Older TJ kids: is there regret w/college app results

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't the school profile have the graduating class of 2025 precise SAT/ACT avg scores?

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://tjhsst.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/inline-files/TJHSST%20School%20Profile%2025-26%20V.2._0.pdf

Page one says for the class of 2025, 80 were National Merit Semifinalists and 156 were Commended but then on page 3 it says what the class of 2024's average SAT (1510)/ACT (34) was but that is the last class that was under the old admissions standards.

Why not say what the TJ class of 2025's average SAT/ACT was?

Is 80 NMSF and 156 commended not suggestive enough of high scores?

Guess we will all have to wait to find out about the real class of 2025 average. 😂 Try not to lose sleep before then.

[Anonymous]

^^ are questions not allowed?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The school tells people not to go there if you want to go to top schools, there is too much competition. If you really want 0ne of the top 25 schools, go to your base school. I have an 8th grader applying for TJ and we have discussed this with him. It will come up again if he is accepted at TJ.

+1 agree. Even after all the selection changes (including over years). The top 20% (~100 students) will be very competitive and they will be taking over the limited slots at the T20/T30's. If you are not in top 20% the chances of getting to top colleges are lower from TJ.

The 50th percentile at TJ might get into UVA. The same student will be top 5% or higher at their base school and will likely get into UVA

My fav TJ-parent belief: my kid would have been top x% had kid gone to the base school. Never change, please!! ❤️

And yet, it is true that for college admissions it is better to be top 20% at a base HS than bottom 50% at TJ. Some highly capable students stay at their base school for this reason.

The other reality is that many at TJ are really targeting Medical School, and are not targeting a STEM career.

Yes…but TJ parents truly believe had their kids gone to the base HS they absolutely would have been at the top there. I think being bottom 50% at any HS is a recipe for failure for a highly rejective school.

Because for the most part this is true. Exceptions sure but most TJ kids would rank higher at their base school than they do at TJ just given the nature of the magnet school and the harsh reality that there can only be half of any class in the top 50%.

Thank you!! Again, don’t stop!!! The only way you are right is if the nearly all the mid ranked TJ students are brilliant and the essentially all the base top students are dummies and/or only appear bright bc of grade inflation.

Please. I don’t think you understand how math works. “ALL the TJ mid ranked kids are brilliant and ALL the base top kids are dummies”.

I’m not arguing every single kid at TJ would be top 1% at their base school. I’m saying it’s going to USUALLY be the case that any particular kid that got into TJ would be ranked higher at their base school than they are ranked at TJ. Not because all the kids at the base are dumb but because there is generally less competition for the top tier of base schools than there is for the same top % slice of TJ. Get it?

[Anonymous]

TJ kids frequently say that college felt easy for them compared to many peers there. In other words, they felt extremely well-prepared, less stressed in the weed-out engineering classes, etc. Met prerequisites for higher level college classes more easily. And the TJ networking thing is real; TJ alums definitely post on alumni sites about job opportunities, connections. Also, TJ students are not all socially awkward— what they have going for them is the ability to form connections with both awkward introverts and cool kids. (TJ kids become very tolerant of quirkiness even if not quirky themselves. This is a good skill to have in life and in many workplaces.
Yes, getting into UVA, UMich, UNC will be harder and some safeties will reject TJ kids to protect their yield. But many TJ kids will get into top 10, 20, Ivies, etc. I also think TJ gets more in through regular decision…once the dust settles most TJ kids have gotten into top schools.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The school tells people not to go there if you want to go to top schools, there is too much competition. If you really want 0ne of the top 25 schools, go to your base school. I have an 8th grader applying for TJ and we have discussed this with him. It will come up again if he is accepted at TJ.

+1 agree. Even after all the selection changes (including over years). The top 20% (~100 students) will be very competitive and they will be taking over the limited slots at the T20/T30's. If you are not in top 20% the chances of getting to top colleges are lower from TJ.

