Current TJ Student answering questions

[Anonymous]

Hi! I'm a current sophomore at TJ--I know this is primarily a group for parents to share information but I know that sometimes it's good to get input from a student themselves. Gradewise I do alright, not perfect, but pretty well (GPA 4.15 after sophomore year). I took Algebra 1 in 8th grade and took geometry at TJ. I enjoy this school very much and so do most my my peers but I recognize that there are significant downfalls that people worry about. If you're an incoming freshmen parent or a middle school parent that has any questions about the experience feel free to ask me anything!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi! I'm a current sophomore at TJ--I know this is primarily a group for parents to share information but I know that sometimes it's good to get input from a student themselves. Gradewise I do alright, not perfect, but pretty well (GPA 4.15 after sophomore year). I took Algebra 1 in 8th grade and took geometry at TJ. I enjoy this school very much and so do most my my peers but I recognize that there are significant downfalls that people worry about. If you're an incoming freshmen parent or a middle school parent that has any questions about the experience feel free to ask me anything!

You’re sweet to post this, but please just go be a kid. This is for adults. You’ll be here sooner than you know it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi! I'm a current sophomore at TJ--I know this is primarily a group for parents to share information but I know that sometimes it's good to get input from a student themselves. Gradewise I do alright, not perfect, but pretty well (GPA 4.15 after sophomore year). I took Algebra 1 in 8th grade and took geometry at TJ. I enjoy this school very much and so do most my my peers but I recognize that there are significant downfalls that people worry about. If you're an incoming freshmen parent or a middle school parent that has any questions about the experience feel free to ask me anything!

You’re sweet to post this, but please just go be a kid. This is for adults. You’ll be here sooner than you know it.

What? They are probably bored and willing to be helpful. You should be thanking them. Just wow. I'm in DC so no questions but thanks for trying to do something productive with your time!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi! I'm a current sophomore at TJ--I know this is primarily a group for parents to share information but I know that sometimes it's good to get input from a student themselves. Gradewise I do alright, not perfect, but pretty well (GPA 4.15 after sophomore year). I took Algebra 1 in 8th grade and took geometry at TJ. I enjoy this school very much and so do most my my peers but I recognize that there are significant downfalls that people worry about. If you're an incoming freshmen parent or a middle school parent that has any questions about the experience feel free to ask me anything!

You’re sweet to post this, but please just go be a kid. This is for adults. You’ll be here sooner than you know it.

What? They are probably bored and willing to be helpful. You should be thanking them. Just wow. I'm in DC so no questions but thanks for trying to do something productive with your time!

No, I’m not thanking the OP. I stand firm. These threads- ESPECIALLY about TJ- can become ridiculous. It is an incredible school- I am in DC. They work their tails off and the OP is clearly an outstanding kid. I hope he/she can find better things to do with their time other than advising adults. I wouldn’t want my child getting involved with a thread here.

[Anonymous]

It would be better for OP to start an AMA on Reddit.

[Anonymous]

OP, what is your demographic background? I ask because the experience at TJ can differ depending on your ethnicity. This could give the people asking questions some background.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi! I'm a current sophomore at TJ--I know this is primarily a group for parents to share information but I know that sometimes it's good to get input from a student themselves. Gradewise I do alright, not perfect, but pretty well (GPA 4.15 after sophomore year). I took Algebra 1 in 8th grade and took geometry at TJ. I enjoy this school very much and so do most my my peers but I recognize that there are significant downfalls that people worry about. If you're an incoming freshmen parent or a middle school parent that has any questions about the experience feel free to ask me anything!

You’re sweet to post this, but please just go be a kid. This is for adults. You’ll be here sooner than you know it.

What? They are probably bored and willing to be helpful. You should be thanking them. Just wow. I'm in DC so no questions but thanks for trying to do something productive with your time!

No, I’m not thanking the OP. I stand firm. These threads- ESPECIALLY about TJ- can become ridiculous. It is an incredible school- I am in DC. They work their tails off and the OP is clearly an outstanding kid. I hope he/she can find better things to do with their time other than advising adults. I wouldn’t want my child getting involved with a thread here.

