The funny thing about TJ is it is a lot like MIT. The students are amazing. The facilities are great. The teaching...Meh. The thing about TJ is the kids learn on their own (or in groups).

Just like MIT. Faculty at MIT are rated not for teaching but for research. That is their focus. If you want good college teaching, go to a school that focuses on teaching, not research. I went to both -- started at a small school, transferred to a major research school (not MIT, but close). At the small school, the professors were interested in the undergrads...they would include them in research, and it was important to see them learn. At the research school, I was an annoyance.

At TJ, the teachers are judged by student performance, but guess what? Almost all perform. It takes no effort to teach at TJ -- tell them what you are going to teach for the next week, and the kids will learn it.

I am one who thinks TJ is not worth is. MIT is not worth it (for undergrad; grad is a research degree and a different story).

While the facilities are good at TJ, most students -- even TJ students -- do not have the experience to take advantage of those.

Anonymous wrote:

Most of the TJ students attending UVA are average or below average students except for those students getting ton of merit aid or going for the in-state tuition. UVA is still considered a safety at TJ. TJ kids would not brag about getting into UVA. Average or below average student is not doing fine.

Bear in mind that every student at TJ has to keep their GPA above 3.0, so an average student at TJ is very different from an average student elsewhere. Have you seen the average SAT scores at TJ?

Have you heard college admission is more than just SAT scores?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never met a person that went that didn't love it. I'm sure there is, but they're unicorns.

You haven't met my husband, who made it through well enough but will never send our kids there.

How is that possible? How old is your husband?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ along with little Albert Einstein posts... F'king morons.

Actually, the Einstein post was that Albert would not have been admitted -- because of the F****d up policies.

No kidding.

But I think that if you are tech oriented and you go from TJ to MIT or Stanford you are not an ordinary kid.

All true above but UVA is a fine school and many TJ grads go there. Also w&m. Not every student at Tj goes into tech. Many become doctors.

Anonymous wrote:

Most of the TJ students attending UVA are average or below average students except for those students getting ton of merit aid or going for the in-state tuition. UVA is still considered a safety at TJ. TJ kids would not brag about getting into UVA. Average or below average student is not doing fine.

Bear in mind that every student at TJ has to keep their GPA above 3.0, so an average student at TJ is very different from an average student elsewhere. Have you seen the average SAT scores at TJ?

I think you misunderstood. I was responding to the poster who said any kid from a base school who gains admission to UVA will do fine at TJ and I was saying that is not necessarily true. Many TJ kids that go on to UVA say UVA is easier than TJ and these TJ kids at UVA are not even the top TJ students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It will confer confidence and open doors like no other school in this region can. It is a valuable badge to have in the wallet for a lifetime.

For a lifetime, really? Any grown-up who is still living off his/her TJ acceptance/experience is just as pathetic as the high school sports star who never moved on.

So true. As a local who works in tech, I encounter too many of these.

It's a good school for the right kid. Just like any other school out there.

TJ is not like any other school out there. Saying TJ is like any other school out there is like saying MIT is like any other college out there.

For the right kid, it is. But there is more to life than going to TJ or MIT or Harvard or whatever because you're supposed to and doing middling and being miserable instead of going to Flint Hill or Hamilton or Macalester or whatever and doing well and being healthy and studying what you want. Just like not everyone wins the Nobel Prize, you have to accept that your child's success is not reflective of your parenting and those stickers on the back of your car are not the ne plus ultra of your existence and social status.

Most of the TJ students attending UVA are average or below average students except for those students getting ton of merit aid or going for the in-state tuition. UVA is still considered a safety at TJ. TJ kids would not brag about getting into UVA. Average or below average student is not doing fine.

Bear in mind that every student at TJ has to keep their GPA above 3.0, so an average student at TJ is very different from an average student elsewhere. Have you seen the average SAT scores at TJ?

Anonymous wrote:Went to UVa with dozens and dozens of TJ grads from the same class. It was hard for many of them to adjust when they were still surrounded by so many high school peers. Some struggled to step into new roles or explore different parts of themselves. It was like TJ Part II, at least through sophomore year.

Just my .02.

They call it TJ South.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The information is readily available. It is not exclusive, so there will be some overlap. My point, though, is the top kids from any school can do as well as TJ on admissions. There were about 150 students from TJ admitted to UVA, for example. or roughly 33% of the class. At madison, it was about 1/9th.

