The Peace Corps Application Process

Feb 19, 2008 - 13:19 PM PST

This is the second in a series of ruminations about my experiences in the Peace Corps in Kenya and my observations of life in general in the Peace Corps. My opinions are unfettered by any current affiliations or loyalties; they are uniquely shaped by my specific experiences, and are probably romanticized because I’ve now spent a few months fattening up (literally) back here in the US of A and have had time to get a little misty-eyed thinking back on Kenya. That disclaimer aside, I hope this is helpful to anyone who might be thinking of joining the PC, which despite anything I write in this space, I do highly recommend. The application process, however, for lack of a more articulate phrase, is a bitch. I won’t take you through the process step by step because that is pretty clearly laid out on the PC website. However, I will note that the following sentence appears on said website for prospective applicants to ponder: “Yes, applying to become a Volunteer takes some time, preparation, and effort.” That is essentially a friendly euphemism for “We are going to make you put all major activities in your life on hold for at least a year while we make you scour your past for obscure documents, refuse to return your phone calls, and leave you without any inkling of where and when you might be placed.” In other words, the application process can be a tad frustrating.

Like any not-so-well-oiled bureaucratic behemoth, the Peace Corps’ Washington DC headquarters isn’t a very user-friendly resource. The thing to remind yourself when you are feeling unloved by an unresponsive PC office is that (excluding those who are denied for medical reasons) just about everyone with a college degree eventually gets placed somewhere. I have a theory that the application process is intentionally made to be unnecessarily difficult by the powers that be at PC. It is their way of testing your commitment to serve and force you to think deeply about your decision to join PC. At least this is what I was telling myself after my fourth or fifth call to my placement officer went unreturned. They might make you go back and get a letter from a therapist you last saw when you were in 7th grade, they might seem unimpressed with your BA in Art History, and they might make you wait for a needlessly long time to give you any updates on your status, but they will eventually reward the uncommonly patient people who endure the process with an invitation to serve. Whether or not they send you to your preferred continent of choice to do work you are qualified for/interested in -- well that could be a different story. For the record I give Peace Corps an A+ for placement because I asked to go to Africa to work as an HIV/AIDS educator and that is exactly what I got. However, you really can’t pick where you go. The best you can do is to express your preference and hope that the needs of the placement machine match yours. This is easy for me to say in hindsight and in light of the fact that I got my preferred placement, but I felt like I was willing to accept my post regardless of where it was. It just depends on what you’re looking to get out of the experience.

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