Reply to Jay Mathews: Did money keep student out of top school? [TJ]

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Reply to "Jay Mathews: Did money keep student out of top school? [TJ]"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The dad made a mistake believing that he knew everything.

Dad should have looked into the application process a few years in advance to see what was needed.

There are plenty of free opportunities and things his could have done as extra curriculars. [/quote]

I don't think there was any need for the parents to have looked into the process ahead of time to see what was needed. The questions the kids were asked the year this young man applied involved writing about what they liked and enjoyed doing both in and out of school. The kids were asked to write about their favorite subjects and topics and what they felt were their most important accomplishments in and out of school and why they wanted to go to TJ.  It costs nothing to have a favorite subject or a favorite activity and tell why you enjoy them best. An activity doesn't have to cost money: a kid could enjoy reading books from the library or doing math games and puzzles found in library books.    
This boy must have had a best subject and seems to have had a number of accomplishments he could have written about: playing an instrument, taking care of siblings, teaching himself Latin, learning how to cook and then preparing meals for his family. There is a lot of science in cooking, so right there was a big opportunity to show how science and math relate to his accomplishments.
In regards to teacher recs, my child also chose and asked his teachers, just as a PP's child did. I met the teachers once at back to school night and once at the end of the year promotion celebration. My child worked hard in class, the teachers saw that and wrote about it. Parents do not need to know the teachers, the teachers write about what they see the student do in class.
Sadly, there are many more highly accomplished students in this area than there are places available at TJ. No matter how they do the admissions process some people will be unhappy, it is just the nature of the beast. This particular child seems to have landed on his feet and has had a positive experience at Herndon. Who knows, maybe commuting from Herndon to TJ would have been exhausting and stressful and could have had a negative effect on his level of success. I have had kids at regular high schools and TJ and seen lots of success among them and their friends, whether they went to TJ or not. This family is justifiably proud of their very successful son; I wish them and him many future successes as they move forward to college.

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