2015-2016 University of California - Davis Application Thread

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It seems like there has been no II's given out from UCD in the past 2 weeks? 🙁
 
mehc012 said:
I cannot deal with this wait. Then again, if I don't get that phone call I may wind up nostalgic for this brief window of hope 😱
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Agreed! I keep pumping myself up, then back down again haha. Good luck! :highfive:
 
Cytokine2014 said:
Anyone else dying from the wait for October 15??? I am so ready to find out how my interview went......
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Lol I'm going to be scared to check my email on the 15th. This has been my only MD interview so far and my absolute number one choice out of all the schools I applied to. Crossing fingers and praying to the interview gods!
 
Thoracic Bean said:
Lol I'm going to be scared to check my email on the 15th. This has been my only MD interview so far and my absolute number one choice out of all the schools I applied to. Crossing fingers and praying to the interview gods!
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No need to be scared...I predict no emails for you! :xf:
 
xyphr said:
They're not going to send an email. They'll be personally calling anyone who gets accepted with either a 916 or 530 area code. So if you don't get a call in the first couple days after October 15th, you can safely assume you got waitlisted or rejected. If that happens, they usually send you an email several weeks later letting you know.
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Ah, they implied at my interview that the email might come on the 15th for waitlist/reject as well. I read their comment as "scared to see an email from Davis that day" since one would be bad news. Thus my comment above. 😛


Edit: I just realized that my "no emails" comment above probably seemed über-dickish if you weren't thinking of the 'phone call = acceptance, email ≠ acceptance' thing, so sorry @Thoracic Bean if it came across that way!
 
xyphr said:
They're not going to send an email. They'll be personally calling anyone who gets accepted with either a 916 or 530 area code. So if you don't get a call in the first couple days after October 15th, you can safely assume you got waitlisted or rejected. If that happens, they usually send you an email several weeks later letting you know.
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That's why I'll be scared to check my email! Lol if I see "UC Davis" in the subjects I will probably cry! 🙁 They told us that they will send rejections and waitlist by email.
 
At least they pull a lot of people off the wait list! But yes, an email from Davis on 10/15, 10/16 would be no bueno.
 
Anyone still not get a secondary? Cali resident with 3.7/514... Primary submitted 8/18
 
I haven't gotten a secondary, but I am also a foreigner (Canadian). Submitted 8/24, 3.5 and 522
 
xyphr said:
@mehc012 LMAO I'm dying at your "hopefully no emails" comment hahahaha. But yeah, needless to say that my chest is going to be pounding out of my heart staring at my phone all day on Oct 15th!
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I can second that! I was an early interview and didn't get my call until the 17th.....those 48 hours I tell you were brutal! Part of me reasoned its okay another part wanted to cry!!!
 
EnigmaticGemini said:
I can second that! I was an early interview and didn't get my call until the 17th.....those 48 hours I tell you were brutal! Part of me reasoned its okay another part wanted to cry!!!
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I don't want to overstate the case but writing this post may be the greatest act of human charity of your entire medical career.
 
I got a secondary the day after I was verified last week. Do they not screen like the rest of the UCs do? I thought they did.
 
p0gono said:
I got a secondary the day after I was verified last week. Do they not screen like the rest of the UCs do? I thought they did.
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I believe there are specific conditions that will by-pass their typical screen. For me, I think it was my involvement with Teach For America but I would imagine other specific activities/accomplishments would also lead to an automatic secondary request: Active military service, Peace Corp, etc.
 
Syns said:
I believe there are specific conditions that will by-pass their typical screen. For me, I think it was my involvement with Teach For America but I would imagine other specific activities/accomplishments would also lead to an automatic secondary request: Active military service, Peace Corp, etc.
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Interesting... Makes sense now, I may fit one of those categories.
 
