrifice any amount of their child's well-being that is necessary to get them in. That's why I like the new admissions process; there is no golden path.

In vast majority of the cases, you have a very valid point that no single achievement should as a slam-dunk. I agree with that in general.

There are a few exceptions like USAJMO. You do need to understand what it entails - and no just reading up online about it does not tell you much, you need to actually experience something like that. It is like saying a two time MVP in NBA should not be an automatic choice for the next season. Dont go too deep into this analogy, just trying to make a point about the level of significance of USAJMO at a young age.

Someone who is or was even close to qualifying for USAJMO by 8th grade should be an automatic admit to TJ. We are talking about maybe 20 kids across the entire nation, forget Virginia. No you cannot just prep to it.

TJ should in fact actually be sending admission invitations to these students.

I am sure likewise there are things in arts/music/literature etc. where exceptional students can be identified without the current nonsense test.

At the very least, you need teacher recommendation letters which should provide a much more honest and accurate assessment than the current "test".

We definitely agree on this. Despite being extremely pro-reform, I have sent a number of proposals to this board space that have been very well-received on both sides and what many of us agree on is that some form of teacher recommendation needs to be part of the overall package. To be honest, the greatest value in that would be in making sure TJ is getting the right kids from places like Longfellow, Carson, and Rocky Run - not necessarily the most advanced, but the ones who will make the greatest overall contribution to the academic environment. While the kids TJ is now getting from historically less-represented schools are mostly very strong (with very few exceptions), the kids they are getting from the traditional feeders are less so than they were before.

+1
this is the main fix needed still - add counselor recc's to the within MS pool selection process.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a rising 7th grader, will be in Algebra 1 and is generally a strong student. He will apply for TJ but if not accepted then he will be equally happy at McLean HS as well.

I am just trying to gauge realistic chances, I googled and it said 62 kids but then on this board someone mentioned 42, I would appreciate if someone can share the correct number. TIA!

Seems like Longfellow kids have some of the best odds of any school!

No... quite literally the exact opposite. If one takes a randomly chosen applicant from the FCPS pool, applying from Longfellow is one of the worst odds as there is a very, very small chance the applicant would fall in the top 1.5%. Take a randomly chosen applicant and send them from Poe MS, then there is a higher probability that they would fall into the top 1.5% of reserved seats.

The odds of getting into TJ from Longfellow were higher than from any other AAP center with a substantial number of TJ applicants, at least last year, as the prior post indicates.

There are some middle schools that only had a limited number of applicants to TJ in the Class of 2026. Schools with less than 20 applicants included Stone (11), Whitman (13), Herndon (15), Liberty (16), and Poe (17). So, depending on the number of kids at those schools who ended up admitted to TJ, either based on the 1.5% set aside or from the residual pool, the admissions rate from some of those schools likely was higher than the rate at Longfellow (26.2%). But then, if you don't get into TJ, you don't have McLean as your back-up option.

I have no idea how they determine top students at Longfellow or anywhere else. My kid is a freshman at mclean. He probably would have gotten into TJ on the old system (he just kills math tests - no idea why). He had all A’s in honors classes at Longfellow. I look at his friend group who also didn’t get into TJ and there are some strong science/math kids there. But the kids that did go to TJ also appear to be strong students - so no complaints on quality of the class. He’s having a great experience at McLean. Your kid will be fine either way.

Between all the grade inflation and application gaming, it's difficult for them to differentiate students beyond a point. Regardless, I'm sure there are many equally strong opportunities available at McLean. One of my kid's is applying next year. They're a total rockstar. Won all kinds of math awards at the state level even. Straight A's in the highest track etc, but I realize it's kind of a crap shoot. Still I'm not really clear whether they'd really be better off at TJ. Their homeschool Langlely is also great so either way I'm fine with however way it goes.

Just math awards does not get the kid to get into TJ. If you look at scoring rubric, 1/3 score is gpa, 1/3 is SPS answers, 1/3 is stem problem and writing the answer. If the kid can solve problem but is a poor writer, they won’t make it

Either way the suggestion that the new system introduces more uncertainty into the process is correct. The net result is that people are less inclined to believe the top candidates are being admitted to TJ and more inclined to shrug when their kid doesn’t get in. Maybe that’s what FCPS wanted.

If by uncertainty, you mean fairness then I agree.

I don't mean that. It's a more subjective process, borne of pandering for political gain, with a not-so-healthy dose of anti-Asian bias tossed into the mix.

Wasn’t it meant to address cheating on an entrance test?

You can’t be that naive.

I know! For years families were gaming admissions which culminated in some prep centers creating question banks so their customers would effectively have early access to the test. These affluent families would buy their way into TJ. So glad they put an end to the cheating with the improved selection criteria. It's also greatly reduced the toxicity at TJ and helped foster a collegial atmosphere.

No one was able to buy their way into TJ.

The "improved" selection criteria is a pork-barrel approach that guarantees seats to schools regardless of whether the students from those schools are the highest achieving in the region or possess the greatest STEM aptitude. It's diminished TJ's reputation and invited debates among current TJ freshmen and sophomores as to which students truly belong there, and which students simply got into because they were among the small number of applicants from schools that weren't AAP centers and generally don't elicit much interest in TJ.

Curious how the old process is guarantee students who got in are posses the greatest STEM aptitude and are the highest achieving student?

Nothing is guaranteed, but they looked at awards won and extracurriculars. Someone who made state MathCounts or USAJMO in 7th grade(about 10 in the entire country) would not be rejected like they have been the past few years.

Someone keeps bringing up USAJMO as though it should be a golden ticket into TJ. There is a lot more to being a strong contributor to a full-service elite high school than scoring well in a math competition.

+1, it's not a good idea to have any single accomplishment or background serve as a slam-dunk guarantee into TJ. If there is, you can be assured that striver families will move heaven and earth and sacrifice any amount of their child's well-being that is necessary to get them in. That's why I like the new admissions process; there is no golden path.

