Just over a year ago, in an effort to adjust the perception of the student interview, we announced a change to our terminology by re-naming the interview as an “Information Session.” Our goal was to make the interview less of an intimidating event and, instead, a more welcoming activity for students and their parents. The intention came from a positive place, but sometimes semantics can become more cumbersome or confusing than intended.

After receiving feedback at the National Volunteer Assembly last year, and throughout the past few months, the Customer Experience Department staff responsible for Sending Programs concluded that it made sense to return to our original terminology and, therefore, Sending Information Sessions are, once again, referred to simply as “Sending Interviews.” The required form will be referred to as the Sending Interview Form and participants will be advised that they must participate in an Interview prior to having their application transferred to our overseas partner offices. The only exception is with all Global Prep applicants for whom interviews are not required.

It is also important to note that the Application Fee has been moved to an earlier point in the application process. Previously, payment of the fee was requested at the end of the process, along with the $500.00 deposit. The fee is now required at the stage between “Applied” and “Next Steps.” After the Study Abroad Specialist conducts the “Applied call” with the applicant during which s/he determines the student’s eligibility and motivation, the applicant will then be required to pay the $200.00 Application Fee to unlock the Next Steps stage of the application. We hope that this will help to ensure that those moving into Next Steps (and subsequently needing interviews) will be our most motivated and committed applicants.

It’s important to note that everything on the Interviews widget on MyAFS is always the most up-to-date and accurate! Since forms can change, it’s important that you avoid saving forms to your computer or device since they can become outdated and cause unnecessary delays. While we urge you to use MyAFS to complete your interviews digitally, if this is not a feasible solution for you, please use the attached version of the form, and once completed, email it to sendinginterviews@afsusa.org. Our Administrative Coordinator, Erjona Koni, monitors this Inbox daily and will review and upload your interview form to Global Link.

We hope that these adjustments help to streamline the sending process and that, in turn, they help all of us reach our important sending goals!