Goodness. I have been so busy I haven’t had time to update this blog, but now I’m finally sitting down while I wait on my food delivery to chat about me getting my EPIK placement. Let’s break down the dates before anything, because I can’t tell you how many times I googled “My EPIK Timeline” or whatever in the past few weeks to help ease my nerves about WHEN exactly I could possibly begin expecting placement. Please keep in mind throughout this post that the coordinators have asked us to keep some details of the hiring process private, and I am going to respect those instructions.

June 2018 – Watched a million EPIK videos on Youtube and decided I wanted to apply
December 2018 – Began looking into different TEFL Certification programs to find the best one that suited me
Jan 11 2019 – Purchased a 120 hour program with i-to-i
Jan 31st 2019 – (February 1st KST) submitted my application to EPIK at 11:37 am CST along with two pdfs of my recommendation letters and a photo of my tattoo.
Feb 8th 2019 – EPIK confirmed receipt of my application
Feb 28th 2019 – Received an email to schedule my interview with EPIK. I chose the earliest available date, which was…
Mar 14th 2019 – I had my EPIK interview via Skype at 2 in the morning CST
Mar 15th 2019 – Notified at midnight (well, 12:03) that I had passed my interview and was given instructions on how to submit documents
Mar 20th 2019 – Exact date uncertain, but around this time I submitted my final quiz, essay, and lesson plan to i-to-i for my TEFL course.
Mar 25th 2019 – Notified that I passed my TEFL course!

The next few weeks were a whirldwind of spending money and obtaining both placeholder documents and final documents. Ultimately, not much happened until…

May 1st 2019 – Went to the UPS store and shipped my documents through DHL. I paid 110 dollars under the idea that they were expected to arrive May 4th. Unfortunately, they actually didn’t arrive on that day.
May 4th 2019 – I graduate college with a degree in English!
May 7th 2019 – My coordinator confirms receipt of my documents and says everything looks good, except that I need my apostilled copy of my diploma and my final transcripts from school.
May 9th – May 12th 2019 – I am out of town (in Chicago) for the BTS Love Yourself: Speak Yourself tour. However, I am still working on EPIK stuff there by contacting my graduation analyst and the head of the English department at my school to attempt to obtain my diploma early, as it can take up to 3 months to arrive, and I don’t have that much time because the deadline for documents is July 15th 2019.
May 15th 2019 – I pick up my diploma and get it copied and notarized the same day. I don’t have exact days but I actually had to take it to the county clerk to get the notarization verified before I could send it off for apostille. I also picked up my final transcripts while I was picking up my diploma.
Early June – Sometime during the first week of June I sent off and received my copy of my diploma for apostille.
June 7th 2019 – Members of the group app discuss an email that one coordinator sent out to their applicants sharing the news that the first wave of placed applicants will be emailed in about one week, with individual results being sent when the coordinators receive them after that.
The Next Week: Just torture and trying to distract myself and trying to stay calm.
June 13th 2019 – I worked a long shift at work during a big sale, got off work, stress ate, and started watching Kitchen Nightmares on Youtube. Around 7:20 pm people began announcing their placements in the group chat. I was really jealous because I hadn’t gotten an email yet. On a whim, I refreshed my inbox and BAM !!! At 7:22 I had received an email offering me a placement with the Gyeongbuk Office of Education! I accepted.
June 20th 2019 – Sent my coordinator my shipping information for where my contract should be sent.

So.. what’s next? I’m currently working on getting into a more managable financial situation for my big move. I am paying down my credit card, saving some money, watching flight ticket prices, and getting the required documents I need for my visa application. On June 27th, I will FINALLY be sending EPIK my diploma and transcripts. I also still need to purchase luggage and begin selling anything I’m not planning to store or take with me. Ultimately, there’s still a lot left to do but the biggest stress is out of the way because I FINALLY have been offered a job!

Sorry this was INCREDIBLY long & probably boring, but if it helps just one person or even just reassures them, I’ll be happy.