Anonymous wrote:When a student who got in does not accept admission, do they pick a waitlisted student from same school or pick the top waitlisted student across all schools?

TBH, it’s arbitrary at that point. FCPS no longer bounds waitpool acceptances to the school from where the accepted but declined student may have come from. But technically, there is no ranking in the waitpool so who knows?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

You don’t think that the kids accepted Pass Advanced on the SOLs? Take a look at the A1H SOL scores for 7th grade, the Pass Advanced rate is close to 90%. All of these kids have high grades in honors and AAP classes.

No one knows what mattered more because we don’t know how anything is graded. Parents whose kids were not accepted are speculating because they are disappointed. Their kids grades and scores look the same as the kids accepted. It is unclear how kids are selected. That said, I would bet that the MAP and SOL scores of the kids accepted and the kids not accepted are close to the same as well.

The one change I would make is to change the Algebra 1 requirement to Geometry.

They’re speculating because the process isn’t transparent. It’s fine that you’d bet the MAP and SOL scores of accepted and non-accepted students are similar—but without actual data, that’s just an assumption. I’d argue the opposite: without transparency, there’s just as much reason to believe the scores aren’t as close as you suggest.

If you were accepted, there would be no need to speculate. Waitpool is the gray zone. Absent any solid answers, parents want to speculate to make sense of the unknown. - Parent of waitlisted kid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Waitlisted but relieved. DC got into a very competitive private school and this makes me feel better about the money I’m about to spend. Bye FCPS! It’s been a shitshow.

I can't think of a better word to describe it than shitshow. People on here whining that their admissions to TJ still mean something and trying to talk down parents who know better. I wonder what they'll be saying once AIs make even their GPAs + fluff essays worthless.

I know you are coping very hard.
But TJ admission still means alot to alot of kids. Annoying parents exist on both side.
And how could AI only affect TJ kids when TJ is the school that offers the most advanced AI courses?

Anonymous wrote:Waitlisted but relieved. DC got into a very competitive private school and this makes me feel better about the money I’m about to spend. Bye FCPS! It’s been a shitshow.

I can't think of a better word to describe it than shitshow. People on here whining that their admissions to TJ still mean something and trying to talk down parents who know better. I wonder what they'll be saying once AIs make even their GPAs + fluff essays worthless.

Glad to hear there were 2762 applications this year, two years ago it was 2627.

My DD got waitlisted, non-feeder middle school, 3.96 gpa, geometry honors. Honestly, we think she will do much better at her base school, and she agrees too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually think it makes sense to put a lot of weight on the essay portion. All the kids who are applying are taking accelerated math with good grades, we know that from their GPA and transcript. It’s harder to tell if people write well unless you see it due to variability in classes. TJ wants well-rounded kids.

accelerated math with good grades AND essay prep. That's what got us in. Yes, TJ wants well rounded kids!

I mean...dont you think most people here have accelerated math, good grades and essay prep. 😀

I think it is okay to admit some of its luck.

You can call it whatever… but this type of discussion will repeat in 4 years in college admission.
Kids with 1560+ SAT and long list of EC’s and achievement didn’t get in to single colleges they hope for.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually think it makes sense to put a lot of weight on the essay portion. All the kids who are applying are taking accelerated math with good grades, we know that from their GPA and transcript. It’s harder to tell if people write well unless you see it due to variability in classes. TJ wants well-rounded kids.

accelerated math with good grades AND essay prep. That's what got us in. Yes, TJ wants well rounded kids!

I mean...dont you think most people here have accelerated math, good grades and essay prep. 😀

I think it is okay to admit some of its luck.

My kid was accepted with a 4.0, Geometry H, 2 years of a foreign language, and some essay prep. I know that there is luck involved because I know most of the kids on the waiting list and a good chunk rejected have similar stats. We had already discussed with him that we thought he had a 25% chance of being accepted because of the number of applications and how many kids had a similar application to his.

And yes, some of the outstanding kids who were not accepted wrote they didn't want to attend TJ on their essay. They are telling their parents they did great, can recite what they should have written and know that their parents won't know that they took the smart out because they didn't want to go to TJ. They told the committee that. They are afraid to tell their parents they didn't want to go.

