Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 11:15     Subject: Is GPA the most important?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Parents on DCUM often fail to understand that class rank is the most important criteria. Grades and rigor obviously determine that, but can’t look at grades in isolation because of grade inflation. Second most important is quality of extracurriculars. Test scores matter, but much less than the other two.


Bullshit. The overwhelming majority of high schools don't even rank.


Every school that provides grades, ranks. It’s just a question of whether the high school itself does the arithmetic. If 10 students apply from one high school to the same college, it’s trivially easy for the college to put them in order from highest GPA to lowest.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 11:13     Subject: Is GPA the most important?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Parents on DCUM often fail to understand that class rank is the most important criteria. Grades and rigor obviously determine that, but can’t look at grades in isolation because of grade inflation. Second most important is quality of extracurriculars. Test scores matter, but much less than the other two.


Bullshit. The overwhelming majority of high schools don't even rank.


Colleges have the current and historical data to do so. Further, college counselors often identify the tip top students in their recc.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 11:13     Subject: Is GPA the most important?
Anonymous wrote:OP, where was your student accepted? Did you have targets? All top 20s are reaches for everyone. And no one can expect acceptance at an Ivy - it isn't realistic for absolutely anyone to assume it.

Re: UVA, was it engineering? If so, it is definitely that your child got compared to other TJ kids who were stronger.

Unfortunately, I think your expectations were too high for this day and age.

I don't agree with others that it is a mistake to go to TJ. The education the kids get is outstanding and definitely superior to any other school in FCPS by A LOT. But you have to make the college list carefully because you will be compared to your peers.


And yet many kids who pushed themselves at base are ending up at a top school and tj kids are at schools that caused significant disappointment. This has to be considered.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 11:12     Subject: Is GPA the most important?
Anonymous wrote:Are TJ and Richard Montgomery comparable? RM’s exmissions are incredible, whereas I hear lots of complaints from TJ parents.


Following up:

Richard Montgomery: https://www.instagram.com/rmcommits26?igsh=MTl2OHV2NmZ0Z211Ng==

TJ: https://www.instagram.com/tj2026destinations?igsh=ZzZtNzBpeXRvc3po
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 11:10     Subject: Is GPA the most important?
OP, where was your student accepted? Did you have targets? All top 20s are reaches for everyone. And no one can expect acceptance at an Ivy - it isn't realistic for absolutely anyone to assume it.

Re: UVA, was it engineering? If so, it is definitely that your child got compared to other TJ kids who were stronger.

Unfortunately, I think your expectations were too high for this day and age.

I don't agree with others that it is a mistake to go to TJ. The education the kids get is outstanding and definitely superior to any other school in FCPS by A LOT. But you have to make the college list carefully because you will be compared to your peers.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 11:10     Subject: Is GPA the most important?
Anonymous wrote:We are still not able to comprehend that with a mid-year GPA from TJ 4.4X, SAT close to 1600, very good ECs, my child got rejected from all Ivies applied, waitlisted in a few T20 schools mostly private and UVA. We are trying to understand what went wrong. Really bothering us for the last couple of months how this can happen with this profile. Was GPA too low?. Did rigor matter at all?. They take the hardest courses but kids from other schools get into T20 schools with less grade or rigor.


What is your kid’s relative ranking in class at the end of their junior year? I saw somewhere the GPAs and corresponding rankings of TJ students. If memory serves, the tippy top kids have 4.6x, and there’re lots of 4.5x kids (I think at a place like TJ, there’re lots of very smart kids with very similar profiles, so your relative ranking may drop a lot with just a slightly lower GPA). So unfortunately if your kid is not within the top 20% or top 30%, getting into an Ivy or T20 might be tough.

In my son’s decent private high school, only the top 5% kids academic-wise get into the T20 or T30 colleges (if we don’t count the athletic recruits).
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 11:10     Subject: Is GPA the most important?
Anonymous wrote:Parents on DCUM often fail to understand that class rank is the most important criteria. Grades and rigor obviously determine that, but can’t look at grades in isolation because of grade inflation. Second most important is quality of extracurriculars. Test scores matter, but much less than the other two.


