Sending Interviews

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Contents

Overview

AFS standards require all AFS study abroad program candidates have an interview as part of the application process. This section outlines the basics of sending interviews, including the purpose, standards and an outline of the process. See ‘Resources’ below for related pages, including Sending Interview Training Modules that you can take to get started!

Purpose of the Sending Interview

  • Assess the readiness of the candidate for a positive AFS experience, by verifying the student exhibits the Hallmarks of Successful Sending Participants and identifying any potential Red Flags.
  • Provide insight into the student’s personality and interests to aid the volunteers in the host country in selecting a host family for the student.
  • Foster a sense of AFS community and affiliation by providing personalized contact with an AFS Volunteer.
  • Complete the Sending Interview Form, which is a part of the online application to evaluate applicants' eligiblilty for AFS programs.
  • Become familiar with the Frequently Asked Questions about Study Abroad page, or be able to refer to it during the interview as necessary.

Interview Standards

As part of AFS’s commitment to quality programs, we provide interviews inline with regulatory requirements. The AFS International partnership agreement requires all candidates to be interviewed. CSIET's Standard 5 B. requires that long-term homestay programs shall include personal interviews with student applicants. The following are our the Sending Interview Standards for AFS-USA:

Year and Semester programs

  • All year and semester students must have an in-home interview. At least one parent must be present. We encourage both parents and additional family members to attend as available.
  • When a year or semester student is more than two hours from any volunteer interviewer, than an in-person interview is accepted. Please provide the reason on the Sending Interview Form.

Summer programs

  • AFS prefers summer program students to have an in-home interview. Summer program students are required to have the minimum of an in-person interview.

Sending Interviewer

The AFS Sending Interviewer is a volunteer who meets face to face with potential sending students and their families to ensure AFS is sending quality participants as ambassadors of AFS-USA. The purpose of the interview is to set realistic expectations of AFS programs and processes, and to provide support to families, assess aspects of applicants' eligibility, and steer them in the right direction to answer their questions.

Process

All Sending Interviewers should print a copy of the Sending Interview Packet to use in preparation for the interview, and also to refer to during the interview.

Schedule the Interview

  • Decide if you will conduct this interview alone, or if there will be others with you.
  • Schedule the interview and allot a minimum of 90 minutes. Ensure the candidate and at least one parent are present. Ideally, both parents and other family members are present to provide insight into family dynamics. It is helpful to set the expectation that part of the interview will be with the candidate only.

Prepare for the Interview

  • Be familiar with AFS’s history, mission and programs.
  • Print the Sending Interview Form and fill in the following details for easy reference: Student and parent’s names, contact information, interview date and time, program interest and any other details from their Global Link person record and service case that you find helpful and informative.
  • Be familiar with the Hallmarks of Successful Sending Participants as well as the Red Flags.
  • It may be helpful to have names of recent returnees in the area, especially ones who have gone to the same country that the student is interested in.
  • Many volunteers prefer that applicants have completed their application, or are nearly done, before conducting the interview. To check on a student's progress on the application, log into Global Link and review the forms for content and completeness. This will give you context into the student's interests, academics, and eligibility even before meeting them in person.

Conducting the Interview

Introduction

  • Introduce yourself and meet the family members. You can share about your role in AFS as well as your own hosting and/or exchange experiences.
  • Explain the purpose of the sending interview.
  • It is helpful to ensure you are sitting across from the candidate because they are the focal point of the interview, not the parents.

During the Interview

  • Utilize the Sending Interview Packet.
  • Be sure to engage the candidate in a conversational dialog, and not just a question/answer format.
  • Allow for their questions. If you do not have an answer, that's OK! Encourage the applicant or family to contact their advisor at myapplication@afs.org or 1-800-AFS-INFO, or go to www.afsusa.org/applicants for detailed program information.
  • Since the student’s welfare is involved, we also ask that you and the family be as open and candid as possible in discussing subjects that may be difficult or considered private, like an impending divorce, a recent death in the family, medical condition, or financial needs for the program. All AFS interview forms are kept confidential.
  • During the sending interview, it may be helpful to interview the student ALONE for about 45 minutes and then ask that the parents join you for the remaining time. Sometimes the students can be intimidated by answering probing questions in the presence of their parents or siblings.
  • The interview is a great time to encourage a family to open their home to an AFS Exchange Student or become involved as an AFS Volunteer.
  • Close the interview. Thank the student and the rest of the family members for their time. Discuss the Sending Application, Admission and Preparation Process and encourage the family to attend the AFS Pathway online presentation, if they have not done so already.
  • If students have questions about the full application, encourage them to:
    1. Attend the AFS Path: Application and Beyond Workshop.
    2. Check out the Full Application Checklist
    3. Contact their advisor by emailing myapplication@afs.org or calling 1-800-AFS-INFO.

After the Interview

  • Transcribe your notes into the fillable Sending Interview Form and email it to: sendinginterviews@afs.org. Putting it all into the Word document and emailing it is best as typed answers will be easier to read by the volunteers in the host country. Please do not fax or mail copies to Sending staff. Using the fillable form and sending by email increases the legibility of the form and makes it easy to track and retrieve interview forms.
  • For a comprehensive view of the applicant, it is necessary for volunteers to fill in the blanks and check boxes and also to create an honest, clear, thorough picture of the candidate and his or her family relationships, using your best judgment and perspective.
  • If you are reluctant to support the student in participating in an AFS program, learn more about the Lack of Volunteer Support for Candidate Process.

Sending Interview Resources

See Also

Retrieved from "http://www.afswiki.org/index.php/Sending_Interviews"
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February 8 2012
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