Tjhsst is it worth it?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:It will confer confidence and open doors like no other school in this region can. It is a valuable badge to have in the wallet for a lifetime.

My TJ diploma hasn't been relevant since I was admitted to college. The contacts that have helped me in my career came from college, grad school and beyond.

And, had it really helped you getting into college? If you were top 5 at your base school, would you have done just as well?

There are kids that will benefit from TJ -- those are the kids that appear to be struggling, because they are getting A's on all the tests but 0's on the HW....they usually Ace the standardized tests, but don't see the point of doing problems just for the sake of doing problems....once they get it, they get it. They will work really hard until they understand the problem....but once they do, they stop. Albert Einstein was like this. As was Richard Feynmen. But, those kids will not be admitted to TJ....

This was my kid. But I think with the Einsteins of the world going elsewhere and much of the student body all about GPA, hitting all the marks and uber-achievement, it's not a bad thing that those who truly love learning for the sake of learning and discovery go elsewhere.

The problem is the school was designed to challenge the Albert Einstein, not the over achievers who study 50 hours a night....it was designed to capture the kids who were not being served...Now, the kids at TJ will do fine anywhere.

PP here. I completely agree. It seems like almost everything designed for the Einstein's of the world gets taking over and mainstreamed by the uber-achievers, who yes, you're right will do fine anywhere. Hopefully, the Einsteins, who don't need someone to lay out the track for them, will do better by finding their own way. One wonders how many TJ grads end up in investment banking -- now there's a good use of STEM resources.

It's no one's business what career they choose. Such jealousy....

I'm sorry, but Virginia taxpayer dollars are going into a school designed to produce future math, science and tech contributors. If kids with little interest in math and science are using TJ and it's resources to get a "credential" or as a stepping stone to an "Ivy" as way too many are, that is a problem.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:How about people whose kids actually attend(ed) TJ answer this question. Haters can move on. Yes, it is worth it, as long as you/your student understand it is not a golden ticket to a lifetime of success. It is a great experience in and of itself. College admissions are at least as difficult from TJ as from other FCPS high schools, but the four years there offer an unparalleled experience.

Given the acceptance rates to certain schools, college admissions are clearly easier from there than from other schools, actually. Haters gonna hate.

You take the same kids and put them in any environment and they will get admitted to the top colleges. TJ students would be top 10% at any HS in the county. You have to compare the admission stats for TJ to the top 10% (maybe even 5%) in the county...you will not find an advantage for TJ -- instead, you will find that the top 400 kids not at TJ go to better colleges, on average, than the kids from TJ. It is because the schools to not was 50 kids from TJ.

UVA, W&M, VaTech all accept more than 50 kids from TJ. Usually those schools accept about 150 TJ kids each year although there may be some overlaps.

And there were 97 kids admitted to Tech, 47 to UVA, and 36 to William and Mary from one of FCPS Non-TJ highschools...(Madison). The school graduated just under 500 kids, so 20% got into tech, 10% UVA, 8% William and Mary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about people whose kids actually attend(ed) TJ answer this question. Haters can move on. Yes, it is worth it, as long as you/your student understand it is not a golden ticket to a lifetime of success. It is a great experience in and of itself. College admissions are at least as difficult from TJ as from other FCPS high schools, but the four years there offer an unparalleled experience.

Given the acceptance rates to certain schools, college admissions are clearly easier from there than from other schools, actually. Haters gonna hate.

Would love to know about what experiences those are. I am a parent and just as any other am conflicted about the choice of high school. It my DC's choice eventually, but knowing about those experiences in TJ would help in the decision making

I'm another parent in the same boat and I've been excited about the potential for one of my children to attend TJ because that DC loves science and the amount of equipment and the type of science classes that seems to be available there rival those of many colleges. For instance, I remember reading years ago right after we moved here that the school had a scanning electron microscope (full disclosure: I studied engineering, and nerds like me get excited about this stuff), which I didn't get my hands on until upper undergrad in college.
We wouldn't touch TJ with a ten-foot pole for my other child, who has always been clear about not wanting to study anything science or engineering related. While I'm all in favor of scientific literacy, there are only so many hours in the day and concentrating on something you don't want to use later is by and large a waste of time. Also, my observation of fellow engineering students in college suggests that studying something (and particularly math and science) halfheartedly is worse than not studying it at all--you don't learn it deeply, you forget almost all of it, and you could have used your time more productively in the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about people whose kids actually attend(ed) TJ answer this question. Haters can move on. Yes, it is worth it, as long as you/your student understand it is not a golden ticket to a lifetime of success. It is a great experience in and of itself. College admissions are at least as difficult from TJ as from other FCPS high schools, but the four years there offer an unparalleled experience.

