Teach for America vs. Law School Forum

[dr123]

I always wanted to do TFA, but my dad said he wouldn't support me financially (he's going to pay part of my living costs) if I were to, and I quote, "make such a stupid decision."

You're going to hate life in law school and as (hopefully) a young associate in biglaw, so you might as well do something you'll be proud of for a couple years in the meanwhile.

Why would you need your old man to support you financially? TFA members get paid the same as regular teachers.

[20160810]

Please, PLEASE do not defer just for one year. I am a current CM with TFA, and while I don't want to make this a long drawn out post, I really hope you don't just defer for one year. Yes, some people drop out after a year, but it is not "many" people as some posters are suggesting, and you are definitely shunned for it. In my opinion, you should not be able to put tfa on your resume if you drop out, since it's just like dropping out of school after two years and saying you have a a degree from said institution.

More than this though, dropping out does a significant disservice to TFA in the region in which you do it, the school you teach at, and the students. If you want more details please PM me, but I feel very strongly that deferring for a year as some have suggested is a very poor choice.

That being said, I am currently finishing my 2nd year of tfa and looking at law schools. I think the experience would benefit you in the long run, as the skillset for teaching (analytical thinking, data driven analysis, problem solving, etc.) have strong crossover with a career in law.

FWIW, if you drop out after 1 year you may as well leave TFA off your resume, because there's no way your EDs/PDs/etc are going to give you anything but a shit reference. I suppose you could still list TFA and then use your principal as a reference or something, but I agree that going into TFA planning to do anything short of the full 2-year commitment is a dick move. You sign up for 2 years. Institute isn't free - TFA pays a lot of money to train you subject to the expectation that they'll get no less than 2 years of service out of you.

Yes, some people quit after 1 year, but those people--on the whole--suck. Note too that I didn't like my time in TFA. I met some great friends, but by and large I was surrounded by assholes doing work I hated. I still stuck it out for the full 2 years because that's what you do.

[bceagles182]

Both of these options look equally unappealing to me.