The 50th percentile at TJ might get into UVA. The same student will be top 5% or higher at their base school and will likely get into UVA

My fav TJ-parent belief: my kid would have been top x% had kid gone to the base school. Never change, please!! ❤️

And yet, it is true that for college admissions it is better to be top 20% at a base HS than bottom 50% at TJ. Some highly capable students stay at their base school for this reason.

The other reality is that many at TJ are really targeting Medical School, and are not targeting a STEM career.

Yes…but TJ parents truly believe had their kids gone to the base HS they absolutely would have been at the top there. I think being bottom 50% at any HS is a recipe for failure for a highly rejective school.

Because for the most part this is true. Exceptions sure but most TJ kids would rank higher at their base school than they do at TJ just given the nature of the magnet school and the harsh reality that there can only be half of any class in the top 50%.

Thank you!! Again, don’t stop!!! The only way you are right is if the nearly all the mid ranked TJ students are brilliant and the essentially all the base top students are dummies and/or only appear bright bc of grade inflation.

Please. I don’t think you understand how math works. “ALL the TJ mid ranked kids are brilliant and ALL the base top kids are dummies”.

I’m not arguing every single kid at TJ would be top 1% at their base school. I’m saying it’s going to USUALLY be the case that any particular kid that got into TJ would be ranked higher at their base school than they are ranked at TJ. Not because all the kids at the base are dumb but because there is generally less competition for the top tier of base schools than there is for the same top % slice of TJ. Get it?

Not really. No. The high stats kids at base schools are high stats…not bc TJ kids aren’t there to outshine them but bc they are already high performing.

[Anonymous]

Here’s a thought, I thought the early acceptances at Whitman and Wooten in Moco are equally or more impressive than TJ at this point, and def better than any of the top base high schools in FFX county. Part of that is bc Whitman is very rich so more ED than TJ maybe, Still, those are base schools that don’t have the top kids in Moco.

Instead of TJ, Moco top kids are at TJ at Blair (100/yr), Poolesville (350) and RM IB (125). Altogether, that # exceeds the class at TJ.

So def TJ is outperforming McLean and Langley, but I think not necessarily outperforming the top base schools in Moco, and prob on par with the Moco magnets. Anyone have thoughts on why this is the case?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here’s a thought, I thought the early acceptances at Whitman and Wooten in Moco are equally or more impressive than TJ at this point, and def better than any of the top base high schools in FFX county. Part of that is bc Whitman is very rich so more ED than TJ maybe, Still, those are base schools that don’t have the top kids in Moco.

Instead of TJ, Moco top kids are at TJ at Blair (100/yr), Poolesville (350) and RM IB (125). Altogether, that # exceeds the class at TJ.

So def TJ is outperforming McLean and Langley, but I think not necessarily outperforming the top base schools in Moco, and prob on par with the Moco magnets. Anyone have thoughts on why this is the case?

First off- the Nova top kids don’t all go to TJ. McLean, Langley, LBSS, Robinson, Oakton: they all keep a lot of their kids. So the math there is not quite right.

Secondly- early acceptances are rarely advertised with TJ this early because TJ kids tend to end up making their decisions later. What you should know is that TJ had 20ish kids at ivies alone last year. (I didn’t count the t20s). But also the kids are going after merit awards too. I think the 2025 class got 8 figures in scholarship money last year and selective programs (bs/md 94 bs/phd).

An TJ is really tight lipped about college destinations until very very late- and even though the instagram feed is live, a lot of the kids never report. Being the #1 school in the country for three years makes the community very tight lipped. So what you see online is very different from reality.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The school tells people not to go there if you want to go to top schools, there is too much competition. If you really want 0ne of the top 25 schools, go to your base school. I have an 8th grader applying for TJ and we have discussed this with him. It will come up again if he is accepted at TJ.

+1 agree. Even after all the selection changes (including over years). The top 20% (~100 students) will be very competitive and they will be taking over the limited slots at the T20/T30's. If you are not in top 20% the chances of getting to top colleges are lower from TJ.

