Anonymous
Post 04/24/2026 23:10     Subject: TJ results
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:According to DD, the PSE this year seemed like it was 5th/6th grade difficulty, which would mean that it would have been even harder to fairly decide who to waitlist this year.

My DC got accepted with an incorrect PSE


I mean, if all they're doing is just rolling the dice, they should just call it the lottery that it is and stop pretending that it's still an elite school.


he average GPA of accepted kids is going to be something like a 3.9, in all honors/AAP, with at least Algebra 1, although most will have Geometry or Algebra 2. Many probably have 2 years of a foreign language. How is that not elite? Because they cannot accept every kid with similar stats?

We don't know that. The data is not available. They don't have a list with scores that shows how they accepted the top 500 candidates.
They selected some with a high GPA, some with a lower GPA (sorry, but 3.7 or 3.8 in middle school is not a great GPA), some with perfect PSE, and some who didn't finish their essays. That's not elite, that's mediocre.

Anonymous
Post 04/24/2026 23:07     Subject: TJ results
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:According to DD, the PSE this year seemed like it was 5th/6th grade difficulty, which would mean that it would have been even harder to fairly decide who to waitlist this year.

My DC got accepted with an incorrect PSE


I mean, if all they're doing is just rolling the dice, they should just call it the lottery that it is and stop pretending that it's still an elite school.


he average GPA of accepted kids is going to be something like a 3.9, in all honors/AAP, with at least Algebra 1, although most will have Geometry or Algebra 2. Many probably have 2 years of a foreign language. How is that not elite? Because they cannot accept every kid with similar stats?


Because it's not that hard to get a 4.0 GPA in middle school? Which might be why some kids are applying for an elite school to begin with?

Students don't even have to finish an easy PSE to get in. That's not elite by any stretch of the imagination.
Anonymous
Post 04/24/2026 23:05     Subject: Re:TJ results
From RCMS
GOT ACCEPTED!!
Anonymous
Post 04/24/2026 23:02     Subject: Re:TJ results
Anonymous wrote:2,762 kids applied and they have space for 500 or so kids. Lots of kids with great grades, who are in geometry or algebra 2, and who think they did well on the math problem are not going to be accepted. And if they had a quant test, many of those kids would have the same score, it wouldn’t change much.

The vast majority of the kids not selected have a good case for being selected. So do the kids who were accepted.

It's easy to say that when you don't have a test and you can't check the data.
This is not an excuse for a lottery or rejecting kids with better grades or better performance in the math part. If there is a quant test and taking SOLs into account, the decisions would carry weight. Right now, we have people in this thread saying that the SPS - something that has very little to do with STEM ability - mattered more.
Anonymous
Post 04/24/2026 22:55     Subject: TJ results
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:According to DD, the PSE this year seemed like it was 5th/6th grade difficulty, which would mean that it would have been even harder to fairly decide who to waitlist this year.

My DC got accepted with an incorrect PSE


I mean, if all they're doing is just rolling the dice, they should just call it the lottery that it is and stop pretending that it's still an elite school.
Same here, my DD got accepted without fully completing the pse. I think, since the math was a bit easier, more focus was directed on the sps.

Wow, that’s interesting. So because math was considered easy, a student who didn’t complete it can still be accepted? And for the STEM school, the math component may matter less than the “why do I want to go to TJ” response, which is something students can prepare in advance with ChatGPT.


No one knows that, that is speculation.
Anonymous
Post 04/24/2026 22:54     Subject: TJ results
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:According to DD, the PSE this year seemed like it was 5th/6th grade difficulty, which would mean that it would have been even harder to fairly decide who to waitlist this year.

My DC got accepted with an incorrect PSE


I mean, if all they're doing is just rolling the dice, they should just call it the lottery that it is and stop pretending that it's still an elite school.


he average GPA of accepted kids is going to be something like a 3.9, in all honors/AAP, with at least Algebra 1, although most will have Geometry or Algebra 2. Many probably have 2 years of a foreign language. How is that not elite? Because they cannot accept every kid with similar stats?
Anonymous
Post 04/24/2026 22:50     Subject: Re:TJ results
2,762 kids applied and they have space for 500 or so kids. Lots of kids with great grades, who are in geometry or algebra 2, and who think they did well on the math problem are not going to be accepted. And if they had a quant test, many of those kids would have the same score, it wouldn’t change much.