Given the acceptance rates to certain schools, college admissions are clearly easier from there than from other schools, actually. Haters gonna hate.

You take the same kids and put them in any environment and they will get admitted to the top colleges. TJ students would be top 10% at any HS in the county. You have to compare the admission stats for TJ to the top 10% (maybe even 5%) in the county...you will not find an advantage for TJ -- instead, you will find that the top 400 kids not at TJ go to better colleges, on average, than the kids from TJ. It is because the schools to not was 50 kids from TJ.

UVA, W&M, VaTech all accept more than 50 kids from TJ. Usually those schools accept about 150 TJ kids each year although there may be some overlaps.

And there were 97 kids admitted to Tech, 47 to UVA, and 36 to William and Mary from one of FCPS Non-TJ highschools...(Madison). The school graduated just under 500 kids, so 20% got into tech, 10% UVA, 8% William and Mary.

Are these numbers exclusive of each other - as in, is this acceptance or kids that will be attending. I know one kid who was accepted into all 3 of these schools (and a few more) so need to make sure you are not counting a kid more than once for the stats to be valid.

Good information. Thanks for posting. Is this readilly available?

[Anonymous]

For the class of 2014, considering there are about 500 students... less than 10% (47) were accepted and only 6% (33) attended UVA.

A total of 89 students are attending UVA, W&M, V Tech - altogether.

Source:http://www.fcps.edu/MadisonHS/services/documents/top%20schools%202014.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about people whose kids actually attend(ed) TJ answer this question. Haters can move on. Yes, it is worth it, as long as you/your student understand it is not a golden ticket to a lifetime of success. It is a great experience in and of itself. College admissions are at least as difficult from TJ as from other FCPS high schools, but the four years there offer an unparalleled experience.

Given the acceptance rates to certain schools, college admissions are clearly easier from there than from other schools, actually. Haters gonna hate.

You take the same kids and put them in any environment and they will get admitted to the top colleges. TJ students would be top 10% at any HS in the county. You have to compare the admission stats for TJ to the top 10% (maybe even 5%) in the county...you will not find an advantage for TJ -- instead, you will find that the top 400 kids not at TJ go to better colleges, on average, than the kids from TJ. It is because the schools to not was 50 kids from TJ.

UVA, W&M, VaTech all accept more than 50 kids from TJ. Usually those schools accept about 150 TJ kids each year although there may be some overlaps.

And there were 97 kids admitted to Tech, 47 to UVA, and 36 to William and Mary from one of FCPS Non-TJ highschools...(Madison). The school graduated just under 500 kids, so 20% got into tech, 10% UVA, 8% William and Mary.

Are these numbers exclusive of each other - as in, is this acceptance or kids that will be attending. I know one kid who was accepted into all 3 of these schools (and a few more) so need to make sure you are not counting a kid more than once for the stats to be valid.

Good information. Thanks for posting. Is this readilly available?

The information is readily available. It is not exclusive, so there will be some overlap. My point, though, is the top kids from any school can do as well as TJ on admissions. There were about 150 students from TJ admitted to UVA, for example. or roughly 33% of the class. At madison, it was about 1/9th.

Since 150 students at TJ is a big number, I will assume that most TJ students can get into UVA/Tech/William and Mary.
That means that the top 1/9th at madison is roughly equivalent to the kids at TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:



And there were 97 kids admitted to Tech, 47 to UVA, and 36 to William and Mary from one of FCPS Non-TJ highschools...(Madison). The school graduated just under 500 kids, so 20% got into tech, 10% UVA, 8% William and Mary.

Are these numbers exclusive of each other - as in, is this acceptance or kids that will be attending. I know one kid who was accepted into all 3 of these schools (and a few more) so need to make sure you are not counting a kid more than once for the stats to be valid.

Good information. Thanks for posting. Is this readilly available?

The information is readily available. It is not exclusive, so there will be some overlap. My point, though, is the top kids from any school can do as well as TJ on admissions. There were about 150 students from TJ admitted to UVA, for example. or roughly 33% of the class. At madison, it was about 1/9th.

Since 150 students at TJ is a big number, I will assume that most TJ students can get into UVA/Tech/William and Mary.
That means that the top 1/9th at madison is roughly equivalent to the kids at TJ.

