Eligibility
Program Description
Visa and Travel Documents
Getting There
AFS Orientations and Activities
Eligibility
To be eligible you must:
- Be between 15 years 3 months and 17 years 9 months old at the start of the program
- Have a minimum 2.8 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale)
- Be in good physical, mental, and emotional health in accordance with the AFS Medical Evaluation Policy
- Have an open mind, willingness to be flexible, and the ability to adapt to new a culture, school, and environment
Program Description
As with all AFS high school programs, you will be placed with a volunteer host family while attending a local host school. Read about life in Italy.
Students may be placed throughout Italy, including the islands. Most placements (about 70%) are in small cities or suburban areas. Another 20% of placements are in rural areas, and the remaining 10% of students are placed in urban areas.
There is also a possibility that you will be placed in northern Italy, near the borders of France, Switzerland, Austria, or Slovenia. Italian families in these areas are often bilingual – especially on the French and Austrian borders.
Italian language lessons will be offered to AFS participants in order to aid your communication and adjustment. Lessons will be organized at the local level by the volunteers in your host community. You will likely receive language lessons 2-3 times per week for the first couple months. The total number of class hours varies from 40 to 60. These language classes are all covered by your AFS tuition fees.
Visa and Travel Documents
In order to participate in this program, you must have a passport that is valid for six months longer than your intended stay. In addition to your passport, you will need a student visa to live and study abroad.
The visa application process for Italy is detailed, time-consuming, and costly. It involves collecting a number of documents including parental consent forms, financial statements from your bank, a statement of good health from your physician and an official academic transcript (transcripts must be notarized, officially translated, and legalized with apostilles), among other documents.
You may also be required, along with your parents or guardians, to travel to an Italian Consulate to sign documents in person and present various forms of personal information, including financial stability statements.
In the months prior to your departure, AFS will provide you with detailed information regarding the required documents and visa application instructions.
Getting There
You and your fellow AFSers from the USA will fly together between New York and Rome, the capital of Italy. After you collect your luggage and pass through customs you will be met by AFS staff and volunteers and escorted to the arrival orientation site.
After the arrival orientation, you and the other students who are placed in your region will travel by train to your host community (or by plane if you are placed in Sicily, Sardinia, or Calabria) where you will be picked up by your host family.
AFS Orientations and Activities
In addition to the orientations that you will have domestically (the local Pre-Departure Orientation, Culture Trek, and the Gateway Orientation), you and your fellow AFSers will have several orientations while abroad.
The first orientation will take place upon your arrival in Rome. This will be a two-night orientation that is intended to prepare you for your first weeks in Italy. This will be an international orientation and your opportunity to meet participants from around the world.
After about 5 weeks, you will have another orientation, organized at the regional level. This will last for four days and will focus on cultural and school adjustment. You will also meet with AFS staff and volunteers to evaluate your first few weeks and be offered guidance to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Finally, there is a final evaluation camp (end-of-stay orientation) approximately three weeks prior to departure. This is your chance to reflect on your experience and to share with other AFSers. You will also prepare for the cultural readjustment that is a part of returning home.
In addition, many local chapters organize activities for students and host families throughout the year. These will vary from chapter to chapter but may include parties or excursions to other cities in Italy. Unlike the orientations, these activities are optional and are at the students’ expense.
