Hi,
I had a question as to what the admissions at colleges would prefer? Right now I am a student at the number 1 HS in US (Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology), which is my magnet school, where currently I have a 3.3 unweighted GPA as the classes are very rigorous at TJHSST (especially in math and sci and Tech), but if i were to transfer back to my base public HS (still ranked around #100 in the country but its not as rigorous as my selective magnet school) I would be able to obtain around a 3.9 GPA, what would look better/college prefer? A 3.3 in the most rigorous HS TJHSST? Or a 3.9 from (a still very rigorous but fairly less rigorous) base High school where I would still be taking rigorous classes, just not heavily rigorous Math and Science classes?
I would still be taking lots of AP classes in my base high school, but I would take these classes rather than rigorous math and science classes?
(NOTE: My school does not rank nor give valedictorians etc)
I am looking at schools like UC Berkeley, Stanford, Northwestern, USC, Uchicago, etc.
Which is better 3.3 magnet high school thats very rigorous or a 3.9 from a normal public high school?
(I also have a 35 ACT and tons of ECs)
Is it better to receive a lower GPA from a top ranked magnet High School?Or higher gpa public school
You will get dinged for having a lower GPA & lower class rank.
Look at Naviance. It’s hard to answer this question without seeing acceptance histories for both schools, but you can certainly see them for your current school (which the adcoms will know).
I agree with the previous posts but would add that national rank of the high school you will graduate from isn’t the only determinative factor. Student demographics and a school’s profile (location, counseling, prior applicant track record) are equally or even more important. Plus there is no guarantee that your GPA rises in the “easier” school. Bottom line is that you should go to the school where you thrive and feel good about learning.
Indeed, and honestly, Stanford, Cal, NU, UChicago, and USC as a freshman all range from very hard to get in to to ridiculously hard to get in to, regardless of what you choose.
Is that GPA at TJ good enough for UVa or W&M?
OP can look at TJ’s school report list of colleges where kids were accepted (also online.) The competition is tough and 3.3 is further from the top. But this hs dominates in the area. Other local hs can find it hard to get the same results.
Don’t transfer to a worse school to get into a better one. If you have the standardized test scores, the schools will see that. You will get into somewhere decent, but probably not an Ivy, either way.
@jeffhardy123 - what year are you in at TJ? If you are more than half way through, it will be hard to raise the GPA. Most of your college apps will have GPA through Junior year.
^This is critical 1 or 2 years at this other school won’t get your 3.3 GPA to a 3.9. Also don’t forget the college advising advantage (unless your family is planning on shelling out for a private counselor) and the potential damage to your letter of recommendation strength by having to go with teachers who don’t know you as well and also may not be super familiar with how to write great LORs. I’m not super familiar with TJ aside from the name recognition it has, but I imagine the top public school in the country must have resources at least within striking distance of the top private schools that when I graduated 11 years ago could send 45% of the class to the ivy league alone (it’s down now to probably 25-30%). How many students are there per GC at TJ vs. your old school? How many students per faculty member? The GC report and teacher recs are a critical component to your application, and one of the reasons people shell out for private school is because the GC/faculty there are more informed about how to write the kinds of letters that propel kids from “good enough” to “must accept.” I’m guessing the TJ staff/faculty are far more informed than your base HS.
3.3 is the UW, what’s the weighted GPA?
So you would just be transferring for senior year? And your new 3.9 GPA would just come from a single fall semester?
Didn’t quite process this line. Does this mean you spent at least one year in “regular” high school, transferred to TJ, and are thinking of transferring back? Unless your parents have been moving each of those years, this to me seals it that you can’t transfer back. Two transfers in high school (without some out of your control factor like finances or parents’ moving) seems like a huge red flag.
This is a big question for many in Fairfax County. If your base school is Langley or McLean, you probably would do well if you transfer back and your GPA increases. The question is will your GPA really increase that much? If you just finished your freshman year and you’re not feeling the love for the heavy math and science of TJ, transfer back but don’t make the assumption that your GPA will jump up that much. Have you spent a day in the base high school?
Is that 3.3 weighted or unweighted? 3.3 weighted is close to the bottom of the class at TJ. Even if TJ doesn’t rank, the range is listed on the profile. From the 2015-2016 profile:
^OP had said 3.3 is the UW but has not given us the weighted.
3.3 UW is not very competitive for top schools coming from TJ. I’m a TJ grad myself (class of 2014). Colleges will take into account course rigor but just going to TJ does not make up for a “lower” GPA.
TJ does not rank, but your counselor can tell you approximately where you fall in the class (they know what the highest and lowest GPAs are). I had a 3.95 W/~3.6 UW and I was solidly midpack according to my counselor. I didn’t apply to the “top” schools because of this but instead targeted competitive schools where I could get merit- I ended up getting full tuition at two schools. I didn’t even apply to UVA- with my GPA coming from tj, I wouldn’t have gotten in.
I can give you some more specific advice if you PM me (I’m very familiar with the tj curriculum and what courses you’re taking affects what my advice would be).
My kids have a number of friends from TJ and most with your gpa seem to go to schools like UVA, VT, Ohio State, Michigan, USC, William and Mary, UNC, NYU, type level schools. The kids from TJ who get into Stanford, Ivies, and other super elite schools not only have the highest gpas at TJ but also most have won some type of national accolade. If you went to a regular FCPS school from the start and had a perfect gpa it still would be unlikely to get into an elite school without some type of hook or award. Our HS is one of the top ranked in FCPS and had 5 students get into super elite schools but most had some type of hook (athlete, interesting minority background, or alumni.) The only unhooked top admits were to Duke and UCB. If you are happy at TJ you should stay and the counselors will help you find a great school that will work with all your personal info. My son has 2 friends that were almost kicked out of TJ (athletes that didn’t have the time to dedicate to their studies) and they are both attending good schools in the Fall. TJ gets respect from college admissions it’s just the schools that are lottery level that are incredibly hard no matter what your stats are.