The 50th percentile at TJ might get into UVA. The same student will be top 5% or higher at their base school and will likely get into UVA

My fav TJ-parent belief: my kid would have been top x% had kid gone to the base school. Never change, please!! ❤️

And yet, it is true that for college admissions it is better to be top 20% at a base HS than bottom 50% at TJ. Some highly capable students stay at their base school for this reason.

The other reality is that many at TJ are really targeting Medical School, and are not targeting a STEM career.

Yes…but TJ parents truly believe had their kids gone to the base HS they absolutely would have been at the top there. I think being bottom 50% at any HS is a recipe for failure for a highly rejective school.

Because for the most part this is true. Exceptions sure but most TJ kids would rank higher at their base school than they do at TJ just given the nature of the magnet school and the harsh reality that there can only be half of any class in the top 50%.

Thank you!! Again, don’t stop!!! The only way you are right is if the nearly all the mid ranked TJ students are brilliant and the essentially all the base top students are dummies and/or only appear bright bc of grade inflation.

Please. I don’t think you understand how math works. “ALL the TJ mid ranked kids are brilliant and ALL the base top kids are dummies”.

I’m not arguing every single kid at TJ would be top 1% at their base school. I’m saying it’s going to USUALLY be the case that any particular kid that got into TJ would be ranked higher at their base school than they are ranked at TJ. Not because all the kids at the base are dumb but because there is generally less competition for the top tier of base schools than there is for the same top % slice of TJ. Get it?

Not really. No. The high stats kids at base schools are high stats…not bc TJ kids aren’t there to outshine them but bc they are already high performing.

And TJ kids would likely be AMONG those higher stats kids at the base school. Acknowledging that isn’t saying they would be the TOP kids at the base school.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The school tells people not to go there if you want to go to top schools, there is too much competition. If you really want 0ne of the top 25 schools, go to your base school. I have an 8th grader applying for TJ and we have discussed this with him. It will come up again if he is accepted at TJ.

+1 agree. Even after all the selection changes (including over years). The top 20% (~100 students) will be very competitive and they will be taking over the limited slots at the T20/T30's. If you are not in top 20% the chances of getting to top colleges are lower from TJ.

The 50th percentile at TJ might get into UVA. The same student will be top 5% or higher at their base school and will likely get into UVA

My fav TJ-parent belief: my kid would have been top x% had kid gone to the base school. Never change, please!! ❤️

And yet, it is true that for college admissions it is better to be top 20% at a base HS than bottom 50% at TJ. Some highly capable students stay at their base school for this reason.

The other reality is that many at TJ are really targeting Medical School, and are not targeting a STEM career.

Yes…but TJ parents truly believe had their kids gone to the base HS they absolutely would have been at the top there. I think being bottom 50% at any HS is a recipe for failure for a highly rejective school.

Because for the most part this is true. Exceptions sure but most TJ kids would rank higher at their base school than they do at TJ just given the nature of the magnet school and the harsh reality that there can only be half of any class in the top 50%.

Thank you!! Again, don’t stop!!! The only way you are right is if the nearly all the mid ranked TJ students are brilliant and the essentially all the base top students are dummies and/or only appear bright bc of grade inflation.

Please. I don’t think you understand how math works. “ALL the TJ mid ranked kids are brilliant and ALL the base top kids are dummies”.

I’m not arguing every single kid at TJ would be top 1% at their base school. I’m saying it’s going to USUALLY be the case that any particular kid that got into TJ would be ranked higher at their base school than they are ranked at TJ. Not because all the kids at the base are dumb but because there is generally less competition for the top tier of base schools than there is for the same top % slice of TJ. Get it?

Not really. No. The high stats kids at base schools are high stats…not bc TJ kids aren’t there to outshine them but bc they are already high performing.

And TJ kids would likely be AMONG those higher stats kids at the base school. Acknowledging that isn’t saying they would be the TOP kids at the base school.

Except that’s not what many tj parents say: “had she been at the base school, she’s be number 1 there.”

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The school tells people not to go there if you want to go to top schools, there is too much competition. If you really want 0ne of the top 25 schools, go to your base school. I have an 8th grader applying for TJ and we have discussed this with him. It will come up again if he is accepted at TJ.

