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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My husband and I were talking about Thomas Jefferson and whether we thought it was something that we thought our daughter might be interested in applying to when she was old enough (she is in 4th grade AAP now).  Right now, I'd say that it isn't something that we'd push her to try for because she isn't really the self motivated type that you always hear about doing well there.  She gets excellent grades at school, but as of now (obviously a lot can change with her in the coming years) we think she'd do just as well in her regular HS (Hayfield).

During our discussion, my husband made the comment that outside of Virginia, TJ probably doesn't matter much anyway.  I grew up in Northern VA, and TJ started the year before I started HS.  I grew up hearing a TON about it.  My husband grew up in another state so he knew nothing about it.  That got me thinking about a few things.  Do you think that Colleges outside of Virginia are really all that more impressed with a child from there as opposed to one who took AP or IB classes in a regular school?

Is it better to be the last ranked person at TJ as opposed to being in the top 10 or 20% of a regular school? After all, smart as these kiddies are, someone has to be last.[/quote]

Yes, it's routinely ranked as the best high school in the country, so I think it has a national profile rather than a Virginia or regional one.

Of course, it's also a commodity and viewed as such by the Type-As in our area. Science Focus in Arlington is filled with kids whose parents believe that's the ticket for getting into TJ.

I think the bigger question is whether it teaches what your kid wants to learn. A science and tech track is a great career, but if your kid is an arts and letters person, pushing her into something like that probably won't lead to a fulfilling life.[/quote]

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