Schools

Asian Americans Will Be Two-Thirds of TJ Freshman Class in the Fall

FCPS saw 2,900 apply to prestigious school this year; 487 were accepted for the fall.

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has offered admission to 487 students for the Class of 2018 at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), Fairfax County Public Schools announced Monday.

The prestigious public school was most recently ranked #1 in Virginia by U.S. News & World Report and #4 in the country by the magazine.

Of the 487 students, 323 or 66.3 percent are Asian-American, according to statistics released by FCPS. Of the total population in the county, Asian-Americans make up 18 percent of the population as of 2013. 

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Asian-Americans became the majority (45 percent vs 42 percent white) of the TJ class beginning in 2008, according to reports in US News and The Washington Post.

A total of 2,900 students applied for admission for the fall of 2014. Seventy five (75) percent of the students offered admission reside in Fairfax County and 25 percent of the admitted class are from Arlington, Loudoun and Prince William counties and the City of Falls Church.  

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Approximately 92 (91.8) percent of students (447) offered admission are currently attending public schools.

Established in 1985, TJHSST is a governor’s school offering a comprehensive college preparatory program emphasizing the sciences, mathematics, and technology.  

Specialized technical laboratories, including a technological computational center, enhance the academic curriculum and provide students with experience in state-of-the-art technology, opportunities for independent research and experimentation and interaction with professionals from the scientific, technological, engineering, and industrial communities. 

The selection process for admittance to TJHSST involves a holistic review of each candidate’s semifinalist-applicant’s essay, teacher recommendations, and student-authored information sheet, as well as consideration of grades and test scores on the admissions examination. As always, a summer round of admissions for eighth graders newly moved to a participating district after Sept. 30 of the previous year will add to the 487 acceptances at the end of June.

Here's the demographic breakdown of the new class of 487 students who were admitted, from information provided by FCPS:

The school saw 2,900 applicants this year. Of those, more boys (55.7 percent) than girls (44.3 percent) applied.

Applied:
Male: 1,615
Female: 1,285

More boys (60.2 percent) were accepted than girls (39.8 percent).

Accepted: 
Male: 293
Female: 194

The ethnic makeup of the students who applied was:
  • White: 944
  • Black: 177
  • Hispanic: 214
  • Asian: 1,385
  • Multiracial/Other: 180
The ethnic makeup of the students who were accepted was:
  • White: 117
  • Black: 10
  • Hispanic: 8
  • Asian: 323
  • Multiracial/Other: 29

Of those who applied, most (92.8 percent) were from public schools; of the new class, 91.8 percent are from public schools. 

Public schools: 2,692 (92.8 percent) 447 were accepted
Private schools: 208 (7.2 percent) 40 were accepted



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