In vast majority of the cases, you have a very valid point that no single achievement should as a slam-dunk. I agree with that in general.

There are a few exceptions like USAJMO. You do need to understand what it entails - and no just reading up online about it does not tell you much, you need to actually experience something like that. It is like saying a two time MVP in NBA should not be an automatic choice for the next season. Dont go too deep into this analogy, just trying to make a point about the level of significance of USAJMO at a young age.

Someone who is or was even close to qualifying for USAJMO by 8th grade should be an automatic admit to TJ. We are talking about maybe 20 kids across the entire nation, forget Virginia. No you cannot just prep to it.

Serious question: why? What evidence does that one achievement give that a student will be a superior contributor to the overall environment?

People talk about contribution to the overall environment. I thought the purpose was to educate students. These kids are the ones who most need the advanced classes that TJ offers.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a rising 7th grader, will be in Algebra 1 and is generally a strong student. He will apply for TJ but if not accepted then he will be equally happy at McLean HS as well.

I am just trying to gauge realistic chances, I googled and it said 62 kids but then on this board someone mentioned 42, I would appreciate if someone can share the correct number. TIA!

Seems like Longfellow kids have some of the best odds of any school!

No... quite literally the exact opposite. If one takes a randomly chosen applicant from the FCPS pool, applying from Longfellow is one of the worst odds as there is a very, very small chance the applicant would fall in the top 1.5%. Take a randomly chosen applicant and send them from Poe MS, then there is a higher probability that they would fall into the top 1.5% of reserved seats.

The odds of getting into TJ from Longfellow were higher than from any other AAP center with a substantial number of TJ applicants, at least last year, as the prior post indicates.

There are some middle schools that only had a limited number of applicants to TJ in the Class of 2026. Schools with less than 20 applicants included Stone (11), Whitman (13), Herndon (15), Liberty (16), and Poe (17). So, depending on the number of kids at those schools who ended up admitted to TJ, either based on the 1.5% set aside or from the residual pool, the admissions rate from some of those schools likely was higher than the rate at Longfellow (26.2%). But then, if you don't get into TJ, you don't have McLean as your back-up option.

I have no idea how they determine top students at Longfellow or anywhere else. My kid is a freshman at mclean. He probably would have gotten into TJ on the old system (he just kills math tests - no idea why). He had all A’s in honors classes at Longfellow. I look at his friend group who also didn’t get into TJ and there are some strong science/math kids there. But the kids that did go to TJ also appear to be strong students - so no complaints on quality of the class. He’s having a great experience at McLean. Your kid will be fine either way.

Between all the grade inflation and application gaming, it's difficult for them to differentiate students beyond a point. Regardless, I'm sure there are many equally strong opportunities available at McLean. One of my kid's is applying next year. They're a total rockstar. Won all kinds of math awards at the state level even. Straight A's in the highest track etc, but I realize it's kind of a crap shoot. Still I'm not really clear whether they'd really be better off at TJ. Their homeschool Langlely is also great so either way I'm fine with however way it goes.

Just math awards does not get the kid to get into TJ. If you look at scoring rubric, 1/3 score is gpa, 1/3 is SPS answers, 1/3 is stem problem and writing the answer. If the kid can solve problem but is a poor writer, they won’t make it

Either way the suggestion that the new system introduces more uncertainty into the process is correct. The net result is that people are less inclined to believe the top candidates are being admitted to TJ and more inclined to shrug when their kid doesn’t get in. Maybe that’s what FCPS wanted.

If by uncertainty, you mean fairness then I agree.

I don't mean that. It's a more subjective process, borne of pandering for political gain, with a not-so-healthy dose of anti-Asian bias tossed into the mix.

Wasn’t it meant to address cheating on an entrance test?

You can’t be that naive.

I know! For years families were gaming admissions which culminated in some prep centers creating question banks so their customers would effectively have early access to the test. These affluent families would buy their way into TJ. So glad they put an end to the cheating with the improved selection criteria. It's also greatly reduced the toxicity at TJ and helped foster a collegial atmosphere.

No one was able to buy their way into TJ.

The "improved" selection criteria is a pork-barrel approach that guarantees seats to schools regardless of whether the students from those schools are the highest achieving in the region or possess the greatest STEM aptitude. It's diminished TJ's reputation and invited debates among current TJ freshmen and sophomores as to which students truly belong there, and which students simply got into because they were among the small number of applicants from schools that weren't AAP centers and generally don't elicit much interest in TJ.

Curious how the old process is guarantee students who got in are posses the greatest STEM aptitude and are the highest achieving student?

Nothing is guaranteed, but they looked at awards won and extracurriculars. Someone who made state MathCounts or USAJMO in 7th grade(about 10 in the entire country) would not be rejected like they have been the past few years.

Someone keeps bringing up USAJMO as though it should be a golden ticket into TJ. There is a lot more to being a strong contributor to a full-service elite high school than scoring well in a math competition.

+1, it's not a good idea to have any single accomplishment or background serve as a slam-dunk guarantee into TJ. If there is, you can be assured that striver families will move heaven and earth and sacrifice any amount of their child's well-being that is necessary to get them in. That's why I like the new admissions process; there is no golden path.

In vast majority of the cases, you have a very valid point that no single achievement should as a slam-dunk. I agree with that in general.

There are a few exceptions like USAJMO. You do need to understand what it entails - and no just reading up online about it does not tell you much, you need to actually experience something like that. It is like saying a two time MVP in NBA should not be an automatic choice for the next season. Dont go too deep into this analogy, just trying to make a point about the level of significance of USAJMO at a young age.

Someone who is or was even close to qualifying for USAJMO by 8th grade should be an automatic admit to TJ. We are talking about maybe 20 kids across the entire nation, forget Virginia. No you cannot just prep to it.

