<p>@m2196452: Maybe personalities wasn’t the correct word, but we all just seemed to click. Maybe it was the fact that we were all so passionate about the same thing, and we may just be very like-minded people.
And the anticipation is rough! You’ve just got to do your best to keep yourself busy. I made sure I didn’t have a lot of time to sit around and worry, but I did spend a lot of my free time researching things to help with the final interview - and that was extremely helpful! Just prepare yourself for either situation. You want to be confident, but not confident to the point that you are crushed if things don’t work out the way you expected them to.</p>
<p>@elemteacher, that makes sense. I’m sure the fact that you guys all made it was a big unifying factor, plus, like this board, I’m sure everyone in that group is just as excited as the other corps to get out there and serve those communities in need. </p>
<p>I do have a question for those who have experienced “the interview”. From what I gathered on the website/forum/interweb, it’s is quite long. How long was your interview in total? I’ve heard anything from 8-12 hours, and I’m okay with that, but I just want to gain a better understanding of everyone else’s time. </p>
<p>I had no idea the application process was so arduous! The application, the phone interview/online portion, the final interview, and THE WAITING. If I move on, the space between the final interview and when they announce who’s made it is conveniently set between graduation and the holidays (most of the time spent traveling with my family up the East coast). Joy.</p>
<p>@m2196452 – “the interview” time could vary depending on how many people you have in your group & how many interviewers there are. I was there for about 5 hours (this includes some time waiting before 9am…didn’t want to be late!). This is after having gotten the 1st slot for the one on one portion of the interview. You work it out amongst yourselves who will go first, etc. No one wanted to go first so I did. I figured we’ve all got to go anyway.</p>
<p>@m2196452 my interview was also about 5 hours. I went second for my one-on-one interview, which was about 20mins. I think it has a lot to do with how many people are in your interview group, and if you do your final personal interview first or last.</p>
<p>@m2196452 To piggyback on everyone else, it depends on when you are scheduled for your personal interview. If time is an issue for you, I wouldn’t worry too much. Everyone in my group was pretty accomodating. I went to the school that we interviewed at so I volunteered to go last. A lot of people in my group wanted to go early because they commuted large distances. So if you want to go early for a specific reason, most people will respect that. </p>
<p>I have a question for everyone who was accepted. Has anyone had any luck communicating with other people who were accepted to your same region (not including this forum). I know induction is far away, but I REALLY want to find other people who are headed to Detroit and I don’t see a facebook group for it yet!</p>
<p>@Rolemodel32 – only on Facebook so far. There is a page specific to my region (which is a cluster of cities) and our year (2014) and also one specific to my particular city. I have still been messing around with TFAnet & figuring out where things are but have you already joined your communities on there? I haven’t tried communicating with anyone on there but I assume we could…</p>
<p>@Rolemodel32, I have had no luck communicating with others in my region and year. We don’t have a Facebook yet and I have looked on TFAnet and have only been able to see CM’s from previous years.</p>
<p>One more day until I find out if I made it through! I have a ton of stuff to do for school so it’s keeping me busy.</p>
<p>While I was looking at the different regions, I overlooked the ongoing certification costs. I was shocked to see that the Twin Cities region boasts a $17,000 cost. Is that real? For most other regions, it’s averaged at $1,000-$4,000. It just seems to be an outstanding cost that doesn’t match anything else. Does anyone know how that’s feasible on the salary they provide us with?</p>
<p>If anyone knows anything about these costs, it’d be nice to hear about it. I’ve looked on the website and have found only vague answers about the costs.</p>
<p>@elemteacher and @tinitafish What region are you in? I wish a recruiter did that for my region! I know quite a few people here are from Philly, hopefully I wasn’t missing out on one!</p>
<p>If anyone needs advice or tips, PM me as well. I’m more than happy to help!</p>
<p>Who here is placed in Chicago? I want to make a Teach for America 2014 Chicago Corps group on facebook since there isn’t one already but need another person to make it!</p>
<p>Only one more day! Even though I was lucky enough to make it to the final interviews, I am anxious for tomorrow because we’ll finally get to pick our assignments and get things scheduled for the last steps of this process. Good luck to everyone tomorrow!!!</p>
<p>@m2196452 I think these costs are real and, from what I am guessing, going towards tuition for the grad classes CMs need to take in order to be certified. However, I know that there is a possibility of an AmeriCorps education award which would offset a lot of that, but that wouldn’t be given out until the end of the 2 year commitment. Or at least this is what I understand, I could be wrong haha.</p>
<p>@emac542: Just found out this morning that the legislation passed in my favor, so I will be reassigned to Chicago (pending the Governor’s signature). SUPER excited. Let me know if you still need someone to set up the group.</p>
<p>Who else was placed into Chicago???</p>
<p>@toots99k I PMed you!</p>
<p>@toots99k congrats on the Chicago placement! </p>
<p>And for those who are currently in the application process, my interview day was about 6hours total…but I was able to leave for lunch between the group activity and the one-on-one interview, so it really wasn’t too bad. I had a nice 2.5 hour break to relax, get some coffee, and wander around Manhattan.</p>
<p>I don’t know about y’all, but I’m soooo nervous for tomorrow. I don’t know why I have felt so down about my phone interview that I completely convinced myself that I would not be invited for a final interview. I just want to know the verdict already so I can stop stressing! Did any of y’all feel like your phone interview wasn’t anything special? I feel like this isn’t normal, haha.</p>
<p>@booger I feel ya. I can’t sleep at all tonight. Well all I can do now is let the chips fall where they may and pray for the best.</p>
<p>I noticed when I received my email for the phone interview, they sent it a bit early like around 3pm instead of 6pm. For those of you in the 1-2DL, did you get an early email for the final interview? This is my anxiety shining through for sure. 3DL’ers, we find out tonight! Agh!</p>
<p>Good luck to all my 3DLs out there! @booger I felt the same way. I’ve basically convinced myself that it’s not my year. We’ll see soon I guess…I’d rather be pleasantly surprised than incredibly discouraged. Haha, I will also be SO relieved to simply stop stressing about this either outcome!</p>
<p>Hey m, I did get an early e-mail for the final interview, around 3 or 4 PM. However, we got super late notification on our acceptance, so I wouldn’t put too much stock in the reliability of the e-mail times. Good luck to all y’all who are finding out about the final interview today though!!! I wish you all the best!</p>
<p>Good luck to all the 3DLs today! I’m sure we’ll be anxiously waiting by the computer, hoping they send out information early.</p>