What really helped my son, who was also getting Cs and Bs, was an academic coach/tutor. The one-on-one attention and added structure made a huge difference. His coach brought his grades and SAT scores and even self-esteem up. They just finished his Early Admissions application after working on his essays for weeks. If you'd like his contact info, let me know. GL!

That is a lot of extra help for a TJ kid. Does he like being at TJ? Does he need this amount of extra help to stay there?

My kid at TJ sometimes got extra help by going to his teachers during 8th period, but I can't imagine him needing a one-on-one tutor. I think he would have been better off at his regular school if that were his situation.

Both DS and DD graduated from TJ in 2011 and 2015, respectively. To both of them, the first two years at TJ were easy. The last two years ( Junior and Senior) were touch, but the GPA went up due to AP classes. If your DC can not get A/B in the first two years, they will have a harder time for the last two years at TJ. In average, TJ students returned to their base school about 10% each class. They usually voluntarily returned to base school than let TJ kicked them out. If students could not keep up with the unweighted GPA of B (3.0), TJ will send them back to base school.

Here were profile of each graduated class. 25% in the bottom, 50% in the middle, and 25% in the top. About 10% - 15% went to Ivy or equivalent schools ( such as Stanford, MIT, Cal Tech, etc).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, class of 2017 will have 437 grads

And that's the lowest it has been since they bumped the admits up to 480. I think the reality is they keep tinkering with admissions criteria and procedures, and then correcting the next year. Some classes are just more qualified because-- the SIS was proctored, they weighed things differently, etc. TJ seems like it is on a mission to find the just right admission procedures.

+1

It's not perfect, but I do give them credit for trying.

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, class of 2017 will have 437 grads

And that's the lowest it has been since they bumped the admits up to 480. I think the reality is they keep tinkering with admissions criteria and procedures, and then correcting the next year. Some classes are just more qualified because-- the SIS was proctored, they weighed things differently, etc. TJ seems like it is on a mission to find the just right admission procedures.

FWIW, class of 2017 will have 437 grads

PP @ 20:04. I would love to have the tutor's info. Thank you!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: some of TJ haters are screwing with you. Freshman year is not easy, especially when you factor in the transition from middle school. And a 4.0 for the year is not common. Counselors said at both orientation and BTS night that only a small handful of kids end up with an unweighted 4.0 their freshman year. And there would be no way for other parents to know what the GPA is for all 480 kids in the class (or that most kids get 4.0s, for the year which is just not true).


Overall, last year's class's weighted GPAs ranged 3.4 to 4.5 or 4.6. Here is the complete college list for c/o 2016, as released by the school. This is where kids actually attended, not the list of acceptances.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/567859.page

Which is pretty impressive. Especially when you factor in the merit aid.

I can tell you have never been anywhere near TJ. Nice try, tho. So many students got a lot of as the first year. And over 30 dropped out either after freshman year, Winter break of sophomore year, or at the end of sophomore year. That leaves those who are doing well to rack up those impressive GPAs and college acceptances. It is very impressive, but it is not for everyone.

Just got back from the band concert there, so... and about 30 drop total. Class of 480 graduTes about 450-460. They usually pick up less than 5 froshmores. Have not had an Junior admits the last couple years. So your math does not add up. There are not "tons" of freshman drops plus 30
Post freshman. They lose about 5%. Total.

Not true, but whatever.

Which part isn't true. Each year they aim for a class of 480. C/o 2016 graduated 457. https://fcps.tjhsst.edu/coursemgmt/media/300/resource/TJ%20Profile%202015-16%20online%20hq.pdf

In the past, they have admitted as few as 7 and as many as 18 froshmores.

https://www.fcps.edu/registration/thomas-jefferson-admissions/sophomore-application-process

For 2013-2014, they took 2 fruniors. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson_High_School_for_Science_and_Technology

You can only apply as a frunior if you have not applied before. Last year's admission info said that for 2014-2015 & 2016-2017 there were no frunior admits. But that liklnk is dead.

So a class of 480 loses 30-40 kids (about between 5 & 8%).

So which part is untrue? I'll wait.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: some of TJ haters are screwing with you. Freshman year is not easy, especially when you factor in the transition from middle school. And a 4.0 for the year is not common. Counselors said at both orientation and BTS night that only a small handful of kids end up with an unweighted 4.0 their freshman year. And there would be no way for other parents to know what the GPA is for all 480 kids in the class (or that most kids get 4.0s, for the year which is just not true).


Overall, last year's class's weighted GPAs ranged 3.4 to 4.5 or 4.6. Here is the complete college list for c/o 2016, as released by the school. This is where kids actually attended, not the list of acceptances.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/567859.page

Which is pretty impressive. Especially when you factor in the merit aid.

I can tell you have never been anywhere near TJ. Nice try, tho. So many students got a lot of as the first year. And over 30 dropped out either after freshman year, Winter break of sophomore year, or at the end of sophomore year. That leaves those who are doing well to rack up those impressive GPAs and college acceptances. It is very impressive, but it is not for everyone.

