Thomas Jefferson High School Acceptance Rate at 15.3 Percent for Class of 2017

Students admitted this year to one of the country's most prestigious high schools — Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County — will predominantly be Asian and male, according to statistics released Friday by Fairfax County Public Schools.

A total of 480 new students will comprise the class of 2017 at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST).

A summer round of admissions for eighth grade students newly moved to a participating district after Sept. 30 of the previous year will be added to the 480 acceptances at the end of June.

Data on how many students in the class of 2017 are coming from McLean-area middle schools is not available yet. 

Students residing in Fairfax County, Arlington, Loudoun, and Prince William counties and the City of Falls Church were offered admission to the governor’s school this week, according to a news release from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS).

Of the 3,121 students who applied, 76 percent are from Fairfax County, with the remaining 24 percent residing in the other localities.

In early 2012, U.S. News named the high school second best in the United States and the best high school in Virginia. The school is highly competitive, drawing an average of 3,300 applications for fewer than 500 open slots every year.

Last summer, the Fairfax County School Board started to discuss what a different admissions process may look like to alleviate concerns about some lack of diversity and some slippage in test scores.

Admissions Statistics Highlights

• According to statistics released from FCPS with the press release, 279 (or about 58 percent) of the students offered admission, are male.
• 201 (or about 41 percent) are female.
• 317 (about 66 percent) of the students admitted are of Asian descent.
• 123 (about 25.6 percent) are white.
• A total of 18 students, about 3.8 percent, are listed as from a multiracial or other background.
• 15 students, or 3 percent, of admitted students are Hispanic.
• 5 students, or 1 percent, are black.

See additional statistics in the PDF with this story above and at right.

Read more about the TJ admissions process on Patch:

Fairfax School Board Explores Changes to Thomas Jefferson Admissions

Thomas Jefferson High School Admissions Increasingly Selective

Thomas Jefferson Application Process Lengthy and Complex

Thomas Jefferson High School Students Balance Activities with Coursework

Note: The number of applicants for the class of 2017 was 3,121—the headline has been changed to reflect this corrected number.