Serious question: why? What evidence does that one achievement give that a student will be a superior contributor to the overall environment?

People talk about contribution to the overall environment. I thought the purpose was to educate students. These kids are the ones who most need the advanced classes that TJ offers.

Yes - as it turns out, students are educated within an environment, and the more conducive that environment is to collaborative learning, the more positive the end outcome for the students. The reason why gifted education exists is because it is a matter of common acceptance that children have an impact on their learning environment.

And having been connected with TJ as long as I have, I’ve seen a staggering number of kids who were absolutely brilliant but who had a negative impact on the overall TJ learning environment.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a rising 7th grader, will be in Algebra 1 and is generally a strong student. He will apply for TJ but if not accepted then he will be equally happy at McLean HS as well.

I am just trying to gauge realistic chances, I googled and it said 62 kids but then on this board someone mentioned 42, I would appreciate if someone can share the correct number. TIA!

Seems like Longfellow kids have some of the best odds of any school!

No... quite literally the exact opposite. If one takes a randomly chosen applicant from the FCPS pool, applying from Longfellow is one of the worst odds as there is a very, very small chance the applicant would fall in the top 1.5%. Take a randomly chosen applicant and send them from Poe MS, then there is a higher probability that they would fall into the top 1.5% of reserved seats.

The odds of getting into TJ from Longfellow were higher than from any other AAP center with a substantial number of TJ applicants, at least last year, as the prior post indicates.

There are some middle schools that only had a limited number of applicants to TJ in the Class of 2026. Schools with less than 20 applicants included Stone (11), Whitman (13), Herndon (15), Liberty (16), and Poe (17). So, depending on the number of kids at those schools who ended up admitted to TJ, either based on the 1.5% set aside or from the residual pool, the admissions rate from some of those schools likely was higher than the rate at Longfellow (26.2%). But then, if you don't get into TJ, you don't have McLean as your back-up option.

I have no idea how they determine top students at Longfellow or anywhere else. My kid is a freshman at mclean. He probably would have gotten into TJ on the old system (he just kills math tests - no idea why). He had all A’s in honors classes at Longfellow. I look at his friend group who also didn’t get into TJ and there are some strong science/math kids there. But the kids that did go to TJ also appear to be strong students - so no complaints on quality of the class. He’s having a great experience at McLean. Your kid will be fine either way.

Between all the grade inflation and application gaming, it's difficult for them to differentiate students beyond a point. Regardless, I'm sure there are many equally strong opportunities available at McLean. One of my kid's is applying next year. They're a total rockstar. Won all kinds of math awards at the state level even. Straight A's in the highest track etc, but I realize it's kind of a crap shoot. Still I'm not really clear whether they'd really be better off at TJ. Their homeschool Langlely is also great so either way I'm fine with however way it goes.

Just math awards does not get the kid to get into TJ. If you look at scoring rubric, 1/3 score is gpa, 1/3 is SPS answers, 1/3 is stem problem and writing the answer. If the kid can solve problem but is a poor writer, they won’t make it

Either way the suggestion that the new system introduces more uncertainty into the process is correct. The net result is that people are less inclined to believe the top candidates are being admitted to TJ and more inclined to shrug when their kid doesn’t get in. Maybe that’s what FCPS wanted.

If by uncertainty, you mean fairness then I agree.

I don't mean that. It's a more subjective process, borne of pandering for political gain, with a not-so-healthy dose of anti-Asian bias tossed into the mix.

Wasn’t it meant to address cheating on an entrance test?

You can’t be that naive.

I know! For years families were gaming admissions which culminated in some prep centers creating question banks so their customers would effectively have early access to the test. These affluent families would buy their way into TJ. So glad they put an end to the cheating with the improved selection criteria. It's also greatly reduced the toxicity at TJ and helped foster a collegial atmosphere.

No one was able to buy their way into TJ.

The "improved" selection criteria is a pork-barrel approach that guarantees seats to schools regardless of whether the students from those schools are the highest achieving in the region or possess the greatest STEM aptitude. It's diminished TJ's reputation and invited debates among current TJ freshmen and sophomores as to which students truly belong there, and which students simply got into because they were among the small number of applicants from schools that weren't AAP centers and generally don't elicit much interest in TJ.

Curious how the old process is guarantee students who got in are posses the greatest STEM aptitude and are the highest achieving student?

Nothing is guaranteed, but they looked at awards won and extracurriculars. Someone who made state MathCounts or USAJMO in 7th grade(about 10 in the entire country) would not be rejected like they have been the past few years.

Someone keeps bringing up USAJMO as though it should be a golden ticket into TJ. There is a lot more to being a strong contributor to a full-service elite high school than scoring well in a math competition.

+1, it's not a good idea to have any single accomplishment or background serve as a slam-dunk guarantee into TJ. If there is, you can be assured that striver families will move heaven and earth and sacrifice any amount of their child's well-being that is necessary to get them in. That's why I like the new admissions process; there is no golden path.

In vast majority of the cases, you have a very valid point that no single achievement should as a slam-dunk. I agree with that in general.

There are a few exceptions like USAJMO. You do need to understand what it entails - and no just reading up online about it does not tell you much, you need to actually experience something like that. It is like saying a two time MVP in NBA should not be an automatic choice for the next season. Dont go too deep into this analogy, just trying to make a point about the level of significance of USAJMO at a young age.

Someone who is or was even close to qualifying for USAJMO by 8th grade should be an automatic admit to TJ. We are talking about maybe 20 kids across the entire nation, forget Virginia. No you cannot just prep to it.

Serious question: why? What evidence does that one achievement give that a student will be a superior contributor to the overall environment?

People talk about contribution to the overall environment. I thought the purpose was to educate students. These kids are the ones who most need the advanced classes that TJ offers.

