Once students have applied and are accepted to a program with AFS, it is essential to keep in close contact to provide support to the parents and students. This is the time when parents and students begin to have questions about host family placements, visas, etc. In general, this is a great phase in which to encourage participants and their parents to read the Participant and Family Guides and to continue CultureTrek. Many of the most common questions are answered there, and they serve as crucial resources.
This article will cover
- Common Topics of Concern before Departure
- Tips for Calling Students before Departure
Common Topics of Concern
More information on the most common topics that come up when students are waiting to depart are listed below can be found in the family and participant guides, which are mailed to students once their online applications been transferred to our partner countries for review. They can also be found here.
Common Questions Before Departure
Students and parents understandable have questions during this time before departure – about host family placements, packing, fundraising, and visas. Please check out this list of Common Questions before Departure and keep reading for other common topics.
Visas
Approximately 6-10 weeks before departure, AFS will send out notifications regarding visa instructions. In some cases, AFS will obtain a student's visa for them. However, in most cases, AFS will not be able to obtain visas for participants, and will only be able to provide general information regarding the process. Whether or not AFS can apply on a student's behalf, the student and/or family are responsible for gathering and completing the paperwork and covering any required fees. Visa fees are not included in the AFS tuition.
When students have questions about the visa process, often the questions can be answered simply by going over the instructions a second (or third) time. You might also want to review the Understand Visas and Passports section. If this does not produce an answer to the question at hand, then refer the participant or parent to their Study Abroad Advisor or sendingvisas@afusa.org.
It's important to remember that visas are issued by the diplomatic officials of a student's host country's foreign mission here in the United States, and not by AFS. While AFS does try to supply participants with as much information, guidance and assistance as possible, we stress to all participants that if they are applying for visas themselves, they must communicate directly with the consulate of jurisdiction for their state to ensure they have the most up to date and accurate information. If a participant is refused a visa or does not obtain his or her visa prior to the scheduled departure date for the program, he or she may not be able to participate in the AFS program.
Fundraising for Students
We want to help every student do an AFS program, and we offer great fundraising tips that have worked for other students. Please see the Support Student Fundraising article.
Host Family Placement
Matching students with host families is a complex process that works a little differently in each AFS partner country. It is not a process that we want to rush, because second only to each student’s health and safety, our next priority is ensuring the success of their experience abroad. It is very common for students not to receive their host family or placement details until the month prior to departure.
AFS host families come in all shapes and sizes, just like families do here. Host families are chosen and screened by the partner country. Being flexible and open-minded is an integral part of the AFS experience. A student's host family will inevitably differ from his or her natural family in some ways. These differences are part of what makes the AFS experience so rich. Learning how to fit into a new family culture and forming deep relationships with a host family can be among the most challenging and gratifying experiences that a participant will have. It's important to remember that this is a learning experience for both parties, not just the AFS participant.
School Credit while Abroad
AFS cannot guarantee credit transfer. Each school district sets its own rules in this area. See this page on our website about Academic Credit for more information.
Health and Safety
The safety of our participants is AFS’s #1 priority. Our website has helpful information about the support we provide to students and families during programs: https://www.afsusa.org/study-abroad/faq/health-and-safety.
Travel at the Time of Departure
Students are sent a Takeoff Bulletin or Booklet that explains everything they need to know about domestic travel to their gateway orientation and international travel for their program.
Tips for Calling Students before Departure
The objective of making phone calls to students during this stage is to assist them in preparing for their departure by offering support and encouragement. During this time, students can spend a lot of time waiting anxiously for host family, school, travel and visa information. When Volunteers and Returnees are in contact with the student during this time, they feel supported by AFS. Below you will find talking points for reaching out to students during this time.
Before you make the call
- Set aside uninterrupted time and create a comfortable and quiet environment for yourself.
- Retrieve your list of students from Global Link, see Finding Students Preparing for Departure for details.
- Have these calling tips and the Common Questions Before Departure available as resources during your call.
- Look at the student’s Contact Log to know when someone last spoke with the student and note any questions or concerns the student may have already raised with someone else.
- Remember, you are reaching out to support and encourage the student - you do not necessarily need to have all the answers. Instead, focus on relationship building and be familiar with the many resources available to you, students, and parents.
Making the call
A simple introduction would be:
“Hello! I’m calling to introduce myself. My name is _________, and I am an AFS volunteer and also live in ___. I see you are preparing for a program to ____. I wanted to check in and see how things are going as you prepare for your program to start.”
Quick Tips:
- Be sure to provide your local community name and/or your AFS country if you are a returnee, to create a connection.
