<p>Hey All Sorry I’m super late with the post! But I was accepted in to the 2014 Corps in the New York Region!! Any fellow New Yorkers?! Hope all is well.</p>
<p>@Rolemodel32 – Have you gotten the chance to speak with your regional contact yet? I am supposed to speak with mine tomorrow after emailing with specific questions. Also, what was your subject placement? I know you previously posted it but I can’t recall…</p>
<p>@TeachTheChildren – CONGRATULATIONS!! :)</p>
<p>@m2196452 Glad to know I’m not the only one anticipating November 13th!</p>
<p>@TeachTheChildren I’ll be in NY too! So exciting. Congrats to you!</p>
<p>@sarabea126, good good good to know. Did you undergo a phone interview/online activity? </p>
<p>To everyone, how often do applicants actually get matched with their highest priority location? Does anyone know anything about the Twin Cities location? I’m thinking about choosing that region, but I haven’t heard anyone mention it.</p>
<p>@m2196452 I did…and now I just keep playing the interview over and over in my head!</p>
<p>@m2196452 I’ve heard TFA uses an algorithm that combines the subject placements available in a region with your preference list of regions. So your region is going to depend on the subject you preferred and are able to teach. So to make a long story short, if you preferred a subject that is in high demand (STEM, ESL) then you are more likely to get your number 1 choice. </p>
<p>@AmbitousMe I was contacted yesterday from my regions Director of School Partnerships. He really addressed some concerns that I had so I accepted my offer that night! O and I my subject placement is Social Studies (6-12).</p>
<p>Wonderful. I’m really interested in the Twin Cities, but I haven’t seen anyone with an acceptance on this year’s board, or any other board for that matter. </p>
<p>@sarabea126, I completely understand. I have been thinking about every word since that day. I’m trying to keep my mind elsewhere but it’s so difficult! One more week and we’ll be in a crazier place! Where are you thinking in terms of regions?</p>
<p>@toots99k wow I wish the best for you! And I hope everything works out! </p>
<p>@Jessy13 Yayy for Houston! Is it a big move for you?</p>
<p>Hey I have a question for everyone, even those who are going through the application process now. How were you recruited? Did you ever feel like you were pressured to apply to TFA? I’ve been researching TFA in Detroit and I came across a couple of blog posts that talked about the region’s abnormal rate of corps members who leave before their commitment is over. I don’t know how official the stats are they cite, but they said TFA’s national attrition rate is around 11% after Institute but it’s around 25% in Detroit. The ones who write the post say the attrition rates don’t have much to do with the Institute training, but the fact that they recruit so hard, they end up attracting idealistic people who lack the ability to develop in tough situations. So the people are generally there for the right reasons, but they’re constantly told they’ll do great no matter how little they know about their subject placement or how to work in a high pressure environment. So I just wanted to ask everyone who was recruited how were your recruitment experiences? Were you recruited with a blanket email that just pasted your name in the address to apply or did someone sit with you and explain EVERYTHING about the program, both the good and the bad and why you would be a good fit for it. I’m going to start as a campus recruiter soon and I worry about having to recruit people that I feel are not suited for the experience. I would appreciate any thoughts on this!</p>
<p>@m2196452 I’m looking at San Diego, which is a region I haven’t seen much interest towards…and also Alabama since that is home for me.</p>
<p>@rolemodel32 I received an email from a local campus rep that seemed pretty personalized. From there, I was contacted by the recruiter via phone.</p>
<p>@blackneducated I am from St.Louis but I go to school in Alabama, so it is most definitely a big move for me. I put Houston as my number 1 highly preferred region because I heard soooo many amazing things about the city, not to mention they pay their teacher very very well. WBU?</p>
<p>@rolemodel32 I didn’t get a recruiter until after I applied, therefore, I did not feel pressured into applying. My recruiter is a HBCU recruiter and works closely with HBCU students.</p>
<p>@rolemodel32, like sarabea126, I received an email from a campus recruiter with a personalized message. It confused me a bit because she mentioned something I did a few years back and to my knowledge, I have no idea how she found that out. </p>
