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Webster, this appears to be the trend. I did an M.Ed and alternative certification from 2005-2007 as a full-time, traditional student; since then, the entire program has been retooled, and it is now offered exclusively online, with no face-to-face classes. Many universities seem to be heading in this direction, if they haven't already gone and done it. In six years of teaching, in multiple US states and continents, I've never known a teacher who did initial certification online, although I've known many teachers who did online masters after they had already done their teacher preparation. No one has ever suggested to me that an online degree was viewed less favorably, so long as it came from an accredited university. Teachers in most states in the US are expected to either work towards or earn a masters degree throughout the course of their career, so school districts and administrators are accustomed to seeing online universities on transcripts and resumes. Have you done teacher education already (student teaching, etc)? Nova Southeastern's program seems like it requires at least a bachelor's in education. If you've done student teaching and hold a license already, I don't see why you would avoid this program if it's more convenient than a traditional format program. However, if you haven't done teacher education, I would look into a traditional format. "Teaching" cannot be taught online, although theory, instructional trends, and some instructional strategies certainly can be.

Good luck, Lindsey! I'm in Chengdu right now, and I also applied at TC and Penn, although for different programs. So are you actually studying full-time in China, or on an exchange program of sorts? A few of my colleagues came here to do degrees, including a guy from Georgia who majored in Chinese and teaches Chinese language!

I don't know anything about higher education or student affairs, but I'm curious how you arrived at "IUP" as one of your preliminary choices.

Overall, I think you have a lot of positives, from what you've posted here. Keep in mind your statement of purpose and GRE will be factors in the process as well (the SOP more than the GRE). Evaluating your application is difficult to do without, 1) being a university admissions person, which I am not, and 2) knowing what kind of graduate program you're looking at going into. It really does depend on each department, and each university. I was admitted into a doctoral program five or six years ago without meeting the minimum requirements, and I certainly didn't have the high GPA and array of work and other experiences that you've listed. However, my admission was at a "flagship" university with a very, very average reputation. If you had applied in the same department there, I'm sure you would have been admitted. On the other hand, my girlfriend had a much better GPA and similar work and educational experiences, yet was denied admission in a different department at the same university; she was even an international student with excellent English abilities, which usually seems to be a plus for such candidates. I think what she was told is that her research and professional interests were simply not a good match with the faculty members who were there, even though her application on the whole was very good. Obviously, top tier and Ivy league schools might be a totally different experience. I only recently applied to these kinds of schools when I reapplied to graduate school, and I'm still waiting for an admissions decision. I can't speak with any authority about these types of schools, outside of the application process. The influence of GRE scores also depends on the university and the program to which you apply, but at the very least I think we can agree that it would be better not to have a "weak" area on your application. If you're aiming for a summer GRE, you still have several months to review study materials. If I have one regret, it's that I didn't put more time to the GRE. While I did spend a considerable amount of time with it, I only had so many hours in the day due to my job and the other things I have going on. The more important thing is the statement, or whatever written piece goes along with your application to summarize your plans, your experience, etc. Once you identify the schools you want to attend, you'll have a better idea of what to write. Writing an effective SOP is pretty challenging, and very important. If you do it right, it will take all the good stuff you mentioned in your post and make you into an attractive candidate. I think what you have so far is a good start, though.

Ni hao, friends. I'm living in China right now, so my school choices are ultra-selective since I can't get out and visit schools at the moment. If nothing pans out, I'm planning on applying to more reasonable choices for 2014, when I have more time to visit campuses and look at things harder. It's kind of hard to do from Asia! Penn GSE (Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education PhD) Teachers College Columbia (Curriculum & Teaching EdD) I'm also applying for readmission at the University of New Mexico, where I was a PhD student five years ago. I'm not sure I'll head back to New Mexico when I return to the states, but I figured I'd leave the option since readmission is much less of an ordeal than the initial application was.

