Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: My DD is quite good at most things. She has a passion for stem, is at the right track for math, and is quite creative with her essays. She did a TYE stem bootcamp, and is taking the AMC8 along with mathcounts. Our biggest disadvantage is that she is at Franklin MS. People there aren't really as academically bright as Carson (obviously) so our biggest worry is if she will get the right resources at Franklin to get into TJ. People have also been studying for this school for a while now. We just found out about the competition this year. Will she have enough time?

What competition did you just find out about this year? It’s not clear from your post.

My apologies; what I mean by competition is we just found out how strong the competition for TJ was, and we are wondering if our DD will be too late to the game.

I didn't realize the competition was that strong until DD wanted to apply. Honestly, I don't get why everyone is climbing all over each other to get in. As PP mentioned private schools are much better with more rounded kids.

Because unlike private schools it is free and for the right kind of kids it is a fantastic environment

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Hello! Our child is currently in the 7th grade, and recently told us about TJ. We have realized that the competition there is strong. She goes to Franklin middle, and we figured out less than 10 students from Franklin get admitted. Our daughter is passionate about stem as she is participating in the AMC 8, did a stem-bootcamp 8 week course, and will be on track of taking geometry next year. We are aware this is not enough. Please let us know the admission process, and what we need to do to hopefully get her accepted to TJ. Thank you!

There is an application you have to fill out.
You will want to keep up your grades. The most common GAP among entering students is 4.0

Look at previous essay questions and think about how you would answer them (not the math question but the other essay questions)

One of the biggest hurdles on the essayt exam is competing the exam. Most kids run out of time so practicing the essays so that you get a sense of the timing will be helpful.

After that it seems a bit random.

It's not random at all. In fact, only the top 1.5% who apply
from each school are accepted.

Then why do some schools see almost half their kids return to their base school?

Citation?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: My DD is quite good at most things. She has a passion for stem, is at the right track for math, and is quite creative with her essays. She did a TYE stem bootcamp, and is taking the AMC8 along with mathcounts. Our biggest disadvantage is that she is at Franklin MS. People there aren't really as academically bright as Carson (obviously) so our biggest worry is if she will get the right resources at Franklin to get into TJ. People have also been studying for this school for a while now. We just found out about the competition this year. Will she have enough time?

What competition did you just find out about this year? It’s not clear from your post.

My apologies; what I mean by competition is we just found out how strong the competition for TJ was, and we are wondering if our DD will be too late to the game.

I didn't realize the competition was that strong until DD wanted to apply. Honestly, I don't get why everyone is climbing all over each other to get in. As PP mentioned private schools are much better with more rounded kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Hello! Our child is currently in the 7th grade, and recently told us about TJ. We have realized that the competition there is strong. She goes to Franklin middle, and we figured out less than 10 students from Franklin get admitted. Our daughter is passionate about stem as she is participating in the AMC 8, did a stem-bootcamp 8 week course, and will be on track of taking geometry next year. We are aware this is not enough. Please let us know the admission process, and what we need to do to hopefully get her accepted to TJ. Thank you!

There is an application you have to fill out.
You will want to keep up your grades. The most common GAP among entering students is 4.0

Look at previous essay questions and think about how you would answer them (not the math question but the other essay questions)

One of the biggest hurdles on the essayt exam is competing the exam. Most kids run out of time so practicing the essays so that you get a sense of the timing will be helpful.

After that it seems a bit random.

It's not random at all. In fact, only the top 1.5% who apply
from each school are accepted.

False. The top kids aren’t necessarily admitted, the 1.5% floor is based on the number of 8th graders at a middle school (not the number of TJ applicants), and some middle schools like Carson continue to send more than 1.5% of their 8th graders to TJ.

Nope they select the very top kids using objective measures. Sure, you may feel differently but they use actual metrics instead of your feelings.

