I'm a freshman at TJ and it's pretty cool but to maintain good grades it takes a huge toll on your social life. I miss not having hw and breezing through tests...getting 4.0 no sweat.Right now it seems like college wise my base school would be a better option, if for no other reason then standing out as an academic. Not only would I have more fun but I could also get easy A's. And really, do colleges like a 3.8 TJ grad or a 4.0 regular grad? Thoughts?

(parent of TJ grad writing this) If you are not happy there now as a freshman, then you may end being very miserable there as a junior. TJ is not the right place for every intelligent, gifted student. There is no shame in returning to your base school if it seems to be the right fit for you and can offer you the academic classes you're interested in taking.

Have you talked with your high school counselor about this? That person would be able to provide help.

For colleges, it depends on where you want to go (stay in Virginia, go to the west coast?). Colleges in Virginia have a hard time with the large number of northern Virginia students applying, it seems.

BY the time you are 22, no one cares where you went to high school, and by the time you are 30 no one cares where you went to college. You'll be judged by how motivated and dedicated you are to your work first and foremost, and by your base IQ and academic credentials second. There's not much room for unmotivated, lazy people, no matter how smart they are.

Check out this WSJ article: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115853818747665842-ZqcThW_76BozMT1wgzstA1afvh8_20080510.html

A quote from it:

"I don't care where someone went to school, and that never caused me to hire anyone or buy a business," says Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, who graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

What is your base school? If you're going to Langley, Woodson, or some other schools of this level, I'd say it doesn't matter much. If your base school is Annandale... I might reconsider.

if you think you will be happy at your old school go there. just make sure to keep your grades very high. if you do that you'll be able to go to pretty much wherever you want. if you aspire to harvard, yale, or stanford you may have to stay at TJ and pull a 4.0.

If you are thinking that your regular high school will be like middle school, think again. Most middle schools only offer a couple of harder level classes at best. If you are among the smarter kids at high school at least half of your classes are likely to be advanced classes, either AP/IB or accelerated classes to let you get to those AP/IB classes sooner. Of course you will probably have a much shorter travel time (unless your regular HS is Annandale, Stuart or Lee) and school will start earlier in the day, which will leave you with more free time. Again, however, if you are among the smarter kids you will probably spend that additional time in clubs, sports, musical programs or other activities that will buff up the college application. Finally don't make the mistake of assuming that the kids at your regular high school are a bunch of morons who you will easily outperform with minimal exertion. A great many of them can probably kick your ass academically. Almost all of the kids at TJ are in the top 20% of high school students, but TJ only takes a fraction of that top 20.

Colleges know that TJ is a world unto itself. If you are sitting in the top 25% of your class and get that 2200 or better SAT score you are probably going to be in good shape for college admission. Probably the biggest thing you would have working against you would be the number of TJ kids your desired school would accept.

As the TJ grad parent said though, if the idea of immersing yourself in math and science for another 3.5 years doesn't interest you, now is the time to bail. TJ can be a good place to go, but you do give up a lot to go there. Just don't think you will be headed to EASY STREET when you head back to your regular school.

Thanks for your input everyone. And not to say that it will be EASY STREET but I have heard from friends that the classes are pretty easy. And a great many of them cannot kick my ass academically, as I know all of them. Not to say I am supremely number one, but definately top 5.

(a parent again) There are many intelligent students in the northern VA/FCPS high schools. TJ students and teachers know this, too. My student had some classmates leave for a few reasons, and the only thought was: "we miss them at TJ"--not "losers" or "You can't make it here."

kid21, you got into TJ. That says a lot about your ability already. If it is not a great fit for you, talk with your counselor and parents (I hope they will support you in this). Best to you.

There are kids all over the country who get into great schools without going to TJ. For that matter, 2 years out it probably will not matter what college you went to. Talk to your parents, and do what feels right. Good Luck!

kid21 Wrote:
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> Thanks for your input everyone. And not to say
> that it will be EASY STREET but I have heard from
> friends that the classes are pretty easy. And a
> great many of them cannot kick my ass
> academically, as I know all of them. Not to say I
> am supremely number one, but definately top 5.


Yur spell chek broken?

