Should I do TFA ? Forum

bullman23 · Post by **bullman23** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 9:45 pm

I am 23 year old black male who graduated with a 3.63 from a small school in the south and I am the first in my family to graduate from college. I got accepted into Teach For America and I have until tomorrow to accept the offer. I graduated last year from a school down south in May 2012 and live in the south. I planned on only taking a year off and not look for a job and only study for t test. But I did not study properly and ended up canceling my Dec 2012 lsat score. I, however, was volunteering in a tutoring b in my community to keep myself active and help many young people.

I then thought I should apply for TFA and got in and they are sending me to NYC. So my situation is this: this is my first professional job; I have only done volunteer work, so I think this would be valuable experience before I go to law school. I also can help young people,which I have been doing with my volunteer service. I also would be going to law school at 24 at the earliest since I canceled my Dec 2012 lsat, so I will be at least two years out of undergrad.

My only reservations are that it will be difficult to study for my LSAT while going to grad school and working full time. My other thought is that I will be 25 when I am done and will be 28 when I am done with law school. So should I not do TFA since my main plan is to go to law school and not be a teacher long term? Will TFA help me in the long run? I also will be moving away far away from my family; however, I did plan on moving for law school. I should also add that I was raised in a tough school in the south so I am familiar with the school I will be teaching.

silenttimer · Post by **silenttimer** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:00 pm

GW1010 · Post by **GW1010** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:25 pm

It's not good when people do TFA because they don't know what to do with themselves. Bro, you've got a 3.63 GPA. Get a reasonably decent LSAT score and enjoy Stanford or Harvard

fruitoftheloom · Post by **fruitoftheloom** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:01 pm

I think you should do TFA if only because I think it's really, really good to have some real work experience prior to going to law school. I say that as a 0L with work experience though.

twenty · Post by **twenty** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:41 am

Yeah, 25 is not too old to enter law school. TFA is great on its own -- the fact that it will give you an admissions boost when you go to apply later on is kind of one of those icing on the cake things.

patrickd139 · Post by **patrickd139** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:48 am

What are your other (realistic) options aside from TFA? If more volunteering, then you might as well do TFA, IMO. If you've got options that are meaningful WE, I'd consider doing those instead of TFA.

RSterling · Post by **RSterling** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:52 am

No. I know a lot of people in TFA, and only those who truly want to be teachers are liking it. You're going to have an awful time if you do this largely because you think it will eventually help for law school. You're already set for T6 and probably HYS, so why put it off?

patrickd139 · Post by **patrickd139** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:55 am

RSterling wrote:No. I know a lot of people in TFA, and only those who truly want to be teachers are liking it. You're going to have an awful time if you do this largely because you think it will eventually help for law school. You're already set for T6 and probably HYS, so why put it off?

To get work experience, help underprivileged communities for a couple years, put off the rat-race and (hopefully) make yourself a more well-rounded individual?

Keep in mind OP is going to have to spend one year doing something to get an LSAT score and complete an application cycle. Why not spend two doing TFA or something else substantive?

bosmer88 · Post by **bosmer88** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 2:19 pm

Hi OP, recent TFA alum here. I have no idea whether you have made your decision or not. As far as your motivation for doing TFA, I would say you really, really need to have your heart into this new experience. You will go through Institute soon, which is a daunting experience all its own. Then after that, you are responsible for 20 or 30 (or more) something kids in a classroom for two years. Through all of this, being an effective teacher for your students should be your driving goal throughout this whole experience. It is easy to lose sight of this goal and become bogged down with fatigue, depression, addiction, illness (all afflictions I have seen/heard/read about that happened to corps members).

I do think the insight and benefits you gain from TFA are all secondary and dependent on you being an effective, committed teacher.

As far as the LSAT goes, it was impossible for me to study for the LSAT while working, so I took a year off after my commitment to study for it.

bullman23 · Post by **bullman23** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 3:46 pm

Thanks for all the comments! I think that I am going to take it and try to manage my schedule so that I can go to grad school, teach and study for my LSAT. Right now I am taking Blueprint, I will try my best to get the main concepts down now while studying for my teaching exams. And I do know this will be a challenge, but I think that I am up for it. And I agree that the priority is helping the children.

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