Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure most TJ kids who are in the top 25% or so of the class will aim for Harvard, MIT, Duke, etc. but UVA ends up being a great value for TJ kids. Maybe some of the disappointment comes from a belief that the kids who end up at UVA could've have gotten the same outcome with much less stress and rigor, but TJ is about the experience not just the college admissions

+1 many people say college is easier than TJ so it’s an experience beyond just the results

Why would you want college to be easier than high school?

First, less chance of struggling when first year can be overwhelming aside from academic requirements;
Second, more time to engage in club activity or leisure activities or preparing for even research/internships;
Third, very likely to stick to the intended major (even STEM) and to receive and maintain very high GPA;
Fourth, thus more options for med/law schools or even graduate school etc.

What are these top colleges where the stem course work is lower level than high school stem coursework? What are you talking about?

There are many but for example: level of freshmen/sophomore level STEM classes at UVA and post AP level STEM courses at TJ.

WHy would a TJ kid sandbag a low level class at UVA if they have already covered that material. That sounds like a waste of tuition dollars. Why would they repeat material instead of taking the proper course for their progression?

Theoretically, it is a waste of time to repeat material a student already knows, but if the goal is high GPA rather then pursuit of knowledge, it makes sense. Happens all the time in college classes. Students repeat math and science they already know especially to get a good grade. It is what it is.

If the goal is a higher GPA, why go to TJ? You'll get a higher GPA at the home school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure most TJ kids who are in the top 25% or so of the class will aim for Harvard, MIT, Duke, etc. but UVA ends up being a great value for TJ kids. Maybe some of the disappointment comes from a belief that the kids who end up at UVA could've have gotten the same outcome with much less stress and rigor, but TJ is about the experience not just the college admissions

+1 many people say college is easier than TJ so it’s an experience beyond just the results

Why would you want college to be easier than high school?

First, less chance of struggling when first year can be overwhelming aside from academic requirements;
Second, more time to engage in club activity or leisure activities or preparing for even research/internships;
Third, very likely to stick to the intended major (even STEM) and to receive and maintain very high GPA;
Fourth, thus more options for med/law schools or even graduate school etc.

What are these top colleges where the stem course work is lower level than high school stem coursework? What are you talking about?

There are many but for example: level of freshmen/sophomore level STEM classes at UVA and post AP level STEM courses at TJ.

WHy would a TJ kid sandbag a low level class at UVA if they have already covered that material. That sounds like a waste of tuition dollars. Why would they repeat material instead of taking the proper course for their progression?

Theoretically, it is a waste of time to repeat material a student already knows, but if the goal is high GPA rather then pursuit of knowledge, it makes sense. Happens all the time in college classes. Students repeat math and science they already know especially to get a good grade. It is what it is.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure most TJ kids who are in the top 25% or so of the class will aim for Harvard, MIT, Duke, etc. but UVA ends up being a great value for TJ kids. Maybe some of the disappointment comes from a belief that the kids who end up at UVA could've have gotten the same outcome with much less stress and rigor, but TJ is about the experience not just the college admissions

+1 many people say college is easier than TJ so it’s an experience beyond just the results

Why would you want college to be easier than high school?

First, less chance of struggling when first year can be overwhelming aside from academic requirements;
Second, more time to engage in club activity or leisure activities or preparing for even research/internships;
Third, very likely to stick to the intended major (even STEM) and to receive and maintain very high GPA;
Fourth, thus more options for med/law schools or even graduate school etc.

So at the price of playing a sport/club or having leisure time in high school, TJ lets you do those things in college.
In the mean time, all those kids who cruised through HS are now working harder in college and catching up with the TJ kids who front-loaded their academics in HS.

I'm still not seeing the benefit. It's looking more like a trade.

Kids who cruised through HS are likely working harder at GMU or JMU...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure most TJ kids who are in the top 25% or so of the class will aim for Harvard, MIT, Duke, etc. but UVA ends up being a great value for TJ kids. Maybe some of the disappointment comes from a belief that the kids who end up at UVA could've have gotten the same outcome with much less stress and rigor, but TJ is about the experience not just the college admissions

+1 many people say college is easier than TJ so it’s an experience beyond just the results

Why would you want college to be easier than high school?