+1 agree. Even after all the selection changes (including over years). The top 20% (~100 students) will be very competitive and they will be taking over the limited slots at the T20/T30's. If you are not in top 20% the chances of getting to top colleges are lower from TJ.

The 50th percentile at TJ might get into UVA. The same student will be top 5% or higher at their base school and will likely get into UVA

My fav TJ-parent belief: my kid would have been top x% had kid gone to the base school. Never change, please!! ❤️

And yet, it is true that for college admissions it is better to be top 20% at a base HS than bottom 50% at TJ. Some highly capable students stay at their base school for this reason.

The other reality is that many at TJ are really targeting Medical School, and are not targeting a STEM career.

Yes…but TJ parents truly believe had their kids gone to the base HS they absolutely would have been at the top there. I think being bottom 50% at any HS is a recipe for failure for a highly rejective school.

Because for the most part this is true. Exceptions sure but most TJ kids would rank higher at their base school than they do at TJ just given the nature of the magnet school and the harsh reality that there can only be half of any class in the top 50%.

Thank you!! Again, don’t stop!!! The only way you are right is if the nearly all the mid ranked TJ students are brilliant and the essentially all the base top students are dummies and/or only appear bright bc of grade inflation.

Please. I don’t think you understand how math works. “ALL the TJ mid ranked kids are brilliant and ALL the base top kids are dummies”.

I’m not arguing every single kid at TJ would be top 1% at their base school. I’m saying it’s going to USUALLY be the case that any particular kid that got into TJ would be ranked higher at their base school than they are ranked at TJ. Not because all the kids at the base are dumb but because there is generally less competition for the top tier of base schools than there is for the same top % slice of TJ. Get it?

Not really. No. The high stats kids at base schools are high stats…not bc TJ kids aren’t there to outshine them but bc they are already high performing.

And TJ kids would likely be AMONG those higher stats kids at the base school. Acknowledging that isn’t saying they would be the TOP kids at the base school.

Except that’s not what many tj parents say: “had she been at the base school, she’s be number 1 there.”

While I can't speak for all TJ parents you have ever met, I spend too much time on this board and I can't recall ever seeing someone saying their kid would be #1 at the base school. I've also never heard this IRL from any other TJ parent I've met. Maybe some nutjob said it once to you in real life?

Instead they say what i've posted above: 1) that their kid's class % rank would almost certainly be higher at the base school than at TJ; and/or 2) that their kid would be AMONG the higher percentage rank in their base school's class even if they aren't up there at TJ.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The school tells people not to go there if you want to go to top schools, there is too much competition. If you really want 0ne of the top 25 schools, go to your base school. I have an 8th grader applying for TJ and we have discussed this with him. It will come up again if he is accepted at TJ.

+1 agree. Even after all the selection changes (including over years). The top 20% (~100 students) will be very competitive and they will be taking over the limited slots at the T20/T30's. If you are not in top 20% the chances of getting to top colleges are lower from TJ.

The 50th percentile at TJ might get into UVA. The same student will be top 5% or higher at their base school and will likely get into UVA

My fav TJ-parent belief: my kid would have been top x% had kid gone to the base school. Never change, please!! ❤️

And yet, it is true that for college admissions it is better to be top 20% at a base HS than bottom 50% at TJ. Some highly capable students stay at their base school for this reason.

The other reality is that many at TJ are really targeting Medical School, and are not targeting a STEM career.

Yes…but TJ parents truly believe had their kids gone to the base HS they absolutely would have been at the top there. I think being bottom 50% at any HS is a recipe for failure for a highly rejective school.

Because for the most part this is true. Exceptions sure but most TJ kids would rank higher at their base school than they do at TJ just given the nature of the magnet school and the harsh reality that there can only be half of any class in the top 50%.

Thank you!! Again, don’t stop!!! The only way you are right is if the nearly all the mid ranked TJ students are brilliant and the essentially all the base top students are dummies and/or only appear bright bc of grade inflation.