Just got back from the band concert there, so... and about 30 drop total. Class of 480 graduTes about 450-460. They usually pick up less than 5 froshmores. Have not had an Junior admits the last couple years. So your math does not add up. There are not "tons" of freshman drops plus 30
Post freshman. They lose about 5%. Total.

Not true, but whatever.

A couple facts. TJ GPA Last year ranged from about a 3.4 to about a 4.5-4.6 (weighted)

I'd like to know unweighted

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: some of TJ haters are screwing with you. Freshman year is not easy, especially when you factor in the transition from middle school. And a 4.0 for the year is not common. Counselors said at both orientation and BTS night that only a small handful of kids end up with an unweighted 4.0 their freshman year. And there would be no way for other parents to know what the GPA is for all 480 kids in the class (or that most kids get 4.0s, for the year which is just not true).


Overall, last year's class's weighted GPAs ranged 3.4 to 4.5 or 4.6. Here is the complete college list for c/o 2016, as released by the school. This is where kids actually attended, not the list of acceptances.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/567859.page

Which is pretty impressive. Especially when you factor in the merit aid.

I can tell you have never been anywhere near TJ. Nice try, tho. So many students got a lot of as the first year. And over 30 dropped out either after freshman year, Winter break of sophomore year, or at the end of sophomore year. That leaves those who are doing well to rack up those impressive GPAs and college acceptances. It is very impressive, but it is not for everyone.

Just got back from the band concert there, so... and about 30 drop total. Class of 480 graduTes about 450-460. They usually pick up less than 5 froshmores. Have not had an Junior admits the last couple years. So your math does not add up. There are not "tons" of freshman drops plus 30
Post freshman. They lose about 5%. Total.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is currently in TJ, and is having a very hard time trying to "fit in". Not socially, but just get into the grove of things. Her report card is mostly made up of C's and B's. Is this normal?

TJ mom here: No. My DD is a senior at TJ. Freshman year was a breeze -- all As as many others at TJ. It gets much, much harder, and there is no place to hide as the hard math and Science courses are required. Getting more involved with the social aspect just means less time for the endless homework. There are many who thrive at TJ and do excellent. That is a real downer for those who do not. Maybe your DD is just not putting in enough time on the homework. But in my experience, those who are making mostly Cs drop out. Trust me -- it gets wa-ay harder. It is very difficult for a bright kid to be in the "bottom half" And no, the colleges are not as forgiving as you would think. GL.

u

+1. TJ mom here too. Freshman year-all As. Sophomore year now, kid feels much harder to maintain all As. It gets much harder. GL.

What really helped my son, who was also getting Cs and Bs, was an academic coach/tutor. The one-on-one attention and added structure made a huge difference. His coach brought his grades and SAT scores and even self-esteem up. They just finished his Early Admissions application after working on his essays for weeks. If you'd like his contact info, let me know. GL!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is a sophomore and had 5 As and 2 Bs last year. From what she has said and what the counselor said to me in a casual conversation, that is pretty typical.

Based on the first quarter grades, I think she is on track for that again BUT she has to work much, much harder to maintain those same grades. All the classes have substantially more homework than last year. The math in particular has a lot more homework. The parents of older kids all say that junior year is the killer.

When my kid was a junior, he usually got around 5 hrs of sleep a day with 7 APs & post APs plus honors English and doing clubs and competitions. It was brutal but an excellent training to do well at top colleges.

^^ He is doing well! But my DS had a min nervous break down Junior year at TJ, so I questioned the whole experience.

Anonymous wrote:OP: some of TJ haters are screwing with you. Freshman year is not easy, especially when you factor in the transition from middle school. And a 4.0 for the year is not common. Counselors said at both orientation and BTS night that only a small handful of kids end up with an unweighted 4.0 their freshman year. And there would be no way for other parents to know what the GPA is for all 480 kids in the class (or that most kids get 4.0s, for the year which is just not true).


Overall, last year's class's weighted GPAs ranged 3.4 to 4.5 or 4.6. Here is the complete college list for c/o 2016, as released by the school. This is where kids actually attended, not the list of acceptances.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/567859.page

Which is pretty impressive. Especially when you factor in the merit aid.

I can tell you have never been anywhere near TJ. Nice try, tho. So many students got a lot of as the first year. And over 30 dropped out either after freshman year, Winter break of sophomore year, or at the end of sophomore year. That leaves those who are doing well to rack up those impressive GPAs and college acceptances. It is very impressive, but it is not for everyone.

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is a sophomore and had 5 As and 2 Bs last year. From what she has said and what the counselor said to me in a casual conversation, that is pretty typical.

Based on the first quarter grades, I think she is on track for that again BUT she has to work much, much harder to maintain those same grades. All the classes have substantially more homework than last year. The math in particular has a lot more homework. The parents of older kids all say that junior year is the killer.

Also have a sophomore. However she took summer Chem. Everything is easy after that.

Junior year is hard everywhere.