Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is a junior at TJ and fall/spring varsity athlete and my observations are similar to what others have shared. Grades are good (As/some Bs) but she is also not one of the kids gunning hard for an ivy. For her, the (non-academic) benefits of sports are the physical/mental health boost and connection with teammates. There is not just one path to take at TJ and if your kids wants to play a sport, they can always try and then step out.

Sports also seem to function a bit differently at TJ than other base schools. It's not uncommon for kids to skip practice/games if they have a huge test. If I had done that in high school, I would have been benched for a week.

TJ sports is more like an extended PE class, no serious participation. Academics are given top priority, every coach reiterates that.

Anonymous wrote:If a TJ kid goes to VT and a non TJ kid goes to MIT, is the latter more prepared for grad school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is a junior at TJ and fall/spring varsity athlete and my observations are similar to what others have shared. Grades are good (As/some Bs) but she is also not one of the kids gunning hard for an ivy. For her, the (non-academic) benefits of sports are the physical/mental health boost and connection with teammates. There is not just one path to take at TJ and if your kids wants to play a sport, they can always try and then step out.

Sports also seem to function a bit differently at TJ than other base schools. It's not uncommon for kids to skip practice/games if they have a huge test. If I had done that in high school, I would have been benched for a week.

This is fine at base schools, same with skipping for a club practice or event.

Anonymous wrote:My kid is a junior at TJ and fall/spring varsity athlete and my observations are similar to what others have shared. Grades are good (As/some Bs) but she is also not one of the kids gunning hard for an ivy. For her, the (non-academic) benefits of sports are the physical/mental health boost and connection with teammates. There is not just one path to take at TJ and if your kids wants to play a sport, they can always try and then step out.

Sports also seem to function a bit differently at TJ than other base schools. It's not uncommon for kids to skip practice/games if they have a huge test. If I had done that in high school, I would have been benched for a week.

Anonymous wrote:My kid is a junior at TJ and fall/spring varsity athlete and my observations are similar to what others have shared. Grades are good (As/some Bs) but she is also not one of the kids gunning hard for an ivy. For her, the (non-academic) benefits of sports are the physical/mental health boost and connection with teammates. There is not just one path to take at TJ and if your kids wants to play a sport, they can always try and then step out.

Sports also seem to function a bit differently at TJ than other base schools. It's not uncommon for kids to skip practice/games if they have a huge test. If I had done that in high school, I would have been benched for a week.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If a TJ kid goes to VT and a non TJ kid goes to MIT, is the latter more prepared for grad school?

Does the VT TJ kid push for credit overloads / jumping into advanced/grad classes / heavy involvement in research fro freshman year or do they just take the default placement their AP credit would have awarded them and brag about how easy it is?

Anonymous wrote:If a TJ kid goes to VT and a non TJ kid goes to MIT, is the latter more prepared for grad school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will say that there are programs heavily recruiting athletes from TJ. The football program is not very strong and a couple of the kids have Harvard knocking on their doors. Hopkins recruits from the track team. Not sure about other teams.

Wuh? Ivy athlete recruits are very very strong athletes, esp they are knocking on the recruits door. Zero high academic kids are ivy recruits unless they are also very good athletes.

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Anonymous wrote:4 year varsity /= lower third. Plenty of athletes with good grades.

BUT it does mean that you will have less time for other things. Their socializing might largely revolve around their team during the season. And if they want to do club sports, it will be hard to balance with everything else they will want to do.

It's the "not super bookwork type" things that will be a problem. This is not rec level academics. It is one of the most rigorous programs in the country. Not the district, not the state, the country. It is not uncommon for kids to get a 5 on an AP exam and a B or even a C in the class. Kids that world cost through their base school with straight As might struggle to stay above a 3.5 uw.

They are less likely to get into UVA from TJ. However, they will be better prepared for whatever college they do end up at.

Just my opinion. YMMV

So he’d be better prepared than all kids at the base?

Categorical statements are always hard to make but I believe that for the vast majority of kids that don't drown in the rigor, they will be better trained than if they had stayed at their base school. You still want to do well enough so you go to a college where that academic rigor can be put to use but, I believe so. The rigor trains you for the higher academic load of college over high school.

I don’t really see this as true. When I see the top kids at base schools receiving an award or in the news, their linkedin is impressive, as are their stats. Bright kids who challenge themselves in HS are well prepared for college in general across the board.

Top-tier base school students are every bit as capable of success in college as mid-to-lower tier TJ students. They're just going to have to work a lot harder than the TJ kids will relative to what they did in high school.

You’ve lost it. You really have.

I understand not thinking the base school kids are up to snuff, but to be honest they tend to be right in that neighborhood, and solidly above the bottom tier. They're nothing to sneeze at.

You’ve lost it.

NP. Are you taking issue with the use of the term "tier" to describe segments of a school's population, or the idea that the top kids at a base school can hold their own against many kids at TJ?

The OP introduced the idea of tiers by referring to a "lower third" at TJ, and it's clearly the case that many of the top kids at base schools are as accomplished as many TJ students.

Help us out here.

Anonymous wrote:I will say that there are programs heavily recruiting athletes from TJ. The football program is not very strong and a couple of the kids have Harvard knocking on their doors. Hopkins recruits from the track team. Not sure about other teams.

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Anonymous wrote:4 year varsity /= lower third. Plenty of athletes with good grades.

BUT it does mean that you will have less time for other things. Their socializing might largely revolve around their team during the season. And if they want to do club sports, it will be hard to balance with everything else they will want to do.

It's the "not super bookwork type" things that will be a problem. This is not rec level academics. It is one of the most rigorous programs in the country. Not the district, not the state, the country. It is not uncommon for kids to get a 5 on an AP exam and a B or even a C in the class. Kids that world cost through their base school with straight As might struggle to stay above a 3.5 uw.

They are less likely to get into UVA from TJ. However, they will be better prepared for whatever college they do end up at.

Just my opinion. YMMV

So he’d be better prepared than all kids at the base?

Categorical statements are always hard to make but I believe that for the vast majority of kids that don't drown in the rigor, they will be better trained than if they had stayed at their base school. You still want to do well enough so you go to a college where that academic rigor can be put to use but, I believe so. The rigor trains you for the higher academic load of college over high school.

I don’t really see this as true. When I see the top kids at base schools receiving an award or in the news, their linkedin is impressive, as are their stats. Bright kids who challenge themselves in HS are well prepared for college in general across the board.

Top-tier base school students are every bit as capable of success in college as mid-to-lower tier TJ students. They're just going to have to work a lot harder than the TJ kids will relative to what they did in high school.

You’ve lost it. You really have.

I understand not thinking the base school kids are up to snuff, but to be honest they tend to be right in that neighborhood, and solidly above the bottom tier. They're nothing to sneeze at.

You’ve lost it.