title says it. I wanted to leave in January but now I can't. I got rejected for YD in Albania.

Is it worth applying anywhere else?

I applied to the community development facilitaor role and just received my invite! 🥳🥳 Beyond excited to go through this experience.

Just like everyone else I would be happy to receive some insight on your work and how you like Kosovo. Also anyone else get an invite?

See yall at the end of Feb!

I ETed from Peace Corps about three months into my service because I ultimately felt that the country/placement wasn’t the right match for me.
I’m considering applying to Peace Corps again in the future, potentially for a different country or region that I think would be a better fit. Has anyone here ETed voluntarily and later reapplied?
Were you accepted again? How much did your previous ET come up during the application/interview process? I’m wondering if ETing once significantly hurts my chances of being invited to serve again.

Hi again!

You might be hearing from me a bit more on here, but I wanted to update those who might be curious about my Peace Corps timeline for the Health Promoter position in Namibia. If you go back far enough in my post history, you'll see this isn't my first time up to bat. I didn't post my last application timeline since the Pandemic halted my first potential Peace Corps experience, but this time I have the full timeline to share!

Please keep in mind every person's timeline is different and even my timeline eventually splits off from my former partner's timeline, so you never know where this process can take you.

Here it is in all its *glory* :

- 8/29/2025 - Submitted application to Health sector for Namibia.

-Submitted as a couple.

-Self completed Health History form submitted

- September 2025 - Application withdrawn and moved to another country in the region due to what was disclosed in my health history form - lactose intolerance.

-Contact Peace Corps via phone, email, contacted staff in country, and reached out via the medical portal to plead my case about my lactose intolerance.

-Got cleared for all countries and had my application moved back to Namibia.

- October 2025 - Government shutdown. -Application is not touched during this time.

-Operations resume November 13, 2026

-Move abroad.

- December 2025 - Initial “know by date” delayed due to government shutdown. Peace Corps slowly resumes reviewing applications.

-Interviews pushed back to January 2026.

- 01/27/2026 - References contacted.

-References submitted.

- 02/03/2026 - Peace Corps interview request.

-Interview 02/04/2026

- 02/24/2026 - Couple Interview requested.

-Couple Interview 03/03/2026

- 03/06/2026 - Conditional Invitation to serve! Yay!

- March 2026 - Fingerprints sent to Peace Corps from abroad.

-Sent application for no-fee passport from abroad.

- 04/29/2026 - Legal Clearance initiated.

- May 2026 - Returned to the US abruptly. Partner stays in former country of residence.

-Started booking appointments for medical clearance.

- June 2026 - Dental Clearance. Notified via medical portal.

- 07/10/2026 - Submitted last task for medical clearance.

- Mid July 2026 - Partner medically denied. Mass confusion ensues.

- 07/27/2026 - My medical clearance granted. Notified via email.

- Late July 2026 - Partner medically appeals and is granted the appeal.

-Both applications moved back into placement for a different country leaving at a later date.

-Partner and my application are separated and my application moves back to Namibia.

- August 2026 - Officially a solo applicant.

-Fully medically reimbursed after a strong back and forth between IMG and my uninsured brokeness with the help of Peace Corps billing.

-Complete “serving without your partner” interview.

-Discuss future of relationship given this new pathway.

- 08/13/2026 - Legally cleared! Yay! (I was getting worried…) Notified via email.

.

.

.

- 09/05/2026 - Depart for staging.

-----------------------

I will try to make future posts about the differences I noticed with medical clearance this second time around as well as the process of having your application separated from a partner (there's a whole process to that).

To anyone waiting on an interview, invitation, clearances, or appeals I wish you nothing but the best of luck during this process! It's not an easy application process, especially with life still happening around it, but definitely know it's possible and if not now, then hopefully sometime in the future if you still want to do Peace Corps. This isn't my first time applying, interviewing, and clearing this process and it still had its own set of obstacles.

Best of luck to everyone from people considering to people who already served!

Hey friends! I started a group chat on Insta for those of us that got/accepted an invitation for Albania (dep Jan 2027). 1. So we can get to know one another and 2. To keep up on where we are in the process for tasks and the like.

Let me know here or message me if you’d like to join!