The others, we don't know what the deciding factors were but I don't think my kid is more deserving then a lot of the kids who didn't get in because his grades and interests are the same. I have no clue why he was selected over others and I am not going to know that. We are happy for him.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually think it makes sense to put a lot of weight on the essay portion. All the kids who are applying are taking accelerated math with good grades, we know that from their GPA and transcript. It’s harder to tell if people write well unless you see it due to variability in classes. TJ wants well-rounded kids.

accelerated math with good grades AND essay prep. That's what got us in. Yes, TJ wants well rounded kids!

I mean...dont you think most people here have accelerated math, good grades and essay prep. 😀

I think it is okay to admit some of its luck.

We didn't do essay prep

Well I didnt say All.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually think it makes sense to put a lot of weight on the essay portion. All the kids who are applying are taking accelerated math with good grades, we know that from their GPA and transcript. It’s harder to tell if people write well unless you see it due to variability in classes. TJ wants well-rounded kids.

accelerated math with good grades AND essay prep. That's what got us in. Yes, TJ wants well rounded kids!

I mean...dont you think most people here have accelerated math, good grades and essay prep. 😀

I think it is okay to admit some of its luck.

We didn't do essay prep

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I think you're defending the indefensible here. If you have a group as large as 2,762 kids and you're trying to make the argument that they're all basically the same, it just doesn't fly. If you can't find some reasonable, objective way to determine their individual talents rather than treat them as a big homogeneous group, some of the good ones will be treated unfairly, and they'll know it because they know who their peers are.

2700+ kids wanting in means you have several highschools worth of kids who want that sort of academic experience.

Its a shame FCPS won't open another speciality high school.

A lot of these kids were pushed by their tiger parents into applying, and most of those turned down will have plenty of opportunities at their base schools.

There was never a need for TJ in the first place. It was just a marketing tool that a Republican-controlled Board of Supervisors came up with at a time when Jefferson High's enrollment was down. Opening TJ did real long-term damage to the Alexandria/Annandale neighborhoods left without a neighborhood school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I think you're defending the indefensible here. If you have a group as large as 2,762 kids and you're trying to make the argument that they're all basically the same, it just doesn't fly. If you can't find some reasonable, objective way to determine their individual talents rather than treat them as a big homogeneous group, some of the good ones will be treated unfairly, and they'll know it because they know who their peers are.

2700+ kids wanting in means you have several highschools worth of kids who want that sort of academic experience.

Its a shame FCPS won't open another speciality high school.

How many of those kids are outright rejected though?

A good number but they all met the basic requirements to apply. They all had good grades, no matter what people here think about a 3.5. They all are taking honors classes. They are all ahead in math although the level of acceleration varies. I would guess that the vast majority of the kids who applied were closer to a 4.0 then even a 3.8. When the final stats are out, the average GPA will be something like a 3.95, based on the past years performance, with the majority of kids taking Algebra 2 next year and a good chunk taking Pre-Calculus.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually think it makes sense to put a lot of weight on the essay portion. All the kids who are applying are taking accelerated math with good grades, we know that from their GPA and transcript. It’s harder to tell if people write well unless you see it due to variability in classes. TJ wants well-rounded kids.

accelerated math with good grades AND essay prep. That's what got us in. Yes, TJ wants well rounded kids!

I mean...dont you think most people here have accelerated math, good grades and essay prep. 😀

I think it is okay to admit some of its luck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I think you're defending the indefensible here. If you have a group as large as 2,762 kids and you're trying to make the argument that they're all basically the same, it just doesn't fly. If you can't find some reasonable, objective way to determine their individual talents rather than treat them as a big homogeneous group, some of the good ones will be treated unfairly, and they'll know it because they know who their peers are.

2700+ kids wanting in means you have several highschools worth of kids who want that sort of academic experience.

Its a shame FCPS won't open another speciality high school.

FCPS has to educate the entire population, not just the kids interested in TJ. There is no specialty school for the arts, even though there is demand. There is no Vo Tech school, even though there is demand. You would be able to full a school of the arts with a huge waiting list and a fully functional Vo Tech school easily.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I think you're defending the indefensible here. If you have a group as large as 2,762 kids and you're trying to make the argument that they're all basically the same, it just doesn't fly. If you can't find some reasonable, objective way to determine their individual talents rather than treat them as a big homogeneous group, some of the good ones will be treated unfairly, and they'll know it because they know who their peers are.

2700+ kids wanting in means you have several highschools worth of kids who want that sort of academic experience.

Its a shame FCPS won't open another speciality high school.

How many of those kids are outright rejected though?