Syns said:
I believe there are specific conditions that will by-pass their typical screen. For me, I think it was my involvement with Teach For America but I would imagine other specific activities/accomplishments would also lead to an automatic secondary request: Active military service, Peace Corp, etc.
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Its a bit interesting that teach for America is looked upon as a good thing by med schools. I understand the whole under-served part but isn't basically you're using another career (education) as a stepping stone
 
willard304 said:
Its a bit interesting that teach for America is looked upon as a good thing by med schools. I understand the whole under-served part but isn't basically you're using another career (education) as a stepping stone
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Interesting perspective.

That is all.
 
willard304 said:
Its a bit interesting that teach for America is looked upon as a good thing by med schools. I understand the whole under-served part but isn't basically you're using another career (education) as a stepping stone
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Many people (like me) didn't join TFA to help with medical school/as a stepping stone. It just so happened that I became interested in medicine while doing TFA.

TFA looks good because it's stressful/hard/you're learning to deal with extremely challenging situations on the fly/you learn how to communicate effectively (all these things help on MMI's). The altruism aspect of TFA is also vital; you sacrifice lots of sleep/time to ensure that the underserved receive what they justly deserve.
 
KungFuPanda123 said:
Many people (like me) didn't join TFA to help with medical school/as a stepping stone. It just so happened that I became interested in medicine while doing TFA.

TFA looks good because it's stressful/hard/you're learning to deal with extremely challenging situations on the fly/you learn how to communicate effectively (all these things help on MMI's). The altruism aspect of TFA is also vital; you sacrifice lots of sleep/time to ensure that the underserved receive what they justly deserve.
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Deserve? Teaching from a recent college grad?

I'm happy my elementary school classes in Phillips were not taught by college grads. Kids deserve better not people trying to learn the ropes.
 
willard304 said:
Deserve? Teaching from a recent college grad?

I'm happy my elementary school classes in Phillips were not taught by college grads. Kids deserve better not people trying to learn the ropes.
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... you do realize that (at least in my TFA region, and I believe for almost all) most TFA teachers aren't booting some great, super teacher out of business right? You do realize that there are vacancies in the inner-city school system that are vacant, because there is no one eligible+willing to take the position? (Many people who get a bachelor's degree, especially those in STEM, choose not to go into education, because they have easier means of finding higher paying jobs that don't require you to take out more loans just to take credentialing classes). There's a reason why such a high proportion of TFA teachers teach STEM/special education and not just English or History.

My school didn't even have physics offered to students for its first 8 years, because they had no teacher to teach it. All they had was biology and chemistry. It was only after the school was able to get ahold of a TFA teacher who could teach math (but also majored in physics) that they could begin offering physics to students. Was it easy for her to teach Calculus, Algebra II, and physics at the same time? HECK no, but she did it because she CARED about her students.

Do you have any idea how terrible it is that some students don't even get the OPPORTUNITY to be introduced to physics in high school? How are they going to fare if they're interested in pursuing a major in biology/biochemistry/physics/engineering/etc. without any background in physics? I knew plenty of people in college who changed majors because physics was too hard, and they actually HAD taken the class in high school. So many kids are not getting access to a socially just education, simply because there is simply not enough supply. They don't deserve to be cut off at the legs, just because they were born into the wrong zip code.

I get the feeling that you have read many online blog posts on TFA and have not done enough personal research in the area. There is no doubt that TFA has its fair number of flaws (many of those online blog posts do say many true statements); however, stating that underserved communities deserve better teachers so no recent graduates should teach children from there demonstrates flawed reasoning/background knowledge. TFA provides these communities with recent graduates, because these school districts can't even get ahold of enough recent graduates (let alone veteran teachers) on their own to teach their highest needed classes (STEM/sometimes special education).

In case you want to do some extra reading to become personally familiarized with the debate on TFA/its effectiveness, here is some recent (2013) research performed by the US Department of Education on TFA/other teaching fellowship programs versus traditional/alternative credentialing programs FOR MATH (but perhaps, we can extend its results to similar fields? That's obviously up for debate and not something I can justifiably say is reasonable)
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20134015/pdf/20134015.pdf

You can read pages 93-98 for the exact data, but let's look at page 99 for some conclusions:
1. TFA math teachers are significantly more effective than teachers who received their credentials via alternative means.
2. TFA math teachers are ~the same effectiveness as teachers who received their credentials via traditional means.
3. Novice (first 3 years of teaching) TFA math teachers are significantly more effective than non-TFA novice teachers.
4. Experienced TFA math teachers are ~the same effectiveness as experienced non-TFA teachers.

I'm not saying that TFA is the prototype for an effective way to combat inequality in education; however, you should be able to back up your argument by demonstrating that you're at least somewhat versed in the debate beyond personal experience in a school that apparently did not even have an issue with the retention/recruitment of veteran teachers.

---

I haven't heard anything back since submitting my secondary 7/21. Good luck everyone!
 
KungFuPanda123 said:
... you do realize that (at least in my TFA region, and I believe for almost all) most TFA teachers aren't booting some great, super teacher out of business right? You do realize that there are vacancies in the inner-city school system that are vacant, because there is no one eligible+willing to take the position? (Many people who get a bachelor's degree, especially those in STEM, choose not to go into education, because they have easier means of finding higher paying jobs that don't require you to take out more loans just to take credentialing classes). There's a reason why such a high proportion of TFA teachers teach STEM/special education and not just English or History.

My school didn't even have physics offered to students for its first 8 years, because they had no teacher to teach it. All they had was biology and chemistry. It was only after the school was able to get ahold of a TFA teacher who could teach math (but also majored in physics) that they could begin offering physics to students. Was it easy for her to teach Calculus, Algebra II, and physics at the same time? HECK no, but she did it because she CARED about her students.

Do you have any idea how terrible it is that some students don't even get the OPPORTUNITY to be introduced to physics in high school? How are they going to fare if they're interested in pursuing a major in biology/biochemistry/physics/engineering/etc. without any background in physics? I knew plenty of people in college who changed majors because physics was too hard, and they actually HAD taken the class in high school. So many kids are not getting access to a socially just education, simply because there is simply not enough supply. They don't deserve to be cut off at the legs, just because they were born into the wrong zip code.

I get the feeling that you have read many online blog posts on TFA and have not done enough personal research in the area. There is no doubt that TFA has its fair number of flaws (many of those online blog posts do say many true statements); however, stating that underserved communities deserve better teachers so no recent graduates should teach children from there demonstrates flawed reasoning/background knowledge. TFA provides these communities with recent graduates, because these school districts can't even get ahold of enough recent graduates (let alone veteran teachers) on their own to teach their highest needed classes (STEM/sometimes special education).

In case you want to do some extra reading to become personally familiarized with the debate on TFA/its effectiveness, here is some recent (2013) research performed by the US Department of Education on TFA/other teaching fellowship programs versus traditional/alternative credentialing programs FOR MATH (but perhaps, we can extend its results to similar fields? That's obviously up for debate and not something I can justifiably say is reasonable)
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20134015/pdf/20134015.pdf

You can read pages 93-98 for the exact data, but let's look at page 99 for some conclusions:
1. TFA math teachers are significantly more effective than teachers who received their credentials via alternative means.
2. TFA math teachers are ~the same effectiveness as teachers who received their credentials via traditional means.
3. Novice (first 3 years of teaching) TFA math teachers are significantly more effective than non-TFA novice teachers.
4. Experienced TFA math teachers are ~the same effectiveness as experienced non-TFA teachers.

I'm not saying that TFA is the prototype for an effective way to combat inequality in education; however, you should be able to back up your argument by demonstrating that you're at least somewhat versed in the debate beyond personal experience in a school that apparently did not even have an issue with the retention/recruitment of veteran teachers.

