North Carolina Program Application Guide

In your essay, you want to:

• Address specific requirements for your program. Some programs give specific writing prompts for the essay response. If this is the case, make sure you cover everything in the prompt. Beware of the fantastic essay that doesn’t answer the question!
• Consider your audience. Write for your readers. Admissions staff members are unique for each program. Ask yourself: What does this program pride itself on? This is your chance to directly connect with their mission statement and prove you know your stuff.
• Mention relevant background. Describe how you became interested in the profession , tying in your academic record.
  Include personal experience. Select one or two examples from your life that underscore how your background and personal experience make you a good fit for this program and an asset to the teaching profession.

Some applications break essay responses into individual parts or questions. When this is the case, remember to choose specific examples that directly relate to the topic at hand.

Visit your educator preparation program’s website and social media profiles. You can get a good sense for what the program values (and what you might speak to in your essay) by doing a little recon.

Your personal essay is an opportunity to be creative—to a point. It’s vital to make an impression by demonstrating your relevant skills, experience and vision.

Suggested Outline

Here’s our recommended outline for your personal essay. Just remember: You’re the expert on you! Take what works; revise what doesn’t.

• Introduce yourself. (1 paragraph)
  • Hook. Grab the admissions officer’s attention with a strong statement that speaks to your interest in this specific program.
  • Connect. In one or two sentences, give an overview of what your essay response seeks to achieve as a whole. In other words, write a thesis that connects the next two sections up front.
• Get personal. (2-3 paragraphs)
  • Background. Briefly summarize the parts of your educational background that relate directly to your ambitions for becoming a professional educator. What made you want to teach the grade levels and subject area you’ve chosen? (Hint: If there’s anything on your resume or transcript you’re not proud of, consider addressing it here to use it to your advantage.)
  • Anecdote. Tell your story. What made you want to become a teacher? What inspires you about the profession? How have events in your past—including any pre-teaching experience—inspired you to pursue this career?
• Seal the deal. (1-2 paragraphs)
  • Validate. We could easily call this step “Connect again.” Revisit your thesis and make sure you’ve proved what you set out to. In other words: What about your background and personal anecdote make you a good fit for this particular educator preparation program?
  • Conclude. Reaffirm your passion for teaching the grade levels and subject area you’ve chosen.

When writing your essay, stay away from these sayings and clichés:

• "I want to make a difference.”
  • Doesn’t everyone want to make a difference? Get more nitty-gritty than this catch-phrase. Consider how teachers uniquely provide a vital social service, and what about the profession resonates with your own mission.
• “While this isn’t my first choice program…”
  • While honesty is usually the best policy, you don’t need to reveal to admissions staff that their program might not be your #1 choice. Instead, focus on the parts of the educator preparation program that are most compelling to you.
• “I’ve always wanted to work in education.”
  • Prove it! Use your personal anecdote to show that you’re the right person to lead a classroom.
• “I love working with children.”
  • While we’re sure that’s true, focus instead on the specific rewards (and challenges) of working with students of a certain age.
     

Give your recommenders plenty of time to reflect on your accomplishments and to write their letters. Some programs recommend asking at least 30 days in advance.

To make it easy on your recommender, provide them with as much of the following as you can:

• An explanation of what you’re applying for and why you’d like them to recommend you. Consider including your personal essay, if you’ve completed that task.
• The deadline for their letter. (Bake in one week’s wiggle room.)
• A copy of your official or unofficial transcript.
• Your resumé.
• Instructions about how to submit your letters of recommendation. Some programs require recommenders to use a web submission form or program-specific email address, others want letters the old-school way—in the mail.

Make sure to get confirmation from your recommender once your letter is submitted.

Once you’ve received confirmation of submission, give your recommender a big thank you in the form of an email, phone call or card. Recommenders have day jobs, and providing a reference is a favor they are doing for you (that’s how great you must be!). Not only is a thank you polite, but it will encourage your recommender to support you in the future.

You will have the opportunity to articulate why you want to be a teacher—and why you’ll make a great one—in your admissions essay. Now is your chance to practice telling the story to your interviewers. Ask a friend or family member to listen to your answer, then aim to tell the story in about two minutes, give or take.

You’ll also want to practice telling what you will bring to the program. What will make you a great colleague to your fellow classmates? What unique perspectives or teamwork skills do you bring?

Your interviewers may want to know more about your academic background or have questions about specific courses, changes in major or grades on your transcripts. Review your transcripts with a critical eye. What questions might your interviewers have? Practice answering them. As with your admissions essay, this is your chance to use potential negatives to your advantage, showing how you have grown from challenges.

Interviewers often want to know how your life experiences demonstrate the qualities they’re looking for. They may want to know how you creatively tackle challenges, collaborate on projects or handle stress. You’ll want to do more than tell them you’re creative and a great collaborator. This is your chance to illustrate your qualities with short anecdotes. Think of examples from your school work, jobs you’ve had or other experiences. Come ready with a few great stories that exhibit how you work.