TJ parents - would your kid do it again? Best tips for success for a positive experience?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ Parents - if your kid had a chance to go back and do it all again, would they? If yes, what was one of their favorite parts about TJ?

Any tips or hints for success -- not just academically, but to have a positive experience there?

Every kid there is a bit sore about the grading deflation at TJ. They would be getting easy A's at their base school for the same honors or AP class, meanwhile the non-honors classes are still very hard (languages and e4ven PE, that's right, the frikking PE classes require study at TJ. If they could just get rid of the grade deflation I think 60% of the negatives of attending TJ would disappear.

High school sports are far more accessible at TJ than almost anywhere else but sports are time consuming so you don't get the same participation you might at most schools.
With that said, sports are a very welcome benefit for attending TJ.

Try to get involved with clubs. There are. so. many. clubs. And if they don't have the one you are looking for, you can start one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another family who would not do it again. We did not let younger sibling even apply to TJ (even though sibling was in precalc in 8th grade). Stuck with base school and couldn’t be happier.

TJ is for the quirky kids but it also attracts lots of quirky teachers. We struggled with a lot of the teachers. Assumed kids were smart and could teach themselves. One math teacher only demonstrated about 6 math problems for a whole quarter. No thanks - don’t need to feed into the “prestige” of TJ while paying $$$ for tutors to actually teach the kids.

I think you are exaggerating a bit there.. what do you think students do for the whole math period if the teacher doesn't teach, as you claim? Many motivated high schoolers (certainly TJ attendees), are definitely capable of teaching themselves, by reading the assigned book material or course notes, looking things up online, or asking teachers for help when stuck. These are some of the most important skills for students to learn well before heading to college.

If you had to pay $$$ for tutors for your older child, it might mean that they may not have been ready to learn at a TJ/college pace. Or maybe they were pushed too far ahead, too quickly. Your younger sibling seems to be very accelerated if they're doing precalc in 8th grade. If I see this level of acceleration as a parent, I would definitely want to make sure that they have learned the material well without gaps. Here's another question: If your younger sibling took precalc in 8th, what math classes will they take and what will they learn at their base high school?

+1000

It is complete nonsense when people say math teachers dont teach at TJ. It is the exact opposite. They are incredible teachers because they encourage students to discover mathematical concepts by themselves by asking questions instead of showing them how to solve a problem. That is precisely the strength of TJ.

This takes a lot of effort on the teachers part. Many are used to the Curie style of giving an example problem first and then asking students to do variations on that problem. Which teaches speed and accuracy but little actual understanding.

That is why so many parents who put their child at Curie complain "they dont teach math". It is a near certainty that the parent above put their child in Curie. This is so predictable.

I am the PP who made the comment about the TJ math teacher only teaching 6 math problems a quarter.

I absolutely did NOT put my child in Curie and I resent the accusation. We did no prep for TJ (yes, it was when admissions was based on a test).

DC loved math and excelled at it until he got to TJ. He is bright, but not the type to pick up Linear Algebra by himself without some instruction. And let’s not forget these are HS students, not college students who need to teach themselves or camp outside of a professors office for office hours.

Our solution was to take math classes at NOVA DE vs taking them at TJ with their crappy math teachers. Shocker - DC loved math again, is doing great so far in his 3 university math classes at a university that does proof based math. Glad to be rid of TJ.

For the PP who’s DCs math teacher has not entered grades in grade book. There is a FCPS regulation that TJ teachers seem to think they’re exempt from requiring grades being entered into grade book in a timely manner. I’ve had this conversation with math dept before.

[Anonymous]

My child is a freshman at TJ. Most, if not all, of his teachers update the gradebook weekly. Math, science and cs classes move VERY quickly and are not easy, but they are manageable with regular study. Most classes provide class notes in Schoology and homework, which is very helpful. Just sharing one personal experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another family who would not do it again. We did not let younger sibling even apply to TJ (even though sibling was in precalc in 8th grade). Stuck with base school and couldn’t be happier.

TJ is for the quirky kids but it also attracts lots of quirky teachers. We struggled with a lot of the teachers. Assumed kids were smart and could teach themselves. One math teacher only demonstrated about 6 math problems for a whole quarter. No thanks - don’t need to feed into the “prestige” of TJ while paying $$$ for tutors to actually teach the kids.

