Dartmouth is contributing a significant number of applicants to the 2005 Teach for America program, a prestigious group of over 12,000 individuals teaching in low-income and rural communities. With about 11 percent of graduating seniors having submitted their credentials, the College places second only to Yale University and Spelman College.
The 111 Dartmouth applications show a 118 percent increase from last year's 43 applications, reflecting an overall all-time high of 17,000 applications for the program.
The highly selective program, which admitted only 16 percent of total applicants in 2004, holds two rounds of admission opportunities. Nine Dartmouth students were admitted in the first round, which took place in October. Interviews are currently in progress for the second round of applicants, who will be notified of their admission status on April 14.
Last year, accepted applicants shared an average grade point average of 3.5 and 93 percent held leadership positions in their school or community, according to a Teach for America press release. Teach for America plans to accept approximately 2,000 new teachers for next year's corps, bringing the total number of teachers to 3,600.
Katie Smith, New York Recruitment Director for Teach for America, manages recruitment at Dartmouth, Princeton and NYU. Smith attributes increased applications among Dartmouth students to effective communication on campus.
"There was a great buzz and word of mouth among the student body. I think that had a lot to do with it," Smith said.
The nationwide increase in applicants is a result of increased concern with the country's educational problems, according to Vice President of Recruitment and Selection Elissa Capp.
"The application numbers we're seeing reflect college students' belief that educational disparities must be our generation's civil rights issue," Clapp said in a press release.
The number of applications to Teach for America grew overall by 29 percent, while the pool of college seniors increased by 39 percent over last year. This latter group creates the vast majority of applicants. Director of Communications Todd McGovern confirms that these numbers reflect the program's increased college campus recruiting efforts, which have expanded from 350 to 500 campuses nationwide.
"We've built up our recruiting effort and expanded the number of campuses on which we recruit," McGovern said.
McGovern suggested that this is just the beginning of an increase in Teach for America's recruiting efforts.
"We are looking to grow, over the next five years especially," he said.
Those selected to participate in Teach for America commit to teach for two years in low-income urban and rural communities. Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York City are among the 22 locations where teachers are placed.
After the conclusion of the program, some alumni continue working in education, while others address educational issues in professional sectors.