<p>All 2014 Bay Area Corps members/prospective members please find the “Teach for America 2014 Corps Bay Area” group on Facebook!</p>
<p>@townie01: Louisiana Delta! I’ve posted about it a lot on here because it wasn’t actually on my preference list… which was weird. But I think it’s for the best! :)</p>
<p>@zadie92 - I don’t see it</p>
<p>@zadie: Yeah, I don’t see it as well.</p>
<p>@elemteacher ohh I knew that lol I think that will be an awesome opportunity! You definitely exhibited characteristics that they think will make you an awesome fit so good for u!</p>
<p>I have my final interview coming up at the beginning of December, and am wondering what tips you all have for me. Also, a few specific questions:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>What are the main focus questions of the interview? (Why do you want to work for TFA? etc)</p></li>
<li><p>What lesson did you teach on, and is there anything you would recommend not teaching on?</p></li>
<li><p>What was the most stresful part of your day?</p></li>
<li><p>What did you wear (partically females)? </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks and congratulations on all your acceptances!</p>
<p>My advice is to not only thoroughly review your resume, but also just take the time to reflect on your life and what challenges you have faced and overcome to reach this point. A few days before my final interview, I sat down with a pen and paper and wrote the story of each of my experiences on my resume. It felt kind of therapeutic in a way, and helped me focus in on exactly why I wanted to join TFA. After doing so, I felt ready to answer any interview questions tossed my way!</p>
<p>For the sample lesson, I would say that you can teach absolutely anything as long as you make it interactive and engaging. I taught subtraction with regrouping… You’d think that’s as dry of material as it gets, but I put a fun spin on it! Definitely practice as many times as you can (in front of friends). I thought it was extremely clear on my interview day who had never actually run through their lesson and timed themselves beforehand. </p>
<p>I didn’t feel that one specific part of the day was most stressful. I was actually surprised by how low my stress level was that day! I talked with the other applicants first thing in the morning to get to know them a bit, and that definitely helped calm my nerves. </p>
<p>I am a female, and I wore a black suit (with a nice top underneath) and flats. I didn’t feel overdressed, as both interviewers were also wearing suits.</p>
<p>Each interviewer is different so each one will ask different questions. If you look at people’s experiences on the thread, you’ll see that some people had a lot of questions and some people didn’t. Just make sure you’re familiar with the 7 competencies. Many of their questions, including the role play and the group activity are going to relate to those 7 values in some way. You can find them on the Who We Look For portion of the TFA website. When they evaluate all of your materials after your final interview day, they will be giving you an objective score based on how you align with those values so make sure you know them and can exhibit them in some way. </p>
<p>On the sample lesson, I found simple is the best way to go, but others might disagree on that. Just make sure you practice and finish within the time frame. They WILL cut you off if you don’t finish. I was coached by TFA people before my interview and each person helping me out always said make sure you finish. Make sure you have a clear conclusion and make sure you keep everyone engaged in the lesson. </p>
<p>For me, the most stressful part was the sample lesson. But my interviewers did a good job making us all feel relaxed. It helps A LOT to get their early and talk to the other interviewers. For me, it helped because I was able to get everyone’s names. I’m a guy, so I don’t think I can offer you too much in terms of apppropiate dress. I was surprised though by how informal my interviewers were. They were both men and they only wore dress shirts but no tie. I was nervous about not wearing a suit but when I saw them, I was so relieved haha!</p>
<p>Here is the link to the “Teach for America 2014 Corps Bay Area” Facebook group. If you search exactly that in the search engine it should come up that way too. I’ve made the group completely open. </p>
<p><a href=“https://www.facebook.com/groups/535214146555303/[/url]”>https://www.facebook.com/groups/535214146555303/</a></p>
<p>@pvtmajnewsome – </p>
<p>Clothing: I am a female & wore a button up shirt, blazer and pencil skirt.</p>
<p>Lesson: Don’t do something you can’t finish in 5 minutes! PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! I know it seems obvious but only 2 of us finished our lessons without being cut off in my group. </p>
<p>I was very anxious waiting to do my lesson however I did not feel stressed while doing it.</p>
<p>As far as lesson, just pick something SIMPLE! They are not judging you on how hard the topic you pick is, they’re looking to see if you can teach something and engage your students in 5 minutes and the best way to do that is something simple! The more complicated/obviously trying to be impressive lessons during my interview were the worst and left me totally confused.</p>
<p>Anyone placed in Charlotte or going to the Tulsa, OK institute? I’m excited that I got an offer, but a liiiiitle disappointed that I got Charlotte since I already go to school here 
DC, Philly, or Baltimore would have been a dream come true <em>sigh</em></p>
<p>@emac542 – looks like you’re from Philly as well! Where/when did you interview?</p>
<p>Speaking of Philly, that’s my assigned region 
I know there were several Philadelphians on this board, does anyone have any tips about what neighborhoods to live in? I live in Midtown (near to Times Square) in NYC, but my husband and I would prefer a neighborhood a little less chaotic in Philadelphia.</p>
<p>@TFAHopeful21 There are a lot of nice places to rent in Philly! The beautiful thing about the city is that the transit system is so expansive that you can easily travel anywhere in the city. There’s a new apartment complex that was designed specifically for TFA and other alternative certification programs. It’s called Oxford Mills. It’s an apartment complex that offers discounts for Philadelphia teachers. The website is <a href=“http://theoxfordmills.com/[/url]”>http://theoxfordmills.com/</a>. It’s pretty new so I don’t know too much about it, but it sounds great and I’m sure it would fit your price range!</p>
<p>@Rolemodel32–thank you, I’m going to have to check it out! I’ve visited Philly a few times and absolutely love it! Also, thanks for your response regarding my subject assignment. I e-mailed my regional contact about my concerns, I’ll see what she says on Monday.</p>
<p>Hey guys! I’ve just been stalking the boards looking for people who’ve been accepted to the Chicago Corps. See you guys there! </p>
<p>Accepted/Rejected/Waitlisted: Waitlisted in May, gained early acceptance for 2014 Corps
Final Interview Date and Location: April 3 in Auburn, AL
Invited Directly to Final Interview/Phone Interview first?: phone interview
Applied for Transitional Funding? (Yes/No): No</p>
<p>Question: I finished my online assignment both Part 1 and Part 2 yesterday on 11/02 at 2PM and its been over 24 hours but my status has not changed from ‘Not Submitted’ on the TFA Applicant Center Status. On the linked page for the assignment, it does read that Part 1 is completed and Part 2 grade pending… So I am not sure why my status has not been updated yet. Help?</p>
<p>@peacecorps17 The same thing happened to me. I sent a message through the help tool and I am waiting for a response. They probably won’t contact me until tomorrow because of the weekend. I’ll let you know when I find out what’s going on. Glad to know I’m not the only one this happened to, it’s probably just another glitch in the system.</p>
<p>@ peacecorps17 and @may0914. The same thing happened to me yesterday. I sent a message through the help tool yesterday and received an email last night that there was a technical error preventing them from changing my online activity status to submitted. They also told me that they would send me an update when the technical error was fixed.</p>