I think you are exaggerating a bit there.. what do you think students do for the whole math period if the teacher doesn't teach, as you claim? Many motivated high schoolers (certainly TJ attendees), are definitely capable of teaching themselves, by reading the assigned book material or course notes, looking things up online, or asking teachers for help when stuck. These are some of the most important skills for students to learn well before heading to college.

If you had to pay $$$ for tutors for your older child, it might mean that they may not have been ready to learn at a TJ/college pace. Or maybe they were pushed too far ahead, too quickly. Your younger sibling seems to be very accelerated if they're doing precalc in 8th grade. If I see this level of acceleration as a parent, I would definitely want to make sure that they have learned the material well without gaps. Here's another question: If your younger sibling took precalc in 8th, what math classes will they take and what will they learn at their base high school?

+1000

It is complete nonsense when people say math teachers dont teach at TJ. It is the exact opposite. They are incredible teachers because they encourage students to discover mathematical concepts by themselves by asking questions instead of showing them how to solve a problem. That is precisely the strength of TJ.

This takes a lot of effort on the teachers part. Many are used to the Curie style of giving an example problem first and then asking students to do variations on that problem. Which teaches speed and accuracy but little actual understanding.

That is why so many parents who put their child at Curie complain "they dont teach math". It is a near certainty that the parent above put their child in Curie. This is so predictable.

I am the PP who made the comment about the TJ math teacher only teaching 6 math problems a quarter.

I absolutely did NOT put my child in Curie and I resent the accusation. We did no prep for TJ (yes, it was when admissions was based on a test).

DC loved math and excelled at it until he got to TJ. He is bright, but not the type to pick up Linear Algebra by himself without some instruction. And let’s not forget these are HS students, not college students who need to teach themselves or camp outside of a professors office for office hours.

Our solution was to take math classes at NOVA DE vs taking them at TJ with their crappy math teachers. Shocker - DC loved math again, is doing great so far in his 3 university math classes at a university that does proof based math. Glad to be rid of TJ.

For the PP who’s DCs math teacher has not entered grades in grade book. There is a FCPS regulation that TJ teachers seem to think they’re exempt from requiring grades being entered into grade book in a timely manner. I’ve had this conversation with math dept before.

I am not referring to prep for TJ exam at all. I am referring to the teaching style that is followed by Curie and others like them.

The way they teach is exact copy of how they teach in India. It is diametrically opposite to how it should be taught and taught at TJ. I was on a meeting with TJ principal and about 100 or so parents and this same concern you mentioned was asked again and again.

In math you should always give the student a first shot at solving the problem by themselves without even teaching them the theory. The student discovers the theory by themselves. A very tough ask of the student AND the teacher, because the teacher should only try to get the student to the answer by asking them questions, not giving them tips or show steps in solving the problem.

If you do this way, you have less need for repetition and students understand the material better.

Curie does the opposite. It starts with 3-4 examples then the students see the pattern and imitate those steps to solve the problem. The students understanding is shaky at best in this case. The moment you give them a twist on the problem, they say "we were never taught this material in class."

I see this with every single kid who was at Curie or similar type of class.

[Anonymous]

None of the base high schools does anything like this, because this is a really tough ask of both the students and teachers. This is precisely the strength of TJ and that is why you should attend TJ. It is immensely satisfying to the right student and sounds hell to the wrong student.

If there is a litmus test of "should I go to TJ?", the above would be it.

[Anonymous]

TJ is not all that. It's being bought into by foreign nationals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another family who would not do it again. We did not let younger sibling even apply to TJ (even though sibling was in precalc in 8th grade). Stuck with base school and couldn’t be happier.

TJ is for the quirky kids but it also attracts lots of quirky teachers. We struggled with a lot of the teachers. Assumed kids were smart and could teach themselves. One math teacher only demonstrated about 6 math problems for a whole quarter. No thanks - don’t need to feed into the “prestige” of TJ while paying $$$ for tutors to actually teach the kids.

I think you are exaggerating a bit there.. what do you think students do for the whole math period if the teacher doesn't teach, as you claim? Many motivated high schoolers (certainly TJ attendees), are definitely capable of teaching themselves, by reading the assigned book material or course notes, looking things up online, or asking teachers for help when stuck. These are some of the most important skills for students to learn well before heading to college.

