Thomas Jefferson High School's Class of 2020: Ivy League and Top University Enrollment Data
This article presents enrollment data for about 300 graduates of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology's Class of 2020, including 243 who enrolled at well-known universities. It lists enrollment counts for each Ivy League school and institutions such as MIT and Stanford, explains the difference between enrollment and admission data, and notes the school's admissions reform and Asian student share.
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ), located in the Washington, D.C. area, is one of the best high schools in the United States and tops many rankings; in the latest authoritative school rankings released by U.S. News and World Report, TJ High School once again ranked first in the nation.
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (Photo: Henley Construction)
Last year, TJ High School became a news hotspot, especially regarding its highly controversial admissions reform plan. In the end, TJ High School's 2021 admissions method still adopted a comprehensive approach combining tests and regular grades, and the admission list is expected to be announced in June 2021. So, after four years at TJ High School, what are the college admission outcomes for graduating students? A few years ago, I wrote an article introducing my daughter's application to TJ High School, in which I listed data on the number of TJ graduates admitted to some prestigious American universities. As an immigration lawyer, a former Chinese international student, and a parent of a student living in the Washington area, I believe such data has reference value for families considering studying and immigrating in the United States (for themselves or their children).
Recently, I came across some informal data on TJ High School graduates' college admissions in 2020 (2021 admissions are not yet fully complete, and comprehensive data is not yet available), which I introduce here. The data does not cover all TJ 2020 graduates (only 300 graduates were counted), and only lists the schools these students ultimately chose to attend. For example, a student might be admitted to Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford simultaneously but can only attend one. My daughter, upon graduating from TJ High School in 2020, was admitted to MIT, Yale University, the University of Chicago, the University of Pennsylvania, UC Berkeley, and UCLA (see my article on this site {https://gonglue.us/78018}). Therefore, when analyzing the statistical data of graduates' final school choices, this point needs to be noted.
Aerial view of MIT (Photo: MIT)
However, on the other hand, enrollment data can show TJ graduates' choices of colleges to attend. In addition, data on graduates' final college enrollment can better reflect the distribution of students admitted to prestigious schools: for example, if we only look at admission data, we might see that a high school has 5 students admitted to Harvard, 5 to Princeton, 5 to Yale, etc., but in the end, among the graduates of this school, those admitted to these prestigious schools might be just the same 5 students, each receiving multiple offers. This only reflects the achievements of a few top students in the school, not the overall situation of graduates. Using data on graduates' final college enrollment can avoid this misconception and avoid double-counting admissions, because a high school graduate can ultimately choose only one college to attend.
Below is my compilation based on the current data I have seen regarding the college enrollment of TJ High School's 2020 graduates.
| College Attended | Number of Students |
|---|---|
| Harvard University | 8 |
| Princeton University | 5 |
| Yale University | 3 |
| Columbia University | 3 |
| University of Pennsylvania | 4 |
| Brown University | 3 |
| Dartmouth College | 2 |
| Cornell University | 10 |
| Total Ivy League | 38 |
| MIT | 8 |
| Stanford University | 3 |
| University of Chicago | 8 |
| Caltech | 2 |
| Johns Hopkins University | 1 |
| Northwestern University | 2 |
| Duke University | 4 |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 2 |
| UCLA | 3 |
| Emory University | 1 |
| UC Berkeley | 6 |
| University of Michigan | 8 |
| University of Southern California | 3 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 10 |
| University of Virginia | 40 |
| University of North Carolina | 1 |
| Wake Forest University | 1 |
| New York University | 3 |
| Total Top 30 Universities* | 144 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | 7 |
| College of William & Mary | 25 |
| Case Western Reserve University | 2 |
| UIUC | 9 |
| Northeastern University | 3 |
| University of Rochester | 1 |
| UC Davis | 1 |
| Total Top 50 Universities* | 192 |
| Virginia Tech | 17 |
| University of Pittsburgh | 16 |
| University of Maryland | 8 |
| Purdue University | 10 |
| Total | 243 |
*Based on the 2021 U.S. News and World Report rankings
A total of 243 students attended the well-known universities listed above, accounting for 80% of the 300 graduates who provided data. TJ High School is located in Virginia, and many students are interested in STEM fields, so more graduates choose to attend universities with strong traditional STEM programs and nearby local universities. In addition, some graduates chose to attend liberal arts colleges such as Amherst College, Wellesley College, and Harvey Mudd College, as well as foreign prestigious universities like Oxford University.
As is well known, due to various factors—including the yearly increase in the number of children of international students in the U.S., the growing number of applicants from China to prestigious American universities, and the rise in young international students attending private high schools in the U.S.—admission to U.S. colleges has become more difficult and competitive in recent years, especially for students of Chinese descent. TJ High School is a public high school; those residing in several counties in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., are eligible to apply, and admission is determined through a comprehensive evaluation including exams and other methods. Currently, Asian students (including Chinese, Indian, Korean, Japanese, etc., with the first two being the majority) make up about 70% of TJ High School.
Recently, the United States has reopened F1 visas for Chinese students, and many students have already attended visa interviews and provided various feedback. In the long run, students and parents interested in working and living in the U.S. can learn more about U.S. immigration information and plan ahead. See the article by our New Weiming Law Firm on this site: {https://gonglue.us/77762}.
