TJHSST Prep
TJHSST Prep
Prepare for the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology admissions process, with an emphasis on crafting strong personal statements and problem-solving essays.
Students across Northern Virginia are interested in TJ for its wide variety of STEM and research opportunities and its unique environment where students are excited about learning new concepts.
Course Content
This TJHSST Prep course gives students a boost in writing their required essays for admission to the school through lecture material, discussion, and independent practice with several prompts.
Specifically, students practice answering a variety of Student Portrait Sheet essay prompts and learn what the TJ Admissions Committee is looking for in their essays. They also learn a framework for responding to the Problem-Solving Essay question, which requires a written answer and explanation for challenging mathematics or science-related problems.
Instructors and Class Structure
Instructors are experienced with the TJ admissions process and with helping students write high-quality essays. Their feedback to students throughout the course helps them develop strategies to highlight their strengths within time constraints. Instructors also send individual evaluations at the end of the course to explain each student's strengths and areas for improvement.
Each class meeting takes place synchronously via Zoom and includes instruction and feedback to support students in efficiently writing organized, informative and grammatically correct essays.
The cost of the course includes a $25 materials fee for the TJHSST Prep workbook to be shipped to your home. This workbook and course content is the same as what is done in our summer TJ Admissions Prep courses.
Register Now
Select a class section below that fits with your family's schedule. You'll then be prompted to log in or create an account, and the registration process will only take a few minutes from there.
Questions? Email James_Miller@fairfaxcollegiate.com.
TJHSST Prep Instructors: Ryan Meyer, Estan Rodriguez, and Iksha Rohatgi
Ryan is an MFA graduate from George Mason University after majoring in English and Writing at SUNY Buffalo State. During that time and since, he has taught college-level writing courses at SUNY and tutored in writing, and he has also taught writing courses to students of all ages with Fairfax Collegiate for over ten years, including TJ Admissions Prep.
As much as Ryan enjoys teaching at the college level during the school year, he finds something refreshing and energizing about working with younger writers as well with Fairfax Collegiate. He especially enjoys the opportunity to help young students become more comfortable and confident as writers, especially for something as high-stakes as the TJ admissions process.
Estan is a student at Denison University studying English and Environmental Studies. He has extensive experience in writing instruction as a consultant in the Denison Writing Center and working as a TA at the Reynolds Young Writers Workshop. He also is a TJ alum, and as a student he was a tutor and board member of the TJHSST Writing Center.
Estan taught several writing and test prep courses during our Summer Program, including TJ Admissions Prep. His goal in working with and teaching students is to help them on their path to become more effective writers, test-takers, and thinkers.
Iksha is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where she majored in Cognitive Science, with a concentration in neuroscience. While at UVA, she taught ESL courses, tutored elementary school students, and led public speaking courses. In high school, she took the ACT, and scored in the top 2% of test-takers. She also received a perfect score on both the SAT and ACT essay sections. This is her fifth year teaching with Fairfax Collegiate.
Iksha focuses on spaced repetition and individual goal setting in test prep courses. Through structured goal setting, Iksha's students learn to recognize their own strengths and areas for improvement. She also integrates strategies for coping with test anxiety throughout the course, allowing her students to learn in a comfortable environment and build confidence when preparing for their exams.