There are so many great colleges out there, but not really once I narrow down my specific wants.
I want to become a teacher. Preferably, I want to be an elementary school teacher, and I want to be able to start my career straight out of college without having to go to graduate school or do anything else extra, if that’s even possible.
I need to go to a school that’s well known and at least somewhat prestigious. I want to go to a large school, with good sports, and greek life, preferably in the south (top choice would be CA).
Some that I’m looking at right now are University of Georgia, University of Alabama, University of North Carolina, University of Virginia, University of Florida, Vanderbilt, Elon, and UC Irvine.
Gpa: 3.6, ACT: 30, SAT: 1370
My biggest concern is finding a college that has a good reputation, an elementary (or other) education major, and matches my grades and other preferences.
Is there any college that exists that matches what I’m looking for?
What can your parents afford to pay? Teacher salaries are not at a level that will allow you to pay off major loans.
They can pay for any college, price shouldn’t be an issue.
May want to check out BU, Wisconsin, IU and FSU. All three have strong elementary education programs.
Where do you want to start your career? Each state sets its own licensing requirements, so you are best off studying in the state where you want to teach. Also, you are likely to get your first job because of where you do your student teaching.
I really like the idea of living in the south in the future, which is why I’m trying to look at colleges there.
You need to go to school in the state where you want to teach—teaching is very clubby, people know people, etc., and it will be easiest if from a major educational program in that state if you want to teach in the public school system. A Harvard degree, as a counter-example, will help if you move into administration down the line, but frankly many principals with degrees from the local state university are not going to want to deal with hiring you.
If you move to a community with a strong private school system, most college prep-type schools will emphasize in hiring the prestige of your degree more than those in the business world even would. On the other hand, science and math teachers are generally in high enough demand that these rules rarely apply.
It really depends where you end up. Whatever you do, however, avoid borrowing money as much as you possibly can. I would also advise you to be willing and able to coach athletics, because part-time coaching is de rigeur at most private schools, often attached to many job descriptions (I swear half of social studies positions REQUIRE coaching), and in any event is a source of extra income. Coaching is also a significant chance to really get to know your students, and should be seen as an opportunity rather than burden in the long run.
I never realized it was this hard to become a teacher. I want to teach in California, if I had to choose, but I’m out of state there, and I can’t find any good California schools with education majors.
It’s not hard to become a teacher; it can be hard to find employment as a teacher! The South likely won’t be that hard because the pay isn’t great. Nevada is desperate for teachers. NJ/NY/CT it’s harder because the wages are better.
You will find teacher programs at a ton of schools; try to firm up a budget (you could be looking at $70k/year at some schools; make sure you know what your parents are willing to actually pay). Then target an area. College Board has a tool that could at least help you find schools that match your criteria and you could work from there.
Unless you can find affordable schools in California for an Education degree, definitely do not apply to any of the Cal States or UC’s since you are looking at OOS costs with little to no financial aid for these schools. Cal States will be around $40K/year- $160K/4 years and UC’s are $65K/year - $260/4 years. Definitely not worth going into debt for a teaching degree.
I would look at some of the private schools where you might get decent need-based and/or merit aid. Look at Whittier College, University of La Verne, Point Loma, Chapman, Azusa Pacific to name a few. Run the Net Price calculators on each school’s website to see if they will be affordable.
Also look at schools in adjacent states to see if they instruct with an eye towards the CA licensing tests.
If price isn’t an issue, Texas is one of the most stringent states for teacher certifications. Texas State University, Texas A&M and UT-Austin are nationally ranked. If you get a certification in TX, it will transfer directly to most states. I’m not sure about CA. Personally, I would avoid CA anyway. It would be near impossible to live there independently on a teachers salary.
For elementary school, if you want direct entry into the local job market without an advanced degree, you do need to choose the state where you want to start your career. You also do not want to come out of college with one cent more of debt than absolutely necessary. Do not set yourself up to have to have a second job on the weekends and during holidays just to pay down your loans. For the first year, you will need every minute of that “free time” to get your lesson planning done.
Good additional endorsements to work toward along with that elementary ed certification: special education, reading, English for Language Learners.
I used the college board search tool, and it found 2 results for California, CSU Long Beach and Fullerton. Based on what everyone’s saying though, I guess maybe I should look at options besides California. TX, FL, and NC all sound like good options to me, but I won’t myself to just those. It’s still extremely important to me that whatever college I go to has everything I mentioned in my initial post though. I’ll consider UT Austin for sure.
@extra21: CSU Long Beach and Fullerton are Cal states and do not offer any financial aid for OOS students, so $40K/year to attend.
The reason you’re having a hard time finding education majors at CA schools is that the state no longer allows you to go into teaching with an ‘education’ degree. You would typically major in something called Liberal Studies if you want to be an elementary teacher. These programs should have a track specifically for students who are working toward their credential that will include the necessary content to take the required state proficiency exams along with way to earn the credential. Many colleges in CA will have this type of program. You might want to look for those where you can earn the entire credential, including student teaching, in four years. Off the top of my head, I believe Cal Poly Pomona, Sonoma State and University of the Pacific offer the four year programs.
Thanks! I didn’t know that. Are there any UC or more well known schools in CA with that degree? Otherwise, which states would you say are the best for getting a teaching certificate in?
@extra21: Again, UC’s will not give you financial aid as an OOS student so paying $65K/year to attend will not be affordable according to your post.
You do not to attend a prestigious college to get your degree for teaching. That said, if finances are an issue look at the private colleges in California where being OOS will not be factored into your financial aid.
I have zero knowledge of other states. In California, it’s the CSU campuses that are more geared to teacher education, not the UC system. You’d have to check campus by campus for the schools that meet your criteria for being well known to see what they offer. Since the publics are so costly for out of state, you should check the privates also.