Really? What is the objective measure? because it sounds like they are admitting kids based on essays that are inherently ysubjective.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Hello! Our child is currently in the 7th grade, and recently told us about TJ. We have realized that the competition there is strong. She goes to Franklin middle, and we figured out less than 10 students from Franklin get admitted. Our daughter is passionate about stem as she is participating in the AMC 8, did a stem-bootcamp 8 week course, and will be on track of taking geometry next year. We are aware this is not enough. Please let us know the admission process, and what we need to do to hopefully get her accepted to TJ. Thank you!

There is an application you have to fill out.
You will want to keep up your grades. The most common GAP among entering students is 4.0

Look at previous essay questions and think about how you would answer them (not the math question but the other essay questions)

One of the biggest hurdles on the essayt exam is competing the exam. Most kids run out of time so practicing the essays so that you get a sense of the timing will be helpful.

After that it seems a bit random.

It's not random at all. In fact, only the top 1.5% who apply
from each school are accepted.

Then why do some schools see almost half their kids return to their base school?

Honestly, at this point you just need to chill and help her chill out. Go over the requirements for applying to TJ and make sure she understands what she needs to aim for. After that, it is pretty much done. Carson is our base school but DSs ES does not have a huge push for TJ. We still end up with 1 or 2 kids from his ES that goes to TJ but it is not something that most of the kids are focused on.

I would talk to your daughter about what has sparked her interest all of the sudden because this sounds new. Talk to her about what she is asking to do requires and what it means to go there. Let her do the work and apply next year. She seems to check the box for activities to write about in her essay next year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: My DD is quite good at most things. She has a passion for stem, is at the right track for math, and is quite creative with her essays. She did a TYE stem bootcamp, and is taking the AMC8 along with mathcounts. Our biggest disadvantage is that she is at Franklin MS. People there aren't really as academically bright as Carson (obviously) so our biggest worry is if she will get the right resources at Franklin to get into TJ. People have also been studying for this school for a while now. We just found out about the competition this year. Will she have enough time?

What competition did you just find out about this year? It’s not clear from your post.

My apologies; what I mean by competition is we just found out how strong the competition for TJ was, and we are wondering if our DD will be too late to the game.

Anonymous wrote:OP: My DD is quite good at most things. She has a passion for stem, is at the right track for math, and is quite creative with her essays. She did a TYE stem bootcamp, and is taking the AMC8 along with mathcounts. Our biggest disadvantage is that she is at Franklin MS. People there aren't really as academically bright as Carson (obviously) so our biggest worry is if she will get the right resources at Franklin to get into TJ. People have also been studying for this school for a while now. We just found out about the competition this year. Will she have enough time?

What competition did you just find out about this year? It’s not clear from your post.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a bit surprised that the kids who are strongly interested in TJ don’t choose to stay at a school like Franklin where there are strong academics and fewer kids applying for TJ. It strikes me like a better move then moving to Carson where the odds of being accepted are probably worse.

OP here, yes I wonder this too. My DD does not have many peers that want to go for TJ which this may be a win for her. But, at the same time, the kids that each school sends can exceed the 1.5% rule.

Was your daughter in AAP and chose to go to Franklin?

She will have a peer group at her base HS if she doesn’t get into TJ. TJ takes 500 kids, and not only from FCPS. A good number of the kids at Carson will end up at Chantilly and she will be in AP classes with them.

My DD was in half time AAP- Level 3. There were peers in her grade last year who wanted to try out for full time, but our DD did not want to. There are rigorous courses at Franklin and most of her friends are at Franklin with her. But, her friends at Carson seem to be ahead in the curriculum, and more TJ “addicted.” We are trying to get our daughter in the top 1.5%, otherwise the open pool would be really hard for her. Please let me know if this is wrong.

Is she currently taking all honors classes or a mixture?

All honors, with algebra 1 hn. She is in the 7th grade.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a bit surprised that the kids who are strongly interested in TJ don’t choose to stay at a school like Franklin where there are strong academics and fewer kids applying for TJ. It strikes me like a better move then moving to Carson where the odds of being accepted are probably worse.

