Top Tier Boarding school vs. TJ

[Anonymous]

It really depends on finances. One plus to BS is the incredible amounts of diversity especially at Andover and Exeter. TJ seems a bit lacking in this regard both racially and socio-economically. However BS have extreme wealth that may make a middle-class kid uncomfortable and go into an insecurity spiral. There is an old-line WASP culture at some of these Boarding schools that is incredibly alienating to outsiders. TJ may have a culture like that to an extent with all the kids coming from Rocky Run and Carson who've been prepping since 6th grade. Explore both options and make a decision. You've got time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband went to harvard, and his classmates that went to Exeter or Andover or Saint Paul's claim their high school classmates were smarter on the whole than their college classmates. They remain the only true ivy feeders. And with huge endowments, they can give generous financial aid.

This. I worked harder and was surrounded by smarter and more talented people, overall, at one of the three schools mentioned above than I was at HYPS for UG/Law. I had never heard of TJ before moving to this area. I'm sure it's a fine school, but clearly it does not have the same global alumni network or social/cultural currency that Exeter or Andover has. Honestly the only people I've heard talk about TJ sound very "striverish" (for lack of a better word).

You obviously live in that bubble that the HYP elites (a derogatory word these days, btw) do, and spend your time advertising that on anonymous for a, rather than following school news. You did not know that TJ has been ranked "the #1 high school in the US" and other similar sounding accolades? http://www.newsweek.com/2014/09/19/number-1-high-school-america-offers-real-head-start-268693.html

Harvard was founded in the 1600s. TJ? 1985. That might give you a hint about its lack of "cultural currency" (more elite babble) and global network. You are a clown ...

What an obx post. You are comparing TJ with Harvard?? Give me a f'king break moron.

Different poster: Harvard is considered the "best' university in the country and TJ is considered the "best" high school in the country.

I think folks maybe mistaking their familiarity with TJ versus well-known boarding schools with the familiarity that admissions teams from elite universities have. I grew up in Texas and went to public school. I had never heard of TJ, but now that I live here, I know it and think it is an amazing, free option for the people in NoVa. I also believe that elite colleges know the rigor of the school and its students go one to great schools and, eventually, often to professional accolades. The issue of the rubbing elbows with blue-bloods and moneyed people in high school-- the value of that - to each their own.

[Anonymous]

TJ Class of 2016 has students going to Harvard (6), MIT (13), Williams (1), Caltech (3), Harvey Mudd (1), Stanford (7), Berkeley (12), Chicago (13), Michigan (11), Brown (3), USAF (1), USCG (1), Carnegie Mellon (23), Penn (7), Yale (7), Dartmouth (4), Georgia Tech (6), Duke (8), Columbia (9), Cornell (8), Princeton (6), Olin (2), Wellesley (1), Swarthmore (3), Georgetown (5), Vanderbilt (3), Washington U. (2), Purdue (8), Rose-Hulman (2), Rennslauer (6), Rochester Tech (4). That is about 40% of the class of something like 457.

Another 1/3 go to UVA (81), W&M (32), or VA Tech (35).

Others go to places like NYU, UCLA, IU, Notre Dame, Colby, Bowdoin, VCU (6), JMU (3), George Mason (11), U of Colorado, Reed, Oregon State, Miami, USC, schools abroad, Richmond, Case Western, Penn State, GW, Syracuse, Rutgers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ Class of 2016 has students going to Harvard (6), MIT (13), Williams (1), Caltech (3), Harvey Mudd (1), Stanford (7), Berkeley (12), Chicago (13), Michigan (11), Brown (3), USAF (1), USCG (1), Carnegie Mellon (23), Penn (7), Yale (7), Dartmouth (4), Georgia Tech (6), Duke (8), Columbia (9), Cornell (8), Princeton (6), Olin (2), Wellesley (1), Swarthmore (3), Georgetown (5), Vanderbilt (3), Washington U. (2), Purdue (8), Rose-Hulman (2), Rennslauer (6), Rochester Tech (4). That is about 40% of the class of something like 457.