If you had to pay $$$ for tutors for your older child, it might mean that they may not have been ready to learn at a TJ/college pace. Or maybe they were pushed too far ahead, too quickly. Your younger sibling seems to be very accelerated if they're doing precalc in 8th grade. If I see this level of acceleration as a parent, I would definitely want to make sure that they have learned the material well without gaps. Here's another question: If your younger sibling took precalc in 8th, what math classes will they take and what will they learn at their base high school?

+1000

It is complete nonsense when people say math teachers dont teach at TJ. It is the exact opposite. They are incredible teachers because they encourage students to discover mathematical concepts by themselves by asking questions instead of showing them how to solve a problem. That is precisely the strength of TJ.

This takes a lot of effort on the teachers part. Many are used to the Curie style of giving an example problem first and then asking students to do variations on that problem. Which teaches speed and accuracy but little actual understanding.

That is why so many parents who put their child at Curie complain "they dont teach math". It is a near certainty that the parent above put their child in Curie. This is so predictable.

DC loved math at TJ and previously attended Curie in middle school. In junior year, completed the GMU DE Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra courses, followed by additional math electives in senior year. Their T20 college accepted transfer credits for the DE courses but not the TJ senior year electives. Curie assigns a substantial amount of practice problems for homework, which may have contributed to DC’s success in TJ math one way or another, I assume.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dont colleges know that a 4.0 (w) from TJ is equivalent to a 4.5 or so from a non -TJ HS?

Maybe at UVA, but some young admissions assistant in another state won't necessarily know.

If you don’t know what TJ (and Stuyvesant, and Bronx Science, and Masterman, and so on) is/are, you are not making decisions in a college admissions office of any significance.

If you go over to the private school forum, they think all their schools are extra special too. I made the comment because another TJ parent found some of the big California universities didn't seem to know much about the rigor of TJ's curriculum. Some international universities we visited didn't know TJ from Podunk High.

I bet the CA admissions people know all about Lowell, Whitney and Harvard Westlake though.

Stanford, UCLA, Berkeley, USC, all know Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech and TJ. They may not know them as well as UVA knows TJ or Cornell knows Stuyvesant but they know there are differences in rigor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids got As in Spanish at TJ. Don’t get the hype about that.

Did they start with Spanish 1? I’ve heard it’s wicked hard because of a big disconnect with how much base schools teacher in 1 or 2 levels so coming in not at the start is super hard.

Spanish and PE should not be as hard as it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dont colleges know that a 4.0 (w) from TJ is equivalent to a 4.5 or so from a non -TJ HS?

Maybe at UVA, but some young admissions assistant in another state won't necessarily know.

If you don’t know what TJ (and Stuyvesant, and Bronx Science, and Masterman, and so on) is/are, you are not making decisions in a college admissions office of any significance.

If you go over to the private school forum, they think all their schools are extra special too. I made the comment because another TJ parent found some of the big California universities didn't seem to know much about the rigor of TJ's curriculum. Some international universities we visited didn't know TJ from Podunk High.

I bet the CA admissions people know all about Lowell, Whitney and Harvard Westlake though.

Stanford, UCLA, Berkeley, USC, all know Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech and TJ. They may not know them as well as UVA knows TJ or Cornell knows Stuyvesant but they know there are differences in rigor.

Had family visit from CA - I asked the HS kids what their impression of TJ was? They didn't know. Asked about UVA - they thought it was a good school but not a wow factor. We don't know any good HS in Texas, Florida, Washington, etc. - we heard of only a few in the country. The comments on the College Forum - looks like DMV people know more about Claremont Colleges then the CA people do.

Having said that - all top schools have regional experts that can differentiate not only TJ but the other HSs in the area. Hard work always rewarded just not to expectation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another family who would not do it again. We did not let younger sibling even apply to TJ (even though sibling was in precalc in 8th grade). Stuck with base school and couldn’t be happier.

TJ is for the quirky kids but it also attracts lots of quirky teachers. We struggled with a lot of the teachers. Assumed kids were smart and could teach themselves. One math teacher only demonstrated about 6 math problems for a whole quarter. No thanks - don’t need to feed into the “prestige” of TJ while paying $$$ for tutors to actually teach the kids.

