<p>For TJ: the average gpa on the Scattergram was 4.35. Of course, you had students below this number admitted to UVA.</p>
<p>I would definitely persist with the counselor. It may be hard to get hold of them because it’s summer and the renovation is making it a bit chaotic, but keep trying. </p>
<p>I am not sure how summer would work out but I am familiar with at least one case in which a student withdrew from a course in the fall well past the stated deadline, and the course never appeared on the transcript. This was with approval and assistance from both the counselor and the teacher. </p>
<p>And yes, he would be allowed to take Chem during the regular school year if he drops it this summer. It is a required course to graduate, and it is also a prerequisite for many of the research labs. </p>
<p>As for GPAs required for admission, remember that the posted stats on college websites are merely averages. Check Navigate on Blackboard to get a better sense of what TJ students need to get into particular schools. And UVA is tough to predict because they are so competitive. I know of kids who were rejected but got into Ivies for example. </p>
<p>TJ students on average do very well in college admissions (look at the senior destination issue of the school newspaper). And his grades are even likely to go up once he gets past the prerequisites and takes “fun” classes. Contrary to what some said, my son’s junior year was his best in terms of grades and classes since he was able to take more of the classes that truly interested him. </p>
<p>Best of luck with your decision. TJ is a truly special place. Now that my son is a senior he says he understands why droves of alumni come back to visit during college breaks. According to my son, it sometimes seems like there are more alums than students in the hallways in mid December and March!</p>
<p>Wow I think I am from another planet.
To the point most universities want you to take the most rigorous curriculum offered rather than settling for easier classes. With an occasional B+ I wouldn’t see why you would even consider dropping him down to a base school.</p>
<p>^Sometimes B’s in earlier classes portend worse grades in more difficult classes. </p>
<p>I would say if he thinks he can still get into UVa, then it is definitely worth it to stay at Thomas Jefferson (TJ) High school. It may even be worth it even if he has to go to another state school.</p>
<p>It sounds weird to say it, but places like TJ are great in terms of networking, which is one of the chief advantages of the so-called ‘elite’ colleges.</p>
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<p>Taking two AP science classes at the same time may be a bad idea, and I would say that even if someone wasn’t having trouble. AP chem is probably the hardest AP there is. I would only take it at the same time as AP calc.
If you want to be ‘ahead’, you are better off taking biology at a college during their summer session. Harvard has a great biology 101 class.</p>
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<p>It really depends on the base high school. He would be challenged at a school like Langley; at Mount Vernon, not so much. Since he likes it at TJ, his best bet would be to stay there.</p>
<p>The guidance secretary is working during the summer. You can call the office to see which counselor is in or email the counselor. They are pretty good about returning emails.</p>
<p>For the AP classes: would not recommend doing AP Chemistry and AP Bio at the same time. It is a lot of work for each of those classes! AP Chem and AP Calc would be fine or AP Bio and AP Calc.</p>
<p>I don’t think you read VCU’s website correctly. VCU would take anyone from TJ in a second. That said I don’t think your kid is any “danger” of going to a school like VCU, with over a 4.0 from TJ.</p>
<p>When DS was in HS, we would go to several math contests such as ARML where there were dozens of TJ students, and it was obvious they had an outstanding environment that kids with interest in math and sciences would greatly benefit from. (In our relatively good public school, I doubt there were more than a couple of students who were at the level needed for these competitions) Practically everything that DS needed, he had to learn outside of school to be competitive. It was apparent for the TJ students that it was actually done in school, and they had a big critical mass of students with such interests.</p>
<p>So if your son is really interested in the math and STEM areas, as long as he was comfortable staying there, I would go with that. He may do relatively better compared to his peers in a regular school, but I doubt there would be too many that have the kinds of opportunity that TJ can provide if he wanted to get deep into math and such.</p>
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You mentioned he had all A’s, except for one A- and B+ in his freshman year. Were those A- and B+ the type of grades you were concerned about? And the type of grades you fear may occur in chemistry this summer?</p>
