Getting Ready

12 Things to Do Once You've Applied

  1. Apply for your passport. If you already have a passport, make sure that the expiration date is at least 6 months after your program ends.
  2. Download the Ayusa Fundraising Guide for fundraising strategies and a sample donor letter. Start your fundraising efforts right away to ensure you can meet the Ayusa Payment Schedule.
  3. Reconfirm with your guidance counselor that you will meet your high school graduation requirements. Make plans to take any classes you need for graduation either before you go abroad or after you return to the U.S. See Receiving Credit for more information.
  4. Discuss your program costs and anticipated spending money needs with your parents, so you can adjust your fundraising and saving goals if necessary.
  5. Check whether you need any special immunizations for your destination country. The websites: www.state.gov and www.cdc.gov have helpful information for Americans planning to travel abroad.
  6. Schedule medical and dental check-ups 1-2 months prior to your departure date
  7. Learn about your destination country, including cultural traditions and the school system.
  8. Focus on your language studies: Expose yourself to the language as much as possible, by watching movies in the language with English subtitles, listening to music and translating the lyrics, reading simple books written in the language, and seeking out or creating conversation groups with native speakers or other language students. I Love Languages is a great place to start!
  9. Research student visa requirements: Visit the appropriate embassy website for the most up-to-date visa information.
  10. Please note that the visa application process and the granting of visas is determined by your host country's embassy, not Ayusa, and it is your responsibility to meet any visa requirements. Therefore, it is important that you and your parents are familiar with the visa application requirements well in advance.
  11. Ayusa will provide some of the documents required for the visa application. These documents typically arrive from our overseas partner a few weeks before the program start date, depending on the country you have applied for. You need to receive these documents before you can apply for your visa.
  12. Read through Before You Leave and the Departure Checklist so that you can start planning ahead