I think you are exaggerating a bit there.. what do you think students do for the whole math period if the teacher doesn't teach, as you claim? Many motivated high schoolers (certainly TJ attendees), are definitely capable of teaching themselves, by reading the assigned book material or course notes, looking things up online, or asking teachers for help when stuck. These are some of the most important skills for students to learn well before heading to college.

If you had to pay $$$ for tutors for your older child, it might mean that they may not have been ready to learn at a TJ/college pace. Or maybe they were pushed too far ahead, too quickly. Your younger sibling seems to be very accelerated if they're doing precalc in 8th grade. If I see this level of acceleration as a parent, I would definitely want to make sure that they have learned the material well without gaps. Here's another question: If your younger sibling took precalc in 8th, what math classes will they take and what will they learn at their base high school?

+1000

It is complete nonsense when people say math teachers dont teach at TJ. It is the exact opposite. They are incredible teachers because they encourage students to discover mathematical concepts by themselves by asking questions instead of showing them how to solve a problem. That is precisely the strength of TJ.

This takes a lot of effort on the teachers part. Many are used to the Curie style of giving an example problem first and then asking students to do variations on that problem. Which teaches speed and accuracy but little actual understanding.

That is why so many parents who put their child at Curie complain "they dont teach math". It is a near certainty that the parent above put their child in Curie. This is so predictable.

I am the PP who made the comment about the TJ math teacher only teaching 6 math problems a quarter.

I absolutely did NOT put my child in Curie and I resent the accusation. We did no prep for TJ (yes, it was when admissions was based on a test).

DC loved math and excelled at it until he got to TJ. He is bright, but not the type to pick up Linear Algebra by himself without some instruction. And let’s not forget these are HS students, not college students who need to teach themselves or camp outside of a professors office for office hours.

Our solution was to take math classes at NOVA DE vs taking them at TJ with their crappy math teachers. Shocker - DC loved math again, is doing great so far in his 3 university math classes at a university that does proof based math. Glad to be rid of TJ.

For the PP who’s DCs math teacher has not entered grades in grade book. There is a FCPS regulation that TJ teachers seem to think they’re exempt from requiring grades being entered into grade book in a timely manner. I’ve had this conversation with math dept before.

I am not referring to prep for TJ exam at all. I am referring to the teaching style that is followed by Curie and others like them.

The way they teach is exact copy of how they teach in India. It is diametrically opposite to how it should be taught and taught at TJ. I was on a meeting with TJ principal and about 100 or so parents and this same concern you mentioned was asked again and again.

In math you should always give the student a first shot at solving the problem by themselves without even teaching them the theory. The student discovers the theory by themselves. A very tough ask of the student AND the teacher, because the teacher should only try to get the student to the answer by asking them questions, not giving them tips or show steps in solving the problem.

If you do this way, you have less need for repetition and students understand the material better.

Curie does the opposite. It starts with 3-4 examples then the students see the pattern and imitate those steps to solve the problem. The students understanding is shaky at best in this case. The moment you give them a twist on the problem, they say "we were never taught this material in class."

I see this with every single kid who was at Curie or similar type of class.

DP.
This is the dumbest thing I have read in a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ is not all that. It's being bought into by foreign nationals.

I'm sorry, what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another family who would not do it again. We did not let younger sibling even apply to TJ (even though sibling was in precalc in 8th grade). Stuck with base school and couldn’t be happier.

TJ is for the quirky kids but it also attracts lots of quirky teachers. We struggled with a lot of the teachers. Assumed kids were smart and could teach themselves. One math teacher only demonstrated about 6 math problems for a whole quarter. No thanks - don’t need to feed into the “prestige” of TJ while paying $$$ for tutors to actually teach the kids.

I think you are exaggerating a bit there.. what do you think students do for the whole math period if the teacher doesn't teach, as you claim? Many motivated high schoolers (certainly TJ attendees), are definitely capable of teaching themselves, by reading the assigned book material or course notes, looking things up online, or asking teachers for help when stuck. These are some of the most important skills for students to learn well before heading to college.

