Reply to Admission to SLACs after TJ

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

TJ sends more kids to MIT each year than SLACs combined.  Look at the top TJ placements:  GA Tech, the UCs, U Illinois Champaigne, MIT, Cornell, Carnegie Melon, VT Engineering, UT Austin, UVA & WM (which are strong in some areas of STEM, plus UVA Engineeribg), RPI, VCU (6 year MD program). Not SLACs. OP is an idiot. 90% of TJ kids end up in STEM-- generally very strong STEM. [/quote]

OP here.  The point of my question was to figure out how to get into the best college after TJ (not knowing which way my kid would go).  My kid does well in all subjects right now but also wants to be able to do language and music all years.  Please provide constructive responses if possible.  If not just don't.

Oh.. here's an alternative response to your post... Who you calling idiot, you dumb bitch?  Go back to school and learn how to read.

Feel free to respond to either of the above if you care..[/quote]

DP.  READING your original post, you DIDN'T say you want the best college. You say: WILL do 4 years of language (not considering it, will do it). You also said WILL do 4 years of music and WILL NOT "dig too deep" in STEM (which is LOL at TJ if you look at the required classes, and then realize each required STEM class easily covers twice the material of a base school STEM class). And you ask, specifically, about TOP SLACs, not "best colleges."  Have people been reading the OP correctly?  Or do you have a written expression problem?

As pointed out, [b]a top SLAC out of TJ rarely happens.  A top SLAC with all those unweighted classes is close to impossible without a huge hook. A great college out of TJ is very possible-- especially in a STEM field.  But not a top SLAC. The TJ curriculum just works against being competitive for admission to SLACs.

Average, GPA for UVA admission out of TJ is 4.3. Based on the weighting issues with language and music outlined above, that if going to be very, very difficult to pull off.  Technically possible. But highly unlikely.  WM and VT might be more doable.

People who are telling you that if your kid is stuck on the language / music combo they should not go to TJ are giving you good advice.  Your DC can't have it all: that many non-STEM electives, that many unweighted electives, the TJ diploma requirements, and a decent GPA.  It's only 28 classes. You can either do the TJ diploma and maintain a competitive courseload OR do that many non-STEM electives.   It will look fine freshman year. But try to do do a 4 year plan that gets everything in.  Then calculate the weighted GPA from that plan assuming an UW 4.0.  Then realize that the middle of a brilliant class is in the A- B+ range, and only 1 or 2 kids each year graduate with an UW 4.0. 
[/b]
As for the "dumb bitch," part, please just stay at your base school. TJ as a community doesn't need the nasty attitude.  I'm sorry you aren't getting the answers you want, but seriously?

[/quote]

Thanks for the portion of the response in Bold.  That's exactly the kind of input I, as a new TJ parent, needed.

Apologies for the "dumb bitch" comment to everyone other than the person that called me an idiot.  A nasty attitude is not appropriate on ANY forum.  However, if someone calls me a name, I will respond in kind.  And I AM getting the answers I need thanks to everyone who responded..[/quote]

If your child takes music all 4 years he will need to take at least 1, if not 2, years of summer school. The 4 years of language isn't unusual, as all kids take at least 3 years worth.

And the reason why more kids from TJ don't go to SLACs isn't because of lack of interest from the schools, it's because so many TJ families are like the PP and don't recognize that an SLAC is a great place to study science. Here's lists of top feeder schools for PhDs - see all the SLACs? https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/category/infographics/

SLACs love TJ kids - almost all of the top 25-30 visit TJ and give admission presentations. PP is just flat out wrong when he/she says that a top SLAC out of TJ rarely happens. My kid this year applied to a few top SLACs and got into all except for Swarthmore, which was the one we thought offered the best shot as it admitted 7 TJ kids last year. SLACs aren't as popular as they should be at TJ because many, many TJ kids go into top CS programs which SLACs don't have, and because of the obsession with a "prestigious" name and a lot of TJ families, like the PP, are uninformed as to how good SLACs are at teaching science and getting grads into PhD & med school programs.[/quote]

I'm the PP.  I went to a SLAC. I'm also the PP who was looking at Davidson with D.C., because it has a 3-2 program with Columbia engineering.  Do three years at Davidson, get a BA/BS with certain STEM classes, guaranteed admission to Columbia engineering if you maintain a 3.3 GPA. So I know a lot about SLACs, and about SLACs out of TJ.  And I highly value SLACs. Enough to encourage my kid to look at SLACs (DC is also ADHD, and could really benefit from a small school and small classes).  But the Naviance numbers are not encouraging. A PP did a pretty good job laying out enrollment, and fewer than 1% of TJ kids go to a truly selective LAC. Yes, they can be excellent premed/ pre-professional. But not CS, Engineering, Tech or "hardcore" science PhD track (especially physics) or math PhD track. They are "liberal arts" colleges for a reason.

And, BTW-- I don't think this is snobbary by TJ parents, and certainly not by me.  I'd rather have my kid at a small school.  And are you really saying that among the general public, U Illinois, Purdue, Rice or Pittsburg, where tons of kids apply are more prestigious than a SLAC?

But, maybe you and I have different definitions of SLACs?  Because I can't think of 25-30 LACs that are really "selective".

And the wildcard is GPA/ SAT. Since almost none of these schools have had 10 kids apply over the last 3 years, they are not in Naviance. [/quote]

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