tdix09

I say ask both. At best, you have too many recs.

Im sorry I didnt see this - by now you've made your decision, and I hope a good one! I am content in my decision. Moreso because I needed to leave NY. We're at different places - you have a partner to consider and it sounds like you two are looking to settle into/stay here. I've been here my whole life and need a new environment. Philly was new-ish, but still reminded me too much of NY, and I think I'd be too tempted to come home too often. The cost differential was a factor, seeing as how I have UG debt (from NYU) so I'd like to pay that off/down. Another difference - your masters (AFAYK) is your terminal degree, so you might go all out and go for TC. For me, a PhD is likely, so I've got another shot, so to speak.

Im sorry I didnt see this - by now you've made your decision. I am content in my decision. Moreso because I needed to leave NY. We're at different places - you have a partner to consider and it sounds like you two are looking to settle into/stay here. I've been here my whole life and need a new environment. Philly was new-ish, but still reminded me too much of NY, and I think I'd be too tempted to come home too often. The cost differential was a factor, seeing as how I have UG debt (from NYU) so I'd like to pay that off/down. Another difference - your masters (AFAYK) is your terminal degree, so you might go all out and go for TC. For me, a PhD is likely, so I've got another shot, so to speak.

Or starting their own charter/independent school. I can see the value somewhat, but I can also see it as a university moneymaker.

I agree that the experience is a bit lacking. the 3.5 is decent enough, and "good recommendations" means what? Chair of a department? an alum of any of these programs who donates money or has a reputable name in the field? Or a professor who gave you a few As and maybe you did research for? I'm interested to know which Americorps program (I work for an Americorps literacy program), and I think that can work in your favor for, say, Penn GSE (as they seem to speak favorably about City Year and TFA on their site). On the other hand, their median GRE if I recall correctly was 157V and 4.5W so... maybe. I got the impression that a good portion of their applicants have at least 1-2 years of work experience after graduation. A LOT of applicants I met at preview days volunteered a lot too. I had 8 years of work exp (incl 2 years of Americorps), 3.3 GPA and 153/4.0W GRE and was accepted. I can't speak on the other programs (I am an NYU alum, and I think you'd have a good shot into Steinhardt) but I'll echo the others and say work on the GRE score because it's the only thing you can control right now, unless you decide to wait another year and gather some more experience. I imagine Columbia would be a bit more difficult - your personal statement better sell the hell out of you going into IED, especially with that under-160-GRE score.

Oh man! What a decision to make! I had to make a choice between a state school and Ivy. Chose the former bc of the same concerns: don't plan on racking up more student debt to go into a field that will take a while to pay back, whether through forgiveness programs or out of my own pockets. If your goal is to work for DOE, I highly doubt a Columbia degree is going to put you ahead of the curve THAT much.

JBums gave great advice. While I'm super excited on attending Michigan State, I didn't think too much about locale. I'm willing to give the midwest a go (East coaster through and through) but as of now, I see myself returning east for work (at the very least, an urban environment). If I could apply all over again (which I wouldnt because it's a torturous process), I would've also reconsidered finances - I wasn't honest upfront with myself about taking loans out. In theory, great. When confronted with having to take out loans for schools who do NOT cover tuition via graduate assistantships, I realized I wasn't down for that. I went with my gut from a trusted friend in the field (a few actually) who said "no one should have to pay (much) for a degree in this field - there's enough funding out there." I took enough loans out for UG, not planning on doing it twice. Some other things to consider: one year vs two year, attending fulltime vs parttime, having to take the GRE. It's a miserable exam, and while I did fairly OK, it was a time and money suck to take when I chose a school that didnt even require it. I'm not a bad test taker, I just didn't prepare for it with the enthusiasm I should have. Lastly, take FULL advantage of those Facebook groups. I joined them all around this time last year and them ridiculously forgot about them until after I submitted my applications. Make those groups your best friends, because those people are ultimately your future colleagues, regardless of where you all attend. Good luck!

@Jbums: I know some NODA internships are open to undergrads, so for sure, you should be eligible if you are entering a program the following semester. But I'm just speculating. Also, yay for employment. not-so-yay on deferring school again. keep us posted!