Yes - as it turns out, students are educated within an environment, and the more conducive that environment is to collaborative learning, the more positive the end outcome for the students. The reason why gifted education exists is because it is a matter of common acceptance that children have an impact on their learning environment.

And having been connected with TJ as long as I have, I’ve seen a staggering number of kids who were absolutely brilliant but who had a negative impact on the overall TJ learning environment.

Are you implying that they shouldn’t be there because others can’t benefit from them?

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a rising 7th grader, will be in Algebra 1 and is generally a strong student. He will apply for TJ but if not accepted then he will be equally happy at McLean HS as well.

I am just trying to gauge realistic chances, I googled and it said 62 kids but then on this board someone mentioned 42, I would appreciate if someone can share the correct number. TIA!

Seems like Longfellow kids have some of the best odds of any school!

No... quite literally the exact opposite. If one takes a randomly chosen applicant from the FCPS pool, applying from Longfellow is one of the worst odds as there is a very, very small chance the applicant would fall in the top 1.5%. Take a randomly chosen applicant and send them from Poe MS, then there is a higher probability that they would fall into the top 1.5% of reserved seats.

The odds of getting into TJ from Longfellow were higher than from any other AAP center with a substantial number of TJ applicants, at least last year, as the prior post indicates.

There are some middle schools that only had a limited number of applicants to TJ in the Class of 2026. Schools with less than 20 applicants included Stone (11), Whitman (13), Herndon (15), Liberty (16), and Poe (17). So, depending on the number of kids at those schools who ended up admitted to TJ, either based on the 1.5% set aside or from the residual pool, the admissions rate from some of those schools likely was higher than the rate at Longfellow (26.2%). But then, if you don't get into TJ, you don't have McLean as your back-up option.

I have no idea how they determine top students at Longfellow or anywhere else. My kid is a freshman at mclean. He probably would have gotten into TJ on the old system (he just kills math tests - no idea why). He had all A’s in honors classes at Longfellow. I look at his friend group who also didn’t get into TJ and there are some strong science/math kids there. But the kids that did go to TJ also appear to be strong students - so no complaints on quality of the class. He’s having a great experience at McLean. Your kid will be fine either way.

Between all the grade inflation and application gaming, it's difficult for them to differentiate students beyond a point. Regardless, I'm sure there are many equally strong opportunities available at McLean. One of my kid's is applying next year. They're a total rockstar. Won all kinds of math awards at the state level even. Straight A's in the highest track etc, but I realize it's kind of a crap shoot. Still I'm not really clear whether they'd really be better off at TJ. Their homeschool Langlely is also great so either way I'm fine with however way it goes.

Just math awards does not get the kid to get into TJ. If you look at scoring rubric, 1/3 score is gpa, 1/3 is SPS answers, 1/3 is stem problem and writing the answer. If the kid can solve problem but is a poor writer, they won’t make it

Either way the suggestion that the new system introduces more uncertainty into the process is correct. The net result is that people are less inclined to believe the top candidates are being admitted to TJ and more inclined to shrug when their kid doesn’t get in. Maybe that’s what FCPS wanted.

If by uncertainty, you mean fairness then I agree.

I don't mean that. It's a more subjective process, borne of pandering for political gain, with a not-so-healthy dose of anti-Asian bias tossed into the mix.

Wasn’t it meant to address cheating on an entrance test?

You can’t be that naive.

I know! For years families were gaming admissions which culminated in some prep centers creating question banks so their customers would effectively have early access to the test. These affluent families would buy their way into TJ. So glad they put an end to the cheating with the improved selection criteria. It's also greatly reduced the toxicity at TJ and helped foster a collegial atmosphere.

No one was able to buy their way into TJ.

The "improved" selection criteria is a pork-barrel approach that guarantees seats to schools regardless of whether the students from those schools are the highest achieving in the region or possess the greatest STEM aptitude. It's diminished TJ's reputation and invited debates among current TJ freshmen and sophomores as to which students truly belong there, and which students simply got into because they were among the small number of applicants from schools that weren't AAP centers and generally don't elicit much interest in TJ.

Curious how the old process is guarantee students who got in are posses the greatest STEM aptitude and are the highest achieving student?

Nothing is guaranteed, but they looked at awards won and extracurriculars. Someone who made state MathCounts or USAJMO in 7th grade(about 10 in the entire country) would not be rejected like they have been the past few years.

Someone keeps bringing up USAJMO as though it should be a golden ticket into TJ. There is a lot more to being a strong contributor to a full-service elite high school than scoring well in a math competition.

+1, it's not a good idea to have any single accomplishment or background serve as a slam-dunk guarantee into TJ. If there is, you can be assured that striver families will move heaven and earth and sacrifice any amount of their child's well-being that is necessary to get them in. That's why I like the new admissions process; there is no golden path.

In vast majority of the cases, you have a very valid point that no single achievement should as a slam-dunk. I agree with that in general.

There are a few exceptions like USAJMO. You do need to understand what it entails - and no just reading up online about it does not tell you much, you need to actually experience something like that. It is like saying a two time MVP in NBA should not be an automatic choice for the next season. Dont go too deep into this analogy, just trying to make a point about the level of significance of USAJMO at a young age.

Someone who is or was even close to qualifying for USAJMO by 8th grade should be an automatic admit to TJ. We are talking about maybe 20 kids across the entire nation, forget Virginia. No you cannot just prep to it.

Serious question: why? What evidence does that one achievement give that a student will be a superior contributor to the overall environment?

People talk about contribution to the overall environment. I thought the purpose was to educate students. These kids are the ones who most need the advanced classes that TJ offers.

Yes - as it turns out, students are educated within an environment, and the more conducive that environment is to collaborative learning, the more positive the end outcome for the students. The reason why gifted education exists is because it is a matter of common acceptance that children have an impact on their learning environment.

And having been connected with TJ as long as I have, I’ve seen a staggering number of kids who were absolutely brilliant but who had a negative impact on the overall TJ learning environment.

