Applying: Applying to
the Peace Corps can be a somewhat lengthy and selective process.
About one in three applicants become Volunteers.
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Step 1: A common application,
resume and essay are submitted to a local
Peace Corps office.
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Step 2: Once this application has been reviewed an
interview is arranged with the applicant and a Peace
Corps Recruiter.
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Step 3: If the the Recruiter nominates the
applicant their file is sent to the national
office in Washington DC where the applicant is "matched"
with a project based on their background/interests and
on what is currently available for Peace Corps sites.
For
example, if there are 100 people interested in Latin
American health projects, but only 40 projects in that
criteria, 60 applicants will be placed in other projects
or other regions. Sometimes the "match" can be
surprising.
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Step 4: If a match
is found the applicant is made an offer to serve with a
project in a country. They
have ten days to decide to accept or decline the
offer. If declined they may wait until another project
opens up or decide not to join Peace Corps.
The
geographic region and Volunteer duties are not
determined until after training
is completed. So an applicant will not know where they
will live or what they will do until just prior to being
sworn in as a Volunteer.
The entire
process can take as little as four months or as much as
a year from application to site acceptance. To apply to
The Peace Corps or to learn more
click here.
Staging:
Once an applicant has accepted their offer they will
receive information about a staging event. This is a 2-3
day workshop held in a number of U.S. cities (D.C.,
Philadelphia, Miami, San Fransciso, etc.) depending on
host country location. Staging
provides trainees with information they need to adjust
once in country and gives an idea of what to expect
during the first few weeks. It is also when initial
forms are processed. A sample schedule can be found
here.
Pre-Service Training:
Pre-Service Training (PST) is an 11 week program in
Honduras, but can be 8-12 weeks depending on the site.
Here applicants become Trainees (PCTs) and learn technical,
language, cultural, personal health and safety skills
necessary for a successful applicant. PST has two
components, the first half is held in a common area with
all Trainees together, the second half is held with
Trainees broken into projects (and different locations)
to conduct more technical training.
A sample
schedule of PST can be found here.
An
important part of PST is language training. Language
courses are usually 4-hours and nearly everyday for the
11 weeks. In order to be
eligible to be sworn in all Trainees must achieve a
Spanish level of Intermediate-Medium -
conversational and able to work, live and function in
Spanish. If this level is not achieved the trainee may
be allowed an additional month of coursework to improve
or they may be asked to leave Honduras depending on
effort. To view
details of the language training click
here.
Site
Placement: At three points during PST, Trainees
are given interview with their project managers to
determine Trainee strengths, weaknesses, interests and
preferences. Based on these interviews, performance in
training and available sites, the project managers place
Trainees in the just prior to swear-in.
Trainees who successfully
complete Pre-Service Training are then required by
law to affirm an oath of loyalty to the United
States. Then begins the 24 months of service.
Road to COS continues... |
