Chances of Non-TJ FCPS HS Students getting admission in Ivy League Universities

Parents Forum
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<p>note, pizza girls post does suggest ONE advantage of TJ.</p>

<p>At many FFX base schools there will be only a handful of kids looking at elite schools other than the VA publics (I think). IF those kids are all ivy focused, you may not hear as much about the other good choices for a kid with great numbers.</p>

<p>OTOH at TJ, your kid will be surrounded by kids aiming at CMU, at Hopkins, even at UChicago. To the extent that you look to your HS community (Kids and parents) for info on where and how to apply (rather than looking to CC) you are likely to find a better informed group, with wider horizons, at TJ than at many other places.</p>

<p>Though of course you will also find a fairly large group of Ivy obsessives, which can be a distraction.</p>

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<p>I think it is important to point out that the chances of getting into an Ivy are not great, even for the typical TJ student.</p>

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<p>Thank you everyone for helping me get some clarity on what our approach should be, with your valuable input.</p>

<p>We knew from the beginning that our S had in-born abilities as far as writing is considered. He writes like an author. His free writes are really outstanding. He loves writing poetry and is a voracious reader.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, he was constantly falling sick due to immunity issues, because of which he was on allergy medications most of the time. He never had an opportunity to demonstrate his talents in writing at school up until fifth grade. In Fairfax County, kids are selected for the Gifted and Talented Program (Advanced Academic Program, AAP as it is now referred to as) during the second grade. So my S was not selected during the second grade. His abilities were recognized only during fifth grade and his teachers recommended him to be placed in the Level IV AAP for Grade 6 at the local school. They were surprised that he was not put in Level IV AAP until then. </p>

<p>There is a significant difference in the curriculum and types of after school activities that the kids work on, between a local school based AAP and the AAP at a GT Center (a school where all students attending are in the AAP). The local school also has separate classes for AAP students, but there are significant differences in terms of after school club competitions such as Math Olympiads, Math Counts, Odyssey of the Mind, First Lego League Robotics and so on.</p>

<p>My S was missing out on the advanced curriculum and all these after school club activities during Grade 3 through Grade 6. Now he has started attending the middle school at a GT Center, where he has class mates from all feeder GT Center Elementary schools. All these kids are way ahead in Math particularly, as they have been going through advanced curriculum and participating in these after school clubs for a few years now. My S would have performed equally well if not better in Math, if only he had exposure to the advanced curriculum and clubs at the GT Center in previous years. We, the parents, feel that we are partly responsible for the situation as we could have been proactive, by getting him involved in after school enrichment activities. Unfortunately, we were not aware of these programs. We were always under the impression that if he truly deserves to be in Level IV, his teachers would recognize his abilities. Unfortunately, he was not selected by his teachers for the Level IV program (GT Center) until last year. He started attending a GT Center only in the seventh grade. We are concerned that he might be losing confidence in Math, as he could not get into the school’s MathCounts team. But he is strong in Science and his teacher likes him very much. He really wants to go to TJ, as he loves science. He is part of the FLL team and they have participated in the state competition.</p>

<p>We are losing hope that he has a fair shot at getting into TJ, as the other kids are way ahead in Math. I believe TJ puts a lot of emphasis on Math, as it is a Science and Technology high school. Sadly, even though he is very interested in science and a prolific writer, he may not be able to attend TJ.</p>

<p>Anyways, our base high school is Centreville High School. If anyone has kids that have attended Centreville High, could you please let me know your thoughts regarding the peer groups, academic environment, safety (drugs etc.) at the school? Our main concern is regarding peer group, because my S is someone who gets motivated by the peer group.</p>

<p>Do kids from Centreville High have good academic environment to go onto reputed universities (not necessarily Ivies) ?</p>

<p>Sorry about the long posting. I felt it is important to give you the background, in order to get a realistic assessment of my S’s situation.</p>

<p>Appreciate your time and input.</p>

<p>Best Regards</p>

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<p>peaceforall: don’t lose hope. DS is not a “math” person – he entered TJ with just algebra 1 under his belt (yup, he was one of the few taking geometry freshman year). He went to TJ strictly for the advance computing courses available to him. He like it there but as he will tell you he has no comparison since he hasn’t attended any HS but TJ. Grades are a big thing at TJ and I have tried to emphasize that he should pick his electives not on the weighting but if he will enjoy it! Heck, if astronomy interests you – take it – so what if it isn’t weighted like an AP class. </p>

<p>I would agree with Brooklynborndad that those who fall toward the bottom of the TJ, would have done better in the college admissions if they stayed at their base school where they would have been at the top/near the top of the class.</p>

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<p>peaceforall - your son may very well benefit from an IB or Cambridge program, both of which are offered in FCPS. You will find various strong ECs at many, many high schools in FFX Co. TJ is an amazing school, and absolutely the right environment for many students. It is not the end all and be all of high schools.</p>

<p>As far as the ‘right’ EC’s, I could not agree more with the parents who have suggested that is the one that your student is interested in. The one that engages him, and really brightens him. It’s the one that after being at school from 7am-2pm, his EC from 2pm-9pm, he still has the energy to get his homework done after 10pm. When an EC takes 20+ hours/week your child darn well better love it. It can’t be one you chose or pushed him towards because it was the EC of the year according to all the ivy league successful candidates. At this age (middle school) some students have a keen awareness of what their passion is, many others don’t find it until later. You have to let them find it on their own or A) their grades will suffer B) they will quit the EC later in high school or C) both.</p>

<p>If you are interested in the specific information related to Centerville HS, see if they have their profile listed online. If not I’m sure you can call the school and get one.</p>

<p>Please don’t get hung up on Ivy vs. non, public vs. private, AP vs. college prep, specialty HS vs. base, or the ‘right activities’. Weather you know it or not, this trickles down to your son and creates anxiety. Once started it is a cycle that is hard to break.</p>

<p>I applaud you for looking into all aspects of his education. Make sure you include him in the conversation. For a student that has experienced illness he likely has felt a loss of power in his life. Including him will help. Believe me.</p>