<p>All A’s with an A- and B+ is not low enough to exclude your son from getting in to any selective college in the US, certainly not UVA. UVA accepts nearly 100 students from TJ each year. Obviously many of them were not at the top of their class at TJ. Furthermore, with this many admits, I’m sure UVA is quite familiar with the school and is aware that an A at TJ means more than an A at most high schools.</p>
<p>I think the more significant issue is you said your son, “keeps thinking why am I dumb and not as smart as the other kids.” There are many studies on how the Big Fish-Little Pond Effect impacts self confidence, some specifically in relation to selective high schools. It’s also quite common with students who attend selective colleges. If your son goes through it now, he likely won’t in college. Different people have different ideas about what is best. If it were me, I’d focus on helping your child understand that he’s still a gifted kid, even he’s not the best at TJ and sometimes gets grades less than A’s . It sounds like both of you might benefit from reviewing what GPAs ranges are common for TJ students who are accepted and rejected at specific colleges. I’d expect they have this info in Naviance or similar.</p>
<p>MomCat, you asked, and were pleasantly and matter-of-factly filled in. What is the big deal? Why insult the OP?</p>
<p>There are schools all over the country–including the midwest, which I gather is where you live–that are known as excellent. TJ happens to be one of them, and because it is so very good it has a national reputation. If someone from Illinois said their kid was at New Trier and someone from Northern Virginia hadn’t heard of it, is that surprising? I don’t think so. </p>
<p>Do we have to be subjected to these tiresome regional grudges yet again?</p>
<p>UVA accepts well-over 100 (usually over 200) TJ students every year. I forget the exact numbers for this year but 88 students decided to attend. You can check out all the numbers on Family Connection. Naviance is your friend and you can see how many kids applied and the numbers accepted at each school with the average stats. </p>
<p>I will say lots of DS’ friends chose to apply to reach schools (Ivy’s, MIT, Stanford etc.) and UVA or W&M as their safety school.</p>
<p>I would echo 2014novamom’s response. Summer chem between 9th and 10th grade is a difficult class for a number of students. Although TJ in 2013-14 is not the same as it was when my S attended, it is still a much stronger academic program than the base schools.</p>
<p>I would not expect that a few B+s or A-s will impact college chances except in the 5-10 most selective schools, where it seems like acceptance is sufficiently unpredictable that nobody should have expectations of getting in and I don’t include UVA in that category.</p>
<p>Consolation, as the Official CC Representative for Tiresome Regional Grudges, I feel compelled to remark on the difference between MomCat’s complaint about the use of TJ vs. New Trier. If someone writes “New Trier,” it is very easy to look up the school directly and find out about it. If someone looks up “TJ,” Google offers a lot of distracting options (well, for people who experience ADD to the same extent that I do, anyway).</p>
<p>The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology is 19th on the Wikepedia list for possible meanings of the abbreviation, after Tajikistan, T. J. Holmes (CNN anchor), Tommy Jones (PBA bowler), toimitusjohtaja (the Finnish equivalent of CEO), and a few other entries. John Rawls’ Theory of Justice immediately follows the meaning of TJ in the CC context. TJ is actually the second school on the list, but since the other is in Singapore, it would be safe to assume that’s not the one.</p>
<p>I think that the difficulty raised by the OP’s question is this: Every student is different, and every student’s circumstances are different. In my opinion, the true answer to the OP’s question is “This is unknowable.” If your son is not too dis-spirited by his experiences at TJ, OP, then I would lean toward having him stay at TJ. I think that a superior high-school education carries long-term benefits that are not equaled by the potential for higher rank at a high school that is not as strong. Also, sticking things out through tough circumstances helps a student mature, as long as the circumstances are not overwhelming. But again, every student is different and predictions are uncertain, especially when they concern the future (Yogi Berra).</p>
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<p>O/P may not live in Fairfax County.</p>
<p>TJ also has students from Loudon, Prince William and other surrounding districts.</p>
<p>I would keep him there. You can always move him after 10th grade if it ends up being to difficult for him.</p>
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<p>If a curious mind searches for “TJ High School”, TJHSST will come as top link in google search.</p>
<p>^ you can even leave out “high” and their website is the top link (and the next 5 links)</p>
<p>I suggested the Fairfax County Gifted Yahoo group because I thought it was a bit weird to post such a local question on a national site, but geez what a bunch of grumps here.</p>
<p>Yeah, just put in TJ high without school or TJ school without high and it pops up right away.</p>