I’m another high school kid. I’ve been reading these forums for a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, what is your demographic background? I ask because the experience at TJ can differ depending on your ethnicity. This could give the people asking questions some background.

Hi OP, ignore the toxic responses to your post (including the one straight up requesting demographic without you volunteering to do that). It's unfortunate but anonymous forums can really bring out the sh*tty side of folks.

I'd personally be curious how your math experience in 9th and 10th have been, given that you took Algebra 1 in 8th. I know most TJ kids usually take it a year earlier. Did this hamper you at all, or do you feel that taking geometry at TJ gave you an advantage in terms of giving you really solid fundamentals to build on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what is your demographic background? I ask because the experience at TJ can differ depending on your ethnicity. This could give the people asking questions some background.

Hi OP, ignore the toxic responses to your post (including the one straight up requesting demographic without you volunteering to do that). It's unfortunate but anonymous forums can really bring out the sh*tty side of folks.

I'd personally be curious how your math experience in 9th and 10th have been, given that you took Algebra 1 in 8th. I know most TJ kids usually take it a year earlier. Did this hamper you at all, or do you feel that taking geometry at TJ gave you an advantage in terms of giving you really solid fundamentals to build on?

Haha, nono I totally understand people's responses and I don't think they meant to be mean. I also understand how talk about TJ on this forum could seem a little overkill at some times, but I haven't clicked around enough to really know--and I really do apologize if this is not the right medium to answer questions on or that my thread adds unnecessary filler to the forum. I will try to be concise:

I am Filipino and both of my parents immigrated here from the Philippines a little before I was born. So I am Asian--but an underrepresented Asian, not East Asian (Chinese, Korean) or Indian. There are very very few Filipinos at TJ in comparison to this area, but I am privileged in that I have not experienced any uncomfortableness in the classroom due to my race.

I am a year (or two, or three, or four) behind most of my peers in math. I went to a Catholic middle school that did not offer Geometry and I was not eligible to take it over the summer, so I took it at TJ with about 18 other kids in my class. While I do feel this disadvantaged me as I will not be able to have an AP Calc score to send to colleges, I did feel significantly more prepared for the math courses I took after. This may be because I was older than when my peers took it, but the Geometry curriculum at TJ was more intense and rigorous than that at any middle school in the area but was still less stress during my freshman year than Math 3 would have been (Alg 2). To be honest, I would have liked to be able to take Multivariate Calculus/Linear Algebra at TJ like many do their senior year, but there's nothing I can do about my situation now--and TJ has great and advanced academics all-around, not just in math, so I don't feel that I'm missing out too too much. Plus, sometimes kids that rush themselves through math classes too early don't really end up doing as well. Of course this isn't the case for everyone, but I know some of my friends that took Alg 2/Precalc in middle school struggled early on in more advanced classes, and had to retake or drop a level. This is not to discredit them of course--it's just not always easy to transition to the rigor of TJ in comparison to middle school. I believe that taking Geometry at TJ was a good way to really develop and/or introduce concepts I will use later on in TJ Math, though there are detriments in being behind. I've never been seriously judged or ostracized for being in lower math or anything and the 18 of us were very good friends. Plus, I still am able to take advantage of TJ's course offerings in other subjects

[Anonymous]

Thanks for offering up your insights, OP. What practical advice would you offer to incoming freshmen?

[Anonymous]

Can you talk about the social aspect of TJ? How easy/hard was it to make friends? Join and be a real part of a club or organization? Do you do any ECs? How about your take on school spirit? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what is your demographic background? I ask because the experience at TJ can differ depending on your ethnicity. This could give the people asking questions some background.

Hi OP, ignore the toxic responses to your post (including the one straight up requesting demographic without you volunteering to do that). It's unfortunate but anonymous forums can really bring out the sh*tty side of folks.

