Reply to TJ results

Forum Index » Advanced Academic Programs (AAP)

Reply to "TJ results"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Today, my 8th-grade child, who attends an AAP center middle school, came home from school and shared something troubling. She said that several very strong students she knows—students who are hardworking, highly capable, and genuinely interested in STEM—were either rejected or placed on the waitlist for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

At the same time, she heard that at least three other students received offers of admission even though, according to their classmates, they put very little effort into their essays, are not interested in studying, do not enjoy math or science, and do not perform strongly in those subjects. Some even said they were surprised they were admitted and did not understand why they were accepted.

Because they received offers, they now feel that they must be smarter than students who were rejected or waitlisted, despite having average or below-average grades in math and science and little interest in STEM. Meanwhile, students with excellent SOL scores, strong academic records, and a genuine passion for math and science feel deeply disappointed and confused. They cannot understand why students who seem less prepared or less interested in STEM were admitted, while highly qualified and motivated students were not.

For many families and students, this feels unfair and difficult to understand.[/quote]

There’s a lot of projection and assumption going on here. Some students are disappointed they were waitlisted, some are surprised they were accepted (given the competition, especially at a center). Acceptance to TJ is never a given for anyone and the reality is that there are always more qualified students applying than there are seats available. It is essentially a lottery at some center schools. These kids have no idea what was written in their peers’ essays, nor do they know the full details of the accepted students’ grades, efforts, etc. [b]I’m sure some kids are also playing down their acceptance, simply because they know some of their peers are disappointed right now[/b][b]. I think you should try to focus on your own child and help them manage their disappointment rather than putting down other students with incomplete information. [/quote]

This is not uncommon among TJ students. My kid is one of them. He is belong to TJ and enjoy every pieces of TJ, but still feel guilty with his acceptance and think that some kids deserve more than him. He was one of the kid who got mocked behind his back for getting in (he told everybody how he was not finished his PSE)… I gently remind him to be mindful what he said because it can blow back on him, he said he didn’t care and it doesn’t matter.. if he get in, he get in.
He is though, a very strong writer, never prep, and has an awareness of his passion (beside 4.0 and geometry student and got some awards recognition).
His circle of friends is similar, they don’t show and brags about their love or achievements stems and nobody care about other’s SOL score. 
Alot of them are lowkey smart students. They have sympathy and empathys[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics