Parent Session #1 Thursday, March 5th, 2015. Parent Session #1 Thursday, March 5, 2015.
Parent Info session
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Transcript of 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