parent info session

Be a global citizen with AFS!

Your chance to experience the world and make a difference

What is AFS? - Nonprofit, Intercultural Exchange Organization - 60+ years of experience - Began as the American Field Service

Mission: Spreading world peace, one person at a time

Jan Eliasson - 1957 Year Program, Sweden-to-U.S. Changing the World: UN Secretary General's Special Envoy on the Darfur's Crisis

Andrea Jung - Year Program, U.S. to Norway Changing the World: CEO of Avon Products

Kenneth Juster - 1971 Year Program, U.S.-to-Thailand Changing the World: Executive Vice President of Law, Policy, and Corporate Strategy at Salesforce.com

David Madden - 1998 Semester Program, U.S.-to-Austria Changing the World: 19-time Jeopardy! winner, the 2nd-longest winning contestant on the show, and founder and Executive Director of The National History Bee and Bowl

Notable Returnees

GLOBAL QUIZ

What country has the world’s largest Muslim population?

Is it: China, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, or the United States.

INDONESIA

True or False? In Iceland, husbands and wives, and their children have different

last names?

TRUE, in Iceland a person’s last name consists of the father’s first name plus “son or dottir.”

Hjoris Thorkelsdottir would be a female whose father’s name was Thorkel, and Hlanur Sigurdson

would be son of Sigurd.

What is the official language of Ghana?

Is it: Shona, Matabele, English, or Xhosa.

English, Ghana was an English Colony

called the Gold Coast

In what country would you find yourself if you could cross a

bridge and go from Europe to Asia and back?

.

TURKEY

What language is spoken by more people in the world than

any other as a native language?

Mandarin Chinese

Over ONE BILLION speak Mandarin. #2 is English, #3 is Hindi, #4 is Spanish

Which country has both Flemish and French speaking

divisions?

Belgium

Our world is becoming increasingly global.

Don’t be left behind

17 Asians (57%) 6 Europeans (20%) 3 Africans (9%) 3 Lat Americans(9%) 2 US-Americans (5%)

If the world was a classroom of 30 students, there would be …

10 Christianity(33%) 6 no religious

affiliation(20%) 5 Islam (17%) 4 Hinduism (13%) 3 Other(10%) 2 Buddhism (7%) 1 Indigenous

religion(3%)

2 would control half the income

15 would be hungry 18 would live in

shanty towns 6 of 22 adults (23%) would be illiterate (the remaining 8 are children)

What do you all know about icebergs?

Music Greetings * Languages Amount of eye contact

Concept of self Notions of Modesty Family relationships

Relationship with Animals Concepts of justice and truth

Need for rules and regulations Importance of education & achievement

Preference for competition or cooperation Roles in relation to status by age, gender, class, occupation

The Cultural Iceberg

Image altered from www.ankn.uaf.edu

Benefits of an AFS Experience:

• Be part of an international alumni network of high achievers, may of whom have achieved great success

•  Develop an edge, stand out from the rest because of taking the initiative to study abroad

•  Feel more comfortable stepping out of your comfort zone

•  Develop effective intercultural communications, highly desired in the workplace today

•  Learn how to adapt and manage change more easily

•  Language proficiency

Why AFS?

•  Impeccable record of safety •  Network of 30,000+ volunteers supporting students worldwide •  Highly developed program and risk management systems •  Emergency support •  Professional staff •  62 years - first high school foreign exchange program

Many scholarships available   Global Leaders   NSLI (National Security Language Initiative)

  Congress Bundestag   Country Specific See www.afsusa.org

•  Financial Aid - 40% of AFS students receive financial aid

•  Fundraising - so many different ways! - fundraising wiki

TOP REASONS to consider an intercultural

experience with AFS --- hosting OR going abroad

#4 Immersion is the number one

way to learn a language

#3 Be an ambassador

for your country

#2 Stand out on college

applications

THE #1 REASON To consider an intercultural

exchange experience……

FUN!!

What kind of student does AFS look for?

•  Flexible •  Self confident, willing to take initiative •  Willingness and ability to learn in a variety of educational settings - school, family, community •  Not easily discouraged •  Show curiosity about the world and respect for others •  Are able to demonstrate initiative and advocacy •  Are not quick to judge others •  Sense of humor •  Willing to compromise •  Capacity to build relationships •  Cooperative

The Process - Studying Abroad

 www.afsusa.org to apply - $75 pre-app fee

 Email you a log-in and password to the online full application

 $900 deposit

 In home interview required

US Dept of Agriculture Study:

$13,480 ($37/day) Average cost of raising a teen in the US for one year.

$13,000 ($36/day) Tuition price for year program to Japan. (the most expensive program)

Most AFS Programs range from $ 6K - $12K ($2,300 for Panama 2 week)

The Process - Hosting  www.afsusa.org - click on “hosting”

 Complete online hosting inquiry

 Will be sent a link for required background check

 Local volunteer will conduct in home interview

 Given short bios of a variety of students

 If interested in a student - will request full application for you to review

 Student is temporarily taken out of the pool so no one else requests

Deadlines for Full applications

 October 1st for year/semester Spring Programs

 March 15th for year/semester Fall Programs

 April 15th for short summer programs

AFS Tuition Includes:

Professional guidance and support throughout the application process, while you are preparing to depart, and during your program.

Placement with a carefully selected volunteer host family who will provide you room, board, and guidance. Your host family will also arrange a way for you to get to and from your school or community service project each day.

Placement with a host school or community service organization. For programs that don’t include school, refer to the program description for other covered activities.

Round-trip international travel with your AFS Group between the international departure city in the United States (the ‘International Gateway’) and your host country.

Orientations prior to departure and after your arrival, including room and board during multi-day orientations that occur throughout the program. This may be anywhere between a few nights to a few weeks stay or more, depending on the program.

Comprehensive secondary medical insurance. AFS also offers participants and their families an optional travel benefits package, administered through a third party.

Visa information and application assistance.

Access to a support network that includes AFS Professional Staff in the U.S. and your host country, plus thousands of trained volunteers worldwide.

24-hour emergency assistance.

IMPORTANT SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINES

Congress Bundestag - Germany - Deadline December 19, 2010 - 50 Full ride scholarships to students in Northeast US Info: http://www.usagermanyscholarship.org/

YES - 50 full scholarships are available through YES Abroad for American high school students to study for up to one year in countries with significant Muslim populations: Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mali, Morocco, Oman, Thailand and Turkey Deadline Jan. 12, 2011

Global Leaders Scholarship: Partial needs-based aid; available for all programs. Find out within one week of applying

For Students Planning Ahead

Vaya a America Latina Scholarship - already passed for this year; deadline is usually early Sept. For Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina leaving in spring. 50% tuition

Japan Scholarships Deadline early Sept 2011 - 2 Full scholarships available; year program leaving in Spring

NSLI-Y - 600 fully funded scholarships to high school students to learn Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Farsi, Russian, and Turkish. Deadline early Nov 2011. Info: www.nsliforyouth.org