<p>@sarabea126, had you requested information or anything pertaining to TFA before applying? Like I said, the recruiter mentioned some things I’ve done and I have no way of understanding how they found that out, unless it was referred by someone I already know or have worked with.</p>
<p>@m2196452 that’s what is so interesting to me. I did not request any info about TFA but yet was currently filling out my appliction when I got the email. I had only told my mom I was applying so I pretty much took it as a sign to continue with the campus rep email. I do wonder whether they research our previous experiences or if someone referenced me. Either way I guess it’s a good thing!</p>
<p>I had not started my application when I first received contact from my recruiter, but I had put my name on a mailing list during my junior year to receive more information, so I assume that is how he first received my information. I agree that the recruiting seems extremely aggressive at some schools (mine included), but I also think that the recruiters are very helpful presences to have throughout the application if you are someone who is truly very interested in TFA. Even at my school, some of my friends, mainly those weren’t particularly interested in joining but perhaps went to an information session or something just to see what TFA was all about, found the recruiter to be very pressuring/persistent/frustrating, whereas others (myself included) found him a useful resource to be able to ask questions to and get advice from. I do think I benefitted from having a recruiter throughout the process. 100% more important than your recruiter’s advice, though, is trying to reach out to others you know who are current or past corps members – the network is so large now that it is not hard to connect with someone, either online or via your Career Services office or just via mutual friends, who can give you real/unfiltered advice. They were the main force that helped me throughout the application process and they have been essential in my decision-making process as well!</p>
<p>@toots99k I had no idea Chicago was voting on new certification requirements. I keep googling and can’t find any info on this. What would be the new requirements?</p>
<p>They’re trying to raise the minimum GPA requirement from a 2.5 to a 3.0, which is cool but if they decide to immediately implement it then thousands of current students and people in the alt cert process will be affected. I’m actually still looking for the bill number, if I find it I’ll post it. A number of states have new laws pending and I think that is part of TFA’s random quirkiness this year, like assigning people to places they did not select.</p>
<p>Personally, I have a 2.5 cumulative from a Big Ten school (so those who think numbers are all that matters to TFA, you’d be wrong). I had a kid my first year of college and when I returned with her, let’s just say it was a bad adjustment lol (new student, new mom, working like 3 part time jobs)… But my major GPA was over a 3.0, as were the last 60 hours on my transcripts… I will be devastated if this passes and I can’t stay in Chicago, especially after all the wait…</p>
<p>(and please don’t mind my love affair with the ellipses, the dot-dot-dots lol…)</p>
<p>@rolemodel32 I wasn’t actually recruited, nor does any recruiting occur at my school to my knowledge. But my school was fairly small and relatively new (only 50 years old) and we haven’t had many alumni go on to programs like TFA, Fulbright, etc. With regards to the retention rate, I think it may be vastly lower in Detroit because it is such a difficult placement rather than recruitment efforts. The school system has been in major trouble for the past decade or so with a significant amount of school closings, the emergency managers taking power and changing things up, and the fact that TFA only just sent corps members there a few years ago.</p>
<p>I have a question in regards to the gpa requirement. I messed up my first few years and failed some classes in a different major than my current. Within my major, the university requirements, and gen eds I have a 3.4. However what’s reflected on my audit is something much lower since it is everything. Would TFA acknowledge my gpa from the standpoint of what I’m earning a degree in or do they want everything?</p>
<p>***Sorry, I wrote all that at work on my phone. Earlier in my undergrad, like 6 years ago I failed a few classes in my major, which is different from the one I am graduating in this December. My degree audit only counts gen eds, university reqs, and classes within my major - so those earlier classes aren’t reflected, however I’m mighty sure they will appear on my transcript. I explained it the best I could on my application, and in the phone interview, but I just hope my past won’t affect my future with TFA. UGHH</p>