Where can one find the stats for college admissions/attendance for area high schools? I have seen such information pop up sporadically on DCUM, but don't know where to go to find it myself.

[Anonymous]

The information is readily available. It is not exclusive, so there will be some overlap. My point, though, is the top kids from any school can do as well as TJ on admissions. There were about 150 students from TJ admitted to UVA, for example. or roughly 33% of the class. At madison, it was about 1/9th.

Since 150 students at TJ is a big number, I will assume that most TJ students can get into UVA/Tech/William and Mary.
That means that the top 1/9th at madison is roughly equivalent to the kids at TJ.

And we can't assume that all of the top students at these schools even applied to UVa. Among the friends of my child at TJ, I know of a number of excellent students who were very focused on particular schools that did not include UVa. These are kids who would have been accepted had they applied and are going to Top Ten or Fifteen schools. So that 150 number would have been even higher if all who were qualified had applied.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It will confer confidence and open doors like no other school in this region can. It is a valuable badge to have in the wallet for a lifetime.

For a lifetime, really? Any grown-up who is still living off his/her TJ acceptance/experience is just as pathetic as the high school sports star who never moved on.

So true. As a local who works in tech, I encounter too many of these.

It's a good school for the right kid. Just like any other school out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The information is readily available. It is not exclusive, so there will be some overlap. My point, though, is the top kids from any school can do as well as TJ on admissions. There were about 150 students from TJ admitted to UVA, for example. or roughly 33% of the class. At madison, it was about 1/9th.

Since 150 students at TJ is a big number, I will assume that most TJ students can get into UVA/Tech/William and Mary.
That means that the top 1/9th at madison is roughly equivalent to the kids at TJ.

And we can't assume that all of the top students at these schools even applied to UVa. Among the friends of my child at TJ, I know of a number of excellent students who were very focused on particular schools that did not include UVa. These are kids who would have been accepted had they applied and are going to Top Ten or Fifteen schools. So that 150 number would have been even higher if all who were qualified had applied.

It's cute how you crunch those numbers. But did you check who made it into the Ivies from Madison? TJ has one of the highest acceptance rates in ivies of any school in nova. Those state schools are safeties for TJ students. But good spin job.

[Anonymous]

It's more like about 175 acceptances to UVA, W&M and VaTech from TJ per year. Many kids do nor bother applying to any of these Va schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It will confer confidence and open doors like no other school in this region can. It is a valuable badge to have in the wallet for a lifetime.

For a lifetime, really? Any grown-up who is still living off his/her TJ acceptance/experience is just as pathetic as the high school sports star who never moved on.

So true. As a local who works in tech, I encounter too many of these.

It's a good school for the right kid. Just like any other school out there.

TJ is not like any other school out there. Saying TJ is like any other school out there is like saying MIT is like any other college out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It will confer confidence and open doors like no other school in this region can. It is a valuable badge to have in the wallet for a lifetime.

For a lifetime, really? Any grown-up who is still living off his/her TJ acceptance/experience is just as pathetic as the high school sports star who never moved on.

So true. As a local who works in tech, I encounter too many of these.

It's a good school for the right kid. Just like any other school out there.

TJ is not like any other school out there. Saying TJ is like any other school out there is like saying MIT is like any other college out there.

It's statement like this that make me believe TJ parents completely lost perspective.

[Anonymous]

^ along with little Albert Einstein posts... F'king morons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The information is readily available. It is not exclusive, so there will be some overlap. My point, though, is the top kids from any school can do as well as TJ on admissions. There were about 150 students from TJ admitted to UVA, for example. or roughly 33% of the class. At madison, it was about 1/9th.

Since 150 students at TJ is a big number, I will assume that most TJ students can get into UVA/Tech/William and Mary.
That means that the top 1/9th at madison is roughly equivalent to the kids at TJ.

And we can't assume that all of the top students at these schools even applied to UVa. Among the friends of my child at TJ, I know of a number of excellent students who were very focused on particular schools that did not include UVa. These are kids who would have been accepted had they applied and are going to Top Ten or Fifteen schools. So that 150 number would have been even higher if all who were qualified had applied.

It's cute how you crunch those numbers. But did you check who made it into the Ivies from Madison? TJ has one of the highest acceptance rates in ivies of any school in nova. Those state schools are safeties for TJ students. But good spin job.

My point was that the top 10% students at any school can get into the same schools as the middle of the road students at TJ. Are you saying that every student at TJ is admitted to one of Tech, UVA or W & M? I bet any student accepted to UVA will do fine at TJ.