Apply
The official 2026-2027 rules manual can be seen here.
It's 2026-2027 application season! The application will consist of the following components:
- Application form (due by Monday, September 14, 2026, at 11:00 PM EDT)
- Do not fill out this form with your FCPS account!
- Submission of the commitment letter represents a binding agreement between you and TJSO to participate as a member of the team should you be selected to do so.
- Diagnostic testing, "essay" writing, and team experimental design challenge at TJ (on Saturday, September 19, 2026, from 8:20 AM to 12:10 PM).
- More information below, and additional logistics will be emailed upon completion of the application form.
- In the event that an unresolvable conflict makes it impossible for you to attend the diagnostic, essay writing, and the experimental design challenge, fill out this form by Sunday, September 13, 2026, at 11:00 PM EDT.
- Makeups will be held on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. You must attend all of the following sessions:
- Lunch – ED Challenge
- 8A & 8B – Both Diagnostic Tests
- Afterschool (50 minutes; expect to finish around 5:10 PM) – Essay Questions
- Makeup requests will be reviewed by coaches and all approvals will be confirmed by Wednesday, September 16, 2026.
- NOTE: We will not consider homecoming a valid reason for makeups.
- Makeups will be held on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. You must attend all of the following sessions:
- Building event supplement for those interested in building events.
- Do not open this document with your FCPS account! Google will not let you view it.
- The build supplement testing will take place during 8A or 8B (please only sign up for one block, its first come, first serve) on September 16, 2026.
- Clarifications for the build supplement will be posted here. If you are completing the supplement, refer to this page frequently!
- Submit clarification requests here.
Tryouts
Tryouts will consist of the following components:
Diagnostic Testing
- You will choose 2 out of the 4 subject tests to attempt, each divided by events:
- Biology: Anatomy and Physiology, Botany, Designer Genes, Disease Detectives, Water Quality
- Chemistry: Chemistry Lab, Forensics, Protein Modeling
- Earth & Space Science: Astronomy, Dynamic Planet, Remote Sensing, Rocks and Minerals
- Physics & Math: Circuit Lab, Codebusters, Thermodynamics
- Each test will have 60 multiple-choice questions and should take 50 minutes to complete.
- Pure build events and Engineering CAD will not be tested.
- Check the 2027 National Tournament event conflicts to make sure that the events you are interested in won't overlap.
Essay Writing
- Long-answer questions.
- Designed to test your ability to communicate, collaborate, think outside the box, and persevere.
- Not intended to be prepared for. We are interested in learning about your character.
Experimental Design Challenge
- A team-based challenge designed to assess your ability to work as part of a team.
- Not intended to be prepared for. We are interested in your ability to collaborate.
Build Supplement (optional)
- An optional individual engineering challenge, highly-recommended for applicants interested in build events.
- Supplement: tinyurl.com/tjsobuild26 (do not open with your FCPS account)
- Testing takes place during 8A or 8B (please only sign up for one block, its first come, first serve) on September 16, 2026.
- Clarifications are posted here. Check frequently if you are completing the supplement.
- Submit clarification requests here.
Study Guide
Important Dates
- Makeup Request Due Date: Sunday, September 13, 2026, at 11:00 PM EDT
- Application Due Date: Monday, September 14, 2026, at 11:00 PM EDT
- Build Supplement Testing: Wednesday, September 16, 2026, during 8A and 8B
- Tryouts: Saturday, September 19, 2026 @ TJ, from 8:20 AM to 12:10 PM
- Makeups: Wednesday, September 23, 2026
How Do I Fill Out the Awards Section?
We have a particular format that we'd like all applicants to use for the awards listing:
- Only include Division B (middle school; grades 5-8) and Division C (high school; grades 9-12) medals.
- A medal is defined as a top-8 placement in a certain event at a certain competition, regardless of whether you received a physical medal or not.
- Include all seasons competing in Divisions B and C.
- Include only individual placements in specific events, not team placements.
- For each season:
- Start with a header of the format
<n>th grade (Division <B/C>):. - Following that, write "Event" followed by the names of the competitions you participated in for that season (even the ones where you didn't medal at all).
- On each successive line, write the name of the event and your placements in that event, following the order of the competitions listed above. If you didn't compete in that event, placed below eighth place, or don't remember your placement for that event, use a dash (-). Even if you didn't medal at all in an event, be sure to add it.
- If you participated in a trial event, write "(Trial)" after its name.
- Use forward slashes to delimit awards.
- Place an empty line between each season.
- Start with a header of the format
- If you have nothing to list in the awards section, leave it blank.
Here's an example of a season that fulfills all the criteria:
9th grade (Division C):
Event/Duke Invitational/Regional/Cornell Invitational/State/National
Amazing Mechatronics (Trial)/-/-/-/1/-
Circuit Lab/-/-/-/-/-
Detector Building (Trial)/-/-/-/-/-
Sounds of Music/3/3/-/-/-
Thermodynamics/5/2/5/-/-
Wright Stuff/6/-/-/-/-A full awards section looks like this:
11th grade (Division C):
Event/Las Vegas Invitational/Carnegie Mellon Invitational/University of Chicago Invitational/Regional/Penn Invitational/BirdSO Invitational/State/National
Codebusters/-/7/-/3/-/-/1/-
Cybersecurity (Trial)/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Detector Building/-/-/2/5/-/-/1/-
Sounds of Music/-/4/7/1/4/4/1/7
10th grade (Division C):
Event/Carnegie Mellon Invitational/Regional/Penn Invitational
Codebusters/6/3/5
Machines/2/3/-
Sounds of Music/5/3/3
9th grade (Division C):
Event/Duke Invitational/Regional/Cornell Invitational/State/National
Amazing Mechatronics (Trial)/-/-/-/1/-
Circuit Lab/-/-/-/-/-
Detector Building (Trial)/-/-/-/-/-
Sounds of Music/3/3/-/-/-
Thermodynamics/5/2/5/-/-
Wright Stuff/6/-/-/-/-
8th grade (Division B):
Event/Lanier Invitational/Regional/State
Fast Facts/5/2/-
Potions and Poisons/-/-/-
Thermodynamics/2/1/4
Wright Stuff/-/7/-We strongly encourage you to use the above as a template for your own awards section.