<p>Congrats PCP! Both you & nightchef, at least take a look before you rule it out, if you think it merits considering further.</p>
<p>For S I am happy because with his GPA I didn’t think it likely he’d be admitted to the engineering school (I’ve been posting in the 3.0 -3.3 thread). SO this is a really good place for him since he would not qualify for much merit at the more competitive private school’s engineering programs.</p>
<p>Good luck with you decision-</p>
<p>
Nice. Unfortunately our son’s GPA is a little short of that range. Of course he can transfer into Commonwealth after he gets there if he does well.</p>
<p>If UMass turns out to be our best or only financial option, I would try to talk him into the idea that he could go for one of the arts-oriented RAPs and build his social life from there. Right now I think he’s picturing himself stranded in one of the Southwest towers, friendless and drowning in vomit.</p>
<p>Folks, TJ is a public selective admit math/science program. Average SAT is > 2100. Insanely competitive. It’s not grade inflation – it’s just that tough. One must maintain a 3.0 to even remain at the school.</p>
<p>Brooklynborndad, I hear you about the GPA coming out of there. Both my kids have been in similar programs. We found the GPA made a difference to some schools, but not others – they are the ones who understood the intensity. Did she apply to some less reachy schools?</p>
<p>My guess is that Tulane does not see as many applicants from your D’s HS as does WashU and therefore may be unfamiliar with the difficulty, etc. However, I would expect the HS has an impressive school profile to allay concerns like that.</p>
<p>I am a big Tulane supporter and frankly I think they just goofed, based on what has been posted anyway. They do see stuff we don’t, but can’t be anything too much since WUSTL waitlisted.</p>
<p>Yes, she applied to several less reachy - RPI (we hear today), Lehigh, Lafayette, UR, CaseWR (plus a couple of other reaches)</p>
<p>We are confused but I think A. Tulane apps are up significantly in recent years B. They may not know TJ as well as WUSTL does C. She may not have expressed interest well in her essay - they may have sniffed out “safety” D - she’s kind of nerdy, and maybe the system worked, she really is a better match, grades aside, for WUSTL than for Tulane.</p>
<p>And counting down, thanks for explaining the school, I hate to brag, but otherwise the situation is hard to explain.</p>
<p>Big sigh of relief! She just got her acceptance from RPI! We may still pursue WUSTL, but we will let Tulane go.</p>
<p>Congrats!! Great school, hope she enjoys.</p>
<p>Congrats, Brooklynborndad! Its so hard to tell what makes one school say yes and another say no or maybe. I would be surprised if Tulane wasn’t familiar (or as familiar as WashU) with Thomas Jefferson. Its a pretty well known HS, and the adcomms should be familiar with the schools in their regions. And you should be proud. Great school.</p>
<p>We’ve talked it over. Tulane didn’t use common app, so didn’t see her (I think) excellent essays. The essay she wrote for Tulane I did not see, but she admits it was rushed and not as good. Anyway, she agrees she would have picked RPI over Tulane anyway, probably, so we are okay with how things are working out so far.</p>
<p>Well in fact we are not okay. We are walking on cloud 9 :)</p>
<p>In the end that’s what counts is that the student ends up at the right school for them. Sounds like a good fit.</p>
<p>Not falling in love with particular colleges prior to decision time is beneficial in dealing with rejections. Most kids are quite capable of adapting to and thriving in any college they choose to apply to. I’m an advocate of a top-heavy college list (but you gotta have safeties). Definitely apply to multiple schools in your desired tier. If peer/faculty quality is a priority, then most schools in the same caliber band can foot the bill.</p>
<p>Bdd, big congrats on RPI!</p>
<p>thick envelope from Case, thin envelope from List (JTS joint program with Columbia)</p>
<p>BBD–did your daughter apply to any instate schools? While UVA could/should blind offer to every TJ graduate, I know they only take a handful. What about Tech and WandM? It may be too late, but she may want to look and see if they are still taking apps at places like URichmond, Mary Washington, or Washington and Lee for the spring semester if she is unhappy with her choices or for transfer.</p>
<p>You have my every sympathy…they say getting into harvard from TJ is like a rich man …I don’t remember. something biblical. It is totally nuts and unfair to TJ graduates who have a life and sometimes don’t get top grades so they get ranked below 50% while they would tear up and spit out the curriculums at their local high school. I know one who was turned down from Northwestern with perfect SATs and 3.7 GPA who wants to study polisci…thus the less than perfect science grades. He has a great grades at UVA and a great internship this summer…TJ prepares them to succeed wherever they go. Your D was fortunate to have this experience even though right now it seems to be hurting some of her applications.</p>
<p>She wanted to go to a school that has either architecture (at least a prearch major, if not actual accredited program) or civil/structural engineering, preferably both. Only UVA and VTech have arch programs among VA state schools, and the only other school with engineering is VCU, and they do not have civil. Richmond and W&L are private, so not really better than the out of state match schools.</p>
<p>We determined that UVA was an almost impossible stretch. VTech it came down to prioritizing apps. As it was she applied to 9. She liked VTech programs, but given difficulties getting in, and her preference for a smaller school, she decided to prioritize other schools. </p>
<p>TJ probably made applying to Virginia state schools and Ivies dauntingly difficult (she ended up only applying to one Ivy). We think it may have helped with RPI and Case though. We have yet to hear from Lehigh, Lafayette, or UR.</p>
<p>Bdd, congrats on Case! Seems like good news come in clusters. Wish your D the best on the rest of her schools.</p>
<p>BrooklynBornDad - If your daughter had to do it all over again, do you think that she would still choose to go TJ? I have heard of the reputation of the school and was just wondering if it was still a good experience for her.</p>
<p>bogibogi, my kids were in similar programs and had no regrets despite the GPA hit. It is a fabulous education and S1 feels he was supremely prepared for college.</p>
<p>bogibogi</p>
<p>well we feel better about it than we did a week ago :)</p>
<p>I’d say its a toss up. The stress has harmed our entire family over four years. It has impacted my DD’s self esteem, etc. The education is strong, although required courses and other factors have kept her from taking full advantage of electives. Some teachers have been excellent, others not so much. The best part of it has been the social environment, the opportunity to really be with her peers, not only in terms of being with smart kids, but with ones she shares interests with. OTOH the first year or so she had trouble really fitting in socially, partly her residual social anxiety, partly cause of the intensity of the program, other factors. By senior year though, she has heaps of friends, and some close ones there. Just in time to graduate :(. So all in all, a toss up.</p>
<p>If she had blanked on her “match” schools, we would probably have said, no, it was not worth it (though finding a truely better HS for her would not have been easy, maybe HB Woodlawn in Arlignton, which would have meant moving there)</p>
<p>Brooklynborndad, I found your account of your daughter’s TJ experience eerily familiar. My son is graduating from Boston Latin, and I swear I could have written what you wrote without changing a thing (except “four years” to “six years” and “she” to “he”). I guess some of this stuff is hard-coded into the “elite public HS” DNA.</p>