You should apply when you think your application will be the strongest. As one of our selection criteria is strong achievement in academic, professional, extracurricular, and/or volunteer settings, if you're not able to speak to the impact you have had yet, it may be best to wait until fall of your senior year and apply through the standard admissions process.

Applying early for the corps is almost exactly the same as our regular admissions process; the application and notification timing is just different. College juniors who have completed at least one semester of the Ignite Fellowship or the Breakthrough Collaborative, or have served at least one semester as a Campus Ambassador, are eligible to apply early to Teach For America.

You can apply for early admissions to the 2027 corps if you meet the following criteria:

Applicants must be U.S. citizens, nationals, lawful permanent residents, or have an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) through one of the following categories which does not require employer sponsorship: A02, A03, A05, A10, A11, A12, A16, A19, A20, C08, C09, C10, C14, C18, C19, C21, C25, C31, C33.

You are not eligible to apply if you are in the United States with a student visa, exchange visa, work visa, or tourist visa.

Teach For America requires that all applicants possess a bachelor's degree by the start of our summer training program (between early and mid-June), which varies depending on your assigned region. Having a bachelor’s degree by the first day of the summer training is a requirement because corps members teach summer school in a public school system during this time.

If you have not received your verification/acceptance letter, contact us. Our admissions team can assist.

Yes! In addition to the Ignite Fellowship, Teach For America offers paid internships and roles to undergraduates from all college majors and in all parts of the country. Several of our partners also have opportunities for you to get involved. Find out more on Internships and Experiences.

Teach For America uses the following key factors in determining placement:

• Your placement community selections and preferences for teaching subject
• Availability of teaching positions across the nation for the upcoming school year
• Subject and grade-level needs of our school and district partners
• Hiring requirements, including undergraduate coursework credits required for each position and regional certification requirements

Yes, you can certainly apply if you have a family. We recommend first verifying that the location where you need to remain is within a reasonable commute to one of our placement communities. Assuming you are eligible for placement in that region, we'll do our best to make sure you won't have to relocate. If you are invited to an interview, you'll complete the special circumstances form, where you can indicate the community you need to be placed in and any details about your circumstances that might make it difficult to relocate.

Yes, we understand that applicants live across many locations and always have the option to conduct their final interview virtually. All of our interviews are conducted virtually via Zoom, an online video conferencing service. In order to participate in a virtual interview you must have secure internet access and a webcam. Video is required for the interview.