The vast majority of the kids not selected have a good case for being selected. So do the kids who were accepted.
Anonymous
Post 04/24/2026 22:33     Subject: TJ results
Anonymous wrote:Hey, my kid is happy on the waitlist. His friends are waitlisted or rejected. All bright kids who spent thousands on TJ prep classes… he doesn’t even want to go anymore, so may just pull off the waitlist. He didn’t do the prep classes except a couple online sessions, so he thought he would just get rejected compared to kids who did the classes. I think we are thinking base school is better as a chance to stick out more and also have time to participate in more extracurriculars, sports etc. and have more of a normal high school experience. Everyone has their preference.


We had the opposite story - DD was in tears because all of her friends got in, even the ones with inconsistent grades, or that left out parts of their SPS, or that she's helped tutor in school. I'm not sure she was planning to go to begin with, but the unfairness of it really hit her - the fact that she did everything that was up to her right, but the county couldn't be bothered to know or care whether she belonged.
Anonymous
Post 04/24/2026 22:27     Subject: TJ results
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:According to DD, the PSE this year seemed like it was 5th/6th grade difficulty, which would mean that it would have been even harder to fairly decide who to waitlist this year.

My DC got accepted with an incorrect PSE


I mean, if all they're doing is just rolling the dice, they should just call it the lottery that it is and stop pretending that it's still an elite school.
Same here, my DD got accepted without fully completing the pse. I think, since the math was a bit easier, more focus was directed on the sps.

Wow, that’s interesting. So because math was considered easy, a student who didn’t complete it can still be accepted? And for the STEM school, the math component may matter less than the “why do I want to go to TJ” response, which is something students can prepare in advance with ChatGPT.
Anonymous
Post 04/24/2026 22:19     Subject: TJ results
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:According to DD, the PSE this year seemed like it was 5th/6th grade difficulty, which would mean that it would have been even harder to fairly decide who to waitlist this year.

My DC got accepted with an incorrect PSE


I mean, if all they're doing is just rolling the dice, they should just call it the lottery that it is and stop pretending that it's still an elite school.
Same here, my DD got accepted without fully completing the pse. I think, since the math was a bit easier, more focus was directed on the sps.
Anonymous
Post 04/24/2026 22:14     Subject: TJ results
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Anybody with a sub 4.0 get accepted?


Or anybody with a 4.0 waitlisted?

Waitlisted, 4.0. Geometry Honors, correct PSE, good SPS.


4.0 AAP, hn geometry and not accepted.
Anonymous
Post 04/24/2026 22:13     Subject: TJ results
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:According to DD, the PSE this year seemed like it was 5th/6th grade difficulty, which would mean that it would have been even harder to fairly decide who to waitlist this year.

My DC got accepted with an incorrect PSE


I mean, if all they're doing is just rolling the dice, they should just call it the lottery that it is and stop pretending that it's still an elite school.
Anonymous
Post 04/24/2026 22:11     Subject: TJ results
Hey, my kid is happy on the waitlist. His friends are waitlisted or rejected. All bright kids who spent thousands on TJ prep classes… he doesn’t even want to go anymore, so may just pull off the waitlist. He didn’t do the prep classes except a couple online sessions, so he thought he would just get rejected compared to kids who did the classes. I think we are thinking base school is better as a chance to stick out more and also have time to participate in more extracurriculars, sports etc. and have more of a normal high school experience. Everyone has their preference.
Anonymous
Post 04/24/2026 22:11     Subject: TJ results
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:No offer. For those waitlisted, do they say that in the opening sentence?


Yes, and then they give you the option of staying on the waitlist or getting off it. A lot of kids who were accepted to AOS/AET continue to stay on the TJ waitlist for bragging rights ‘I got into all 3!’
what idiots.
Anonymous
Post 04/24/2026 22:10     Subject: TJ results
Anonymous wrote:According to DD, the PSE this year seemed like it was 5th/6th grade difficulty, which would mean that it would have been even harder to fairly decide who to waitlist this year.

My DC got accepted with an incorrect PSE