Why is it okay to inflict kids like that on the base school? At least at TJ, the brilliant kids who are arrogant jerks have some chance of eating some humble pie or realizing that the world doesn't revolve around them. They're not going to get that at the base school and will likely make the environment there awful for all of the bright kids they're looking down upon.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a rising 7th grader, will be in Algebra 1 and is generally a strong student. He will apply for TJ but if not accepted then he will be equally happy at McLean HS as well.

I am just trying to gauge realistic chances, I googled and it said 62 kids but then on this board someone mentioned 42, I would appreciate if someone can share the correct number. TIA!

Seems like Longfellow kids have some of the best odds of any school!

No... quite literally the exact opposite. If one takes a randomly chosen applicant from the FCPS pool, applying from Longfellow is one of the worst odds as there is a very, very small chance the applicant would fall in the top 1.5%. Take a randomly chosen applicant and send them from Poe MS, then there is a higher probability that they would fall into the top 1.5% of reserved seats.

The odds of getting into TJ from Longfellow were higher than from any other AAP center with a substantial number of TJ applicants, at least last year, as the prior post indicates.

There are some middle schools that only had a limited number of applicants to TJ in the Class of 2026. Schools with less than 20 applicants included Stone (11), Whitman (13), Herndon (15), Liberty (16), and Poe (17). So, depending on the number of kids at those schools who ended up admitted to TJ, either based on the 1.5% set aside or from the residual pool, the admissions rate from some of those schools likely was higher than the rate at Longfellow (26.2%). But then, if you don't get into TJ, you don't have McLean as your back-up option.

I have no idea how they determine top students at Longfellow or anywhere else. My kid is a freshman at mclean. He probably would have gotten into TJ on the old system (he just kills math tests - no idea why). He had all A’s in honors classes at Longfellow. I look at his friend group who also didn’t get into TJ and there are some strong science/math kids there. But the kids that did go to TJ also appear to be strong students - so no complaints on quality of the class. He’s having a great experience at McLean. Your kid will be fine either way.

Between all the grade inflation and application gaming, it's difficult for them to differentiate students beyond a point. Regardless, I'm sure there are many equally strong opportunities available at McLean. One of my kid's is applying next year. They're a total rockstar. Won all kinds of math awards at the state level even. Straight A's in the highest track etc, but I realize it's kind of a crap shoot. Still I'm not really clear whether they'd really be better off at TJ. Their homeschool Langlely is also great so either way I'm fine with however way it goes.

Just math awards does not get the kid to get into TJ. If you look at scoring rubric, 1/3 score is gpa, 1/3 is SPS answers, 1/3 is stem problem and writing the answer. If the kid can solve problem but is a poor writer, they won’t make it

Either way the suggestion that the new system introduces more uncertainty into the process is correct. The net result is that people are less inclined to believe the top candidates are being admitted to TJ and more inclined to shrug when their kid doesn’t get in. Maybe that’s what FCPS wanted.

If by uncertainty, you mean fairness then I agree.

I don't mean that. It's a more subjective process, borne of pandering for political gain, with a not-so-healthy dose of anti-Asian bias tossed into the mix.

Wasn’t it meant to address cheating on an entrance test?

You can’t be that naive.

I know! For years families were gaming admissions which culminated in some prep centers creating question banks so their customers would effectively have early access to the test. These affluent families would buy their way into TJ. So glad they put an end to the cheating with the improved selection criteria. It's also greatly reduced the toxicity at TJ and helped foster a collegial atmosphere.

No one was able to buy their way into TJ.

The "improved" selection criteria is a pork-barrel approach that guarantees seats to schools regardless of whether the students from those schools are the highest achieving in the region or possess the greatest STEM aptitude. It's diminished TJ's reputation and invited debates among current TJ freshmen and sophomores as to which students truly belong there, and which students simply got into because they were among the small number of applicants from schools that weren't AAP centers and generally don't elicit much interest in TJ.

Curious how the old process is guarantee students who got in are posses the greatest STEM aptitude and are the highest achieving student?

Nothing is guaranteed, but they looked at awards won and extracurriculars. Someone who made state MathCounts or USAJMO in 7th grade(about 10 in the entire country) would not be rejected like they have been the past few years.

Someone keeps bringing up USAJMO as though it should be a golden ticket into TJ. There is a lot more to being a strong contributor to a full-service elite high school than scoring well in a math competition.

+1, it's not a good idea to have any single accomplishment or background serve as a slam-dunk guarantee into TJ. If there is, you can be assured that striver families will move heaven and earth and sacrifice any amount of their child's well-being that is necessary to get them in. That's why I like the new admissions process; there is no golden path.

In vast majority of the cases, you have a very valid point that no single achievement should as a slam-dunk. I agree with that in general.

There are a few exceptions like USAJMO. You do need to understand what it entails - and no just reading up online about it does not tell you much, you need to actually experience something like that. It is like saying a two time MVP in NBA should not be an automatic choice for the next season. Dont go too deep into this analogy, just trying to make a point about the level of significance of USAJMO at a young age.

Someone who is or was even close to qualifying for USAJMO by 8th grade should be an automatic admit to TJ. We are talking about maybe 20 kids across the entire nation, forget Virginia. No you cannot just prep to it.

Serious question: why? What evidence does that one achievement give that a student will be a superior contributor to the overall environment?

People talk about contribution to the overall environment. I thought the purpose was to educate students. These kids are the ones who most need the advanced classes that TJ offers.

Yes - as it turns out, students are educated within an environment, and the more conducive that environment is to collaborative learning, the more positive the end outcome for the students. The reason why gifted education exists is because it is a matter of common acceptance that children have an impact on their learning environment.

And having been connected with TJ as long as I have, I’ve seen a staggering number of kids who were absolutely brilliant but who had a negative impact on the overall TJ learning environment.

