<p>Hey all!
My final interview is tomorrow am as well! I am spending all day preparing, starting to get nervous. I am torn between putting all my eggs in this basket and putting none at all, it’s a weird place to be. Anyone interviewing in Philly tomorrow? Best of luck to everyone on their final interviews. I hope we all kill it! And remember, to those of us who don’t made it - we should be proud to have made it this far and we can use the experience to continue working towards our goals!</p>
<p>@Dracos Thanks for the tips! What region are you placed in?</p>
<p>This is a little last minute, but just in case anyone has an answer - Do y’all know if they provide parking passes or anything if it’s at a university? My interview is tomorrow, and when I just looked up parking information it said that visitors staying more than two hours must purchase a visitor’s pass from the school. It just seems silly to buy a pass for a few hours.</p>
<p>Hello everyone! I had my TFA interview yesterday and I just wanted to post about how it went. </p>
<p>First off, there were 12 people in my group - 2 males and the rest females. Everyone was around the same age except the one male was in his late 60’s. The first hour was dedicated to the lesson plan presentations. The older male volunteered to go first to present his lesson. He did not follow the instructions that were given about writing our name, subject, grade level, and objective on the board. When the five minutes were up, he continued to teach until the interviewers had to ask him twice to stop. The other interviewees that went after him did a great job. The time constraints are very strict. You are given one min. of prep time and five minutes to teach the lesson. This is all made quite clear to you at the start of the lesson. </p>
<p>For any of you who have not taught your lesson or are thinking about what you want to teach, I felt the most engaging lessons were the ones where we were doing something hands-on. The more interactive, the better! The lessons that I least enjoyed were the ones where people went up to the board and just did math problems with little engagement. A lot of people in my group picked science as their subjects. I also noticed there were quite a few high school literature lessons. Since you only have five minutes, choose something that is easy enough to deliver in very little time. For example, one person focused on the feminist point of view in Shakespeare. Some other lessons that really stood out were ones on the food chain and animal habitats.</p>
<p>I also wanted to discuss the other parts of the interview. The next thing we had to do was read an article which I won’t disclose the topic of but I will talk about how the discussion went. We all formed a circle and the interviewers sat in the back of the room and took notes as we made our points about the article topic. I believe it helps to have a little bit of knowledge on educational strategies or a background in teaching. However, most of the people in my group did not. During this part, it is important to contribute at least something to the conversation. Also be respectful of other people’s views and opinions.</p>
<p>Overall, I enjoyed the interview! It was quite a long day and there was a lot that we accomplished. Good luck to everyone that is still waiting to go on their interview. Remember to relax and do your best.</p>
<p>I had my interview on Monday, and it was pretty much as expected. I have been reading about the final interview since I was notified back in August about the phone interview. All the information about what the final interview is going to be like is on the website. It was just as described. There were meant to be 9 of us, but two didn’t show up, not sure if it was because of the rain or what. We were all over the place in so far as age and family situation but I would say that for the most part we were not the standard applicant pool. Only one person was finishing up her undergrad, two were much older and four of us are early in professional careers. </p>
<p>I volunteered to go first on the lesson, mostly because I knew I would be more engaged in the other lessons if I could get it out of the way. I thought it went well. I got a one minute warning during the final assesment of the objective so I think I finished just under 5 minutes. The other lessons were all over the place with regard to topic. We had a hygeine lesson, a video editing lesson, a science lesson, photography, history and grammar.</p>
<p>The group activity was fine. We were split into two small groups which was a little strange considering that there were only 7 of us total. Our group got a little off topic and finished before the 15 minute mark… I feel a little sick about that but I have no idea what they are looking for there. </p>
<p>The final interview was much like the phone interview. I liked that I had time to talk about things that they felt weren’t addressed. There is a huge part of my resume that was never discussed during the phone interview or brought up during the final interview as they wanted to focus on my current job and it allowed me to talk about those accomplishments as well. Also during question time It was nice to be able to talk one on one about a corps members’ actual experience. </p>
<p>All in all I feel good about the interview. I’m trying to temper my expectations. Seems like from reading last years thread plenty of people felt good about the interview and then didn’t get it. I keep thinking there were things that I should have mentioned but didn’t but its over now, all thats left to do is wait…</p>
<p>What do you all make of the transitional funding status thingy? It seems that for years past, a relatively stable indicator of acceptance was seeing it change from “Under Review” to “Complete” at some point in the days following the interview…</p>
<p>Hey again!
