The trick is how the 1.5% is determined. It includes experience factors that aim to increase diversity but have no relationship to STEM interest or ability.

Anonymous wrote:The 1.5% is for calculating the number of spots allotted to each middle school. Each school gets spots amounting to 1.5% of the eighth grade class.

That is correct. I do not understand why people are unable to grasp this very easy concept. You get a quota of seats per middle school equal to 1.5% of your school. The students at that school who apply get ranked during the admissions process and then offers equal to the number of seats allocated (1.5% of the 8th grade class) go out to those highest ranked applicants. If someone declines, the next name on the waitlist gets the offer until that middle school's allotment of seats is filled or they run out of applicants.

The 1.5% is for calculating the number of spots allotted to each middle school. Each school gets spots amounting to 1.5% of the eighth grade class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious about what percentage of kids in each middle school went to TJ this year but wasn't able to find itanywhere. It is now quota-based, right? Thanks.

The class has not yet been selected or seated. It is expected that first offers of admission will go out on one of the next three Fridays.

While spaces are reserved for the top 1.5% of students at each middle school, it is not expected that all of those seats will actually be occupied with interested students.

How it works is offers go out to the highest ranked 1.5% student per middle school that APPLIED to go to TJ. If one of the kids that applied and got in (ranked in that top 1.5%) decides he doesn't want to go after all, the seat is then offered to the next highest ranked applicant AT THAT MIDDLE SCHOOL until they have the 1.5% seats allocated to that school filled, or run out of applicants from that school.

1) I'm about 99% sure that this is incorrect - you have to be in the top 1.5% of actual students at the school in order to qualify for a geographic quota seat

2) If in fact you were correct, then the number of quota seats that will be offered will be MUCH smaller than people are currently anticipating, as 1.5% of 100 applicants from a school is either 1-2 seats depending on how you round, as compared to 1.5% of total students in a class of say, 600 which would be 9 students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious about what percentage of kids in each middle school went to TJ this year but wasn't able to find itanywhere. It is now quota-based, right? Thanks.

The class has not yet been selected or seated. It is expected that first offers of admission will go out on one of the next three Fridays.

While spaces are reserved for the top 1.5% of students at each middle school, it is not expected that all of those seats will actually be occupied with interested students.

How it works is offers go out to the highest ranked 1.5% student per middle school that APPLIED to go to TJ. If one of the kids that applied and got in (ranked in that top 1.5%) decides he doesn't want to go after all, the seat is then offered to the next highest ranked applicant AT THAT MIDDLE SCHOOL until they have the 1.5% seats allocated to that school filled, or run out of applicants from that school.

I found this a bit ironic. Students who are eager to go and are highly qualified are being suppressed, but others who might struggle in TJ or not so interested are pushed in. Test is already eliminated, which should solve the exam prep concerns. Quota is not the solution.

It is safe to assume that students who are not so interested will either not apply or not attend if selected. Spare your concern for them.

Several schools will still send no kids, which is fine if no one is interested. That's a whole different problem that needs to be addressed in ways above and beyond the admissions process.

This. Kids still need to apply. And they need to be in the top 1.5% of their class to be guaranteed admission. No one is being pushed into TJ. No one is sending acceptances to the 6-8 kids in the top 1.5% if they didn't apply.

The change will be minimal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Carson and LF used to send 25% of their 8th graders, now it becomes 1.5%. It hurts more than those who used to be between 5-10%. I am not sure if a 3.5 GPA in LF would weigh the same as a 3.5 in other schools. If all tests and HW are exactly the same in each middle, I guess 3.5 would be on the similar level. Otherwise, kids' academic performance at the entry point to TJ will be very different for the 2025 class. But kids at this age, with good teachers and support, may catch up quickly.

1.5% is a floor, not a ceiling. These two schools will almost certainly still send 50+ kids to TJ. Rocky Run will still send 30+ and Kilmer and LJ will still send 20+.

50+!! Not a chance. Just watch.

Just watch indeed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious about what percentage of kids in each middle school went to TJ this year but wasn't able to find itanywhere. It is now quota-based, right? Thanks.

The class has not yet been selected or seated. It is expected that first offers of admission will go out on one of the next three Fridays.

While spaces are reserved for the top 1.5% of students at each middle school, it is not expected that all of those seats will actually be occupied with interested students.

How it works is offers go out to the highest ranked 1.5% student per middle school that APPLIED to go to TJ. If one of the kids that applied and got in (ranked in that top 1.5%) decides he doesn't want to go after all, the seat is then offered to the next highest ranked applicant AT THAT MIDDLE SCHOOL until they have the 1.5% seats allocated to that school filled, or run out of applicants from that school.

I found this a bit ironic. Students who are eager to go and are highly qualified are being suppressed, but others who might struggle in TJ or not so interested are pushed in. Test is already eliminated, which should solve the exam prep concerns. Quota is not the solution.

It is safe to assume that students who are not so interested will either not apply or not attend if selected. Spare your concern for them.

