Start to Finish

I know there's a lot of questions about the timeline for the Peace Corps. In truth, it took me a year (more or less) between application and departure. I don't know when some of my colleagues applied, but I know they received their invitation about six weeks to a month before staging.  So your mileage, experiences and time line may vary based on skill set, time of year applying, placement of nomination, medical/dental clearance, political factors, phases of the moon, etc.

August/September 2008:  Completed online Peace Corps application and follow up materials.  


Early October: Received a call from Peace Corps office, visiting campus and scheduled interview

October 17th: Hour long interview and conversation about aspirations for the Peace Corps, skills, etc. Click here for more information on the interview.

October 21st: Received e-mail saying possible legal issue wasn’t an issue (family member’s employment with government)

October 21st: Received a call a few hours later from recruiter with a nomination to serve in Central/South America in Fall 2009

Mid November-early December: Medical (campus health center), dental (family dentist willing to do the services for the PC reimbursement rate), vision (eye doctor filled out paper work, refused any kind of payment), psychological (school counselor filled out forms) paperwork/forms completed and mailed to PC (note: make sure you have your complete medical records on hand...this held me up with the student wellness center)

Mid-January: Received medical and dental clearance from Peace Corps (also remember the government took a week holiday more or less during December)

March 26th, 2009: Invitation to serve in Perú, staging beginning September 9th, 2009

August 10th, 2009: Received information about staging (changed to September 10th)

September 8th, 2009: Leave for Baltimore, MD to visit friends

September 10th, 2009: Arrive in Arlington, VA/Washington DC


So there's a rough time-line of my application from start to finish. I'll write a little more about the application process later, as well as what the hell I'm packing for two years....

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