Reply to Admission to SLACs after TJ

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

What "expected liberal arts classes" are TJ students missing? We just went through the college admission process this year with several top SLACs. Once my child showed interest in a school, he was "heavily recruited" (for lack of a better term) as a STEM student and not once did anyone mention a lack of a liberal arts education. He's taking AP Lit this year and the class is significantly more challenging than the version that's taught at our top NOVA base school. The curriculum at TJ does not hurt a student's chance of admission at a SLAC.

I just looked up our base school admissions to some SLACs. Yes, PP, you're right, specifically for Davidson it looks like that would be easier to get into than at TJ - it's also much more popular. However, for other top SLACs there's only 1-2 admissions over the last 3 years - and the base school has a much larger graduating class than TJ.

In the end this goes back to a theme that runs through all of these TJ discussions: a kid should not go to TJ with the intention of getting into a "top" college, he/she should go there because they want to be challenged, have opportunities in STEM that they wouldn't have elsewhere, and go to school with equally motivated students. Maybe my kid's a unicorn - he loved all the STEM opportunities at TJ, but he also loved the class discussions in his history classes with his bright, engaged classmates, as well as reading Dostoyevsky and Toni Morrison. I know he would've been bored out of his mind at our base school. And now he's probably going to a SLAC where he can double-major in something like math and philosophy. Maybe OP's kid is the same type of kid.
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[quote=Anonymous]OP I see you are determined to do TJ. I have one in TJ and one in another school. They have the same GPA-- 4.3. Guess who got into the UVA and the top SLACS.  Hint it wasn't The TJ grad. People are trying to help you. I wish I had had this advice freshman year. [/quote]

Thanks.  This is valuable input.  We've gotten this advice from multiple TJ parents for a while and know it will be 4 years of extra hassle for us.  We are not wedded to TJ.  However, my son who wasn't interested until summer before 8th grade, now wants to go.

I raised the SLAC question to determine if SLACs look at 4 years or language/music more favorably.  On his current plan, he will not be able to do much of a deep dive into any of the STEM subjects and graduate with minimal AP credits.  My son does well in all STEM subjects but he also loves social sciences and music.   Obviously TJ courses will by much more rigorous and we hope he finds his STEM passion in Freshman year of HS.  However, if he doesn't and his resolve with music and language gets stronger OR and he decides that STEM is not for him, we need to know if it makes sense to move to the base HS or continue at TJ to maximize his HS experience and college outcome..  He is committed for the first year at TJ at this point.

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