The Obligatory Application Timeline
As any angst-ridden Peace Corps applicant will tell you, becoming a volunteer is no easy feat. On average, the application process takes nine months to complete. I began my application in February of 2009 and received my invitation ten months later. During that time, I found out the true meaning of the word “patience.” I learned everything I could about the process, which included the initial online application, an interview, nomination, medical and legal screenings, and finally placement. Sounds easy, right? Well, for the benefit of current applicants and to the astonishment of those unfamiliar, here is my Peace Corps application timeline:
Fall 2008 – The first semester of senior year, I begin contemplating after-college plans. Peace Corps and other service-oriented opportunities are first on the list.
December 2008 – Peruse Peace Corps website for qualifications, rewards, and other general information
January 2009 – Make the decision to apply and see where it takes me
February 2009 – Begin and submit online application process and acquire three necessary reference letters
March 17, 2009 – Receive initial legal packet; complete and sent back within a few weeks
April 3, 2009 – Interview with Dallas recruiting agent via webcam; informed that a nomination is imminent
April 6, 2009 – Receive letter notifying of nomination for Spanish-speaking country, Computer science, leaving sometime in February, 2010; excitement abounds
End of April, 2009 – Receive daunting medical/dental packet; begin making appointments
May, 2009 - Graduate college (no longer insured) but manage to get insurance to cover dental screening; endure medical screening, blood work, physical, etc. Relatively painless but very expensive; send completed packets
June 8, 2009 – Dental clearance
July, 2009 – Hear nothing from medical office; practice patience
Early August, 2009 – Receive letter from medical office asking for blood work results that the hospital had forgotten to give me; promptly acquire results and fax to medical office
Late August, 2009 – Medically cleared and contacted by assistant placement officer by email asking for updated resume and volunteer information; gleefully submit request
September, 2009 – Hear nothing; patience wanes
Early November, 2009 – Contacted by placement officer requesting final phone interview for mid-November
Mid-November, 2009 – Final interview date comes and goes, no phone call received; moderate chagrin
Mid to Late November, 2009 – Attempt to contact placement officer multiple times, learn from assistant that placement officer is “sick” and/or “away from the office” and will contact me upon return; weeks pass by with no contact from placement officer; chagrin turns into wailing and gnashing of teeth
December 7, 2009 – Last day at work, contacted by different placement officer for final phone interview; learn that my nomination date has changed to early March and invitation is on the way; much exaltation
Mid-December, 2009 – Receive invitation for Dominican Republic leaving March 2nd, 2010 (later changed to March 3rd)
As a current applicant, the only advice I ever seemed to get was to be patient. You can only hear that phrase so many times before you want to kill something. But it’s really the only thing you can do and after a certain point you’ll find that you don’t even mind the waiting. For me, that point came a few weeks after medical clearance. I realized that it was completely out of my hands and that there was no point in worrying about it. It also helped me to read current applicants’ and volunteers’ blogs. So if you’re in that unfortunate situation, you have my sympathies. All I can really say is, be patient.