Another 1/3 go to UVA (81), W&M (32), or VA Tech (35).

Others go to places like NYU, UCLA, IU, Notre Dame, Colby, Bowdoin, VCU (6), JMU (3), George Mason (11), U of Colorado, Reed, Oregon State, Miami, USC, schools abroad, Richmond, Case Western, Penn State, GW, Syracuse, Rutgers.

Great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ Class of 2016 has students going to Harvard (6), MIT (13), Williams (1), Caltech (3), Harvey Mudd (1), Stanford (7), Berkeley (12), Chicago (13), Michigan (11), Brown (3), USAF (1), USCG (1), Carnegie Mellon (23), Penn (7), Yale (7), Dartmouth (4), Georgia Tech (6), Duke (8), Columbia (9), Cornell (8), Princeton (6), Olin (2), Wellesley (1), Swarthmore (3), Georgetown (5), Vanderbilt (3), Washington U. (2), Purdue (8), Rose-Hulman (2), Rennslauer (6), Rochester Tech (4). That is about 40% of the class of something like 457.

Another 1/3 go to UVA (81), W&M (32), or VA Tech (35).

Others go to places like NYU, UCLA, IU, Notre Dame, Colby, Bowdoin, VCU (6), JMU (3), George Mason (11), U of Colorado, Reed, Oregon State, Miami, USC, schools abroad, Richmond, Case Western, Penn State, GW, Syracuse, Rutgers.

Great. No one doubts that TJ produces the best. I don't say that sarcastically. Honestly, it holds its own against HADES any day of the week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ Class of 2016 has students going to Harvard (6), MIT (13), Williams (1), Caltech (3), Harvey Mudd (1), Stanford (7), Berkeley (12), Chicago (13), Michigan (11), Brown (3), USAF (1), USCG (1), Carnegie Mellon (23), Penn (7), Yale (7), Dartmouth (4), Georgia Tech (6), Duke (8), Columbia (9), Cornell (8), Princeton (6), Olin (2), Wellesley (1), Swarthmore (3), Georgetown (5), Vanderbilt (3), Washington U. (2), Purdue (8), Rose-Hulman (2), Rennslauer (6), Rochester Tech (4). That is about 40% of the class of something like 457.

Another 1/3 go to UVA (81), W&M (32), or VA Tech (35).

Others go to places like NYU, UCLA, IU, Notre Dame, Colby, Bowdoin, VCU (6), JMU (3), George Mason (11), U of Colorado, Reed, Oregon State, Miami, USC, schools abroad, Richmond, Case Western, Penn State, GW, Syracuse, Rutgers.

Do you have a link for the above?

[Anonymous]

Him sorry but you could not pay me to,send my kids to TJ. It's precisely what I don't want for my kids. To mention it in the same breath with the top boarding schools is laughable. It's a niche school only and only for a certain kind of family/kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Him sorry but you could not pay me to,send my kids to TJ. It's precisely what I don't want for my kids. To mention it in the same breath with the top boarding schools is laughable. It's a niche school only and only for a certain kind of family/kid.

Bing, Bing, Bing. And we have a winner. Yep. TJ is a niche school for top STEM students only. If you have one such student, they are getting the best education possible for them. But guess what-- a top boarding school is also a niche education only for a certain type of family/ kid. I won't pretend to know or understand what that type of kid is, but I do know that it would never be my kid-- and he is a great student, and we are relatively affluent. But, just for starters, I am not done raising him yet. And I'm sure you are "raising" a kid who is hundreds of miles away who you only see once every couple months. But I prefer to hands on, day in, day out raise my child. And even if I was fine with sending him off as a 14 year old, he's an introvert who is not athletically talented, and would hate it.