Please. I don’t think you understand how math works. “ALL the TJ mid ranked kids are brilliant and ALL the base top kids are dummies”.

I’m not arguing every single kid at TJ would be top 1% at their base school. I’m saying it’s going to USUALLY be the case that any particular kid that got into TJ would be ranked higher at their base school than they are ranked at TJ. Not because all the kids at the base are dumb but because there is generally less competition for the top tier of base schools than there is for the same top % slice of TJ. Get it?

Not really. No. The high stats kids at base schools are high stats…not bc TJ kids aren’t there to outshine them but bc they are already high performing.

Sure if you define high-performing as below the top 1% which got into to TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol. TJ has double-digit T10 REA/ED admits this cycle. Several dozens including T20s and UVA. McLean (and Langley) don't even come CLOSE.

Is 25 not a double digit?

UVA is not T10. Neither is Emory and Vandy tbh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:The school tells people not to go there if you want to go to top schools, there is too much competition. If you really want 0ne of the top 25 schools, go to your base school. I have an 8th grader applying for TJ and we have discussed this with him. It will come up again if he is accepted at TJ.

+1 agree. Even after all the selection changes (including over years). The top 20% (~100 students) will be very competitive and they will be taking over the limited slots at the T20/T30's. If you are not in top 20% the chances of getting to top colleges are lower from TJ.

The 50th percentile at TJ might get into UVA. The same student will be top 5% or higher at their base school and will likely get into UVA

My fav TJ-parent belief: my kid would have been top x% had kid gone to the base school. Never change, please!! ❤️

And yet, it is true that for college admissions it is better to be top 20% at a base HS than bottom 50% at TJ. Some highly capable students stay at their base school for this reason.

The other reality is that many at TJ are really targeting Medical School, and are not targeting a STEM career.

Yes…but TJ parents truly believe had their kids gone to the base HS they absolutely would have been at the top there. I think being bottom 50% at any HS is a recipe for failure for a highly rejective school.

Because for the most part this is true. Exceptions sure but most TJ kids would rank higher at their base school than they do at TJ just given the nature of the magnet school and the harsh reality that there can only be half of any class in the top 50%.

Thank you!! Again, don’t stop!!! The only way you are right is if the nearly all the mid ranked TJ students are brilliant and the essentially all the base top students are dummies and/or only appear bright bc of grade inflation.

Before the change in the admissions process, nearly all the TJ kids top middle and bottom were brilliant and the top base kids were carrying the TJ kids jock strap. TJ used to have a near monopoly on National merit scolars and AIME participants. TJ sent more students to the Ivy+ than the rest of FCPS combined. So yes, TJ used to skim the best students that FCPS had to offer. At some schools with high TJ participation rates, the TJ kids would have shoved the top 10% kid down to below 25%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't go to TJ for the college profile.

Go there for the peer group, the chance to study really cool classes that you can't get anywhere else, and the whole TJ experience.

- really old TJ grad

Hahahahahaha!!! Sure, if you want a peer group os smart socially inept people. Most careers require social skills - mostly learned in HS.

Smart kids with no social skills just become a cog in someone else’s wheel.

This is like saying that HYPSM is filled with smart socially inept people ass if smart kids can't be emotionally mature.
I understand that you are trying to come to terms with your kid not being academically, athletically or aesthetically gifted but most people are not gifted.
They will be fine.
But if it helps you sleep at night to think that your kid has a brighter future than the average kid at TJ, then please go right ahead, nobody will stop you. But you might want to stop reading posts about TJ because it will cause cognitive dissonance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't the school profile have the graduating class of 2025 precise SAT/ACT avg scores?

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://tjhsst.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/inline-files/TJHSST%20School%20Profile%2025-26%20V.2._0.pdf

Page one says for the class of 2025, 80 were National Merit Semifinalists and 156 were Commended but then on page 3 it says what the class of 2024's average SAT (1510)/ACT (34) was but that is the last class that was under the old admissions standards.

Why not say what the TJ class of 2025's average SAT/ACT was?

You know why.