Hello all,
I'm currently facing a dilemma. I have been accepted to a handful of master + certification programs that I would love to attend and have provided me with great funding/scholarship offers, and I have just found out that I have been chosen for a Fulbright ETA grant for next year. The problem is that so far, all of the programs have indicated that I would either need to re-apply entirely or would need to re-apply for funding if I took a year off to do the Fulbright. Right now I'm really concerned about risking these great funding offers (especially because the Fulbright dates might prevent me from immediately going on to attend these programs, which start in the summer).
For this reason, I'm considering re-applying for the Fulbright for next year (after these 12- to 16-month programs would be over), but I'm worried that this would present an obstacle for starting my teaching career. Does anybody have any experience with taking a gap year between completing certification and beginning teaching? Would it be difficult to have that break during the time when you would normally be transitioning from the masters program to a job? If I came back from the Fulbright at the end of June or beginning of July, do you think that most schools would have already hired their new teachers for the next school year?
Thanks for your help!