I find it hard to believe there is much overlap between TJ and BS. It seems like they cater to different students with different strengths and families with different priorities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ Class of 2016 has students going to Harvard (6), MIT (13), Williams (1), Caltech (3), Harvey Mudd (1), Stanford (7), Berkeley (12), Chicago (13), Michigan (11), Brown (3), USAF (1), USCG (1), Carnegie Mellon (23), Penn (7), Yale (7), Dartmouth (4), Georgia Tech (6), Duke (8), Columbia (9), Cornell (8), Princeton (6), Olin (2), Wellesley (1), Swarthmore (3), Georgetown (5), Vanderbilt (3), Washington U. (2), Purdue (8), Rose-Hulman (2), Rennslauer (6), Rochester Tech (4). That is about 40% of the class of something like 457.

Another 1/3 go to UVA (81), W&M (32), or VA Tech (35).

Others go to places like NYU, UCLA, IU, Notre Dame, Colby, Bowdoin, VCU (6), JMU (3), George Mason (11), U of Colorado, Reed, Oregon State, Miami, USC, schools abroad, Richmond, Case Western, Penn State, GW, Syracuse, Rutgers.

Do you have a link for the above?

Considering the size the numbers are not that high for top schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ Class of 2016 has students going to Harvard (6), MIT (13), Williams (1), Caltech (3), Harvey Mudd (1), Stanford (7), Berkeley (12), Chicago (13), Michigan (11), Brown (3), USAF (1), USCG (1), Carnegie Mellon (23), Penn (7), Yale (7), Dartmouth (4), Georgia Tech (6), Duke (8), Columbia (9), Cornell (8), Princeton (6), Olin (2), Wellesley (1), Swarthmore (3), Georgetown (5), Vanderbilt (3), Washington U. (2), Purdue (8), Rose-Hulman (2), Rennslauer (6), Rochester Tech (4). That is about 40% of the class of something like 457.

Another 1/3 go to UVA (81), W&M (32), or VA Tech (35).

Others go to places like NYU, UCLA, IU, Notre Dame, Colby, Bowdoin, VCU (6), JMU (3), George Mason (11), U of Colorado, Reed, Oregon State, Miami, USC, schools abroad, Richmond, Case Western, Penn State, GW, Syracuse, Rutgers.

Do you have a link for the above?

Considering the size the numbers are not that high for top schools.

True. Given almost 500 kids, cannot compare with BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Him sorry but you could not pay me to,send my kids to TJ. It's precisely what I don't want for my kids. To mention it in the same breath with the top boarding schools is laughable. It's a niche school only and only for a certain kind of family/kid.

+1000

I would never even consider it for my kids. It is definitely a niche school. I don't know anyone that would choose TJ if they could easily afford $40k a year for Sidwell or Cathedral schools or $55-60k for boarding school. The experiences and education are so different. Also, I understand that the population isn't diverse (mostly asain and white, with very few people of color).

[Anonymous]

Despite all of the accolades for TJ as a great public school, this thread suggests to me that the TJ parents are wildly insecure try hards. Listen guys - TJ is a cram school for Asain math and science kids. That's great. They test well, it's a very good education.

Exeter and St. Paul's and the other truly world class boarding schools are on another stratosphere.

Success in this country is not based on your SAT score.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Despite all of the accolades for TJ as a great public school, this thread suggests to me that the TJ parents are wildly insecure try hards. Listen guys - TJ is a cram school for Asain math and science kids. That's great. They test well, it's a very good education.

Exeter and St. Paul's and the other truly world class boarding schools are on another stratosphere.

Success in this country is not based on your SAT score.

They're both good. C'mon. So much exaggeration on both sides.
Plus, 99% of all students won't get into either, so it's kind of an academic argument so to speak.

[Anonymous]

Entitled slackers bitching about "strivers" and "try hards," with a dollop of racism and Masters of the Universe pretensions on the side. Charming!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Entitled slackers bitching about "strivers" and "try hards," with a dollop of racism and Masters of the Universe pretensions on the side. Charming!

+1

However Friend went to a top tier and has said there are many Asians, US and international. So maybe they will join the Masters of the Universe soon.