TJ Prep Blog

Dr. Tripathi shares his experience from 28 years of TJ Prep success. During this time he has seen and adapted to many changes in the TJ admission process. Crucial requirements for success on the new TJHSST (TJ) admission policy are discussed.

Thomas Jefferson High School Admission Test Preparation – The Single Most Important Step: Selection of a Test Prep Program

There are all kinds of standardized entrance exams from the SSAT/ISEE, SAT, GRE, GMAT, MCAT to LSAT. The THJHSST admission exam has a key difference – It is a one shot deal. Many students and their parents realize this but do not act early enough only to feel disheartened when the test scores are not high enough and the admission is denied due to low scores. I hear from a dozen or so parents every year only after their chosen test preparation program failed them...

What should a student interested in admission to TJHSST do? The first step should be to not jump to sign up for the nearest or the lowest-cost test prep program. Selection of the TJHSST or the AOS Exam Prep course should be based on the value it brings to your child's preparedness, competitiveness and to his or her overall education. Evaluating value to your child's education is a difficult and, admittedly, a highly subjective proposition and should not be taken in haste. Yet every year I hear the following as the most common reasons as to why a parent chose a certain TJ /AOS/Blair Exam preparation course:

  • It was near our home

  • All his friends were going there

  • He was doing well on their tests so we thought he was in good hands and was well prepared

  • He was doing well on the sample test on the TJHSST website

Unfortunately all of the above reasons are poor grounds for selection of the best TJ Exam Prep program for your child. We recommend that you choose a TJHSST/AOS/Montgomery Blair Test Preparation program which can deliver the following on a ongoing basis (until the test date):

  1. Clearly identify your child's strengths and weaknesses in all key areas including math, reading, scramble paragraphs, essay writing.

  2. Evaluate your child's test performance efficiency. This is a predictor of the likelihood that your child will complete the TJ/AOS/Blair Admission Exam with high degree of accuracy and within allowed time.

  3. Provide ongoing estimate of your child's performance on the TJHSST Admission Exam.

Finally please read our blog post Top Three Reasons Smart Students Don't Do Well in the TJHSST Admission Exam. Next read our blog post How to Select the Best TJ Admission Exam Prep Program? We'd love to hear your experience.