Thomas Jefferson’s College Guidance Program
As a college preparatory school, TJ’s most obvious function is to help you get into college and be successful there. Over the school’s history, 100 percent of its graduates have gone on to attend college, and a large number have continued their education in graduate or professional schools.
Every student receives a great deal of individual attention throughout the college-application process. The head of school and two other experienced faculty members serve as college advisers, guiding the seniors through the process, helping them develop a realistic list of choices, and offering advice on writing personal essays. They also spend many hours following up with colleges by phone and email.
We strive to help you gain admission to colleges that offer the right academic level and atmosphere for you so that you will go on to be happy and productive at the college you choose. By this most important criterion, we consider our college-admissions outcomes to be outstanding. TJ students currently attend a wide variety of colleges and universities across the country. By their own accounts when they come back to visit us, they feel comfortable and confident in college right from the outset.
Frequently Asked Questions about TJ’s College Guidance Program
When does college counseling begin?
Ninth- and tenth-graders are encouraged to come to college presentations and look at materials, but the real structure begins in the junior year: the head of school delivers a talk to the group on how to get ready for SATs. These students are encouraged individually to come to college presentations on campus, and in the spring, he gives the juniors a Wednesday-afternoon class on the complexities of the application process, distributing handouts and timetables. During that spring and the following fall, the counselors schedule individual meetings with all members of the class (and usually their parents) to talk about college possibilities, respond to their ideas, and offer suggestions.
Each senior has a college adviser (one of the three counselors) to help with applications, to shepherd him or her through the process, and to write secondary school reports. Students’ application essays are critiqued as well. Though the school provides some oversight, seniors are responsible for keeping track of their own deadlines and requirements.
How does the school educate parents about the college-application process?
At the end of each year, we offer an information session to which all TJ parents are invited. It is given one evening for local parents and repeated the morning of graduation day for the benefit of out-of-town parents. The school also sends out periodic bulletins to parents of juniors and seniors on current issues in college admissions.
How well do colleges know TJ?
The school maintains contacts with a wide variety of good colleges and is constantly developing relationships with new ones. Mr. Rowe and the other counselors take every opportunity to discuss Thomas Jefferson and its standards, to hear news of each college and learn about its admission criteria, and to form or maintain a personal acquaintance with an admission officer. When we know of individual students who have an active interest in a certain college, he may advocate on their behalf as well, and he links up with any young TJ alumni at the college to hear firsthand how things are going for them. Conversely, we encourage colleges to visit TJ. Each year, this results in more than 20 visits between late September and late November by college representatives.
How does a college or university know how to interpret TJ grades?
Attached to every transcript that goes to a college is the school profile. It shows the school’s uninflated grading standards graphically, with an extensive list of where students have gone to college (organized by Thomas Jefferson GPA range). Both Mr. Rowe and the other counselors make many phone calls to colleges during the application season to add information about our students, find out how they are faring in the process, and make sure each college understands our grading standards.