If you had to pay $$$ for tutors for your older child, it might mean that they may not have been ready to learn at a TJ/college pace. Or maybe they were pushed too far ahead, too quickly. Your younger sibling seems to be very accelerated if they're doing precalc in 8th grade. If I see this level of acceleration as a parent, I would definitely want to make sure that they have learned the material well without gaps. Here's another question: If your younger sibling took precalc in 8th, what math classes will they take and what will they learn at their base high school?

+1000

It is complete nonsense when people say math teachers dont teach at TJ. It is the exact opposite. They are incredible teachers because they encourage students to discover mathematical concepts by themselves by asking questions instead of showing them how to solve a problem. That is precisely the strength of TJ.

This takes a lot of effort on the teachers part. Many are used to the Curie style of giving an example problem first and then asking students to do variations on that problem. Which teaches speed and accuracy but little actual understanding.

That is why so many parents who put their child at Curie complain "they dont teach math". It is a near certainty that the parent above put their child in Curie. This is so predictable.

I am the PP who made the comment about the TJ math teacher only teaching 6 math problems a quarter.

I absolutely did NOT put my child in Curie and I resent the accusation. We did no prep for TJ (yes, it was when admissions was based on a test).

DC loved math and excelled at it until he got to TJ. He is bright, but not the type to pick up Linear Algebra by himself without some instruction. And let’s not forget these are HS students, not college students who need to teach themselves or camp outside of a professors office for office hours.

Our solution was to take math classes at NOVA DE vs taking them at TJ with their crappy math teachers. Shocker - DC loved math again, is doing great so far in his 3 university math classes at a university that does proof based math. Glad to be rid of TJ.

For the PP who’s DCs math teacher has not entered grades in grade book. There is a FCPS regulation that TJ teachers seem to think they’re exempt from requiring grades being entered into grade book in a timely manner. I’ve had this conversation with math dept before.

I am not referring to prep for TJ exam at all. I am referring to the teaching style that is followed by Curie and others like them.

The way they teach is exact copy of how they teach in India. It is diametrically opposite to how it should be taught and taught at TJ. I was on a meeting with TJ principal and about 100 or so parents and this same concern you mentioned was asked again and again.

In math you should always give the student a first shot at solving the problem by themselves without even teaching them the theory. The student discovers the theory by themselves. A very tough ask of the student AND the teacher, because the teacher should only try to get the student to the answer by asking them questions, not giving them tips or show steps in solving the problem.

If you do this way, you have less need for repetition and students understand the material better.

Curie does the opposite. It starts with 3-4 examples then the students see the pattern and imitate those steps to solve the problem. The students understanding is shaky at best in this case. The moment you give them a twist on the problem, they say "we were never taught this material in class."

I see this with every single kid who was at Curie or similar type of class.

DP.
This is the dumbest thing I have read in a while.

I mean, all they're saying is that one method teaches kids how to do problems while the other method encourages them to figure out how to solve them on their own.

Curie's methods are why you had reports of kids crying on their way out of the exam in the first year that FCPS used the Quant-Q.

There's very limited value in producing a large volume of students who only have the ability to do work that they've already been shown how to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another family who would not do it again. We did not let younger sibling even apply to TJ (even though sibling was in precalc in 8th grade). Stuck with base school and couldn’t be happier.

TJ is for the quirky kids but it also attracts lots of quirky teachers. We struggled with a lot of the teachers. Assumed kids were smart and could teach themselves. One math teacher only demonstrated about 6 math problems for a whole quarter. No thanks - don’t need to feed into the “prestige” of TJ while paying $$$ for tutors to actually teach the kids.

I think you are exaggerating a bit there.. what do you think students do for the whole math period if the teacher doesn't teach, as you claim? Many motivated high schoolers (certainly TJ attendees), are definitely capable of teaching themselves, by reading the assigned book material or course notes, looking things up online, or asking teachers for help when stuck. These are some of the most important skills for students to learn well before heading to college.

If you had to pay $$$ for tutors for your older child, it might mean that they may not have been ready to learn at a TJ/college pace. Or maybe they were pushed too far ahead, too quickly. Your younger sibling seems to be very accelerated if they're doing precalc in 8th grade. If I see this level of acceleration as a parent, I would definitely want to make sure that they have learned the material well without gaps. Here's another question: If your younger sibling took precalc in 8th, what math classes will they take and what will they learn at their base high school?

