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[quote=Anonymous]I apologize for being late to this thread but as a current TJ student I just had to share my opinion for future students.

I am a senior in the Class of 2017. I will be graduating in about 4 months and can without a doubt say that TJ was not the right place FOR ME. TJ was not worth it FOR ME. Almost every school, there is a sense of dread that I start feeling as I get ready to drive to school and spend 8 hours in that building.

From freshman year on, students are given college-level material in courses simply titled as "honors." While that might be okay for the kid geniuses with photographic memories, that is not okay for the average students who like math and went to TJ because they got in. If your child does not honestly think they can be in the top half of TJ, it is not worth it college wise. With increased college competition, the average accepted GPA at UVA is a 4.3. Kids rarely receive consideration for UVA if they do not have above a 4.15. I can speak more on the workload later if prompted.

Speaking for the more emotional aspects as a student, dropping out of TJ is a possibility, yes, but once students start at TJ, they feel unfulfilled if they end up leaving. No kid wants to be known as the "quitter who dropped out of TJ." It's a pride thing. I respectfully feel that parents do not understand how difficult of a decision dropping out can really be. Yes parents see the stress their kids go through, but they cannot see the looks kids receive from their peers throughout the day.

I'm going to be completely honest here. I am not in the top half of my class at TJ. I will most likely not be attending a top 30 school. TJ was not worth it for me because it took away all my self-confidence. Yes one can say that I ended up with bad grades because I did not work hard, but that is not the case. I think of 10 weekends off the top of my head where I did not leave my house at all so I could sit at my desk and do homework. I walk into classes now honestly feeling like I am not smart. As I apply to colleges, I know that that is not the real world. I know that being a student at TJ and even attempting to tackle the material I am is an accomplishment. But at the time, all I saw was my bad grades on test I studied hours for and my peers who got a higher grade for half the work. The hardest part of TJ is not comparing yourself to your peers. The hardest part of TJ is not seeing your hard work pay off.

Yes, TJ will challenge you. Yes, TJ will be an easier social environment. Yes, TJ will help some kids get into their "dream school." But, FOR ME, all it did was make me feel like I was not good enough to be there.

I do not share this insecurity for sympathy or to begrudge the school in any way. I simply want to let some prospective students know what the school is like. When I made the decision to attend 4 years ago, I had no idea what the school was really like. Before I graduate, I hope I can make my experience helpful to some people. 
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