Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks similar to the data from my public HS in the Midwest. I'm not that impressed.

+1

I expected MUCH more impressive stats. Thank you for sharing.

Unfortunately TJ is in decline. The new admissions procedure should help.

It is a new test, if I understand it correctly? So what will it change, exactly? I am not clear on this. Rote memorization will still rule the school. That is not a very appealing learning approach for most people. Not all smart kids (or adults) find value in learning to the test - which is what is diluting the reputation, by my understanding.

Not sure what the test will be like, but here is a related document describing some of the issues from last year.

http://www.fcag.org/documents/FCAG+TJHSST+2016+Handout+FINAL.pdf

TJ used to offer more of a typical HS experience, but it has drifted away to becoming a competitive pressure cooker.
Due to grad requirements, you can't take 4 years of band, chorus or orchestra without summer school. It is even tough to take 4 years of a language.
They can't now field a football team at a competitive level. This year they will play 2 teams of homeschooled kids, a school for the deaf, a small private, a Catholic school, and 3 of their FCPS peers.

I would like to understand why the number of white applicants to TJ has decreased each of the last 7 years. 1309 applied for class of 2015, 763 applied for class of 2021.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks similar to the data from my public HS in the Midwest. I'm not that impressed.

+1

I expected MUCH more impressive stats. Thank you for sharing.

Unfortunately TJ is in decline. The new admissions procedure should help.

It is a new test, if I understand it correctly? So what will it change, exactly? I am not clear on this. Rote memorization will still rule the school. That is not a very appealing learning approach for most people. Not all smart kids (or adults) find value in learning to the test - which is what is diluting the reputation, by my understanding.

Not sure what the test will be like, but here is a related document describing some of the issues from last year.

http://www.fcag.org/documents/FCAG+TJHSST+2016+Handout+FINAL.pdf

TJ used to offer more of a typical HS experience, but it has drifted away to becoming a competitive pressure cooker.
Due to grad requirements, you can't take 4 years of band, chorus or orchestra without summer school. It is even tough to take 4 years of a language.
They can't now field a football team at a competitive level. This year they will play 2 teams of homeschooled kids, a school for the deaf, a small private, a Catholic school, and 3 of their FCPS peers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks similar to the data from my public HS in the Midwest. I'm not that impressed.

+1

I expected MUCH more impressive stats. Thank you for sharing.

Unfortunately TJ is in decline. The new admissions procedure should help.

It is a new test, if I understand it correctly? So what will it change, exactly? I am not clear on this. Rote memorization will still rule the school. That is not a very appealing learning approach for most people. Not all smart kids (or adults) find value in learning to the test - which is what is diluting the reputation, by my understanding.

You wish. TJ has the best college acceptance results in the country except maybe one or two elite boarding schools with plenty of legacies and athletic recruits. Many TJ grads choose to attend lower ranked colleges in return for significant merit aid/scholarships or to attend guaranteed medical school programs.

You sound ignorant about TJ to paint as a "rote memorization" school. That happens at base schools not at TJ.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks similar to the data from my public HS in the Midwest. I'm not that impressed.

+1

I expected MUCH more impressive stats. Thank you for sharing.

Unfortunately TJ is in decline. The new admissions procedure should help.

It is a new test, if I understand it correctly? So what will it change, exactly? I am not clear on this. Rote memorization will still rule the school. That is not a very appealing learning approach for most people. Not all smart kids (or adults) find value in learning to the test - which is what is diluting the reputation, by my understanding.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks similar to the data from my public HS in the Midwest. I'm not that impressed.

+1

I expected MUCH more impressive stats. Thank you for sharing.

Unfortunately TJ is in decline. The new admissions procedure should help.

Too many parents (and schools?) equate it with cheating. Also, it is dominated by Asians (which is not bad, it just is); so Westernized Asians, white and minorities do not find it appealing, as they have nothing in common with the student body. Do not underestimate the value of socialization in high school - it is high school, for crying out loud.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks similar to the data from my public HS in the Midwest. I'm not that impressed.

