This was an adaptation of the classroom presentation I developed, but in this case it was created for parents, delivered at a followup info session, held a week after the in-classroom presentations.

1. Be a global citizen with
AFS!
Your chance to experience the
world and make a difference

2. 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

3. Notable Returnees
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

4. GLOBAL QUIZ

5. What country has the world’s
largest Muslim population?
Is it: China, Saudi Arabia,
Indonesia, or the United States.

6. INDONESIA

7. True or False?
In Iceland, husbands and wives,
and their children have different
last names?

8. 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.

9. What is the official language of
Ghana?
Is it: Shona, Matabele, English,
or Xhosa.

10. English, Ghana was
an English Colony
called the Gold
Coast

11. In what country would you find
yourself if you could cross a
bridge and go from Europe to
Asia and back?

12. TURKEY
.

13. What language is spoken by
more people in the world than
any other as a native language?

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

15. Which country has both
Flemish and French speaking
divisions?

16. Belgium

17. Our world is becoming
increasingly global.
Don’t be left behind

18. If the world was a classroom of 30 students,
there would be …
17 Asians (57%)
6 Europeans (20%)
3 Africans (9%)
3 Lat Americans(9%)
2 US-Americans (5%)
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)

20. What do you all know
about icebergs?

21. The Cultural
Iceberg
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
Image altered from www.ankn.uaf.edu

22. 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

23. 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

24. Many scholarships available
 Global Leaders
 NSLI (National Security Language Initiative)
 Congress Bundestag
 Country Specific
See www.afsusa.org

25. • Financial Aid
- 40% of AFS students receive financial aid
• Fundraising
- so many different ways!
- fundraising wiki

26. TOP REASONS
to consider an intercultural
experience with AFS ---
hosting OR going abroad

27. #4
Immersion is the number one
way to learn a language

28. #3
Be an ambassador
for your country

29. #2
Stand out on college
applications

30. THE #1 REASON
To consider an intercultural
exchange experience……

31. FUN!!

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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)

35. 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

36. Deadlines for Full applications
 October 1st for year/semester Spring Programs
 March 15th for year/semester Fall Programs
 April 15th for short summer programs

37. 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.

38. 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.

39. 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

40. 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