Top Tier Boarding school vs. TJ

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

A sizable number of TJ students end up at VA state universities. My kid can accomplish this from a regular/good/run-of-the-mill VA public high school. What's all the fuss?

Maybe that one HS sent 6 kids to Harvard, 13 (!!) to MIT, 3 to Cal Tech, 7 to Stanford, 7 to Yale, 23 to Carnagie Melon, etc. Can you any other HS that does that? The bottom 1/2 of TJ goes to UVA & W&M. Is that really true at a "run of the mill" FCPS HS?

A friend's DD just graduated from a "regular" VA public high school-she said 1 is going Ivy, top few to UVA, W/M and VT. Bigger class size than TJ.

Michigan and Cornell numbers do not look right. Typically TJ send about 25 to Michigan and Cornell each year. Also, some TJ students turn down Ivy or other top schools to attend UVA/W&M to avoid loans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

A sizable number of TJ students end up at VA state universities. My kid can accomplish this from a regular/good/run-of-the-mill VA public high school. What's all the fuss?

Maybe that one HS sent 6 kids to Harvard, 13 (!!) to MIT, 3 to Cal Tech, 7 to Stanford, 7 to Yale, 23 to Carnagie Melon, etc. Can you any other HS that does that? The bottom 1/2 of TJ goes to UVA & W&M. Is that really true at a "run of the mill" FCPS HS?

A friend's DD just graduated from a "regular" VA public high school-she said 1 is going Ivy, top few to UVA, W/M and VT. Bigger class size than TJ.

Michigan and Cornell numbers do not look right. Typically TJ send about 25 to Michigan and Cornell each year. Also, some TJ students turn down Ivy or other top schools to attend UVA/W&M to avoid loans.

That's true for all schools, not unique to TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ is great, but the alumni network for a top-tier BS is much bigger and more connected throughout the US. I've got kids at a big 3 and I've heard some of the high net worth people chatting about Andover and Exeter goings-on (they're alums). I expect TJ alums may do that but the network is probably much smaller. I'd also be interested in what the TJ alum participation % is at TJ (i.e., if donations are accepted from alums or what the percentage is of alums who return for TJ reunions). That would give some indication of how important the alumni network is considered to be among alums -- what the value is among TJ alums of being a fellow TJ alum. Top tier BS's have insanely high loyalty and participation numbers that are the envy of private day schools --- 40+ percent donate annually to their school.

From what I have seen, about 90-95% of the TJ graduates join TJ Alumni Association and many return and visit the school during Thanksgiving break/winter break. Many TJ grads go into hi-tech, IB, quantitative trading firms (quants), medicine and surprising numbers go into law (patent law) and most of their professional contacts appear to be fellow TJ grads. You can't discount these bright TJ grads as the world becomes even more technologically oriented and AI/machine learning creeps into almost everything. Next 10 years will be interesting to see whether TJ grads make lasting contributions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

A sizable number of TJ students end up at VA state universities. My kid can accomplish this from a regular/good/run-of-the-mill VA public high school. What's all the fuss?

Maybe that one HS sent 6 kids to Harvard, 13 (!!) to MIT, 3 to Cal Tech, 7 to Stanford, 7 to Yale, 23 to Carnagie Melon, etc. Can you any other HS that does that? The bottom 1/2 of TJ goes to UVA & W&M. Is that really true at a "run of the mill" FCPS HS?

A friend's DD just graduated from a "regular" VA public high school-she said 1 is going Ivy, top few to UVA, W/M and VT. Bigger class size than TJ.

Michigan and Cornell numbers do not look right. Typically TJ send about 25 to Michigan and Cornell each year. Also, some TJ students turn down Ivy or other top schools to attend UVA/W&M to avoid loans.

That's true for all schools, not unique to TJ.

Yes but the scale is what would be different. Other schools may 4-6 but more like 30 - 40 for TJ.

[Anonymous]

It tickles me to see the BS crowd putting TJ down as a niche school full of strivers. Your kids couldn't/wouldn't make the cut, so you bought their way into a good private school. But don't put down people with abilities that your kids don't have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It tickles me to see the BS crowd putting TJ down as a niche school full of strivers. Your kids couldn't/wouldn't make the cut, so you bought their way into a good private school. But don't put down people with abilities that your kids don't have.

Ehh I don't think BS types care about TJ just like TJ folks don't really care about BS. Different crowds. Different priorities.

[Anonymous]

Actually, I think it's funny, regardless of school, that people are counting on their kids' HS network to provide them with career opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Striverish Lol perfect word for TJ parents TJ is a good school but there are many there who are pretty run of the mill.

[Anonymous]

parent of four kids who have all gone to Big 3 schools and are at Ivy or Ivy type schools. I think the TJ numbers and achievements are very impressive. Two very different groups, not meant to be comparable. There is no BS that has the STEM focus TJ does. If I had a kid who could get into TJ and do well there, I would take that over any private school. Well done TJ!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually, I think it's funny, regardless of school, that people are counting on their kids' HS network to provide them with career opportunities.