---

I haven't heard anything back since submitting my secondary 7/21. Good luck everyone!
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+1, my high school didn't have physics because we had no teachers for it.
 
xyphr said:
Sorry to derail the thread but were you under the impression that your average elementary school teacher has a PhD? Lol, all an elementary school teacher needs is a bachelors and an 8 month teaching credential.
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Did I mention anything about a teacher having a phd?
KungFuPanda123 said:
... you do realize that (at least in my TFA region, and I believe for almost all) most TFA teachers aren't booting some great, super teacher out of business right? You do realize that there are vacancies in the inner-city school system that are vacant, because there is no one eligible+willing to take the position? (Many people who get a bachelor's degree, especially those in STEM, choose not to go into education, because they have easier means of finding higher paying jobs that don't require you to take out more loans just to take credentialing classes). There's a reason why such a high proportion of TFA teachers teach STEM/special education and not just English or History.

My school didn't even have physics offered to students for its first 8 years, because they had no teacher to teach it. All they had was biology and chemistry. It was only after the school was able to get ahold of a TFA teacher who could teach math (but also majored in physics) that they could begin offering physics to students. Was it easy for her to teach Calculus, Algebra II, and physics at the same time? HECK no, but she did it because she CARED about her students.

Do you have any idea how terrible it is that some students don't even get the OPPORTUNITY to be introduced to physics in high school? How are they going to fare if they're interested in pursuing a major in biology/biochemistry/physics/engineering/etc. without any background in physics? I knew plenty of people in college who changed majors because physics was too hard, and they actually HAD taken the class in high school. So many kids are not getting access to a socially just education, simply because there is simply not enough supply. They don't deserve to be cut off at the legs, just because they were born into the wrong zip code.

I get the feeling that you have read many online blog posts on TFA and have not done enough personal research in the area. There is no doubt that TFA has its fair number of flaws (many of those online blog posts do say many true statements); however, stating that underserved communities deserve better teachers so no recent graduates should teach children from there demonstrates flawed reasoning/background knowledge. TFA provides these communities with recent graduates, because these school districts can't even get ahold of enough recent graduates (let alone veteran teachers) on their own to teach their highest needed classes (STEM/sometimes special education).

In case you want to do some extra reading to become personally familiarized with the debate on TFA/its effectiveness, here is some recent (2013) research performed by the US Department of Education on TFA/other teaching fellowship programs versus traditional/alternative credentialing programs FOR MATH (but perhaps, we can extend its results to similar fields? That's obviously up for debate and not something I can justifiably say is reasonable)
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20134015/pdf/20134015.pdf

You can read pages 93-98 for the exact data, but let's look at page 99 for some conclusions:
1. TFA math teachers are significantly more effective than teachers who received their credentials via alternative means.
2. TFA math teachers are ~the same effectiveness as teachers who received their credentials via traditional means.
3. Novice (first 3 years of teaching) TFA math teachers are significantly more effective than non-TFA novice teachers.
4. Experienced TFA math teachers are ~the same effectiveness as experienced non-TFA teachers.

I'm not saying that TFA is the prototype for an effective way to combat inequality in education; however, you should be able to back up your argument by demonstrating that you're at least somewhat versed in the debate beyond personal experience in a school that apparently did not even have an issue with the retention/recruitment of veteran teachers.

---

I haven't heard anything back since submitting my secondary 7/21. Good luck everyone!
Click to expand...
KungFuPanda123 said:
... you do realize that (at least in my TFA region, and I believe for almost all) most TFA teachers aren't booting some great, super teacher out of business right? You do realize that there are vacancies in the inner-city school system that are vacant, because there is no one eligible+willing to take the position? (Many people who get a bachelor's degree, especially those in STEM, choose not to go into education, because they have easier means of finding higher paying jobs that don't require you to take out more loans just to take credentialing classes). There's a reason why such a high proportion of TFA teachers teach STEM/special education and not just English or History.

My school didn't even have physics offered to students for its first 8 years, because they had no teacher to teach it. All they had was biology and chemistry. It was only after the school was able to get ahold of a TFA teacher who could teach math (but also majored in physics) that they could begin offering physics to students. Was it easy for her to teach Calculus, Algebra II, and physics at the same time? HECK no, but she did it because she CARED about her students.