So I had my final interview on Monday, best of luck to those who have their interviews the rest of this week. I definitely got super nervous during my lesson plan and messed up a little so I’m not feeling super confident, just wishing I didn’t have to wait another 2 weeks to probably get rejected. My advice to everyone would just be to of course show your leadership ability through and through, that’s their man focus. Also, you will find this article SUPER helpful. Those who haven’t interviewed yet: READ IT. [What</a> Makes a Great Teacher? - Amanda Ripley - The Atlantic](<a href=“What Makes a Great Teacher? - The Atlantic”>What Makes a Great Teacher? - The Atlantic)
Amanda Ripley went in and learned how TFA selects their teachers, and what traits are most valuable.
Also, I don’t put much faith in the transitional funding thing. It sounds patchy at best, and I don’t want to get my hopes up by seeing something misleading.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for providing feedback about their interview process! @emac542@Tinitafish @nin340</p>
<p>I’m really nervous but getting more comfortable with my interview responses and my lesson. It’s pretty straightforward - basic fractions - but I hope it isn’t too dry…</p>
<p>Best of luck to everyone! I will post my interview experience tomorrow. After that, 2 weeks till we find out!!</p>
<p>Quick questions to others that have interviewed: I heard that you are allowed to make changes to your preference list, is this true? My interviewers talked about high need regions, but never said anything about being able to change our preference list.</p>
<p>I love reading about everyone’s interview experiences! I had mine today and it went really well. There were 12 of us and two interviewers. Everyone was in their senior year except for myself (I’m currently in grad school). The lessons were fun to watch and no ones stood out in any negative ways, but there were definitely a couple that were better than others. I think the one-on-one interview was my favorite part of the day, because I felt like I actually got to make a connection with my interviewer and get to know her as well.</p>
<p>@Marlgirl2010 - At the end of our group discussion, our interviewers handed out a paper that has information about choosing regions and it says that we have the opportunity to change our preference form until Oct. 20th. I looked back at mine, and it still says to submit by Oct. 11th but there is an unsubmit button.</p>
<p>I had my interview today, it went well. There were a total of 12 people in my group, everyone did really well on their lesson plans. A few individuals were a bit nervous but overall everyone did well. </p>
<p>I feel my final interview went great however I was bit concerned when she started off by saying “understand that I’ve reviewed your file, application so I’m just gonna ask you some questions for follow-up” hmmmm?? </p>
<p>We did a scenario, she complimented me on my composure and my tone of voice during the role play while saying it was very effective.</p>
<p>She then asked me two questions. Other than that we talked about where I was from and her college major. (Very conversational) </p>
<p>Yes I was bit surprised that she didnt ask me too much about my leadeship but still overall I had a very good experience.</p>
<p>This is my first post on CC. So I have been reading through the thread and all that jazz. I had my final interview yesterday and it ran to the schedule they had given prior to beginning. I had so much fun during the interview process throughout the day. </p>
<p>There were 11 of us in total: one male, he was an older individual and had worked as a principal in the area. The rest of us were females and were either in our undergrad or grad program at our respectful universities. </p>
<p>For those of you who have yet to interview: arrive to your site early and get to know the people that you will be interviewing with. Doing so will ease your nerves as you teach because you know a little bit about the people you will be with that day.</p>
<p>The lesson plans ranged from elementary school to high school. All of the lessons were engaging and required interaction between the teacher and the students. For my lesson, I had the students get up and place objects on the board to put into categories. The interviewers did not get up but were taking notes and asking questions that would be typical for students to ask- either relevant or irrelevant. Do not let this throw you off; start off with something like “That’s a good question (name) but today we are talking about _____.” Be sure to encourage your students throughout the process. Practice your lesson but not too much that you over think it. We are all in the same position and are there to encourage one another to do our best. They will give you a one minute prep time and let you know when it has ended and they will also let you know when you have one minute left and once you have reached your 5 minute limit.</p>
