TJ admissions now verifying free and reduced price meal status for successful 2026 applicants

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see much evidence that Asian kids flooded into "under-represented" middle schools like Whitman and Holmes this past year to "game" the new process.

It seems more likely to me that Asian families will just anchor in the top pyramids so they can hedge their bets (still have their kids apply to TJ, but rest assured that the alternative is Langley/McLean/Oakton/Chantilly/Woodson). And, as TJ becomes seen primarily as an alternative to lower-performing high schools, fewer of their kids will apply, just like Asian families in MoCo send their kids to Wootton with only some considering the Blair magnet.

Correct. Asian will stay in top school zones.

Some will have a small house in a lower ranked area and a larger house in the top zone.

Seems so overkill for high school. TJ is just a high school in the end. No one cares if you went to TJ later in life and college outcomes aren’t really better because it’s so competitive. If you read their confessional page, cheating is rampant and kids are totally unhappy. It’s crazy to me that folks are this desperate for TJ. Get a life.

TJ is soooo shiny.

Probably not for long! Unless the admission process is revised to properly recognize the stem talent as well as actual interest, it will likely become rusty. In addition to grades, TJ needs kids that are self motivated, actively participate in stem related activities etc. Since even grades played very minor role, no teacher input, absolutely zero credit given to any stem participation and way tooooo much emphasis was placed on the essays, where anyone can write anything without any sort of validation, there is no way to tell if the incoming freshman class is really motivated into stem. I hope I am wrong and TJ will continue to shine bright.

So then maybe they will have true STEM talent/interest and not scores of kids groomed for TJ admissions.

Yes, my friend, I sincerely hope you are correct. If you and I are alive for next 4-5 years and still care enough about TJ, we get to see and talk about it, right here on this forum!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see much evidence that Asian kids flooded into "under-represented" middle schools like Whitman and Holmes this past year to "game" the new process.

It seems more likely to me that Asian families will just anchor in the top pyramids so they can hedge their bets (still have their kids apply to TJ, but rest assured that the alternative is Langley/McLean/Oakton/Chantilly/Woodson). And, as TJ becomes seen primarily as an alternative to lower-performing high schools, fewer of their kids will apply, just like Asian families in MoCo send their kids to Wootton with only some considering the Blair magnet.

Correct. Asian will stay in top school zones.

Some will have a small house in a lower ranked area and a larger house in the top zone.

Seems so overkill for high school. TJ is just a high school in the end. No one cares if you went to TJ later in life and college outcomes aren’t really better because it’s so competitive. If you read their confessional page, cheating is rampant and kids are totally unhappy. It’s crazy to me that folks are this desperate for TJ. Get a life.

TJ is soooo shiny.

This thread is intended for people interested in TJ. This is not a place to bash TJ as that point is going to fall on deaf ears. What is your purpose except maybe as someone embittered that TJ is unattainable?

I’m not bashing TJ. I’m bashing the parents who have been plotting their child’s path for TJ admissions since 2nd grade because they are obsessed with the prestige.

Why would you bash parents who want their kids to be successful? You seem to be obsessed with perpetuating a particular stereotype of a TJ applicant in the past in order to justify a new process that, as this thread indicates, has been anything but smooth. You've offered next to nothing to suggest that the new process is better at identifying students who may have an actual interest in, or aptitude for, STEM.

[Anonymous]

So did FCPS rescind offers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So did FCPS rescind offers?

Let’s hope so! Lying is unacceptable

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's also ironic that you sneeringly refer to TJ, before the admissions changes, as "some sort of cultural status symbol," when the admissions changes foisted upon families by an unpopular Superintendent and a misguided, out-of-control School Board were a blatant exercise in virtue-signaling intended to improve Scott Brabrand's tenuous standing with the School Board and enhance the status of the School Board members in their self-styled "progressive" circles.

I'll take "run-on sentences" for $200, Alex. It WAS a cultural status symbol, and still is for many.
.