Do you have any idea how terrible it is that some students don't even get the OPPORTUNITY to be introduced to physics in high school? How are they going to fare if they're interested in pursuing a major in biology/biochemistry/physics/engineering/etc. without any background in physics? I knew plenty of people in college who changed majors because physics was too hard, and they actually HAD taken the class in high school. So many kids are not getting access to a socially just education, simply because there is simply not enough supply. They don't deserve to be cut off at the legs, just because they were born into the wrong zip code.

I get the feeling that you have read many online blog posts on TFA and have not done enough personal research in the area. There is no doubt that TFA has its fair number of flaws (many of those online blog posts do say many true statements); however, stating that underserved communities deserve better teachers so no recent graduates should teach children from there demonstrates flawed reasoning/background knowledge. TFA provides these communities with recent graduates, because these school districts can't even get ahold of enough recent graduates (let alone veteran teachers) on their own to teach their highest needed classes (STEM/sometimes special education).

In case you want to do some extra reading to become personally familiarized with the debate on TFA/its effectiveness, here is some recent (2013) research performed by the US Department of Education on TFA/other teaching fellowship programs versus traditional/alternative credentialing programs FOR MATH (but perhaps, we can extend its results to similar fields? That's obviously up for debate and not something I can justifiably say is reasonable)
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20134015/pdf/20134015.pdf

You can read pages 93-98 for the exact data, but let's look at page 99 for some conclusions:
1. TFA math teachers are significantly more effective than teachers who received their credentials via alternative means.
2. TFA math teachers are ~the same effectiveness as teachers who received their credentials via traditional means.
3. Novice (first 3 years of teaching) TFA math teachers are significantly more effective than non-TFA novice teachers.
4. Experienced TFA math teachers are ~the same effectiveness as experienced non-TFA teachers.

I'm not saying that TFA is the prototype for an effective way to combat inequality in education; however, you should be able to back up your argument by demonstrating that you're at least somewhat versed in the debate beyond personal experience in a school that apparently did not even have an issue with the retention/recruitment of veteran teachers.

---

I haven't heard anything back since submitting my secondary 7/21. Good luck everyone!
Click to expand...

You could have just asked what I know about tfa before spending your time with a long post. The Atlantic already covered the dept of ed study.

You're sidestepping my initial point that there are loads of TFA grads that don't stay in teaching. You're probably the exception, who "discovered" or got an interest in medicine while doing tfa. A bunch of TFA peeps I know went into tfa and started applying for med school or law school in the summer before their second year.

How is that not using education as a stepping stone?
 
TFA is very clear that it does not expect core alums to dedicate their lives to teaching. However, they hope that core alums develop a passion for improving our education system and will be advocates for doing that in whichever career they end up in.
 
willard304 said:
You could have just asked what I know about tfa before spending your time with a long post. The Atlantic already covered the dept of ed study.

You're sidestepping my initial point that there are loads of TFA grads that don't stay in teaching. You're probably the exception, who "discovered" or got an interest in medicine while doing tfa. A bunch of TFA peeps I know went into tfa and started applying for med school or law school in the summer before their second year.

How is that not using education as a stepping stone?
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Most of it describes my personal experiences in it/the things that I took away from the experience that I wanted to share with you.

Regarding the fact that many TFA grads don't stay in teaching...
You're completely right. Many TFA grads do NOT stay in TFA (however, you'd probably also be surprised by the % of people who actually do stay in teaching/education). Some enter into TFA with the mindset that they WILL use it as just a stepping stone (you are correct there!).

However, there is not a single person I have met in TFA who has not been fundamentally changed by their 2+ year experience in the corps. I cared about social justice when I joined, but I was more interested in the education part of the program (I had always wanted to become a science teacher, and TFA would let me do it more quickly and more affordably). By the time I finished, I have become an advocate for social justice in things like our educational system, politics, etc..

