Hey! A question regarding city year! I'll be graduating college this year and really really want to get into the program, Do you have any advice as to how I an increase my chances of being accepted and do you have any recommendation if on the application I should pick a specific city?
If I’ve understood you correctly, you’re graduating in spring 2014, correct? If you’re graduating fall 2013, that’s okay too. Either one is fine.
There’s no formula for increasing your chances of acceptance. I think, what worked for me, was to have a fantastic response to the essay questions. I think there were two on the application when I applied, but I don’t remember for certain, sorry!
Also, have your recommenders set. You’ll need two, at most three.
The other major thing I did was apply for the first deadline in the year. That date may depend on the site to which you apply. For me, the first deadline was November 15th, and I had an answer by mid-December.The turnaround was really quick.
You’ve got three places to shine in the application process, honestly. Your resume, your personal statement, and the interviews (which could be either on the phone or in person).
As for your city of choice, pick where you think you’d like to both live and work. In my case, I picked Chicago because I wanted to be in a major city with a good transportation system (necessary for me as a blind person). I also had family and family friends in the area.
More than that, though, I had a specific age group that I was aiming to work with. I really, REALLY wanted to work with high school students. That didn’t happen—I worked with middle school students in the end—but that was one of my main reasons for applying to Chicago.
If you look at my other City Year posts, I always say that I loved my experience in Chicago. It’s one of the best decisions I made for myself. My advice? Pick a place that you can see yourself in.
I hope this was helpful! Feel free to ask me anything else you’d like to know. :)