First, less chance of struggling when first year can be overwhelming aside from academic requirements;
Second, more time to engage in club activity or leisure activities or preparing for even research/internships;
Third, very likely to stick to the intended major (even STEM) and to receive and maintain very high GPA;
Fourth, thus more options for med/law schools or even graduate school etc.

What are these top colleges where the stem course work is lower level than high school stem coursework? What are you talking about?

There are many but for example: level of freshmen/sophomore level STEM classes at UVA and post AP level STEM courses at TJ.

WHy would a TJ kid sandbag a low level class at UVA if they have already covered that material. That sounds like a waste of tuition dollars. Why would they repeat material instead of taking the proper course for their progression?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure most TJ kids who are in the top 25% or so of the class will aim for Harvard, MIT, Duke, etc. but UVA ends up being a great value for TJ kids. Maybe some of the disappointment comes from a belief that the kids who end up at UVA could've have gotten the same outcome with much less stress and rigor, but TJ is about the experience not just the college admissions

+1 many people say college is easier than TJ so it’s an experience beyond just the results

Why would you want college to be easier than high school?

First, less chance of struggling when first year can be overwhelming aside from academic requirements;
Second, more time to engage in club activity or leisure activities or preparing for even research/internships;
Third, very likely to stick to the intended major (even STEM) and to receive and maintain very high GPA;
Fourth, thus more options for med/law schools or even graduate school etc.

So at the price of playing a sport/club or having leisure time in high school, TJ lets you do those things in college.
In the mean time, all those kids who cruised through HS are now working harder in college and catching up with the TJ kids who front-loaded their academics in HS.

I'm still not seeing the benefit. It's looking more like a trade.

At the same time, there are few advantages to TJ that you may not heard of as well:

1) More students actually participate in organized sports/athletic programs than almost all the other HSs in the County since almost all TJ students will play in 'B' or 'C' teams if they wanted and hardly any BS of giving a tough time to perceived lesser players,
2) Almost non-existent bullying, school violence, school harassment, racial discrimination among students etc.
3) Built in 8th period - allows for all TJ students to have club activities w/o much opportunity cost,
4) Required IBET/senior research requirements mean writing and researching much more than typical HS students and even some college students.
4) Access to advanced lab systems, equipment and tools not avilable at some universities etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure most TJ kids who are in the top 25% or so of the class will aim for Harvard, MIT, Duke, etc. but UVA ends up being a great value for TJ kids. Maybe some of the disappointment comes from a belief that the kids who end up at UVA could've have gotten the same outcome with much less stress and rigor, but TJ is about the experience not just the college admissions

+1 many people say college is easier than TJ so it’s an experience beyond just the results

Why would you want college to be easier than high school?

First, less chance of struggling when first year can be overwhelming aside from academic requirements;
Second, more time to engage in club activity or leisure activities or preparing for even research/internships;
Third, very likely to stick to the intended major (even STEM) and to receive and maintain very high GPA;
Fourth, thus more options for med/law schools or even graduate school etc.

So at the price of playing a sport/club or having leisure time in high school, TJ lets you do those things in college.
In the mean time, all those kids who cruised through HS are now working harder in college and catching up with the TJ kids who front-loaded their academics in HS.

I'm still not seeing the benefit. It's looking more like a trade.

Is UMD direct admit to CS for TJ families "acceptable"? Serious question. Realize it's not CMU or MIT, but pretty damn good.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure most TJ kids who are in the top 25% or so of the class will aim for Harvard, MIT, Duke, etc. but UVA ends up being a great value for TJ kids. Maybe some of the disappointment comes from a belief that the kids who end up at UVA could've have gotten the same outcome with much less stress and rigor, but TJ is about the experience not just the college admissions

+1 many people say college is easier than TJ so it’s an experience beyond just the results

Why would you want college to be easier than high school?

First, less chance of struggling when first year can be overwhelming aside from academic requirements;
Second, more time to engage in club activity or leisure activities or preparing for even research/internships;
Third, very likely to stick to the intended major (even STEM) and to receive and maintain very high GPA;
Fourth, thus more options for med/law schools or even graduate school etc.

