In an effort to ensure that no student is left behind – and to allow each Regional Field Specialist (RFS) Region to have a small pool of students to promote regionally – a small number (56) of hosted student profiles are being made Regionally Available on May 29th. Even with this small number of students being made Regional Available, the vast majority of students remaining to be placed continue to be Nationally Available.

The pool of students selected for this regional shift was chosen with great care. The students in this group are, in large part, those who have not yet had an Area Team Hold. In addition, the pool includes students who either hold a priority status (such as scholarship recipients or partner country priorities) or who may have been overlooked so far despite being strong candidates.

Regional Field Specialists have provided their preferences for students from the limited pool of students who are in need of supplemental promotion, and Regional Directors have ensured equity in allocation across Regions. The result will be that each RFS Region will have a small, focused group of students (4) to promote locally, made available only to their specific regions.

Our hope is that by narrowing the focus just slightly and giving each region a few students to really rally behind, we can open more doors and create more opportunities for these amazing young people.

Thank you for your support in helping ensure that all students receive the attention they deserve in our collective placement efforts – and as always thank you for all you do to support the AFS-USA mission. Your RFS will be in touch soon with more details about your Region’s assigned students!