Thanks to your hard work and commitment, we have successfully completed another great season, interviewing over 1,200 candidates –This is an amazing accomplishment, and we would not be able to do it without the dedication of our incredible volunteers and program alumni!

We hope you enjoyed meeting some outstanding students (both virtually and in-person) as much as we did throughout this uplifting process. The AFS-USA office coordinated two interview events, interviewing roughly 70 candidates in-person and virtually with the help of multiple volunteers and staff. We know that many Area Teams also conducted interview events both virtually and in-person, and we thank you for your continued flexibility with conducting interviews in-person, virtually, individually, and at events each year. As we turn our attention to scholarship selection and notifications, we’d like to update you about the schedule:

• NSLI-Y notifications will begin this week and will continue on a rolling basis through April 21, 2024. Students receiving a scholarship offer will receive information about their implementing organization and details of their program. Candidates will have approximately one week to decide whether to accept or decline the scholarship offer. If you are contacted by a NSLI-Y candidate with questions about selection or their program offer, kindly direct them to the implementing organization specified in their selection notification. Candidates implemented by AFS will be added to Global Link in the weeks after they accept the scholarship and complete their required paperwork.
• YES Abroad notifications will be sent on a rolling basis throughout March 2024. Those candidates selected as finalists will receive their country placement, implementing organization, and program details at that time and will be notified of their next steps and follow-up responsibilities. Candidates will have approximately one week to decide whether to accept or decline the scholarship offer. If you are contacted by a YES Abroad candidate with questions about selection or their program offer, kindly direct them to the implementing organization specified in their selection notification. Candidates implemented by AFS will be added to Global Link in the weeks after they accept the scholarship and complete their required paperwork.

The complete finalist lists of NH24 NSLI-Y Virtual Summer Intensive (VSI), NSLI-Y Summer Overseas, NSLI-Y academic year, and YES Abroad from your area will be posted to MyAFS Help & Learning and you will be updated by email to review the lists as they become available. Like past years, we expect these lists to be shared with AFS in late spring.

Finally, in this particular time of year, we draw our attention to the promotion of the Hosting Programs. As you well know, going abroad on a State Department program wouldn’t be possible if there were not families on the other side, ready to open their homes to students. We have over 200 State Department program participants coming to the U.S. for the 2024-25 school year, all of whom need a loving family and home to share their experience with. We ask that you please reflect on families you know (even your own!) that may be interested in being involved in hosting a State Department program student. You may promote this opportunity yourselves by sharing this link: afsusa.org/host-family. We appreciate all you can do!

If you have any additional questions about the interview season, please direct them to nsliyinterviews@afsusa.org.

Thank you again for your amazing support!

The AFS NSLI-Y and YES Abroad Interviews Team