Warning: application timelines seem to be kind of a Peace Corps rite of passage, but they're really only interesting if you're thinking about applying to the Peace Corps, just beginning to apply to the Peace Corps, or currently trapped in the gooey underbelly of a months-long bureaucratic tunnel and wondering where you might find a flashlight.
If that does sound like you, you're in luck! For your consolement and/or disconcertment, here's a chronicle of my battles with the paperwork leviathan.
February(ish?) 2010 - I start the application in spring of junior year, but I get sidetracked by graduate school questions, looming senior thesis questions, should-I-stay-a-fifth-year questions, and why-am-I-even-doing-this-right-now-when-I-have-a-paper-due-tomorrow questions. Peace Corps gets put on the backburner so I can deal with more immediate things, but it still gets plenty of daydream airtime in my head.
February(ish?) 2011 - I go to an informational session held by a recruiter. Suspicions confirmed -- definitely still want to do this.
Step 1-Step 2: Application to Interview: 2 Months
early May 2011 - I re-start the application again, this time for real.
May 20, 2011 - I submit my part of the application electronically.
May 26, 2011 - First contact from my recruiter, who lets me know that background check materials are on their way. I'm asked to fill out more forms about my vegetarianism, my romantic involvement, and the programs I'm most qualified for (Animal Husbandry, Agriculture Extension, Health, Community Services, and Education).
June 4-6, 2011 - I mail all the forms, the fingerprint charts, the NAC background check information, and my unofficial transcript.
Most memorable part of the background check process: police officers looking at my squeaky clean driving record and cooing, "Oh, you're a VERY good girl, aren't you?" Yes, yes I am.
Most memorable part of the background check process: police officers looking at my squeaky clean driving record and cooing, "Oh, you're a VERY good girl, aren't you?" Yes, yes I am.
July 6, 2011 - Background check is done. Confirmed: I am not a criminal. Also, I'm invited to interview, finally!
July 13, 2011 - Interview with my recruiter via webcam -- essentially just a comfortable, hour-long conversation with an interesting, like-minded person, following the Peace Corps Wiki's list of interview questions almost word for word. The interview ends with my recruiter saying that she is going to nominate me for placement as an Education Volunteer in Sub-Saharan Africa leaving May 2012 -- a little later than I'd like, but still, the dream! I'm joyous. She tells me that my medical and dental packet will soon be in the mail; I tell myself that I am a champion among champions.
Step 3-Step 4: Interview to Nomination: 6 Weeks
August 18, 2011 - After more than a month with no further contact, no official confirmation of a nomination, and no medical packet in sight, I send a politely curious email wondering if CPR/First Aid certification would make me more competitive in the placement process and -- oh! by the way! -- do you know if my medical kit will be arriving soon?
August 22, 2011 - Recruiter essentially tells me, "Yes, CPR certification would be a great idea," and, "Yes, keep holding tight." I continue to hold, and my grip continues to be tight.
August 31, 2011 - I receive an email containing the following beautiful phrase:
"I am pleased to nominate you for the following Peace Corps assignment: Program Name: English Teacher, Tentative Departure Date: May 2012, Region: Sub Saharan Africa"
No surprises there, but a sigh of relief that it's finally official.
Step 4-Step 5: Nomination to Medical/Dental/Legal Clearance: 2 Months
September 6, 2011 - A Toolkit Update lets me know that my medical kit is on its way, and I brace myself, knowing that this paperwork can quickly become the most grueling and time-consuming part of the process if you don't follow the directions meticulously. Over the next several weeks, I read and re-read all of the forms, copiously color-code them with post-it notes, and have at least one nightmare about faulty blood tests, but ultimately manage to get everything done in:
1 dentist's appointment
1 eye appointment
1 physical exam
1 call for old paperwork from an oral surgeon
2 visits to the County Health Department
...and a total of only 3 return visits to fix everything that was filled out wrong the first time.
Most memorable part of the medical clearance process: impressing several nurses with my indomitable courage around needles and speculums. (Direct quote: "Goodness girl, you're a BRAVE one." Yes, yes I am.)
October 31, 2011 - A Toolkit Update lets me know that "Peace Corps received the results of [my] physical exam." A sigh of relief.
November 1, 2011 - Dental clearance! Another sigh.
November 5, 2011 - A Toolkit Update lets me know that "a hold has been placed on [my] account." A silent cry of terror!
November 7, 2011 - The hold ends up being a simple thing -- I get a letter in the morning saying that the results of my TB test weren't reported fully, so I return to the doctor's office one last time and fax the forms back by 3:00 that afternoon. I am back to sighing again by bedtime.
November 8, 2011 - I wake up to medical clearance!
Step 5-Step 6: Medical/Dental/Legal Clearance to Invitation: 2 Months
November 16, 2011 - Literally half an hour after deciding that I ought to make a politely curious call to the Placement Office, I get the first contact from a Placement Assistant asking for a final transcript, an updated resume, and answers to a few questions:
1) Why do you want to be a teacher in a developing country?
2) How would you handle working in a school that employs corporal punishment?
3) How do you see yourself working in a classroom setting that emphasizes rote learning and memorization?
I'm unable to supply the final transcript until I graduate in four more weeks, but I fulfill the other two requests before the end of the day.
November 18, 2011 - I get an email thanking me for my fast reply, letting me know that the information has been added to my file, and stating that the office will be in touch if they need anything else from me.
December 8, 2011 - After several weeks without any more news, I decide to gently remind the Placement Office that I'm still alive, still eager, and still preparing by emailing them about a couple of exciting life developments (graduate coursework and an internship) that will make me more competitive for a placement. The Placement Assistant says she'll add the information to my file, but she makes no mention of an invitation anytime soon.
January 6, 2012 - A month later, the silence is broken: first contact from my Placement Specialist! She emails a list of about fifteen questions to help in the final review of my application, and we set up a time to talk about them over the phone.
January 11, 2012 - During my fifteen-minute final interview over the same questions in the email, I discover that my original nomination date (May 2012) has been pushed back to June 2012 (later than I'd like, but still!). The conversation ends with good (if imprecise) news -- I can expect a decision to be made within the next two weeks. I process this by shotgunning herbal tea, staring at my email, and jumping a lot.
January 13, 2012 - The manic one-woman vigil ends after 36 hours when I wake up to the most beautiful words I've ever seen: "Congratulations! You have been invited to become a Peace Corps Volunteer. Peace Corps sent you an invitation kit on January 11, 2012"...coinciding, of course, with a holiday weekend to provide ample time to get nervous. I make a list of 9 possible countries it could be...
January 17, 2012 - ...and, in exhilarating, characteristically Peace Corps fashion, I'm invited to a place that wasn't even on my radar. BOOM: MALAWI.
time from submitting the application to getting an invitation: 7 months, 2 weeks
January 17, 2012 - ...and, in exhilarating, characteristically Peace Corps fashion, I'm invited to a place that wasn't even on my radar. BOOM: MALAWI.
time from submitting the application to getting an invitation: 7 months, 2 weeks