Seeing as how my response is experiential and and not a research paper... no, but don't doubt my ability to do so. I could back it up with the thousands of teachers and students who bear the long-term (socioemotional, intellectual and economic) effects of an uneven educational playing field. Quality of teachers (and teacher training) surely plays a part of that. Im sure there are studies that connect student retention, college readiness, disparities in standardized testing, community health... you name it, someone is studying how teacher preparedness is positively influencing or negatively affecting these issues. Listen, are there amazing teachers that come to TFA for the right reasons and excel? Absolutely. Are there craptastic teachers that are trained via traditional education programs? Just as many. There are exceptions to everything. from the OP: To that I say, if you are looking for an "easier" way into your career, that doesn't sound like you're willing to build your craft like any other professional would. I'm just over education as a field getting the short end of the stick. No one would suggest an engineer, for example, to look for alternate routes in finding a job. The market for traditionally-certified teachers SHOULD be competitive: we should be absolutely more discerning about who we put in the classroom to teach and educate.

Masters Stats: 153V/153Q/4.0W Background: education non-profit Applied: Michigan State University, Rutgers University, UPenn GSE Admitted: all programs Rejected: none Going: Michigan State

Echoing @AmateurNerd. Teaching and educating is a craft and skill like any other career. We educators deserve to be respected and paid appropriately. It's never fair to take 4 years of a traditional education program (theory and practice which people have spent generations formulating and refining) and squeeze it into a summer intensive training. There isn't an appropriate length of time to be fully ready and prepared to teach but it surely isn't 7 weeks. I've had leftovers in the fridge longer than that and I don't want them teaching middle school math. My experiences with TFA teachers overall have been really poor - in the preparation they receive but also in character. It was clear they were looking for a stepstone (padding their resume for graduate/professional school) or trying to figure themselves out. Which many early 20somethings are doing, but for crying out loud... don't go figuring it out in front of 32 students who are probably trying to figure THEMselves out. I'm sorry, a biochem major from an Ivy League who's always wanted to live in NY, can't find work in his field and is crying into his Sam Adams about what's next should NOT be teaching K-3 SPED on the Lower East Side. Lastly, I find a lot (not all, not even many, but enough) of TFA applicants are all down for the cause until a straw breaks the camel's back. Something mysteriously goes missing out of their desk? Ok, ish happens. 12+ hour days piling up? Sure, it's for the kids. 30+ year veterans sneering at you down the hall because your students just LOVE you to pieces 3 months after showing up? Shake it off. All of that piles up into a seemingly innocent occurrence on their morning commute and that TFA Corps Member/teacher is clearing out their desk Friday afternoon ready to book it back to their hometown. They've got a game plan to get out and go back to their "normal lives" by grabbing a part-time job at a local restaurant, coffeeshop and yet again crying into their beers because they "tried so hard" and "just couldn't do it anymore." The children which you professed to make a difference for in Times New Roman 12 font in your personal statement? They're getting a sub on Monday. How long can that sub say "your teacher's out today" before they realize that another adult which they may or may not have started to put their trust and confidence in, has bailed again? The children served in targeted TFA neighborhoods don't get to leave. Their parents didn't, and their parents' parents didn't. That's part of why they're "in-need." So if you're going to show up, show out. You knock that ish out. Educators are out here trying to close the achievement gap but that fortitude gap in the type of people who really want to but for all the reasons, can't and won't? Wider than the Grand Canyon through a fish-eye lens. -fin- ETA: I say this as an Americorps alum, and administrator of an Americorps program with hoards of students who are TFA hopefuls. Oh, the struggle!

I was JUST saying this to my best friend, in comparing other programs. There hasn't been a lot of information put out, and it feels super inconsistent. @omnomnam: you should email/call the department, because there were emails that I missed too - I could tell because there were other messages that referenced past emails.

Thanks! I got an email a couple hours ago about an error stated in a previous email, but I definitely didnt get said previous email - wrote back just to make sure I havent missed anything else. Now I'm super stressed.

Has anyone heard anything via email about Penn's upcoming Preview Event? The last email I got was saying we'd receive GA descriptions soon, and then I got a "check out our GA positions at Preview Event" from a partnering university earlier today. But nothing else. My interest in attending is waning, to be honest.

I say UPenn - it's a one year program (9 1-credit courses, plus one internship-type experience) which you could spread out over 1.5-2 years if necessary. Location makes it easy (I'm assuming you're on the east coast), and from the info session I went to last year, it seemed like they pull a lot of older students, career changers and have work experience (as in, not just out of college). If you aren't hung up on names, Stony Brook has an online program as well as in-person and would be relatively cheaper than some of the options you mentioned, since you already have an MBA.