That's not a run-on sentence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many folks posting comments here are either delusional or have no clue and would write anything to support their point of view that defies common logic. TJ math 4 article detailing email from tj 4 math teachers was not a surprise given all the tj kids now admitted are not tested for math even in the essay portion. TJ math is generally much harder than regular high school math, and even those with aptitude in math have to work hard to get good grade in these classes. Based on the email from math 4 teachers, this tj class was offered extra support, extra practice tests and quizzes, much easier test still the scores were the lowest ever, many students did not bother to even show-up for remedial 8th period classes. The practice final exam contained similar questions that were in final exam still many student got it wrong. Read the full email from the teachers to get better perspective. Unfortunately the low level school board politician or the brain dead TJ principal and the equity crusaders will not care about any of this simply because they don’t care about common sense reforms, but this will not go away because students without solid understanding of math 4 will face problems with math 5 and calculus ab and bc. I expect this problem will continue until they update the admission process to identify strong math students or dumb down the math curriculum significantly.

There were 2024 kids in Math 4. And the kids from 2025 who took geometry in 8th.

And many kids are still recovering from the world being turned upside down. Not getting help? Not doing the test corrections? That’s a motivation issue, not because the kids weren’t strong in math.

Sorry - can’t blame it all on admissions.

The world gets turned upside down twice every 24 hours and nobody seems to notice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Fair enough. "Decimate" probably would have been more accurate than "cap." Their intent was obvious.

For class of 2025, there were 42 fewer kids admitted from previously "well"-represented MSs than in 2024.

“Decimate”?

42 is much worse than decimate, which means reduce by 10%.

It’s exactly 10%. And the modern definition in English means a large percentage.

Where in the heck are you pullling your data from

https://www.fcag.org/tjstatistics.shtml

The big 4 2024/2025

Carson 82 down to 42
Longfellow 57 down to 28
Rocky Run 32 down to 24
Cooper 33 down to 20

Overall 204 to 114 a 43% Decrease

Carson and Longfellow are basically sending more highly qualified STEM kids to their base school vs TJ

Can anyone explain how a 43% drop from the best middle schools is a good thing for a school designed for the best?????

From the FCAG data.

2025 2024 delta % change

underrep school 169 27 142 526%
well/over rep 366 408 -42 -10%
private 15 51 -36 -71%

Underrepresented schools
https://www.fcag.org/Underrepresented%20Schools.xlsx

The top four schools had a drop of 90 kids. This would mean some of the overrep schools had their numbers go up,
from 204 to 252. The top 4 went from 204 to 114. Looks like the 'overrepresented schools' are just slightly above average and their minimum quota caused a slight increase for them. Meanwhile the top 4 who are truly overrepresented saw substantial drops.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We will be back to square 1. Honestly as a McLean resident - this is a great outcome. Our local school will be better unless the progressives start envying the success and start talking of bussing (not being a scaremonger but I dont trust anyone on this school board)

This is 100% spot on

This all started because there weren't enough blacks at TJ so the woke reformers will be back with another plan soon.

What's funny is their change of admissions process knocked out a black student at my kid's school.
(The error was on local school's part. I won't go further to prevent identification.)

[Anonymous]

TJ admission office stops answering phone calls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see much evidence that Asian kids flooded into "under-represented" middle schools like Whitman and Holmes this past year to "game" the new process.

It seems more likely to me that Asian families will just anchor in the top pyramids so they can hedge their bets (still have their kids apply to TJ, but rest assured that the alternative is Langley/McLean/Oakton/Chantilly/Woodson). And, as TJ becomes seen primarily as an alternative to lower-performing high schools, fewer of their kids will apply, just like Asian families in MoCo send their kids to Wootton with only some considering the Blair magnet.

Correct. Asian will stay in top school zones.

Some will have a small house in a lower ranked area and a larger house in the top zone.

Seems so overkill for high school. TJ is just a high school in the end. No one cares if you went to TJ later in life and college outcomes aren’t really better because it’s so competitive. If you read their confessional page, cheating is rampant and kids are totally unhappy. It’s crazy to me that folks are this desperate for TJ. Get a life.

TJ is soooo shiny.

Probably not for long! Unless the admission process is revised to properly recognize the stem talent as well as actual interest, it will likely become rusty. In addition to grades, TJ needs kids that are self motivated, actively participate in stem related activities etc. Since even grades played very minor role, no teacher input, absolutely zero credit given to any stem participation and way tooooo much emphasis was placed on the essays, where anyone can write anything without any sort of validation, there is no way to tell if the incoming freshman class is really motivated into stem. I hope I am wrong and TJ will continue to shine bright.

So then maybe they will have true STEM talent/interest and not scores of kids groomed for TJ admissions.