Several schools will still send no kids, which is fine if no one is interested. That's a whole different problem that needs to be addressed in ways above and beyond the admissions process.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious about what percentage of kids in each middle school went to TJ this year but wasn't able to find itanywhere. It is now quota-based, right? Thanks.

The class has not yet been selected or seated. It is expected that first offers of admission will go out on one of the next three Fridays.

While spaces are reserved for the top 1.5% of students at each middle school, it is not expected that all of those seats will actually be occupied with interested students.

How it works is offers go out to the highest ranked 1.5% student per middle school that APPLIED to go to TJ. If one of the kids that applied and got in (ranked in that top 1.5%) decides he doesn't want to go after all, the seat is then offered to the next highest ranked applicant AT THAT MIDDLE SCHOOL until they have the 1.5% seats allocated to that school filled, or run out of applicants from that school.

I found this a bit ironic. Students who are eager to go and are highly qualified are being suppressed, but others who might struggle in TJ or not so interested are pushed in. Test is already eliminated, which should solve the exam prep concerns. Quota is not the solution.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Carson and LF used to send 25% of their 8th graders, now it becomes 1.5%. It hurts more than those who used to be between 5-10%. I am not sure if a 3.5 GPA in LF would weigh the same as a 3.5 in other schools. If all tests and HW are exactly the same in each middle, I guess 3.5 would be on the similar level. Otherwise, kids' academic performance at the entry point to TJ will be very different for the 2025 class. But kids at this age, with good teachers and support, may catch up quickly.

1.5% is a floor, not a ceiling. These two schools will almost certainly still send 50+ kids to TJ. Rocky Run will still send 30+ and Kilmer and LJ will still send 20+.

50+!! Not a chance. Just watch.

Anonymous wrote:If Carson and LF used to send 25% of their 8th graders, now it becomes 1.5%. It hurts more than those who used to be between 5-10%. I am not sure if a 3.5 GPA in LF would weigh the same as a 3.5 in other schools. If all tests and HW are exactly the same in each middle, I guess 3.5 would be on the similar level. Otherwise, kids' academic performance at the entry point to TJ will be very different for the 2025 class. But kids at this age, with good teachers and support, may catch up quickly.

1.5% is a floor, not a ceiling. These two schools will almost certainly still send 50+ kids to TJ. Rocky Run will still send 30+ and Kilmer and LJ will still send 20+.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious about what percentage of kids in each middle school went to TJ this year but wasn't able to find itanywhere. It is now quota-based, right? Thanks.

The class has not yet been selected or seated. It is expected that first offers of admission will go out on one of the next three Fridays.

While spaces are reserved for the top 1.5% of students at each middle school, it is not expected that all of those seats will actually be occupied with interested students.

How it works is offers go out to the highest ranked 1.5% student per middle school that APPLIED to go to TJ. If one of the kids that applied and got in (ranked in that top 1.5%) decides he doesn't want to go after all, the seat is then offered to the next highest ranked applicant AT THAT MIDDLE SCHOOL until they have the 1.5% seats allocated to that school filled, or run out of applicants from that school.

They'll run out of applicants at a lot of those schools pretty quickly. In both PW and Loudoun you will have a bunch of schools that will have either zero or very few qualified applicants, which will open up tons of spaces for kids in Fairfax. And in some areas of the county, people really underestimate the impact that the 3.5 GPA requirement will have on the number of available and qualified applicants as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious about what percentage of kids in each middle school went to TJ this year but wasn't able to find itanywhere. It is now quota-based, right? Thanks.

The class has not yet been selected or seated. It is expected that first offers of admission will go out on one of the next three Fridays.

While spaces are reserved for the top 1.5% of students at each middle school, it is not expected that all of those seats will actually be occupied with interested students.

How it works is offers go out to the highest ranked 1.5% student per middle school that APPLIED to go to TJ. If one of the kids that applied and got in (ranked in that top 1.5%) decides he doesn't want to go after all, the seat is then offered to the next highest ranked applicant AT THAT MIDDLE SCHOOL until they have the 1.5% seats allocated to that school filled, or run out of applicants from that school.

If Carson and LF used to send 25% of their 8th graders, now it becomes 1.5%. It hurts more than those who used to be between 5-10%. I am not sure if a 3.5 GPA in LF would weigh the same as a 3.5 in other schools. If all tests and HW are exactly the same in each middle, I guess 3.5 would be on the similar level. Otherwise, kids' academic performance at the entry point to TJ will be very different for the 2025 class. But kids at this age, with good teachers and support, may catch up quickly.

Anonymous wrote:I am curious about what percentage of kids in each middle school went to TJ this year but wasn't able to find itanywhere. It is now quota-based, right? Thanks.

The class has not yet been selected or seated. It is expected that first offers of admission will go out on one of the next three Fridays.

While spaces are reserved for the top 1.5% of students at each middle school, it is not expected that all of those seats will actually be occupied with interested students.

I am curious about what percentage of kids in each middle school went to TJ this year but wasn't able to find itanywhere. It is now quota-based, right? Thanks.