+1

I expected MUCH more impressive stats. Thank you for sharing.

Unfortunately TJ is in decline. The new admissions procedure should help.

Anonymous wrote:Looks similar to the data from my public HS in the Midwest. I'm not that impressed.

+1

I expected MUCH more impressive stats. Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous wrote:Interesting, I graduated from TJ almost two decades ago and I think more than 100 people in my class went to U.Va. I wonder if it's harder to get in now or if more TJ students are turning U.Va down.

+1

Colleges only accept so many kids from each "top" school - I know kids who turned TJ down for this very reason. Something to think about.

TJ women who go to UVA, leave UVA as teachers.

what midwest public is sending 8 kids to MIT?

BTW, that is an off year for TJ, in the past it has been more like 10-15 kids.

Anonymous wrote:Looks similar to the data from my public HS in the Midwest. I'm not that impressed.

Murat right. Maybe for the top 1/4 of the class.

Anonymous wrote:Looks similar to the data from my public HS in the Midwest. I'm not that impressed.

New Trier?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks similar to the data from my public HS in the Midwest. I'm not that impressed.

Curious, what Midwest public school sends 55 kids to the Ivys and more than 1/3 of the class to top 25 colleges?

Not many.

Most average, public, high schools, not located in the northeast or near affluent cities, send the majority of their graduates to local state schools and community colleges, assuming they are college-bound at all. I went to a no-name, public, high school in the south and did not know anyone who went to any Ivy, or anywhere remotely prestigious, except for one girl who went to Oxford. She was from a very wealthy family.

There's no question that these elite high schools have a significant advantage over average high schools.

\

Are you making this up? You do realize that going to Oxford University even now, is cheaper than most local state schools, right?

DP. But no, I doubt many people could tell you how much Oxford costs. But, I'm not sure PPs point was entirely about money. I went to HS in the middle of nowhere NC There were tiers of kids. The ones who dropped out, the ones who went directly into the military, the ones who never considered college, and the ones who went to the local community college. The top 25 percent went to UNC somewhere besides Chapel Hill. The top 5-10 percent went to UNC-CH. somewhere between 3-5 each year went in state private (Duke, Wake, Davidson, Guilford, Elon). Every couple of years, a kid went out of state. The point is, that in a place it doesn't dawn on even the valedictorian to leave the state for college, it takes quite a bit of wealth and sophistication to apply internationally.

I have an underclassman at TJ, and it's nice to see where all this year seniors ended up. I'm certainly impressed. They are a nice, hard working group of kids. Many of the kids in the class are going impressive places to do interesting things. And when you talk to them or their parents you find out that they have made good, thoughtful college decisions. Many chose their college based on a specific department or program, and with long term goals for specific graduate schools or programs. For this reason, many are conscious of not taking on any undergrad debt.

The TJ college list is the one every one waits for and pours over and critiques. But, TJ is not the only high school in FCPS that graduated bright, motivated kids this week. Kids from high schools all over FCPS are heading out next year to impressive places to do interesting things. Congratulations to all the new graduates, and their parents. If anyone has the list from another HS, please post it. It would be interesting to see.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks similar to the data from my public HS in the Midwest. I'm not that impressed.

Curious, what Midwest public school sends 55 kids to the Ivys and more than 1/3 of the class to top 25 colleges?

Not many.

Most average, public, high schools, not located in the northeast or near affluent cities, send the majority of their graduates to local state schools and community colleges, assuming they are college-bound at all. I went to a no-name, public, high school in the south and did not know anyone who went to any Ivy, or anywhere remotely prestigious, except for one girl who went to Oxford. She was from a very wealthy family.

There's no question that these elite high schools have a significant advantage over average high schools.

\

Are you making this up? You do realize that going to Oxford University even now, is cheaper than most local state schools, right?