Since 150 students at TJ is a big number, I will assume that most TJ students can get into UVA/Tech/William and Mary.
That means that the top 1/9th at madison is roughly equivalent to the kids at TJ.

And we can't assume that all of the top students at these schools even applied to UVa. Among the friends of my child at TJ, I know of a number of excellent students who were very focused on particular schools that did not include UVa. These are kids who would have been accepted had they applied and are going to Top Ten or Fifteen schools. So that 150 number would have been even higher if all who were qualified had applied.

It's cute how you crunch those numbers. But did you check who made it into the Ivies from Madison? TJ has one of the highest acceptance rates in ivies of any school in nova. Those state schools are safeties for TJ students. But good spin job.

My point was that the top 10% students at any school can get into the same schools as the middle of the road students at TJ. Are you saying that every student at TJ is admitted to one of Tech, UVA or W & M? I bet any student accepted to UVA will do fine at TJ.

Most of the TJ students attending UVA are average or below average students except for those students getting ton of merit aid or going for the in-state tuition. UVA is still considered a safety at TJ. TJ kids would not brag about getting into UVA. Average or below average student is not doing fine.

So you are such a tiger parent that average at TJ is not fine? I AM GLAD I AM NOT YOUR KID.

Just responding to the PP.

Went to UVa with dozens and dozens of TJ grads from the same class. It was hard for many of them to adjust when they were still surrounded by so many high school peers. Some struggled to step into new roles or explore different parts of themselves. It was like TJ Part II, at least through sophomore year.

Just my .02.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The information is readily available. It is not exclusive, so there will be some overlap. My point, though, is the top kids from any school can do as well as TJ on admissions. There were about 150 students from TJ admitted to UVA, for example. or roughly 33% of the class. At madison, it was about 1/9th.

Since 150 students at TJ is a big number, I will assume that most TJ students can get into UVA/Tech/William and Mary.
That means that the top 1/9th at madison is roughly equivalent to the kids at TJ.

And we can't assume that all of the top students at these schools even applied to UVa. Among the friends of my child at TJ, I know of a number of excellent students who were very focused on particular schools that did not include UVa. These are kids who would have been accepted had they applied and are going to Top Ten or Fifteen schools. So that 150 number would have been even higher if all who were qualified had applied.

It's cute how you crunch those numbers. But did you check who made it into the Ivies from Madison? TJ has one of the highest acceptance rates in ivies of any school in nova. Those state schools are safeties for TJ students. But good spin job.

My point was that the top 10% students at any school can get into the same schools as the middle of the road students at TJ. Are you saying that every student at TJ is admitted to one of Tech, UVA or W & M? I bet any student accepted to UVA will do fine at TJ.

Most of the TJ students attending UVA are average or below average students except for those students getting ton of merit aid or going for the in-state tuition. UVA is still considered a safety at TJ. TJ kids would not brag about getting into UVA. Average or below average student is not doing fine.

So you are such a tiger parent that average at TJ is not fine? I AM GLAD I AM NOT YOUR KID.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The information is readily available. It is not exclusive, so there will be some overlap. My point, though, is the top kids from any school can do as well as TJ on admissions. There were about 150 students from TJ admitted to UVA, for example. or roughly 33% of the class. At madison, it was about 1/9th.

Since 150 students at TJ is a big number, I will assume that most TJ students can get into UVA/Tech/William and Mary.
That means that the top 1/9th at madison is roughly equivalent to the kids at TJ.

And we can't assume that all of the top students at these schools even applied to UVa. Among the friends of my child at TJ, I know of a number of excellent students who were very focused on particular schools that did not include UVa. These are kids who would have been accepted had they applied and are going to Top Ten or Fifteen schools. So that 150 number would have been even higher if all who were qualified had applied.

It's cute how you crunch those numbers. But did you check who made it into the Ivies from Madison? TJ has one of the highest acceptance rates in ivies of any school in nova. Those state schools are safeties for TJ students. But good spin job.

My point was that the top 10% students at any school can get into the same schools as the middle of the road students at TJ. Are you saying that every student at TJ is admitted to one of Tech, UVA or W & M? I bet any student accepted to UVA will do fine at TJ.

Most of the TJ students attending UVA are average or below average students except for those students getting ton of merit aid or going for the in-state tuition. UVA is still considered a safety at TJ. TJ kids would not brag about getting into UVA. Average or below average student is not doing fine.

Anonymous wrote:^ along with little Albert Einstein posts... F'king morons.

Actually, the Einstein post was that Albert would not have been admitted -- because of the F****d up policies.