I doubt this is even remotely true. Most arrogant kids are not brilliant, they just think they are. Most brilliant kids are very hard workers and very humble as well. Your collaborative learning comment also doesn't make sense; most time spent learning is done quietly on one's own, reading, studying, and thinking about things.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a rising 7th grader, will be in Algebra 1 and is generally a strong student. He will apply for TJ but if not accepted then he will be equally happy at McLean HS as well.

I am just trying to gauge realistic chances, I googled and it said 62 kids but then on this board someone mentioned 42, I would appreciate if someone can share the correct number. TIA!

Seems like Longfellow kids have some of the best odds of any school!

No... quite literally the exact opposite. If one takes a randomly chosen applicant from the FCPS pool, applying from Longfellow is one of the worst odds as there is a very, very small chance the applicant would fall in the top 1.5%. Take a randomly chosen applicant and send them from Poe MS, then there is a higher probability that they would fall into the top 1.5% of reserved seats.

The odds of getting into TJ from Longfellow were higher than from any other AAP center with a substantial number of TJ applicants, at least last year, as the prior post indicates.

There are some middle schools that only had a limited number of applicants to TJ in the Class of 2026. Schools with less than 20 applicants included Stone (11), Whitman (13), Herndon (15), Liberty (16), and Poe (17). So, depending on the number of kids at those schools who ended up admitted to TJ, either based on the 1.5% set aside or from the residual pool, the admissions rate from some of those schools likely was higher than the rate at Longfellow (26.2%). But then, if you don't get into TJ, you don't have McLean as your back-up option.

I have no idea how they determine top students at Longfellow or anywhere else. My kid is a freshman at mclean. He probably would have gotten into TJ on the old system (he just kills math tests - no idea why). He had all A’s in honors classes at Longfellow. I look at his friend group who also didn’t get into TJ and there are some strong science/math kids there. But the kids that did go to TJ also appear to be strong students - so no complaints on quality of the class. He’s having a great experience at McLean. Your kid will be fine either way.

Between all the grade inflation and application gaming, it's difficult for them to differentiate students beyond a point. Regardless, I'm sure there are many equally strong opportunities available at McLean. One of my kid's is applying next year. They're a total rockstar. Won all kinds of math awards at the state level even. Straight A's in the highest track etc, but I realize it's kind of a crap shoot. Still I'm not really clear whether they'd really be better off at TJ. Their homeschool Langlely is also great so either way I'm fine with however way it goes.

Just math awards does not get the kid to get into TJ. If you look at scoring rubric, 1/3 score is gpa, 1/3 is SPS answers, 1/3 is stem problem and writing the answer. If the kid can solve problem but is a poor writer, they won’t make it

Either way the suggestion that the new system introduces more uncertainty into the process is correct. The net result is that people are less inclined to believe the top candidates are being admitted to TJ and more inclined to shrug when their kid doesn’t get in. Maybe that’s what FCPS wanted.

If by uncertainty, you mean fairness then I agree.

I don't mean that. It's a more subjective process, borne of pandering for political gain, with a not-so-healthy dose of anti-Asian bias tossed into the mix.

Wasn’t it meant to address cheating on an entrance test?

You can’t be that naive.

I know! For years families were gaming admissions which culminated in some prep centers creating question banks so their customers would effectively have early access to the test. These affluent families would buy their way into TJ. So glad they put an end to the cheating with the improved selection criteria. It's also greatly reduced the toxicity at TJ and helped foster a collegial atmosphere.

No one was able to buy their way into TJ.

The "improved" selection criteria is a pork-barrel approach that guarantees seats to schools regardless of whether the students from those schools are the highest achieving in the region or possess the greatest STEM aptitude. It's diminished TJ's reputation and invited debates among current TJ freshmen and sophomores as to which students truly belong there, and which students simply got into because they were among the small number of applicants from schools that weren't AAP centers and generally don't elicit much interest in TJ.

Curious how the old process is guarantee students who got in are posses the greatest STEM aptitude and are the highest achieving student?

Nothing is guaranteed, but they looked at awards won and extracurriculars. Someone who made state MathCounts or USAJMO in 7th grade(about 10 in the entire country) would not be rejected like they have been the past few years.

Someone keeps bringing up USAJMO as though it should be a golden ticket into TJ. There is a lot more to being a strong contributor to a full-service elite high school than scoring well in a math competition.

+1, it's not a good idea to have any single accomplishment or background serve as a slam-dunk guarantee into TJ. If there is, you can be assured that striver families will move heaven and earth and sacrifice any amount of their child's well-being that is necessary to get them in. That's why I like the new admissions process; there is no golden path.

In vast majority of the cases, you have a very valid point that no single achievement should as a slam-dunk. I agree with that in general.

There are a few exceptions like USAJMO. You do need to understand what it entails - and no just reading up online about it does not tell you much, you need to actually experience something like that. It is like saying a two time MVP in NBA should not be an automatic choice for the next season. Dont go too deep into this analogy, just trying to make a point about the level of significance of USAJMO at a young age.

Someone who is or was even close to qualifying for USAJMO by 8th grade should be an automatic admit to TJ. We are talking about maybe 20 kids across the entire nation, forget Virginia. No you cannot just prep to it.

Serious question: why? What evidence does that one achievement give that a student will be a superior contributor to the overall environment?

People talk about contribution to the overall environment. I thought the purpose was to educate students. These kids are the ones who most need the advanced classes that TJ offers.

Yes - as it turns out, students are educated within an environment, and the more conducive that environment is to collaborative learning, the more positive the end outcome for the students. The reason why gifted education exists is because it is a matter of common acceptance that children have an impact on their learning environment.

And having been connected with TJ as long as I have, I’ve seen a staggering number of kids who were absolutely brilliant but who had a negative impact on the overall TJ learning environment.