Maybe IB would be a better choice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The three enemies of the people are hegemony, monogamy, and monotony."-Terence McKenna

TJ is DEF worth it.

TJ is a great school. FCPS can produce wonderful students. If parents are willing to put in the work your child can succeed at any FCPS. Parents must work too. Do not leave it all up to FCPS.

Didn't you go to GT?

Didn't you get into TJ?

You must have critical thinking skills.

Can't you figure this out yourself?

Shouldn't you have figured this out BEFORE you took a spot away from another kid who DID know what they wanted.

Why are you asking about this on this kind of site?

Are you playing us?

Are you smoking something?

Are you actually so uninspired by life with all your gifts that all you can think of is your social life?

I want my money back!!!!!!!!!

Are there any more out there like you?????

Your parents are going to tell you to get lost.

Grab the TJ opportunity by the horns and stop complaining.

DO Something. A social life is over-rated.

Wealth and power is much better and that comes from getting straight As at TJ, perfect SATs and then getting into an IVY.

So FEW people actually have those options available.

Make this world a better place.


kid21 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm a freshman at TJ and it's pretty cool but to
> maintain good grades it takes a huge toll on your
> social life. I miss not having hw and breezing
> through tests...getting 4.0 no sweat.Right now it
> seems like college wise my base school would be a
> better option, if for no other reason then
> standing out as an academic. Not only would I have
> more fun but I could also get easy A's. And
> really, do colleges like a 3.8 TJ grad or a 4.0
> regular grad? Thoughts?

The social life in college is so much better than HS. You are at a HS now where you can basically pick the college you want to go to later.

So, I'd be looking at California (or away from your parents I guess.)

HS partying sucks today. Luckily, we had fun when I was in HS. Cops only made you pour out your beers. Parents actually hosted the keggers.

But, college offered a much better social life and actually the best was right AFTER college.

Don't start closing the doors now. Head back down. We'll pretend you didn't ask.

So you are in TJ? Good, I am in the 8th Grade Honors at a iB school, and I was (and still I am) intersted in TJ. I have the TJ admissions test this Saturday. A question to you kid21 is that is TJ super hard, even for kids who have a GPA of 4.0 (like me) or not? How much HW do they give you? Just asking.

Most Asian kids hate life by the age of twenty. I know.

kid21 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm a freshman at TJ and it's pretty cool but to
> maintain good grades it takes a huge toll on your
> social life. I miss not having hw and breezing
> through tests...getting 4.0 no sweat.Right now it
> seems like college wise my base school would be a
> better option, if for no other reason then
> standing out as an academic. Not only would I have
> more fun but I could also get easy A's. And
> really, do colleges like a 3.8 TJ grad or a 4.0
> regular grad? Thoughts?

I worked for FCPS for over twenty five years. and If you want to go back to your base school you should. You can't be over-worked or depress when you go to school. I will rather you go to Nova than ended up depress and not doing something good.

Another parent of a former TJ attendee.

TJ is a top-notch school though it is clearly not for every intelligent, gifted student. For my son, it was absolutely the right decision and he would be the first to acknowledge it though he put in some long hours especially in his junior year.

The upsides are: if you have good grades, SAT scores etc it really does give you an edge when it comes to admission into some of the better schools. Also the rigorous academic environment pays off in spades when it comes to college because my son literally coasted through his undergrad even while others were slogging away. It really does give you a better grounding for college.

I agree with those who say that the school or college one attended matters less as the years go by. However, the school you attend and the grades you get, etc will be an important determinant when it comes to college acceptance. No different than the college one attends will be an important factor in one's first job. The grad school one goes to makes a difference in one's first job after grad school ...... but down the line it is one's performance and accomplishments that matter.

Hey TJ parent - How's that new ESL program going at TJ?

Just a tad bit darker.

If you like TJ, then stay. If you'd rather maintain a social life then TJ isn't the best (unless you don't take many APs at once or something)

I’m meeting Jeff Bezos this morning in DC.
I’m discussing a 9th grade science project that has evolved into another channel for amazon.
Class of 1996.
What do you think?

Is TJ worth it?

Eesh says yes

Eesh still hasn't walked the same since