Eligibility
Program Description
Visa and Travel Documents
Getting There
AFS Orientations and Activities
Eligibility
To be eligible you must:
- Be between 15 years 8 months and 18 years 6 months old at the start of the program
- Have a minimum 2.8 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale)
- Be in good mental, physical, 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. Learn about life in Iceland.
Students are placed throughout Iceland.
The ability to speak Icelandic is not a prerequisite for the program but we strongly suggest that you learn as much as possible prior to departure. You will also have language lessons during your year in Iceland.
Applicants who require a vegan diet will be difficult to place and may not be accepted.
Visa and Travel Documents
In order to participate in this program, you must have a U.S. passport that is valid for six months longer than your intended stay.
In addition to your passport, you will need a student visa to enter and reside in your host country.
The current visa fee ranges between US$43, not including the cost of obtaining, translating, notarizing, and mailing the required documents. Please note that these fees and requirements are determined by the consulates and are subject to change.
AFS USA will provide you with detailed visa application instructions in the months prior to your departure.
Getting There
You and your fellow AFSers will travel together from one of the gateway cities in the United States. You all will arrive in Keflavik, a town 40 km from Reykjavik, collect your baggage and pass through customs. You will be met by AFS staff and volunteers and will participate in a welcome orientation together. You will then travel to your host community, which may be some distance away.
AFS Orientations and Activities
AFS will provide you with several orientations throughout your experience. These orientations give you a chance to gather important information about your host country, to meet other AFS teens from around the world, to share experiences and make friends. These group activities give you a chance to understand and process your intercultural learning experience during your time abroad as well as when you are returning home.
These required orientations are intended to help you maximize the AFS experience, prevent culture shock and to gain knowledge, skills and a global understanding.
About six weeks after your arrival, you will attend a two-day orientation camp for all hosted students. It will be held on a weekend in a countryside location outside Reykjavík. Here, in addition to an evaluation of the first part of your stay, you will work on intercultural learning skills, group activities of family life, school adjustment and socialization.
Later, there is a camp lasting a long weekend (Thursday to Sunday), which is purely for fun and will feature several cultural events including visits to museum and countryside excursions.
Among other activities that volunteers may organize in your chapter, there is an optional one-week home stay on a farm after the school year ends in May. It is a popular activity with AFSers.
