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Reply to "TJ or AOS/AET/MATA"
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[quote=Anonymous]Honestly I wish I had someone to tell me this information when I was applying just two years ago. Right now, I attend the Academy of Science (AOS) in Loudoun, VA. I want to break a couple of myths that I had believed as an eighth grader: TJHSST is not better than AOS. The only reason it seems more academically challenging is because TJHHST is a full time highschool and is ranked, whereas AOS is part-time (you only take your math and science courses at AOS) and thus, is not ranked. You can achieve the same levels of success going to either school. You can still get into Harvard, Stanford, or any of the Ivy Leagues. The percentage of kids from both AOS and TJHSST that apply to UVA and get accepted is roughly the same. The kids at TJHSST are not smarter or more brilliant than the kids at the AOS. Both are equally brilliant. Just last week, AOS sent their sophomores to a math competition held at UVA and they crushed TJHSST’s seniors (AOS teams ranked 1st and 2nd in the team round, 1st and 2nd in the mixer round, and held 4 out of the 5 top individual rankings). AOS has a robotics team that has beat TJHSST in robotics and has competed internationally. Now, to decide whether you want to go to AOS or TJHSST: If you want to pursue a career focused on computer science and robotics, I would go to TJHSST. That isn’t to say AOS has a bad computer science program or doesn’t motivate their students to pursue programming. In fact, the director of the AOS once quoted that one year “two-thirds of AOS graduates got a degree in Computer Science” when they went to college. During all your years of math at AOS, you often integrate programming with the math that you are learning. However, TJHSST definitely has more access to hardware and software and has a rigorous computer science program that many Northern Virginia high schools follow. TJHSST has mandatory computer science courses and even cryptography courses. TJHSST also has teachers who have actually earned degrees in computer science, whereas (I don’t think) AOS teachers have. If you want fantastic and not fake teachers, go to AOS. The teachers at AOS are probably best in the world (that is not an exaggeration). Many of the AOS teachers have won state or national teaching awards and have the staff has Ph.Ds. AOS teachers, quite literally, breed you for success. Before the start of your freshman year, your AOS advisor will actually drive to your house to meet you and your parents to make sure that you are mentally prepared to start attending. If you come to school sick, the AOS teachers will give you cough drops as if they truly care for you. During sophomore year, the teachers go out of their way to ensure that you are choosing the most optimal research project to pursue your junior and senior year. However, I have heard from my TJHSST friends that TJHSST teachers do not behave this way. I have heard they often take off unnecessary points, yell, and don’t go out of their way to ensure you are okay. If you get Ds at TJHSST, then it’s “oh well”. If you get B-s at AOS, the teacher will have a 1-on-1 personal conversation with you to figure out what the problem is and find solutions to help you. They’re extremely kind and treat you with more respect than a student should ever get (in a good way). If you want to learn more about AOS’ teaching philosophy, I suggest you watch the TED talk by AOS’ director. When you go to AOS, as I’ve mentioned before, you only go for their math and science program. For your humanitarian courses (english, history, PE) you would attend your regular home-highschool (“homeschool”). Now if you went to TJHSST, you would take all your courses at TJHSST. This is important in deciding who you are going to interact with at highschool. At TJHSST, you are going to interact with extremely smart students 100% of the time, but since the class size is ~400 per grade, behavior runs the whole gamut. You’ll definitely meet kids at TJHSST who have engaged in suspicious/malice behavior…just as you would at your homeschool. However, at AOS, you’ll interact with smart kids 50% of the time, where only a couple kids (between 1 and 5) will behave badly (class size ~60) but the rest of your time is spent at homeschool engaging with kids that may not always be educating you/making you better. Use this information to decide how you are going to build your social interactions wisely: do you have good friends at homeschool that you want to be with and make you wiser, or do your friends at homeschool do drugs, and you want to get away ASAP? Are you going to only take advanced courses at homeschool so that you only interact with the smartest at your homeschool, or do you want to choose “easier” courses at TJHSST? AOS faculty watches you. Closely. What I mean by this is, if you step out of line and lose the teacher’s trust, they will not select you to attend national/international competitions/collaborations. A prime example of this is during sophomore year at AOS, you travel to the Bahamas to learn about fish and oceanography with the director of AOS. No joke, this guy watches you. If you run in the dark, forget your gear, or stay up all night partying, he will know, even if he’s not around. If you do these things and don’t take him seriously, he will not let you participate in competitions or collaborations, unless somehow you regain his trust, which isn’t easy. If you think your behavior is going to be a problem, you better shape-up if you’re thinking of going to AOS. And lastly: best of luck to all those who have been accepted!! No matter which school you pick, you will most definitely have success. Work hard, and remember to have fun. STEM magnet schools are the most beautiful and intellectually engaging schools if you love math and science. I wish you all the best in your endeavors![/quote]
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