Attending a top tier BS is a seal of approval of sorts, just as is a diploma from Yale or Williams or Princeton, or having attended St. Albans/NCS, Maret, Sidwell, etc. in DC. And attending TJ, in some circles I'm sure too. When a friend told me his DC got into Penn a few years ago but was considering a 2nd tier liberal arts school due to a big tuition discount, I wanted to fall all over myself (but didn't) to say of course kid should go to Penn --- both schools might provide a great education but the longstanding value of a Penn diploma, professionally and socially, is worth it in the long run.

School background may not matter if you're in the top 0.001% in Silicon Valley but elsewhere in the US it can certainly help === again, it's like a seal of approval.

[Anonymous]

Correct. Two different worlds -- BS + TJ.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It tickles me to see the BS crowd putting TJ down as a niche school full of strivers. Your kids couldn't/wouldn't make the cut, so you bought their way into a good private school. But don't put down people with abilities that your kids don't have.

Ehh I don't think BS types care about TJ just like TJ folks don't really care about BS. Different crowds. Different priorities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually, I think it's funny, regardless of school, that people are counting on their kids' HS network to provide them with career opportunities.

Attending a top tier BS is a seal of approval of sorts, just as is a diploma from Yale or Williams or Princeton, or having attended St. Albans/NCS, Maret, Sidwell, etc. in DC. And attending TJ, in some circles I'm sure too. When a friend told me his DC got into Penn a few years ago but was considering a 2nd tier liberal arts school due to a big tuition discount, I wanted to fall all over myself (but didn't) to say of course kid should go to Penn --- both schools might provide a great education but the longstanding value of a Penn diploma, professionally and socially, is worth it in the long run.

School background may not matter if you're in the top 0.001% in Silicon Valley but elsewhere in the US it can certainly help === again, it's like a seal of approval.

No, attending a top boarding school is not a seal of approval comparable to an undergrad degree from HYPS. It's more often a marker of wealth (usually hereditary) and/or desperation (e.g. no viable public or private schools where the family lives or separation between parents and child is desired or necessary). The vast majority of really smart and/or talented kids never apply to boarding schools. And while TJ and BS serve different constituencies, kids from both often aspire to and, in some cases, may matriculate at the same elite universities. At which point, the BS kids, who may have an easier time transitioning initially, typically do not end up at the top of their college classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually, I think it's funny, regardless of school, that people are counting on their kids' HS network to provide them with career opportunities.

Attending a top tier BS is a seal of approval of sorts, just as is a diploma from Yale or Williams or Princeton, or having attended St. Albans/NCS, Maret, Sidwell, etc. in DC. And attending TJ, in some circles I'm sure too. When a friend told me his DC got into Penn a few years ago but was considering a 2nd tier liberal arts school due to a big tuition discount, I wanted to fall all over myself (but didn't) to say of course kid should go to Penn --- both schools might provide a great education but the longstanding value of a Penn diploma, professionally and socially, is worth it in the long run.

School background may not matter if you're in the top 0.001% in Silicon Valley but elsewhere in the US it can certainly help === again, it's like a seal of approval.

No, attending a top boarding school is not a seal of approval comparable to an undergrad degree from HYPS. It's more often a marker of wealth (usually hereditary) and/or desperation (e.g. no viable public or private schools where the family lives or separation between parents and child is desired or necessary). The vast majority of really smart and/or talented kids never apply to boarding schools. And while TJ and BS serve different constituencies, kids from both often aspire to and, in some cases, may matriculate at the same elite universities. At which point, the BS kids, who may have an easier time transitioning initially, typically do not end up at the top of their college classes.

I think BS is an indicator of inherited wealth which means you can get by with a 3.4 from a SLAC vs. a 3.9 from HYPS which you fought for b/c you were on scholarship. TJ is a true meritocracy which angers people and causes resentment from blue-bloods which people strivers and poorer people. Just look at the guy who calls it Herndon school for the financially gifted. IMO what would be interesting is a study of where TJ grads' kids end up going to high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:parent of four kids who have all gone to Big 3 schools and are at Ivy or Ivy type schools. I think the TJ numbers and achievements are very impressive. Two very different groups, not meant to be comparable. There is no BS that has the STEM focus TJ does. If I had a kid who could get into TJ and do well there, I would take that over any private school. Well done TJ!

Agree.

[Anonymous]

Hesitant to weigh in here since this thread has devolved, but I haven't seen anyone mention the actual value and benefits of the BS education. I went from a top public high school, all AP classes, to Andover and the difference was astounding - not just the grade level/difficulty but the enthusiasm and depth. Reading Shakespeare outside with a class of 12 on a beautiful New England spring day is memorable to me even with my 25th reunion coming up. Yes I got into HYP, and I found it a lot easier than my roommates who had not gone to prep school because I had already experienced a soul-crushing amount of homework at Andover, but the depth of study and the way we were pushed to learn and explore and think, not just study and memorize, was remarkable. My kids are in elementary school still but I have them at a progressive school in the hopes that they will learn to love learning, not just learn how to learn.