What are these top colleges where the stem course work is lower level than high school stem coursework? What are you talking about?

There are many but for example: level of freshmen/sophomore level STEM classes at UVA and post AP level STEM courses at TJ.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure most TJ kids who are in the top 25% or so of the class will aim for Harvard, MIT, Duke, etc. but UVA ends up being a great value for TJ kids. Maybe some of the disappointment comes from a belief that the kids who end up at UVA could've have gotten the same outcome with much less stress and rigor, but TJ is about the experience not just the college admissions

+1 many people say college is easier than TJ so it’s an experience beyond just the results

Why would you want college to be easier than high school?

First, less chance of struggling when first year can be overwhelming aside from academic requirements;
Second, more time to engage in club activity or leisure activities or preparing for even research/internships;
Third, very likely to stick to the intended major (even STEM) and to receive and maintain very high GPA;
Fourth, thus more options for med/law schools or even graduate school etc.

What are these top colleges where the stem course work is lower level than high school stem coursework? What are you talking about?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is not a TJ safety. Easier to get in from base school. Much easier

How do you know that?

Cause I have a kid at TJ and they get deferred and rejected with crazy high rigor and stats. Base school kids we know with Lower stats routinely get in. There’s a conscious effort not to flood VA state schools with TJ kids. TJ is a disadvantage in state.

OMG TJ is such a hardship for you!

No. Is not a hardship. Just noting that people are wrong that UVA is a safety for TJ kids. It’s not. My kid picked TJ knowing that UVA would be harder to get into. That’s all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure most TJ kids who are in the top 25% or so of the class will aim for Harvard, MIT, Duke, etc. but UVA ends up being a great value for TJ kids. Maybe some of the disappointment comes from a belief that the kids who end up at UVA could've have gotten the same outcome with much less stress and rigor, but TJ is about the experience not just the college admissions

+1 many people say college is easier than TJ so it’s an experience beyond just the results

Why would you want college to be easier than high school?

First, less chance of struggling when first year can be overwhelming aside from academic requirements;
Second, more time to engage in club activity or leisure activities or preparing for even research/internships;
Third, very likely to stick to the intended major (even STEM) and to receive and maintain very high GPA;
Fourth, thus more options for med/law schools or even graduate school etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure most TJ kids who are in the top 25% or so of the class will aim for Harvard, MIT, Duke, etc. but UVA ends up being a great value for TJ kids. Maybe some of the disappointment comes from a belief that the kids who end up at UVA could've have gotten the same outcome with much less stress and rigor, but TJ is about the experience not just the college admissions

+1 many people say college is easier than TJ so it’s an experience beyond just the results

Why would you want college to be easier than high school?

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why TJ parents (not kids) are so insufferable. Their kids get a great education at TJ and many - actually, the vast majority - get great college admits and merit aid, yet they are some of the most angry parents about their kid’s results. Instead of celebrating their kid’s achievements, they rant about discrimination, put down base schools, and belittle the state’s best colleges. Why is that necessary? They seem incredibly entitled and ungrateful.

Because TJ’s test scores tell them that the entire TJ class should be admitted to Harvard and/or MIT. Anything less is a failure. Despite being “smart,” they cannot comprehend that there are other smart people in the world competing for the same slots and that these two colleges do not want to give all their CS slots to one high school.

I don’t understand why TJ parents (not kids) are so insufferable. Their kids get a great education at TJ and many - actually, the vast majority - get great college admits and merit aid, yet they are some of the most angry parents about their kid’s results. Instead of celebrating their kid’s achievements, they rant about discrimination, put down base schools, and belittle the state’s best colleges. Why is that necessary? They seem incredibly entitled and ungrateful.

Anonymous wrote:Sure most TJ kids who are in the top 25% or so of the class will aim for Harvard, MIT, Duke, etc. but UVA ends up being a great value for TJ kids. Maybe some of the disappointment comes from a belief that the kids who end up at UVA could've have gotten the same outcome with much less stress and rigor, but TJ is about the experience not just the college admissions

+1 many people say college is easier than TJ so it’s an experience beyond just the results