Agree. Many of these kids are the opposite of “self motivated.” TJ and their “STEM interest” has been pre-ordained and carefully curated since entertunf elementary school. That’s why people are so upset that STEM ECs don’t “count.” They’ve been paying for those ECs and forcing participation for 8 years and now they don’t count?!?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So did FCPS rescind offers?

Nope. The email was just a PR move to show that they were “trying hard”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's also ironic that you sneeringly refer to TJ, before the admissions changes, as "some sort of cultural status symbol," when the admissions changes foisted upon families by an unpopular Superintendent and a misguided, out-of-control School Board were a blatant exercise in virtue-signaling intended to improve Scott Brabrand's tenuous standing with the School Board and enhance the status of the School Board members in their self-styled "progressive" circles.

I'll take "run-on sentences" for $200, Alex. It WAS a cultural status symbol, and still is for many.
.

That's not a run-on sentence.

That's not a run-on sentence you dipshit this is a run-on sentence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see much evidence that Asian kids flooded into "under-represented" middle schools like Whitman and Holmes this past year to "game" the new process.

It seems more likely to me that Asian families will just anchor in the top pyramids so they can hedge their bets (still have their kids apply to TJ, but rest assured that the alternative is Langley/McLean/Oakton/Chantilly/Woodson). And, as TJ becomes seen primarily as an alternative to lower-performing high schools, fewer of their kids will apply, just like Asian families in MoCo send their kids to Wootton with only some considering the Blair magnet.

Correct. Asian will stay in top school zones.

Some will have a small house in a lower ranked area and a larger house in the top zone.

Seems so overkill for high school. TJ is just a high school in the end. No one cares if you went to TJ later in life and college outcomes aren’t really better because it’s so competitive. If you read their confessional page, cheating is rampant and kids are totally unhappy. It’s crazy to me that folks are this desperate for TJ. Get a life.

It transcends whether people think their kids deserve to go to TJ. It’s also about whether we have a school system that recognizes merit and rewards hard work or instead is prepared to jettison all that just so FCPS can claim it is committed to “equity” (which has no clear meaning but quite suggests FCPS probably shouldn’t even be operating an exclusive magnet).

All FCPS wants are future TJ graduations with more Black and Brown kids and fewer Asian kids in the photos they post on their web site. That’s the sum total of their educational “philosophy.”

CoNspIrAcY tHeOrY

Who are you and whats up with your font? I see several posts with similar letters. Is there something wrong with your keyboard or fingers or .. ?

DP, but I think writing like that is supposed to indicate kookiness in the post being referred to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We will be back to square 1. Honestly as a McLean resident - this is a great outcome. Our local school will be better unless the progressives start envying the success and start talking of bussing (not being a scaremonger but I dont trust anyone on this school board)

This is 100% spot on

This all started because there weren't enough blacks at TJ so the woke reformers will be back with another plan soon.

What's funny is their change of admissions process knocked out a black student at my kid's school.
(The error was on local school's part. I won't go further to prevent identification.)

The higher GPA requirement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many folks posting comments here are either delusional or have no clue and would write anything to support their point of view that defies common logic. TJ math 4 article detailing email from tj 4 math teachers was not a surprise given all the tj kids now admitted are not tested for math even in the essay portion. TJ math is generally much harder than regular high school math, and even those with aptitude in math have to work hard to get good grade in these classes. Based on the email from math 4 teachers, this tj class was offered extra support, extra practice tests and quizzes, much easier test still the scores were the lowest ever, many students did not bother to even show-up for remedial 8th period classes. The practice final exam contained similar questions that were in final exam still many student got it wrong. Read the full email from the teachers to get better perspective. Unfortunately the low level school board politician or the brain dead TJ principal and the equity crusaders will not care about any of this simply because they don’t care about common sense reforms, but this will not go away because students without solid understanding of math 4 will face problems with math 5 and calculus ab and bc. I expect this problem will continue until they update the admission process to identify strong math students or dumb down the math curriculum significantly.

There were 2024 kids in Math 4. And the kids from 2025 who took geometry in 8th.

And many kids are still recovering from the world being turned upside down. Not getting help? Not doing the test corrections? That’s a motivation issue, not because the kids weren’t strong in math.

Sorry - can’t blame it all on admissions.

The world gets turned upside down twice every 24 hours and nobody seems to notice.

The last few years have been exceptionally chaotic in case you haven't noticed.