Bullshit. The overwhelming majority of high schools don't even rank.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 11:09     Subject: Is GPA the most important?
Are TJ and Richard Montgomery comparable? RM’s exmissions are incredible, whereas I hear lots of complaints from TJ parents.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 11:06     Subject: Is GPA the most important?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's more than GPA imo.

But we are at a private HS. I see 3.8 uw getting into T10, but very spiky (non-STEM) with regional/national awards.


Agree. This is from the "best practices" post, and I agree with all 3 points - those are the kids who do well in this process.

In general, noticing the following kids are doing well with the schools listed in OP's post:

-kids with "juxtapositional depth". I heard this referenced in "The Game" podcast a while back, and indeed I'm seeing kids who went deep with EC's in two areas you might not expect for the same kid (art + sport, niche academic interest + mainstream school leadership like editor, student council president, etc.) are doing well.

-kids who are beloved by teachers (super kind, curious, helper-type kids, quiet leaders who love learning). Makes me wonder if LOR's are carrying more weight this year

-kids who spent a lot of time on apps and essays (revisions, being intentional with crafting essays for specific schools). Hate to say it, but the kids we know whose parents were very "hands off" with apps and who didn't have other coaching aren't doing as well.


Agree with the second point — colleges are moving away from the activist type, that has turned out to be a pain in the ass once on campus, and pivoted to “glue kids,” kids who are help their classmates get along.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 11:05     Subject: Re:Is GPA the most important?
Grade inflation makes GPAs almost worthless.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 11:03     Subject: Is GPA the most important?
Parents on DCUM often fail to understand that class rank is the most important criteria. Grades and rigor obviously determine that, but can’t look at grades in isolation because of grade inflation. Second most important is quality of extracurriculars. Test scores matter, but much less than the other two.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 11:03     Subject: Is GPA the most important?
GPA is important, but it’s never the most important. That’s not how colleges review your application.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 11:03     Subject: Re:Is GPA the most important?
Likely high GPA was a 4.6+ and your kid it at a 4.4 ECs are incredibly important, also.

I have been posting on the TJ forum for months about how and why TJ should be carefully considered bc likely college options will not be what many are hoping.

The above poster (who says NBD your kid will be well prepared) is who I think rebuts each of my posts. It’s absurd. Families which value education, value all education…meaning making decisions that are taking a long term approach.

My guess is the ECs were not stellar, the GPA pushed kid out of the top at tj and tj’s top applicants jumped over your kid when compared to each other.

I am sorry. Tough pill to swallow.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 11:01     Subject: Is GPA the most important?
Anonymous wrote:It's more than GPA imo.

But we are at a private HS. I see 3.8 uw getting into T10, but very spiky (non-STEM) with regional/national awards.


Agree. This is from the "best practices" post, and I agree with all 3 points - those are the kids who do well in this process.

In general, noticing the following kids are doing well with the schools listed in OP's post:

-kids with "juxtapositional depth". I heard this referenced in "The Game" podcast a while back, and indeed I'm seeing kids who went deep with EC's in two areas you might not expect for the same kid (art + sport, niche academic interest + mainstream school leadership like editor, student council president, etc.) are doing well.

-kids who are beloved by teachers (super kind, curious, helper-type kids, quiet leaders who love learning). Makes me wonder if LOR's are carrying more weight this year

-kids who spent a lot of time on apps and essays (revisions, being intentional with crafting essays for specific schools). Hate to say it, but the kids we know whose parents were very "hands off" with apps and who didn't have other coaching aren't doing as well.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 10:59     Subject: Is GPA the most important?
It's more than GPA imo.

But we are at a private HS. I see 3.8 uw getting into T10, but very spiky (non-STEM) with regional/national awards.