<p>The group activity flowed very well for my group. We made sure that everyone had time to speak and came back together several times to collect our thoughts on the decision we were coming to during our discussion. Be sure to add something to the conversation and brush up on how to apply educational terms during the conversation. Be sure that you are presenting your true self as this will help you to put your best foot forward. </p>
<p>During my personal interview, I was able to clarify things from my application, resume and phone interview and go more in-depth with the topics. I was able to ask my interviewer questions about her experience and other things. Be sure to come with questions to ask; your interviewers are there with first-hand experience in the program and are great resources. Relax and enjoy the moment, we have made it this far!</p>
<p>I had my interview today, and it went pretty much how I thought it would. I ended up running out of time in my lesson because I didn’t anticipate the lag in response from my 4th graders. The group activity went well, but there were only 3 of us total at my interview site today, so it was kind of awkward but we all had ample time to speak.</p>
<p>The one-on-one interview is where you really get to display your passion, so I hope I emphasized how motivated I am by this type of work and educational inequity in general. Now, two weeks till Oct 31! This time period is going to drag, I’m sure.</p>
<p>My final interview was similar to my phone interview. My interviewer wanted to talk about the two main things on my resume I was also asked about in my phone interview but in more detail. Since those two things are a bit obscure and uncommon in applicants, I can see why he’d be curious and want to ask about them but did any of you also experience anything similar?</p>
<p>Prior to the final interview, I was prepping myself to answer questions about other parts of my resume. Oh well, I still had a good interview though!</p>
<p>Group role play/interview was chaotic and awkward. It was a group of twelve. I was the first to speak and I was able to contribute the topic. One of my fellow interviewees completely dominated the conversation. He was admitted last year but decided to reject the offer. You can definitely tell that he knew exactly what to say or expect.</p>
<p>@almostapostgrad my final interview was also pretty similar to my phone interview, focusing on the same couple of activities and scenarios. I think that ultimately, they know what kinds of traits they’re looking for, so they really focus in on those activities where they think those traits come out the most. It’s unfortunate that your group activity was so messy. We had 10 people at my interview day, and they actually split us into two smaller groups for the activity, so everyone had a lot of chances to contribute, and everyone in my group was super respectful and made sure everyone else had a chance to talk. I wonder why they split the group for some interview sessions and not for others though, I can’t imagine doing the activity with a whole group of twelve</p>
<p>Hey everyone, I’m a tad late on this, but I’m glad I found this thread! I applied in August and had my final interview on Monday. I feel good about the interview. I was able to meet with a recruiter a few days before and was disappointed when he told me that the final interview would be similar to the phone interview. He asked why I felt that way and I explained that the phone call felt less concerned with why I’m passionate about the cause and more about whether I am, in a very general sense, a functional and professional person. </p>
<p>He advised me then to make sure that I did not leave that room without communicating why I’m passionate about the cause, so at the end of my interview (which otherwise would have been just like the phone interview) I asked my interviewer if I could explain why I’m passionate about the job, and was then able to speak freely about what my hope is for the future of education and how I see myself playing a role in that. That said, I feel confident in saying that I did the best I could and was honest about my intentions, so if I don’t get the job, I’m just not what they are looking for.</p>
<p>In the meantime, I’m sitting on pins and needles! Can’t wait till the 31st! Best of luck to everyone!</p>
<p>Yes, exactly! I was feeling the same way when they repeated the same types of questions. I did not want to run the risk of repeating myself, ah. </p>
<p>Some people seem to have had casual interviews that were more free form but I guess it all depends on the interviewer right?</p>
<p>I think the type of interview definitely depended on the interviewer. My interviewer was very much a stick to the script and nothing else person (through the whole day, not just during the one-on-one part), while the other interviewer at my session seemed more relaxed and less scripted, more keen on sharing his path to TFA, etc</p>