<p>does anyone have experience with these? do people often work for these organizations as an in-between for undergrad and graduate professional school (law, medical, etc.)</p>
<p>I plan on applying for a position with teach for america. Its a two year contract and at the end many teachers enter graduate programs or continue teaching. Their process is highly selective from what I've heard, I think their website provides some stats. Nontheless, experience can only help not hurt you.</p>
<p>Its mostly a buffer between undergrad to graduate school. Again it provides experience and helps you pay off those loans.</p>
<p>It is very competitive, believe it or not. Many think that they will apply to TFA just in case they cannot find another job after graduating, but i have heard of really bright kids who were turned down by TFA.</p>
<p>FYI, Teach For America is incredibly competitive. The acceptance rate hovers between 15 and 20%, and about 10% of the senior class at schools like Yale and Harvard applies. It’s a lot like applying to a top college like Georgetown, Cornell, or Duke (and probably almost as competitive as applying to a place like Princeton or Harvard given the quality of the other applicants). I know stellar applicants from Ivy League schools who were rejected or wait-listed.</p>
<p>Of course brilliant kids get turned away from TFA! Just because you’re smart doesn’t mean you can teach. That’s a skill set all on its own.</p>
<p>I know a lot of seniors this year applying for TFA or Americorps as either a buffer between undergrad and grad, or to give them time to decide whether or not they even want to go to grad school.</p>
<p>My son who graduated last May will be entering the Peace Corps this May. The application process started in July and medical/dental/legal stuff was cleared in September. He was formally invited in December. It was a long process and I think that he got in just before the number of applications ballooned. I understand that the process is longer now, and applicants can’t be as choosy as to where/when they want to be posted.
Peace Corps is 2 yrs 3 mts long and the part my son loves the most is that he’ll be eligible for peace corps fellowships to pursue his Masters. For those of us who are name brand afficionados :-), the participating schools include Yale, Duke, GWU, Columbia…
check out the peace corps website.
There’s also a Masters International program at participating Universities where the peace corps work counts toward your credits. You have to apply to both the peace corps and to the university’s masters program simultaneously.</p>