At this point I’m trying to preference areas where I could teach History, not really thinking about how much I love the location. Of course, then it would blow if I ended up getting placed in a region that I’m not in love with and still end up teaching middle school science. I did write something in the special circumstances box about how I’ve already passed my CBEST/CSET in social science, so hopefully that will get me placed in California.
I was accepted and my timeline never disappeared!
Congrats to everyone who was accepted! I was accepted D2 and am in the process of preparing for my certification exam for TFA Indy. I know you’ve all been told this before, but really try to keep an open mind when preferencing locations and subjects.
I really wanted to teach high school students somewhere on the East Coast (with DC as my #1), and based on my history of taking Biology & Government classes, I had assumed I’d be placed somewhere with a high need for secondary science/biology teachers. My subject qualifications really varied for example I was qualified to teach Chemistry, but not Biology in Las Vegas, only ESL in Providence, yet pretty much any subject in many of the rural South regions. I enjoyed (and did well in) math in high school, yet only took two statistics classes in college but choose to highly preference HS Math, Science, Biology, English, and Social Studies. In the end, I was placed to teach Secondary Math in Indianapolis (my seventh of eleven choices, it was near the bottom of my preferred category).
Although I would have preferred to teach Biology or Social Studies in DC or Baltimore, the TFA reps helped me to realize that your impact can be so much bigger in a less desirable region especially in a less preferred subject. DC, Nashville, etc will find people to go there, but Indy still has openings on the first day of classes. So put yourself out there, be open to teaching a different subject, learn to love a new city, and MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON STUDENTS’ LIVES!
My timeline never disappeared and I was accepted. I can’t say that there were any indicators one way or another for me. I was preparing myself for the worst and was pleasantly surprised to be accepted. I will say that I felt the strongest portions of my interview was the group assignment and the individual interview in case that helps anyone in the future.
Also, if anyone has already been through the process of choosing regions and subject and have been placed on the East Coast or Northeast, can you share your reasons for choosing that region and where on your list did the region you were assigned fall.
Hello all! I found out yesterday that I was accepted 
I wish I had seen this forum earlier! What are people putting as their top choices? A lot of my tops are preferred…except Jacksonville, FL. I really want to go to Orlando!
High preferred: Bay Area (I also put in a special circumstance of already having passed the CBEST/CSET and wanting to teach in California after my commitment), Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, Orlando. Preferred: San Antonio, Las Vegas, New Mexico, South Carolina, New Jersey. Less Preferred: Phoenix, Dallas.
I basically made this choice my picking places were I could potentially teach history/social studies or Middle school generalist.
Arkansas was my #2 choice, tied with Massachusetts. Indianapolis was my top choice. I ended up placing 5 regions in my high preferenced list, and three subjects in my high preferenced list (middle school science, high school science, and biology).
You should totally preference Massachusetts! I currently go to school in Western Mass and not only is it a beautiful location (with 4 seasons!) but the people are phenomenal. The Western Mass corps members are tight knit according to my recruiter, and are doing amazing things in the classroom even in their first year.
That is smart. I am looking mainly at cost of living and teaching certification costs.
I have a phone meeting with someone from TFA tomorrow, so hopefully that helps me feel more confident with my choices. I just want to talk about my chances for California and how I can increase my chances for teaching history.
I hope you get into California! CatsAndMoreCats, I will definitely consider Massachusetts. I am from California so I have never experienced 4 seasons. Snow kind of scares me, but I should go beyond my comfort zone!
I spoke with someone from TFA on Tuesday afternoon and got a lot of good information about regional assignments. She told me that it would be in my best interest to be open minded on regions and subject/grade level because they won’t be able to give you everything you want. She said as long as I’m willing to be open minded then I’ll be okay. She also told me that it was important to put only regions I would be okay with being placed at on my lists because there is always a chance I’m placed somewhere that isn’t on my highly preferred list, especially if it’s one that a lot of people preference. So good luck!
I’m leaning towards Rio Grande as a possibility now because I would have a high chance for social science or English , and since it’s so cheap, I could save a lot of money over the two years. I just looked it up and I could take the Texas educator test outside of Texas. On one hand I’m a little nervous about going somewhere so rural, but realistically, this is going to be an insanely busy two years for me. Am I really going to have time do hang out in a city? Probably not. And I think I would rather be a little bored than be stressing out about money while trying to balance becoming a teacher.
I don’t know how many of you on the thread applied for the fourth deadline, but today is the day! Like you, I am anxiously waiting to find out if I received an interview. Good luck all!
Yes! Waiting for the email! Hope you get an interview
Check your applicant portal! The notification is up. I received an interview! I am very excited to embark on this journey! @alwaysandalways
Hi everyone! Im new to the forum! I applied for the fourth deadline! The interview notification is up!! Blessings to everyone!
Also new to the forum and also applied for the fourth deadline! Congrats to everyone! Just curious, does anyone ever not get invited to the first interview?
@FutureLawyerNY Yay I received one too! It’s a quick turn around to get all this stuff submitted! EXCITING!
FYI to anyone else trying for history, the person from TFA told me that we should aim for Detroit or Rio Grande Valley if that’s the most important thing to us.
Yes, I have a friend who did not get an interview and they applied before I did @dinnertime6