Why is it okay to inflict kids like that on the base school? At least at TJ, the brilliant kids who are arrogant jerks have some chance of eating some humble pie or realizing that the world doesn't revolve around them. They're not going to get that at the base school and will likely make the environment there awful for all of the bright kids they're looking down upon.

You’re not “inflicting” them on the base school - that framing presumes that the default should be to send them to TJ. On the contrary, you are not rewarding them for their behavior - or for their total lack of impact whatsoever - by sending them into this exceptional learning environment.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a rising 7th grader, will be in Algebra 1 and is generally a strong student. He will apply for TJ but if not accepted then he will be equally happy at McLean HS as well.

I am just trying to gauge realistic chances, I googled and it said 62 kids but then on this board someone mentioned 42, I would appreciate if someone can share the correct number. TIA!

Seems like Longfellow kids have some of the best odds of any school!

No... quite literally the exact opposite. If one takes a randomly chosen applicant from the FCPS pool, applying from Longfellow is one of the worst odds as there is a very, very small chance the applicant would fall in the top 1.5%. Take a randomly chosen applicant and send them from Poe MS, then there is a higher probability that they would fall into the top 1.5% of reserved seats.

The odds of getting into TJ from Longfellow were higher than from any other AAP center with a substantial number of TJ applicants, at least last year, as the prior post indicates.

There are some middle schools that only had a limited number of applicants to TJ in the Class of 2026. Schools with less than 20 applicants included Stone (11), Whitman (13), Herndon (15), Liberty (16), and Poe (17). So, depending on the number of kids at those schools who ended up admitted to TJ, either based on the 1.5% set aside or from the residual pool, the admissions rate from some of those schools likely was higher than the rate at Longfellow (26.2%). But then, if you don't get into TJ, you don't have McLean as your back-up option.

I have no idea how they determine top students at Longfellow or anywhere else. My kid is a freshman at mclean. He probably would have gotten into TJ on the old system (he just kills math tests - no idea why). He had all A’s in honors classes at Longfellow. I look at his friend group who also didn’t get into TJ and there are some strong science/math kids there. But the kids that did go to TJ also appear to be strong students - so no complaints on quality of the class. He’s having a great experience at McLean. Your kid will be fine either way.

Between all the grade inflation and application gaming, it's difficult for them to differentiate students beyond a point. Regardless, I'm sure there are many equally strong opportunities available at McLean. One of my kid's is applying next year. They're a total rockstar. Won all kinds of math awards at the state level even. Straight A's in the highest track etc, but I realize it's kind of a crap shoot. Still I'm not really clear whether they'd really be better off at TJ. Their homeschool Langlely is also great so either way I'm fine with however way it goes.

Just math awards does not get the kid to get into TJ. If you look at scoring rubric, 1/3 score is gpa, 1/3 is SPS answers, 1/3 is stem problem and writing the answer. If the kid can solve problem but is a poor writer, they won’t make it

Either way the suggestion that the new system introduces more uncertainty into the process is correct. The net result is that people are less inclined to believe the top candidates are being admitted to TJ and more inclined to shrug when their kid doesn’t get in. Maybe that’s what FCPS wanted.

If by uncertainty, you mean fairness then I agree.

I don't mean that. It's a more subjective process, borne of pandering for political gain, with a not-so-healthy dose of anti-Asian bias tossed into the mix.

Wasn’t it meant to address cheating on an entrance test?

You can’t be that naive.

I know! For years families were gaming admissions which culminated in some prep centers creating question banks so their customers would effectively have early access to the test. These affluent families would buy their way into TJ. So glad they put an end to the cheating with the improved selection criteria. It's also greatly reduced the toxicity at TJ and helped foster a collegial atmosphere.

No one was able to buy their way into TJ.

The "improved" selection criteria is a pork-barrel approach that guarantees seats to schools regardless of whether the students from those schools are the highest achieving in the region or possess the greatest STEM aptitude. It's diminished TJ's reputation and invited debates among current TJ freshmen and sophomores as to which students truly belong there, and which students simply got into because they were among the small number of applicants from schools that weren't AAP centers and generally don't elicit much interest in TJ.

Curious how the old process is guarantee students who got in are posses the greatest STEM aptitude and are the highest achieving student?

Nothing is guaranteed, but they looked at awards won and extracurriculars. Someone who made state MathCounts or USAJMO in 7th grade(about 10 in the entire country) would not be rejected like they have been the past few years.

Someone keeps bringing up USAJMO as though it should be a golden ticket into TJ. There is a lot more to being a strong contributor to a full-service elite high school than scoring well in a math competition.

+1, it's not a good idea to have any single accomplishment or background serve as a slam-dunk guarantee into TJ. If there is, you can be assured that striver families will move heaven and earth and sacrifice any amount of their child's well-being that is necessary to get them in. That's why I like the new admissions process; there is no golden path.

In vast majority of the cases, you have a very valid point that no single achievement should as a slam-dunk. I agree with that in general.

There are a few exceptions like USAJMO. You do need to understand what it entails - and no just reading up online about it does not tell you much, you need to actually experience something like that. It is like saying a two time MVP in NBA should not be an automatic choice for the next season. Dont go too deep into this analogy, just trying to make a point about the level of significance of USAJMO at a young age.

Someone who is or was even close to qualifying for USAJMO by 8th grade should be an automatic admit to TJ. We are talking about maybe 20 kids across the entire nation, forget Virginia. No you cannot just prep to it.

Serious question: why? What evidence does that one achievement give that a student will be a superior contributor to the overall environment?

People talk about contribution to the overall environment. I thought the purpose was to educate students. These kids are the ones who most need the advanced classes that TJ offers.

Yes - as it turns out, students are educated within an environment, and the more conducive that environment is to collaborative learning, the more positive the end outcome for the students. The reason why gifted education exists is because it is a matter of common acceptance that children have an impact on their learning environment.