- Refer to the student's country or program to personalize the phone call.
- After you state why you are calling, be sure to PAUSE and let the student respond to what you have said.
- If you do not reach the student, take the opportunity to chat with the parent or sibling who answers the phone - they may be needing a word of encouragement, reassurance and support, themselves. Also, see below for directions on leaving a voicemail.
Engage with Open-Ended Questions
You want to address the student based on where they are in the acceptance process. There is a two-step acceptance process at AFS-USA. First, a student is accepted by AFS-USA. Once they have been accepted by AFS-USA, their application is sent to the partner country. The partner country will consider the application and accept it if it meets their acceptance requirements. For this reason, it is important to not use the word 'accepted' lightly, since the student may not yet be all the way through the acceptance process, and we don't want to misguide or misinform students.
1. Partner Review:
When a student’s Portal Status is Review and the OA status is Transferred, the student is in Partner Review, which means their application has been sent to the partner country, but has not yet been accepted by that partner country.
While the student waits to hear about their partner acceptance, they can take the time to learn more and get excited about their potential country. It is also a great time to do some fundraising. Here are some conversation starters for students in this stage:
- Have you checked out the AFS News for great stories about AFS?
- Have you done some research about the country where you are going?
- Have you been studying up on the language?
- Have you checked out the fundraising resources on our website?
- Have you received the information about the local Pre-Departure Orientation? Do you have any questions about it?
2. Accepted:
When a student’s Portal Status is Accepted, the student is Partner Guaranteed. That is, the student has been accepted by the partner but not yet placed with a host family.
While the student waits to hear about their host family placement - which sometimes does not come until 3 weeks before departure - they should take time to work out details of getting school credit and apply for visas, if necessary. Here are some conversation starters for students waiting for host family information:
- Have you met with your school counselor and figured out what classes you need to take while abroad?
- Have you started working on Culture Trek? Culture Trek is a great way for you to start thinking about what you will experience while abroad and living in a different culture. Culture Trek can be accessed through your AFS Account.
- Have you received your visa instructions? Have you read them thoroughly? If the visa instructions have not been received, please be assured that they will be provided to you shortly.
- Have you received the information about the local Pre-Departure Orientation? Do you have any questions about it?
3. Meet Your Hosts:
When a student is in the Portal Status Meet Your Hosts, it means the student has been assigned full placement information -- host family and school or community service project information.
While the student is in Meet Your Hosts, the student can be in touch with their host family and start to learn more about that part of the world. Some questions you could ask:
- Have you been in touch with your host family?
- Have you done some research into the part of the country that you will be living in?
- Have you been studying up on the language?
- Have you thought about local gifts that you could bring to your host family as presents?
- Have you received the information about the local Pre-Departure Orientation? Do you have any questions about it?
Quick Tips:
- Use the above conversation starters to get the dialogue started, but then let the student do most of the talking.
- Rephrase what you have heard to make sure you are understanding s/he correctly and to build trust that you are a good listener.
- Be empathetic about the person’s point of view.
- When a student is feeling impatient with the waiting process, redirect their energy into one of the positive things they can do while waiting.
Saying good-bye
A potential closing could be:
“It has been great to speak with you. I wish you the best of luck as you prepare for the upcoming program. Please be in touch as you have questions (provide contact information). You are also welcome to be in touch with your Study Abroad Specialist at 1-800-AFS-INFO.”
Quick Tip:
- This can be a great time to let them know of upcoming events in your area including Pre-Departure Orientation.
After you make the call
- Once you finish the conversation, send a follow-up email letting the student and/or parent know it was great to speak with them and include any links to www.afsusa.org that may be helpful or any other information you had agreed to send.
- Be sure to log the call in the student’s Global Link contact log.
How to leave a message
When reaching out to students and parents, it is not uncommon to reach voice mail. Here is a sample message you can leave.
Hello, my name is ____ and I am a volunteer with AFS. I live in ____. I'm calling to introduce myself and provide support as (student) prepares for (his/her) upcoming program. It would be great to speak with you, feel free to get back to me at (your number or email).
Quick Tips:
- It's helpful to say your phone # or email slowly, and then repeat yourself.
- If you prefer, you can provide 1-800-AFS-INFO and encourage parents to contact their Study Abroad Specialist.
- Log your voice mail in the Global Link Contact Log.
- Send a follow up email.
- Plan to call back in a week.
Thank you for taking the time to reach out to students during this time before departure – your call can help reassure students and parents and eliminate cold feet so that they can have the life-changing AFS experience about which they have been dreaming.
Once students go abroad, supporting them falls under the category Support Students.