This is an awesome question. To me, teacher education is one area where I think the education world is particularly weak. We have many academics training teachers in our universities who are either pitiful teachers themselves or have a general disdain for the profession. Almost since I started teaching, I've felt drawn to teacher education, as there are opportunities here to make a difference for many teachers down the road. I'm sure you could do this as a cooperating teacher as well, but I feel like there's a greater chance of doing good by working in a college or university. I've also has a burgeoning interest in gifted education, which was spurred by students I've met through the years who receive very little in the way of support for their gifts and talents. Teachers, too, receive little support when it comes to differentiating and otherwise providing for these students' academic, social, and emotional needs. Many new teachers have taken hours in special education, but how many have had any preparation in gifted education strategies such as acceleration, compacting, telescoping, etc? I've taken hours in gifted education, though I feel like I need more work to become adept with gifted kids. The great part of this area of education is that some of the strategies and tactics you learn are good for all kids, so it feels like you're much more well-rounded and prepared as a teacher for whoever comes your way. Oh, and I'm teaching in China, where teaching is completely rote. Chinese kids come to their classes, sit down, and listen and take notes. All day. Every day. I teach in an international school, so we don't do this (I hope--I wouldn't have went across the world to give notes every period of every day), but talent is wasted here each and every day in traditional Chinese schools. Gifted education is virtually non-existent, save for a few ultra-competitive government or university run schools that service a paltry amount of the millions of gifted students here. I have many interests and I'm trying to narrow them down. I'm definitely interested in curriculum and instruction (curriculum and teaching). I'm still deciding if I'm going to pursue gifted education as well and roll as much of this into graduate school as possible. I'd love to work in a public school, while also being plugged in to a university to work with new teachers (maybe as an adjunct for a few years, even).

Good to know that LLSS holds to the three year requirement. Teacher Education doesn't!

While I was in graduate school working on my masters, I asked my advisor this sort of question, as I had been considering moving on to a PhD/EdD right away. This is one man's opinion, but I'll give it: he told me that you typically would end up working at a university the level of your doctorate. Obviously, a top 5 school would mean your options are unlimited. An unranked, or smaller school, might only help you to work at a university that is smaller, or in the same region even. It seems like it (university stature, etc) matters much more if you're attending graduate school with the goal of doing research or government work in the future, as opposed to initial teacher training. When it comes to initial teacher training, or even an MAT, I wouldn't attend a top 5 school. These GSE's are not really designed to educate new teachers. Go to a university that is at least partially focused on teacher training, where student teaching is a possibility (as opposed to internships and/or alternative licensure) and your professors are not only dedicated to theoretical research. If you're looking at going to academia or working for the state board of education, Woodchuck State is probably not the best option to take, particularly if you have viable top 5 choices available to you. Student teaching, and the proper support that comes with it, is a big deal. I did alternative certification, as I went to graduate school more interested in everything but teaching; I had an assistantship to coach. I ended up following a career in education, and many lessons learned in the first few years were as a result of a lack of oversight my first year of teaching, during which I was on my own with only a university supervisor who was 400 miles away. Looking ahead to a doctorate or administration is good, but do us all a favor and become a fantastic teacher first. We have plenty of academics in education who are either horrible teachers or burnouts--or both. What we need are more principals and professors who were excellent teachers, and who are ready to be inspiring leaders.

TC has been kind of hot and cold in terms of being approachable. I'm very early in the process, so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. TC's online application seems to give my computer a problem every now and then, and I emailed months ago and never heard anything back. That said, I emailed a professor in the department who is one of the major reasons I'm looking a TC, and he got back to me immediately and was extremely friendly and helpful. Unfortunately, he lamented in one of his emails that the funding possibilities there left a lot to be desired. I can see this being a major obstacle, assuming I pass the even greater obstacle of being admitted.

I'm looking into applying to C&T at Teachers College for 2013-2014, as I'm in China teaching until next summer. However, I should preface this by saying that TC is going to be the home run swing of my grad school applications.