<p>I'm a current freshman at Westfield High School in Fairfax County and I was wondering if I should apply to TJ? I have a pretty good gpa at 4.1 and I'm a Hispanic. I got a 165 on my psat,56 in reading, 51 in math and 58 in writing . I'm in many extra curriculars like girl scouts, track, cross country, best buddies, habitat for humanity and class of 2015 treasurer. I'm thinking about majoring in economics, finance or marketing. I was wondering if it's worth applying since I know its a science and math based school. Does it actually help you get into college? Is it better to be among the crowd in TJ or stand out in a regular high school? Is the stress and enormous amount of homework worth it? I'm a very hardworking student and I'm going to the first person of my family to attend college. I really just want to know what's best for me.</p>
<p>Don’t bother applying for TJ and just do the best you can at Westfield. I’m a current freshman in TJ and a lot of time I think of being in the school as a bad thing because all the students are competitive, trying to get officer positions, good grades, compete in all sorts of areas, etc. And as a froshmore you’d have to deal with trying to get all the graduation/senior lab requirements and it can be a headache trying to figure out how you can get all the classes you need to even graduate while doing what you want.</p>
<p>I have a friend who went from TJ to Stanford, and she said she met much smarter people at TJ in both quantity and quality. I don’t know about anything else like getting into college and the workload, but that alone sounds like a really cool opportunity.</p>
<p>well TJ did drop to #2 this week…</p>
<p>It helps if you can do very well at TJHSST. Your GPA is high but i dont know if its weighted or how competitive and inflated your school is. </p>
<p>Cant hurt to apply though!</p>
<p>Search the Prep Schools forum if you’re wondering about the impact being at a top school will make</p>
<p>Though Westfield’s a big school, it definitely would be easier to stand out at Westfield. If you really challenge yourself throughout highschool, I think you’ll be fine. However, apply to TJ. If you don’t you might regret it and always wonder what could have been. If you make it in, that’s great. If you don’t, Westfield’s an ok school to be at.</p>
<p>One of my friends goes to TJ. I heard that in her technology class, she had to make a robot. I’m not positive if everyone has to do that, but I’m pretty sure as a sophomore the bar will be raised. That being said, it can’t hurt to try. If you get in, that’s great! Just remember that TJ has a high standard and is VERY competitive.:)</p>
<p>Go ahead and try! You will never know if you don’t. But the standards are very high (yet somewhat uneven – who knows why they choose a particular person?) You will never know unless you do. The Prep work to apply is not wasted. You will find it very useful whether you get in or not. It is hard to go in as a Frosh, but if they accept you, they will help you.</p>