I'd personally be curious how your math experience in 9th and 10th have been, given that you took Algebra 1 in 8th. I know most TJ kids usually take it a year earlier. Did this hamper you at all, or do you feel that taking geometry at TJ gave you an advantage in terms of giving you really solid fundamentals to build on?

Haha, nono I totally understand people's responses and I don't think they meant to be mean. I also understand how talk about TJ on this forum could seem a little overkill at some times, but I haven't clicked around enough to really know--and I really do apologize if this is not the right medium to answer questions on or that my thread adds unnecessary filler to the forum. I will try to be concise:

I am Filipino and both of my parents immigrated here from the Philippines a little before I was born. So I am Asian--but an underrepresented Asian, not East Asian (Chinese, Korean) or Indian. There are very very few Filipinos at TJ in comparison to this area, but I am privileged in that I have not experienced any uncomfortableness in the classroom due to my race.

I am a year (or two, or three, or four) behind most of my peers in math. I went to a Catholic middle school that did not offer Geometry and I was not eligible to take it over the summer, so I took it at TJ with about 18 other kids in my class. While I do feel this disadvantaged me as I will not be able to have an AP Calc score to send to colleges, I did feel significantly more prepared for the math courses I took after. This may be because I was older than when my peers took it, but the Geometry curriculum at TJ was more intense and rigorous than that at any middle school in the area but was still less stress during my freshman year than Math 3 would have been (Alg 2). To be honest, I would have liked to be able to take Multivariate Calculus/Linear Algebra at TJ like many do their senior year, but there's nothing I can do about my situation now--and TJ has great and advanced academics all-around, not just in math, so I don't feel that I'm missing out too too much. Plus, sometimes kids that rush themselves through math classes too early don't really end up doing as well. Of course this isn't the case for everyone, but I know some of my friends that took Alg 2/Precalc in middle school struggled early on in more advanced classes, and had to retake or drop a level. This is not to discredit them of course--it's just not always easy to transition to the rigor of TJ in comparison to middle school. I believe that taking Geometry at TJ was a good way to really develop and/or introduce concepts I will use later on in TJ Math, though there are detriments in being behind. I've never been seriously judged or ostracized for being in lower math or anything and the 18 of us were very good friends. Plus, I still am able to take advantage of TJ's course offerings in other subjects

Thanks for the response! I'd add that you theoretically *could* try to skip Precalc by testing out in order do Calc next year, but I recall hearing that it's very hard (i.e you'd have to study quite intensely on your own to learn the concepts well enough to get a 90%+ for passing the test; I knew one kid who did that many years back). But that may not be a worthwhile just for the acceleration...

How is the current work life balance culture at TJ? Do you feel that there are more requirements for TJ graduation than at base high schools, or pretty much in line with the others?

Do you find that most kids can cope with the amount of rigor/work in a healthy way? Do most of the kids who manage their time well end up thriving? Are the kids who are having a difficult time and overloaded mainly because of 1) procrastination, 2) because they were unprepared for the school (and perhaps shouldn't have been admitted), 3) because they took too heavy set of classes, or 4) some combination of these?

[Anonymous]

Thanks OP for doing this. You sound like a very nice person and I suspect your parents are very proud of you.

My question for you is: how did you find the application process and did you do any preparation for the test?

[Anonymous]

You mentioned that you are fortunate that you haven't experienced any uncomfortableness due to your race. Do you think non-Asians feel any uncomfortableness at TJ due to race?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi! I'm a current sophomore at TJ--I know this is primarily a group for parents to share information but I know that sometimes it's good to get input from a student themselves. Gradewise I do alright, not perfect, but pretty well (GPA 4.15 after sophomore year). I took Algebra 1 in 8th grade and took geometry at TJ. I enjoy this school very much and so do most my my peers but I recognize that there are significant downfalls that people worry about. If you're an incoming freshmen parent or a middle school parent that has any questions about the experience feel free to ask me anything!

You’re sweet to post this, but please just go be a kid. This is for adults. You’ll be here sooner than you know it.

Your jaded.