- 50.0%Nysmith, Class of 2028
- 20.9%All applicants, Class of 2028
- 1Class with released data
Nysmith, Year by Year
| Class | Nysmith | All applicants |
|---|---|---|
| Class of 2025 offers in spring 2021 | not released | 18.1% |
| Class of 2026 offers in spring 2022 | not released | 21.6% |
| Class of 2027 offers in spring 2023 | not released | 21.6% |
| Class of 2028 offers in spring 2024 | 50.0% | 20.9% |
| Class of 2029 offers in spring 2025 | not released | 21.1% |
How Private-School Applicants Are Considered
The 1.5% set-aside only applies to public middle schools. Nysmith students who live in a participating county compete for the remaining seats, alongside public-school applicants who didn't get one of their own school's seats.
The bar is the same for everyone: the 3.5 GPA minimum, the Student Portrait Sheet, and the Problem-Solving Essay. FCPS may ask private-school families for extra course paperwork. More on how seats are divided.
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.
Questions Parents Ask
What percentage of The Nysmith School applicants get into TJ?
For the Class of 2028, 50.0% of Nysmith applicants got offers, compared with 20.9% of all applicants. FCPS has released only one year of Nysmith data so far, so treat it as a single snapshot rather than a pattern.
Does going to The Nysmith School make it easier or harder to get into TJ?
Not in a way you can count on. Private schools don't get a 1.5% share of seats, so Nysmith students compete for the remaining seats with everyone who didn't get one of their school's seats. A past rate tells you how one group did in one year, not how your child will do.
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. 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.