- 21.4%Twain, Class of 2027
- 21.6%All applicants, Class of 2027
- 8TJ seats set aside, estimated
Twain, Year by Year
| Class | Twain | All applicants |
|---|---|---|
| Classes of 2017-21 average, old process | 13.9% | – |
| Class of 2025 offers in spring 2021 | not released | 18.1% |
| Class of 2026 offers in spring 2022 | 21.1% | 21.6% |
| Class of 2027 offers in spring 2023 | 21.4% | 21.6% |
| Class of 2028 offers in spring 2024 | not released | 20.9% |
| Class of 2029 offers in spring 2025 | not released | 21.1% |
Before and After 2020
Before FCPS rebuilt the admissions process in 2020, Twain applicants got offers 13.9% of the time, averaged across the Classes of 2017 through 2021. Since the change, Twain's yearly rate has averaged 21.3%. Twain is one of the schools whose rate went up after the change. How school rates shifted after 2020.
How the 1.5% Rule Works at Twain
Every participating public middle school has TJ seats set aside for it, equal to 1.5% of its eighth-grade class. Twain had 518 eighth graders in the 2024-25 school year, which works out to about 8 seats.
Twain applicants compete with each other for those seats first. Anyone who doesn't get one moves into a second round with applicants from every other school. The seat count is an estimate. FCPS uses the current eighth grade, doesn't publish how it rounds, and moves any seats a school can't fill into the open pool.
In other words, your school decides who your child is compared with first. It doesn't decide the outcome. More on how the 1.5% rule works.
What Separates Applicants
Everyone in the pool has at least a 3.5 GPA, and the spread at the top is small. For the Class of 2029, students who got offers averaged a 3.96. Students who didn't averaged a 3.88. More on what the GPA data shows.
With grades that close, a lot rides on what your child writes on test day: the Student Portrait Sheet and the Problem-Solving Essay. Students get noticeably better at both with practice and good feedback, and that's the part of this you can actually work on.
Other Fairfax County Schools
| School | Seats, est. | Latest rate |
|---|---|---|
| Cooper Middle School | 8 | 28.4% 2029 |
| Franklin Middle School | 6 | – |
| Frost Middle School | 10 | 19.0% 2029 |
| Glasgow Middle School | 8 | 13.6% 2028 |
| Hayfield Secondary School | 8 | – |
| Herndon Middle School | 7 | – |
| Holmes Middle School | 4 | – |
| Katherine Johnson Middle School | 9 | 19.4% 2029 |
| Key Middle School | 6 | – |
| Kilmer Middle School | 9 | 12.0% 2029 |
| Lake Braddock Secondary School | 11 | 15.0% 2029 |
| Langston Hughes Middle School | 8 | – |
| Liberty Middle School | 7 | – |
| Longfellow Middle School | 9 | 33.6% 2029 |
| Luther Jackson Middle School | 7 | 17.2% 2029 |
| Poe Middle School | 5 | – |
| Rachel Carson Middle School | 11 | 23.0% 2029 |
| Robinson Secondary School | 9 | – |
| Rocky Run Middle School | 7 | 24.7% 2029 |
| Sandburg Middle School | 10 | 16.7% 2029 |
| South County Middle School | 7 | – |
| Stone Middle School | 6 | – |
| Thoreau Middle School | 9 | – |
| Walt Whitman Middle School | 6 | – |
| Washington Irving Middle School | 10 | 19.2% 2029 |
Every participating middle school
Questions Parents Ask
What percentage of Mark Twain Middle School applicants get into TJ?
For the Class of 2027, 21.4% of Twain applicants got offers, compared with 21.6% of all applicants. Twain has landed between 21.1% and 21.4% in each of the two classes with data since the 2020 admissions change.
How did the 2020 admissions changes affect Mark Twain Middle School?
Under the old process, Twain averaged a 13.9% offer rate across the Classes of 2017 through 2021. Since the change, its yearly rate has averaged 21.3%.
How many TJ seats does Mark Twain Middle School get?
About 8. FCPS sets aside seats for each participating public middle school equal to 1.5% of its eighth-grade class, and Twain had 518 eighth graders in 2024-25. It's an estimate, because FCPS uses the current eighth grade and doesn't publish how it rounds.
Does going to Mark Twain Middle School make it easier or harder to get into TJ?
Not in a way you can count on. Twain applicants compete with each other first for the school's share of seats, and anyone who misses out gets a second look alongside applicants from every other school. The offer comes down to your child's own application.
What actually decides a TJ offer?
FCPS looks at core GPA, the Student Portrait Sheet, the Problem-Solving Essay, and experience factors. Every eligible applicant has at least a 3.5 GPA, so grades don't separate students much. For the Class of 2029, students who got offers averaged a 3.96 and students who didn't averaged a 3.88.
Where These Numbers Come From
Offer rates come from Fairfax County Public Schools' responses to Virginia public records requests, including the Class of 2029 admissions summary and request VFOIA-11221. They are rounded to a tenth of a percent, and when FCPS withholds a number to protect student privacy, we leave it blank instead of estimating it. Eighth-grade enrollment comes from the Virginia Department of Education's fall membership count for the 2024-25 school year. Seat estimates are 1.5% of that number, rounded. FCPS describes the process itself on its freshman application page, which is the final word if anything here differs.
TJTestPrep by EduAvenues is independent and is not endorsed or sponsored by Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology or Fairfax County Public Schools.