So here's a question for you: what would ultimately help underserved communities more in terms of both education AND overall quality of life? An organization that ONLY recruits educators/the soldiers in the frontlines of the fight against educational inequality? Or one that recruits a diverse group of people - young, old, black, white, Latino, Asian, educators, future physicians, future lawyers/judges, future politicians?

Don't you think we need people who care about our country's underserved in places beyond just the classroom? Principals who feel invested in these communities will work tirelessly to recruit the best teachers to provide their students with the best education. Physicians who feel invested will open up clinics in these parts, volunteer time at a local free clinic, be more culturally aware of the diverse patient population that exists in this country. Better healthcare leads to more days of school attended, leading to a better education. Lawyers who feel invested may be more willing to take up cases that may turn less profit, because they care about their client and in defending the rights of the under-represented. Judges who feel invested have experienced the hardships of the underserved and won't jump to rash conclusions; with a broader knowledge base that contains personal experiences (not just something read out of a book/news outlet), they should be able to provide more fair judgments. Don't we have enough people of color getting locked up for unfair lengths of time (compared to their white peers), not being a part of their children's lives? This plays a part in keeping these children from having role models who will keep them on the right track towards succeeding in school. Politicians who feel invested will help pass legislature that provides extra funding to low-income school districts, tax incentives to open groceries/healthy eating options in poorer areas that are "food deserts," etc..

Again, no one who completes their 2 years of TFA does not come out a changed person. I know that my peers and I will always carry our students and their families' livelihoods in mind as we pursue what we will in life. We are not all ending up as educators in the classroom, and in my opinion, that's not just "fine;" it is absolutely essential for creating a society that provides equitable education, healthcare, and more to our citizens.
 
KungFuPanda123 said:
Most of it describes my personal experiences in it/the things that I took away from the experience that I wanted to share with you.

Regarding the fact that many TFA grads don't stay in teaching...
You're completely right. Many TFA grads do NOT stay in TFA (however, you'd probably also be surprised by the % of people who actually do stay in teaching/education). Some enter into TFA with the mindset that they WILL use it as just a stepping stone (you are correct there!).

However, there is not a single person I have met in TFA who has not been fundamentally changed by their 2+ year experience in the corps. I cared about social justice when I joined, but I was more interested in the education part of the program (I had always wanted to become a science teacher, and TFA would let me do it more quickly and more affordably). By the time I finished, I have become an advocate for social justice in things like our educational system, politics, etc..

So here's a question for you: what would ultimately help underserved communities more in terms of both education AND overall quality of life? An organization that ONLY recruits educators/the soldiers in the frontlines of the fight against educational inequality? Or one that recruits a diverse group of people - young, old, black, white, Latino, Asian, educators, future physicians, future lawyers/judges, future politicians?

Don't you think we need people who care about our country's underserved in places beyond just the classroom? Principals who feel invested in these communities will work tirelessly to recruit the best teachers to provide their students with the best education. Physicians who feel invested will open up clinics in these parts, volunteer time at a local free clinic, be more culturally aware of the diverse patient population that exists in this country. Better healthcare leads to more days of school attended, leading to a better education. Lawyers who feel invested may be more willing to take up cases that may turn less profit, because they care about their client and in defending the rights of the under-represented. Judges who feel invested have experienced the hardships of the underserved and won't jump to rash conclusions; with a broader knowledge base that contains personal experiences (not just something read out of a book/news outlet), they should be able to provide more fair judgments. Don't we have enough people of color getting locked up for unfair lengths of time (compared to their white peers), not being a part of their children's lives? This plays a part in keeping these children from having role models who will keep them on the right track towards succeeding in school. Politicians who feel invested will help pass legislature that provides extra funding to low-income school districts, tax incentives to open groceries/healthy eating options in poorer areas that are "food deserts," etc..