OP here, yes I wonder this too. My DD does not have many peers that want to go for TJ which this may be a win for her. But, at the same time, the kids that each school sends can exceed the 1.5% rule.

Was your daughter in AAP and chose to go to Franklin?

She will have a peer group at her base HS if she doesn’t get into TJ. TJ takes 500 kids, and not only from FCPS. A good number of the kids at Carson will end up at Chantilly and she will be in AP classes with them.

My DD was in half time AAP- Level 3. There were peers in her grade last year who wanted to try out for full time, but our DD did not want to. There are rigorous courses at Franklin and most of her friends are at Franklin with her. But, her friends at Carson seem to be ahead in the curriculum, and more TJ “addicted.” We are trying to get our daughter in the top 1.5%, otherwise the open pool would be really hard for her. Please let me know if this is wrong.

Is she currently taking all honors classes or a mixture?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a bit surprised that the kids who are strongly interested in TJ don’t choose to stay at a school like Franklin where there are strong academics and fewer kids applying for TJ. It strikes me like a better move then moving to Carson where the odds of being accepted are probably worse.

OP here, yes I wonder this too. My DD does not have many peers that want to go for TJ which this may be a win for her. But, at the same time, the kids that each school sends can exceed the 1.5% rule.

Was your daughter in AAP and chose to go to Franklin?

She will have a peer group at her base HS if she doesn’t get into TJ. TJ takes 500 kids, and not only from FCPS. A good number of the kids at Carson will end up at Chantilly and she will be in AP classes with them.

My DD was in half time AAP- Level 3. There were peers in her grade last year who wanted to try out for full time, but our DD did not want to. There are rigorous courses at Franklin and most of her friends are at Franklin with her. But, her friends at Carson seem to be ahead in the curriculum, and more TJ “addicted.” We are trying to get our daughter in the top 1.5%, otherwise the open pool would be really hard for her. Please let me know if this is wrong.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a bit surprised that the kids who are strongly interested in TJ don’t choose to stay at a school like Franklin where there are strong academics and fewer kids applying for TJ. It strikes me like a better move then moving to Carson where the odds of being accepted are probably worse.

OP here, yes I wonder this too. My DD does not have many peers that want to go for TJ which this may be a win for her. But, at the same time, the kids that each school sends can exceed the 1.5% rule.

Was your daughter in AAP and chose to go to Franklin?

She will have a peer group at her base HS if she doesn’t get into TJ. TJ takes 500 kids, and not only from FCPS. A good number of the kids at Carson will end up at Chantilly and she will be in AP classes with them.

Anonymous wrote:I am a bit surprised that the kids who are strongly interested in TJ don’t choose to stay at a school like Franklin where there are strong academics and fewer kids applying for TJ. It strikes me like a better move then moving to Carson where the odds of being accepted are probably worse.

OP here, yes I wonder this too. My DD does not have many peers that want to go for TJ which this may be a win for her. But, at the same time, the kids that each school sends can exceed the 1.5% rule.

I am a bit surprised that the kids who are strongly interested in TJ don’t choose to stay at a school like Franklin where there are strong academics and fewer kids applying for TJ. It strikes me like a better move then moving to Carson where the odds of being accepted are probably worse.

Anonymous wrote:My DD started this year as a freshman. She's returning to her private school this semester. The cohort is unhealthy and she will be successful anywhere. Please look closely at the school and what you want for your kid.

Great advice. TJ isn't a school for everyone. Not all kids will like the "fit". OP seems to think her kid is strongly interested in it though so it's worth a shot. Worst case is kids give it a try and then transfer back home if they hate it. My DC loves it FWIW. Yes it's harder and yes she'd be successful academically at her home school too but the "fit" for her at TJ is wonderful which is why she's thriving there. Like you said, you need to weigh what's best for your own kid.