Teach for America 2015 Corps

Career Opportunities & Internships
801

my interviewer talked about her school interview day and how it was terrifying and she needed a drink or 6 after and now it’s her favorite part because she gets to see new corp members about pee their pants. she’s in the chicago region, specifically gary. so if you get placed there, get ready!

i am nervous about that too, because even if i really don’t get TFA i have to do school interviews for the TNTP program too. i have a friend in the new york teaching fellows and she told me that her first interview process was 6 hours of short interviews with like 15 (i think) schools in that particular district. like, excuse me!??

802

Yes, once you get accepted you have to interview with schools in your region. If your summer institute isn’t in your region I think you do your interview during induction which IS held in your region and is like 4-5 days before summer institute begins. A lot of what I’ve read suggests that some sites do like a speed dating thing, 20 principals in one room, you sit, talk, somebody yells switch until you’re all done. Then you go to summer institute, have your training, and then teacher orientation at your new school, which can happen anytime between the end of institute and the beginning of school, just depends on the district.

803

Also if anyone is curious about what’s going to happen after selection, I have this handy link: https://www.teachforamerica.org/assets/documents/admissions/matriculation/regions/HOUSTON_timeline.pdf this is Houston’s info which is my first choice, but if you want to check out your own, you just put in the proper city/region name where Houston is in the link.

804

I guess a positive is that the schools come to you. You don’t have to put out x amount of applications. If I don’t get in to TFA or TNTP, I will have to pursue my alternative licensure with the Colorado DOE. I will have my Statement of Eligibility by the end of the month, then I have to apply for the GEN TEACHER job for at least the Denver PS district, THEN apply directly to school, with about a week wait in between.

805

@aprilmatt1113 Thanks for the link! I found it very useful.

806

I promised myself to not look at my TF again until Thursday, so idk my status anymore lol. Congrats to those with updated changes though ! 4 more days! Looks like if TFA doesn’t work the way I hope, I’ll be applying to TNTP… But, I really want TFA.

807

I’m not sure if this matters, but in my final one on one interview my interviewer said that after decisions are made that teams of people scour over every application for hours and hours to make decisions on location, subject level, and funding for each person.

808

My TF status is “under review” but it also says “we have not yet reviewed your application or documents”. Is this a bad sign? I have no yes’s for any of my documents and I am part of the 5th deadline.

809

I mean TNTP seems like a great program. I went to an information session to the specific one i was accepted to and it seems incredible. But their specific summer training seems a bit more rigorous than tfa’s institutes. And the one I was accepted to requires a masters degree. Really the biggest difference I have seen

810

@caguz2, the theory goes that if you have “yes” next to your TF funding status that the folks over at TFA are looking at your funding application. This is seen as a good sign because they would only review it if you are accepted. Also, some people had their docs verified and ended up being rejected. It is an indicator, but some people had their docs verified later or day of, I think.
We still have almost a whole week, so I wouldn’t stress. All of us will only know for sure once we log in on decision day at the right time.

811

No problem @spottydotty‌ @caguz2‌ that “we have not yet reviewed your application or documents” never changes, even in people who have complete as their TF Status, mine still says that, but my documents all have “yes” next to them, so they’ve OBVIOUSLY reviewed them. I think @chellepepper‌ is probably on to something, mostly because I really think that TFA has caught on to the fact that everyone knows TF is an indicator of acceptance or rejection. I’m beginning to think it’s less of an indicator then it was before, because so far only one person who’s been chatting with us, has gotten a “Complete”, which then switched back to “Under Review” as opposed to previous years, where there were TONS of people with Completes

812

@summersky2015 and @unicorncat I had put Orlando as my number one choice with special circumstances so they are very accommodating! All I put on the application was that I had a 1 yearold and that my parents are her “nanny” and they live in Orlando.

Don’t be discouraged @marydee‌ !

and @chellepepper‌ TNTP was very similar but be super over prepared for the phone interview, only downside to TNTP is they don’t offer any sort of TF and tuition for their summer academy in Charlotte is $10,000 and that was the cheapest.

813

I have been reading these posts since I have applied. Like a few others my TF documents have NOT been verified with a “yes”. In preparation for my rejection I have read the rejection letters that people have posted.

I am mentally preparing myself for rejection and have been looking at other jobs.

To have made it so far and to be rejected just feels awful.

814

Don’t lose hope yet! @MissHopeless Did you apply for the 5th deadline? I worked with TFA before so I know they might be understaffed sometimes, especially during this time of the cycle. There is a reason that they need until the 19th to release our results.

815

Anybody else worried about living on a teacher’s salary?

816

@aprilmatt1113, here in Hawaii, yes.

817

@aprilmatt1113‌ i was really concious of that when selecting regions. So if TFA choses me, I am not too concerned about it. But i can see how that would be a huge concern in some regions.

818

@marydee and @nickymomma Thanks for the information about TNTP. I am still working on my application. The have a march 30 deadline. I didn’t know you had to pay for the summer training. That is deal breaker for me, unfortunately.

819

Anyone else have Hawaii as a highly preferred? I listed special circumstances because my husband is trying to establish a business here. He grew up here and wants to raise our son here, too.

820

@Misshopeless: i COMPLETELY from the bottom of my heart understand what you are going through. I have also been preparing myself for the worst outcome this coming Thursday. Similarly, this is what I have been staring at and crying over for the last two days:

March 19, 2015

Dear TFA5thDL2015:

Thank you very much for your interest in Teach For America and for the time and effort you invested in interviewing with us. I am very sorry to inform you that, after careful consideration of your candidacy, we are not able to extend you an offer to join the 2015 corps.

Your initiative in applying to Teach For America demonstrates your commitment to expanding opportunities for children and effecting social change, and we would like to offer all candidates a path to realizing these aims. This said, we know that Teach For America is not a fit for everyone. While acknowledging the limitations of any selection process, we have developed a set of admissions criteria over time that helps us identify those most likely to be successful in our particular program. We use the written application, Online Activity, transcripts, online recommendation forms, phone interview, and all parts of the interview day as lenses through which to view evidence related to these criteria.

We do know that you have the potential to make a significant contribution to meeting our country’s pressing social needs, and we encourage you to pursue other ways to make a difference. To assist you in your pursuit, we have posted on our website a list of recommended resources. Additionally, if you are interested in being contacted by other education and service-oriented organizations that may wish to recruit Teach For America applicants for similar opportunities, you can complete a short form here.

I am sorry that we are not able to provide individual feedback on admissions decisions, given that we do not have the resources to handle the volume of potential requests. Although this news may bring disappointment, I hope that your experience with Teach For America thus far has been positive. If you would like to share any anonymous feedback on our admissions process, we welcome your reflections and suggestions here.

Again, thank you for the energy you invested in our admissions process. I wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Sean Waldheim

Vice President, Admission

I am not being overly dramatic. I would just like to slowly accept the fact that I will not be part of this awesome organization. As everyone always says, take things slowly… so I am slowwlly accepting my rejection so that it wont hurt as bad this Thursday. :frowning: wahhhh!!! That first paragraph, I read WORD by WORD a couple times a day.