+1000

It is complete nonsense when people say math teachers dont teach at TJ. It is the exact opposite. They are incredible teachers because they encourage students to discover mathematical concepts by themselves by asking questions instead of showing them how to solve a problem. That is precisely the strength of TJ.

This takes a lot of effort on the teachers part. Many are used to the Curie style of giving an example problem first and then asking students to do variations on that problem. Which teaches speed and accuracy but little actual understanding.

That is why so many parents who put their child at Curie complain "they dont teach math". It is a near certainty that the parent above put their child in Curie. This is so predictable.

I am the PP who made the comment about the TJ math teacher only teaching 6 math problems a quarter.

I absolutely did NOT put my child in Curie and I resent the accusation. We did no prep for TJ (yes, it was when admissions was based on a test).

DC loved math and excelled at it until he got to TJ. He is bright, but not the type to pick up Linear Algebra by himself without some instruction. And let’s not forget these are HS students, not college students who need to teach themselves or camp outside of a professors office for office hours.

Our solution was to take math classes at NOVA DE vs taking them at TJ with their crappy math teachers. Shocker - DC loved math again, is doing great so far in his 3 university math classes at a university that does proof based math. Glad to be rid of TJ.

For the PP who’s DCs math teacher has not entered grades in grade book. There is a FCPS regulation that TJ teachers seem to think they’re exempt from requiring grades being entered into grade book in a timely manner. I’ve had this conversation with math dept before.

I am not referring to prep for TJ exam at all. I am referring to the teaching style that is followed by Curie and others like them.

The way they teach is exact copy of how they teach in India. It is diametrically opposite to how it should be taught and taught at TJ. I was on a meeting with TJ principal and about 100 or so parents and this same concern you mentioned was asked again and again.

In math you should always give the student a first shot at solving the problem by themselves without even teaching them the theory. The student discovers the theory by themselves. A very tough ask of the student AND the teacher, because the teacher should only try to get the student to the answer by asking them questions, not giving them tips or show steps in solving the problem.

If you do this way, you have less need for repetition and students understand the material better.

Curie does the opposite. It starts with 3-4 examples then the students see the pattern and imitate those steps to solve the problem. The students understanding is shaky at best in this case. The moment you give them a twist on the problem, they say "we were never taught this material in class."

I see this with every single kid who was at Curie or similar type of class.

DP.
This is the dumbest thing I have read in a while.

I mean, all they're saying is that one method teaches kids how to do problems while the other method encourages them to figure out how to solve them on their own.

Curie's methods are why you had reports of kids crying on their way out of the exam in the first year that FCPS used the Quant-Q.

There's very limited value in producing a large volume of students who only have the ability to do work that they've already been shown how to do.

Your obsession with Curie and fake narratives!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dont colleges know that a 4.0 (w) from TJ is equivalent to a 4.5 or so from a non -TJ HS?

Maybe at UVA, but some young admissions assistant in another state won't necessarily know.

If you don’t know what TJ (and Stuyvesant, and Bronx Science, and Masterman, and so on) is/are, you are not making decisions in a college admissions office of any significance.

If you go over to the private school forum, they think all their schools are extra special too. I made the comment because another TJ parent found some of the big California universities didn't seem to know much about the rigor of TJ's curriculum. Some international universities we visited didn't know TJ from Podunk High.

I bet the CA admissions people know all about Lowell, Whitney and Harvard Westlake though.

Stanford, UCLA, Berkeley, USC, all know Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech and TJ. They may not know them as well as UVA knows TJ or Cornell knows Stuyvesant but they know there are differences in rigor.

Had family visit from CA - I asked the HS kids what their impression of TJ was? They didn't know. Asked about UVA - they thought it was a good school but not a wow factor. We don't know any good HS in Texas, Florida, Washington, etc. - we heard of only a few in the country. The comments on the College Forum - looks like DMV people know more about Claremont Colleges then the CA people do.

Having said that - all top schools have regional experts that can differentiate not only TJ but the other HSs in the area. Hard work always rewarded just not to expectation.

Pre pandemic California high school students knew about TJ because of its No 1 ranking. But the non-merit admissions and the recently fired principal led TJ ranking decline to14th. Once merit is restored so will TJ's reputation.