TJ Admissions: Class of 2019 Is 70 Percent Asian

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Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has offered admission to 493 students for the Class of 2019 at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), Fairfax County Public Schools said in a recent news release.

A total of 2,841 students applied for admission, down from 2,900 last year. Approximately seventy-eight (77.7) percent of the students offered admission reside in Fairfax County and twenty-two (22.3) percent are from Arlington, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties and the City of Falls Church. Approximately ninety-three (92.9) percent of students offered admission are currently attending public schools.

The prestigious public school was most recently ranked the fourth best high school in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The magazine ranks it #1 in Virginia.

Of 2,841 who applied, 493 were admitted.

Here are some statistics from FCPS, about the students who were admitted to TJ, Class of 2019:

• 273 or 55.4 percent are male (55.1 percent of applicants were male)
• 220 or 44.6 percent are female (44.9 percent of applicants were female)
• 102 or 20.7 percent are white (29.7 percent of applicants were white)
• 8 or 1.6 percent are black (7.1 percent of applicants were black)
• 12 or 2.4 percent are Hispanic (7.3 percent of applicants were Hispanic)
• 346 or 70.2 percent are Asian (51 percent of applicants were Asian)
• 25 or 5.1 percent are Multiracial (5.1 percent of applicants were multiracial)
• 458 or 92.9 percent are from a public school

Compared to 2014, a higher percentage of girls were admitted this year (up from 39.8 percent last year). Last year, 194 girls were admitted; this year, 220 were admitted.

Of the 487 students admitted last year, 323 or 66.3 percent were 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.

This year, the school admitted even more Asian students, 346 or 70.2 percent.

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.

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 September 30 of the previous year will add to the 493 offers at the end of June.

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.