Again, no one who completes their 2 years of TFA does not come out a changed person. I know that my peers and I will always carry our students and their families' livelihoods in mind as we pursue what we will in life. We are not all ending up as educators in the classroom, and in my opinion, that's not just "fine;" it is absolutely essential for creating a society that provides equitable education, healthcare, and more to our citizens.
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The answer to your question is yes, ano organization that drives people to be invested in change and social justice is amazing

However, tfa is set up with the goal of addressing education or at the very least, it dresses up as one.

If you want to social justice and want to do medicine, do americorps or global health corps.


I am not a fan of people who take on the mantle of doing one thing but then do something else.
 
KungFuPanda123 said:
Most of it describes my personal experiences in it/the things that I took away from the experience that I wanted to share with you.

Regarding the fact that many TFA grads don't stay in teaching...
You're completely right. Many TFA grads do NOT stay in TFA (however, you'd probably also be surprised by the % of people who actually do stay in teaching/education). Some enter into TFA with the mindset that they WILL use it as just a stepping stone (you are correct there!).

However, there is not a single person I have met in TFA who has not been fundamentally changed by their 2+ year experience in the corps. I cared about social justice when I joined, but I was more interested in the education part of the program (I had always wanted to become a science teacher, and TFA would let me do it more quickly and more affordably). By the time I finished, I have become an advocate for social justice in things like our educational system, politics, etc..

So here's a question for you: what would ultimately help underserved communities more in terms of both education AND overall quality of life? An organization that ONLY recruits educators/the soldiers in the frontlines of the fight against educational inequality? Or one that recruits a diverse group of people - young, old, black, white, Latino, Asian, educators, future physicians, future lawyers/judges, future politicians?

Don't you think we need people who care about our country's underserved in places beyond just the classroom? Principals who feel invested in these communities will work tirelessly to recruit the best teachers to provide their students with the best education. Physicians who feel invested will open up clinics in these parts, volunteer time at a local free clinic, be more culturally aware of the diverse patient population that exists in this country. Better healthcare leads to more days of school attended, leading to a better education. Lawyers who feel invested may be more willing to take up cases that may turn less profit, because they care about their client and in defending the rights of the under-represented. Judges who feel invested have experienced the hardships of the underserved and won't jump to rash conclusions; with a broader knowledge base that contains personal experiences (not just something read out of a book/news outlet), they should be able to provide more fair judgments. Don't we have enough people of color getting locked up for unfair lengths of time (compared to their white peers), not being a part of their children's lives? This plays a part in keeping these children from having role models who will keep them on the right track towards succeeding in school. Politicians who feel invested will help pass legislature that provides extra funding to low-income school districts, tax incentives to open groceries/healthy eating options in poorer areas that are "food deserts," etc..

Again, no one who completes their 2 years of TFA does not come out a changed person. I know that my peers and I will always carry our students and their families' livelihoods in mind as we pursue what we will in life. We are not all ending up as educators in the classroom, and in my opinion, that's not just "fine;" it is absolutely essential for creating a society that provides equitable education, healthcare, and more to our citizens.
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Overall, I very much agree and applaud your desire to see people in all walks of life addressing
KungFuPanda123 said:
Most of it describes my personal experiences in it/the things that I took away from the experience that I wanted to share with you.

Regarding the fact that many TFA grads don't stay in teaching...
You're completely right. Many TFA grads do NOT stay in TFA (however, you'd probably also be surprised by the % of people who actually do stay in teaching/education). Some enter into TFA with the mindset that they WILL use it as just a stepping stone (you are correct there!).

However, there is not a single person I have met in TFA who has not been fundamentally changed by their 2+ year experience in the corps. I cared about social justice when I joined, but I was more interested in the education part of the program (I had always wanted to become a science teacher, and TFA would let me do it more quickly and more affordably). By the time I finished, I have become an advocate for social justice in things like our educational system, politics, etc..

So here's a question for you: what would ultimately help underserved communities more in terms of both education AND overall quality of life? An organization that ONLY recruits educators/the soldiers in the frontlines of the fight against educational inequality? Or one that recruits a diverse group of people - young, old, black, white, Latino, Asian, educators, future physicians, future lawyers/judges, future politicians?