And having been connected with TJ as long as I have, I’ve seen a staggering number of kids who were absolutely brilliant but who had a negative impact on the overall TJ learning environment.

I doubt this is even remotely true. Most arrogant kids are not brilliant, they just think they are. Most brilliant kids are very hard workers and very humble as well. Your collaborative learning comment also doesn't make sense; most time spent learning is done quietly on one's own, reading, studying, and thinking about things.

Literally every part of this reply betrays your lack of historical experience with TJ or modern elite academic environments.

Education is best understood as a team sport, especially when the goal is to develop people who are going to change the world and drive innovation.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a rising 7th grader, will be in Algebra 1 and is generally a strong student. He will apply for TJ but if not accepted then he will be equally happy at McLean HS as well.

I am just trying to gauge realistic chances, I googled and it said 62 kids but then on this board someone mentioned 42, I would appreciate if someone can share the correct number. TIA!

Seems like Longfellow kids have some of the best odds of any school!

No... quite literally the exact opposite. If one takes a randomly chosen applicant from the FCPS pool, applying from Longfellow is one of the worst odds as there is a very, very small chance the applicant would fall in the top 1.5%. Take a randomly chosen applicant and send them from Poe MS, then there is a higher probability that they would fall into the top 1.5% of reserved seats.

The odds of getting into TJ from Longfellow were higher than from any other AAP center with a substantial number of TJ applicants, at least last year, as the prior post indicates.

There are some middle schools that only had a limited number of applicants to TJ in the Class of 2026. Schools with less than 20 applicants included Stone (11), Whitman (13), Herndon (15), Liberty (16), and Poe (17). So, depending on the number of kids at those schools who ended up admitted to TJ, either based on the 1.5% set aside or from the residual pool, the admissions rate from some of those schools likely was higher than the rate at Longfellow (26.2%). But then, if you don't get into TJ, you don't have McLean as your back-up option.

I have no idea how they determine top students at Longfellow or anywhere else. My kid is a freshman at mclean. He probably would have gotten into TJ on the old system (he just kills math tests - no idea why). He had all A’s in honors classes at Longfellow. I look at his friend group who also didn’t get into TJ and there are some strong science/math kids there. But the kids that did go to TJ also appear to be strong students - so no complaints on quality of the class. He’s having a great experience at McLean. Your kid will be fine either way.

Between all the grade inflation and application gaming, it's difficult for them to differentiate students beyond a point. Regardless, I'm sure there are many equally strong opportunities available at McLean. One of my kid's is applying next year. They're a total rockstar. Won all kinds of math awards at the state level even. Straight A's in the highest track etc, but I realize it's kind of a crap shoot. Still I'm not really clear whether they'd really be better off at TJ. Their homeschool Langlely is also great so either way I'm fine with however way it goes.

Just math awards does not get the kid to get into TJ. If you look at scoring rubric, 1/3 score is gpa, 1/3 is SPS answers, 1/3 is stem problem and writing the answer. If the kid can solve problem but is a poor writer, they won’t make it

Either way the suggestion that the new system introduces more uncertainty into the process is correct. The net result is that people are less inclined to believe the top candidates are being admitted to TJ and more inclined to shrug when their kid doesn’t get in. Maybe that’s what FCPS wanted.

If by uncertainty, you mean fairness then I agree.

I don't mean that. It's a more subjective process, borne of pandering for political gain, with a not-so-healthy dose of anti-Asian bias tossed into the mix.

Wasn’t it meant to address cheating on an entrance test?

You can’t be that naive.

I know! For years families were gaming admissions which culminated in some prep centers creating question banks so their customers would effectively have early access to the test. These affluent families would buy their way into TJ. So glad they put an end to the cheating with the improved selection criteria. It's also greatly reduced the toxicity at TJ and helped foster a collegial atmosphere.

No one was able to buy their way into TJ.

The "improved" selection criteria is a pork-barrel approach that guarantees seats to schools regardless of whether the students from those schools are the highest achieving in the region or possess the greatest STEM aptitude. It's diminished TJ's reputation and invited debates among current TJ freshmen and sophomores as to which students truly belong there, and which students simply got into because they were among the small number of applicants from schools that weren't AAP centers and generally don't elicit much interest in TJ.

Curious how the old process is guarantee students who got in are posses the greatest STEM aptitude and are the highest achieving student?

Nothing is guaranteed, but they looked at awards won and extracurriculars. Someone who made state MathCounts or USAJMO in 7th grade(about 10 in the entire country) would not be rejected like they have been the past few years.

Someone keeps bringing up USAJMO as though it should be a golden ticket into TJ. There is a lot more to being a strong contributor to a full-service elite high school than scoring well in a math competition.

+1, it's not a good idea to have any single accomplishment or background serve as a slam-dunk guarantee into TJ. If there is, you can be assured that striver families will move heaven and earth and sacrifice any amount of their child's well-being that is necessary to get them in. That's why I like the new admissions process; there is no golden path.

In vast majority of the cases, you have a very valid point that no single achievement should as a slam-dunk. I agree with that in general.

There are a few exceptions like USAJMO. You do need to understand what it entails - and no just reading up online about it does not tell you much, you need to actually experience something like that. It is like saying a two time MVP in NBA should not be an automatic choice for the next season. Dont go too deep into this analogy, just trying to make a point about the level of significance of USAJMO at a young age.

Someone who is or was even close to qualifying for USAJMO by 8th grade should be an automatic admit to TJ. We are talking about maybe 20 kids across the entire nation, forget Virginia. No you cannot just prep to it.

Serious question: why? What evidence does that one achievement give that a student will be a superior contributor to the overall environment?

What evidence is there that the existing "tests" for TJ will be a superior contributor?

What evidence do you have that such a student would not be a superior contributor to the overall environment? As I mentioned when you have no idea what it takes to get to that level, you end with questions like yours.