I mentioned last week that I had applied to my first "real" job. Well...it was at TFA! Thursday, right before I left for the airport to go to my brother's wedding, I found out that I had made it past the first round and had been accepted for a phone interview. Then, it was a whirlwind of activity to try to book my phone interview time, fly out, prepare, fly back, and finally have it last night at 8:30 (which, by the way, happened to be RIGHT in the middle of the Packers/Bears game. Sigh.)
I think it went pretty well! I didn't want to post about the job until I had at least gotten past the first round and had my phone interview. They have a confidentiality policy so I can't share too much, but I know a lot of people have questions about Teach for America (I still do!), like what the acceptance rate is, how the phone interview and the final interview are scheduled, what the application is like, and I'm sure tons more. So if you got to this post by googling those things, I'd be happy to answer all the questions I can...though I won't say too much, for fear of breaching the policy. I'll keep everyone updated on if I get invited to a final interview, but for now, I can say that my regions of choice right now are Los Angeles and the Bay Area, and I *think* my grade of choice would be third or fourth, but I don't know for sure. I do think high school could be really rewarding...but I'm sort of terrified.
Have any of you ever applied for, wanted to do, or actually done TFA? Have you had friends who have? What did they say about their experience?
I'm so excited/nervous/terrified all at once! (ALSO, if I do get it, I'll know what I'm doing next year by the beginning of November! CRAZY.)
Congrats on your interview! I've known a few people that have done TFA and most say it's very rewarding. I think the blogger at feedingthesoil.com did teach of america so you may be able to gleam some insight from her site.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Oh wow that'd be amazing! I didn't know you wanted to teach. That's a little dream of mine. I've never heard of Teach for America and I read a bit about them. Sounds like it'd be an incredible experience. I vote for Bay Area. We live in the East Bay-we could have coffee!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteI applied for TFA, and I made it to the interview round. I didn't get accepted though. I have a lot of friends who ended up doing TFA though. They do have a very slim acceptance rate. It's interesting the people they accept. My cousin is in it now and he is a high school math teacher and plans to continue that as his profession. I know other people in the program who have gone onto politics or med school. It seems that they're mostly interested in people who will learn in-depth knowledge of inner city schools and then use that info to help out, either through teaching or advocacy of another kind. I have heard a lot of great stories out of TFA but also a lot of inside knowledge on some down sides. The truth is though, anything you do fresh out of college will have downsides. There is no way around that.
ReplyDeleteFor me, not getting into TFA turned out to be a blessing. I managed to get a different job that opened a million doors for me and introduced me to my future husband, so I managed just fine. Good luck! I think either outcome will be great for you! I have lots of contacts in TFA if you have more questions.
I just looked it up because I had no idea what it was! It sounds amazing and way to go making it past the first round. I can't wait to hear more about it!
ReplyDeleteI have several friends who did TFA and all found it challenging, but very rewarding. Most are still somewhat involved, even though they're not actually in the program anymore! I'm happy to direct you their way if you have any questions or would like their perspective. :)
ReplyDeleteLots of my lawyer friends did TFA! I heard that it can be a tough 2 years, but nobody ever regrets it! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteGood luck! My best friend just finished her two years last May. She did 4th-8th special ed, it was a trying experience to say the least, but also very rewarding. And TFA is an awesome start to a professional career in just about anything!!
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