Don't you think we need people who care about our country's underserved in places beyond just the classroom? Principals who feel invested in these communities will work tirelessly to recruit the best teachers to provide their students with the best education. Physicians who feel invested will open up clinics in these parts, volunteer time at a local free clinic, be more culturally aware of the diverse patient population that exists in this country. Better healthcare leads to more days of school attended, leading to a better education. Lawyers who feel invested may be more willing to take up cases that may turn less profit, because they care about their client and in defending the rights of the under-represented. Judges who feel invested have experienced the hardships of the underserved and won't jump to rash conclusions; with a broader knowledge base that contains personal experiences (not just something read out of a book/news outlet), they should be able to provide more fair judgments. Don't we have enough people of color getting locked up for unfair lengths of time (compared to their white peers), not being a part of their children's lives? This plays a part in keeping these children from having role models who will keep them on the right track towards succeeding in school. Politicians who feel invested will help pass legislature that provides extra funding to low-income school districts, tax incentives to open groceries/healthy eating options in poorer areas that are "food deserts," etc..

Again, no one who completes their 2 years of TFA does not come out a changed person. I know that my peers and I will always carry our students and their families' livelihoods in mind as we pursue what we will in life. We are not all ending up as educators in the classroom, and in my opinion, that's not just "fine;" it is absolutely essential for creating a society that provides equitable education, healthcare, and more to our citizens.
Click to expand...
For reference, here's tfa mission statement:
Our mission is to enlist, develop, and mobilize as many as possible of our nation's most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational equity and excellence.

If you do tfa and then go into medical school, you're most likely not going to be doing much for educational equity for a good 6+ years. If you do tfa and then go into law, you're most likely not doing much for educational equity considering what the job market and opportunities look like for law grads

Does that make sense why I question med schools looking favorably on tfa? Americorplease and global health corps makes sense. Tfa's mission DOES not fit. How it changes people may make people into better physicians. But so does americopr, global health corps, doing a 1 year job a homeless health clinic.

Let's be honest, tfa is reputable and prestigious. Yes, you lose sleep and it's hard. But it's prestigious and College grads like that. It's exactly why Wendy Knopp designed tfa's recruiting strategies to mimic those of management consulting and banking firms.
 
willard304 said:
Sure. Not the one writing walls of text.
Click to expand...

If you think you can't be an educator as a clinician you are gravely mistaken and haven't spent much time with physicians in general. There are physicians with MPH's that dedicate their careers for medical education and create community programs that makes research more transparent than it currently is. How do I know? Because I'm currently at Bloomberg working with one.

TFA is a noble cause regardless of intention.
 
Primary submitted 8/17/2015
Secondary received: 8/18/2015
Secondary Submitted: 8/26/2015

Still no II. I have my fingers crossed because this is my top choice. Anyone else in a similar situation who submitted at around the same time? I've seen a few people who submitted after me receive II's.
 
Futuredoctorhopeful1986 said:
Primary submitted 8/17/2015
Secondary received: 8/18/2015
Secondary Submitted: 8/26/2015

Still no II. I have my fingers crossed because this is my top choice. Anyone else in a similar situation who submitted at around the same time? I've seen a few people who submitted after me receive II's.
Click to expand...
Same. Secondary submitted 09/06. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed though since it seems there haven't been any invites for a few weeks.
 
Anyone still waiting on a secondary? I am. AMCAS processed 8/4. Also did they send secondaries via email or just on the portal?
 
Futuredoctorhopeful1986 said:
Primary submitted 8/17/2015
Secondary received: 8/18/2015
Secondary Submitted: 8/26/2015

Still no II. I have my fingers crossed because this is my top choice. Anyone else in a similar situation who submitted at around the same time? I've seen a few people who submitted after me receive II's.
Click to expand...

If it is of any consolation no II here either. IS LM 74:
Primary submitted 7/2/2015
Secondary received: 7/15/2015
Secondary Submitted: 7/22/2015
 
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