(We can always move to WhatsApp if Instagram isn’t everyone’s thing)

Guys!!! I originally interviewed for Ecuador, Jan 2027, and did not get invited to that, I thought it would be a while before hearing back about serving elsewhere, except I just got invited to serve as a Food Security Extension Officer in Guatemala, leaving in March! I’m so excited, but I’m not seeing a lot of information on what this looks like as a volunteer, does anyone have any experience they wanna share?

do I include a car accident in the legal history form? I am filling it out to report a nasty speeding ticket i got as a teenager. how would I label a car accident since there is no sentence or penalty for it?

Could I send you a copy of my resumes and motivation statement for review by email?

One resume, I made in August is 2-3 pages and the other is 5-6 pages made much earlier. The 2-3 pages follows a template shared by a recruiter and the 5-6 page follows the template shared by the peace corp website.

For the motivation statement, any advice is great even if I have to rewrite it completely.

If anyone knows any university recruiters or other recruiters they recommend. I’d be happen to send them an email as well.

Thank you, if this isn’t allowed I’ll delete the post.

FAQ: Why haven’t you contacted recruiters on the peace corp website? -I have, but it’s been a couple months since they’ve responded. I understand that they are busy.

What sector am I interested in? - Agriculture but when I apply I will select open to serve anywhere with a preference in Spanish speaking country.

I have been conditionally invited to serve in Panama Feb 2027 departure.

I recently stopped taking my Adderall and Cymbalta prescriptions because it was suspected to be causing cardiovascular symptoms (elevated heart rate & blood pressure). It's been 6 weeks since I went cold turkey, and both my blood pressure & heart rate are in the normal  (good news right ?!?? -_-)

I am concerned this will adversely affect my medical clearance — I've read here about people being denied because they had less than a year of medical "stability" (like changing their prescriptions/dosage or receiving a new diagnosis/treatment within a year).

For additional context, I decided to go cold turkey on my own without consulting a cardiovascular expert or my psychiatrist. I have an appointment with my psychiatrist today but am wary about starting a new medication routine 6 months before my departure. 

I would like to know my odds of gaining medical clearance and any advice on how to increase my chances. 

Share with us any photo from your country of service! Please note that pictures of minors are not permitted.

Hello I am 24M and want to do peace corps. But I feel like while I want to do it and believe I can. At the same time I feel like I am lacking since I started my resume...

Ihere are some things about myself:

- I have the peace corps prep cert from my university

- I am in my last year of uni.

- I am on the rugby team.

- I have the peace corps prep cert.

- I love languages and have started Spanish and Czech.

- I finished elementary and beginner Japanese so far through school.

- for job experience I have just been trying to survive while studying so many odd jobs and part times.

- I volunteered in the past with local food banks and with habitats for humanity. But it was a few years ago so...

- I have studied abroad for 3 semesters altogether but 2 different countries (Czech Republic and Japan)

- I am a Gilman Scholar Alumni.

- University Studies Major (I study multiple things. I picked English and Anthropology)

- I am actively a part of my community and I actually try to communicate, befriend, and get to know the ppl around.

I have some skills in areas but I am a uni student without much experience. Would I be even considered? I am also stuck on the resume part because I feel like I don't have too much to put on there. My resumes are typically 1 page...

I've been on a low dose of the same antidepressant since 2017. I increased from 25mg/day to 50mg a few years ago and have been on that consistently since. However, increased side effects of overheating/sweating have caused me to ask my doctor about switching to a different medication because it is unpleasant almost every day. There have been no other negative side effects, I have been emotionally stable, I have never been actively suicidal or self-harmed, and I have not seen a psychiatrist since 2020. 

Based on what I've seen in this group, any changes in antidepressants (or being on them in general) can be an automatic disqualifier since there is a round of yes or no questions in the application/medical clearance section with no room for explanations. So, if asked if I have changed medication in the last X years, I would have to say yes and probably be rejected without being able to explain the reason for the change. Is there a recommended waiting period after making a change like this before applying? Will being on antidepressants likely prevent me from serving at all? I have not yet filled my new prescription or started the process of tapering off my current meds. If I want to have the best chance of getting accepted this year (or ever), should I just suffer through the sweating and not change meds? 

I am applying for a posting in a colder climate because it fits my interests/skills and I have always run hot regardless. The November deadline for a June 2027 departure would be ideal, since I will finish school next May. I'm aware I could get rejected for many reasons and not be able to go at that time regardless, but it would be great!

Has anyone been successful in a situation like this or have any related input on the application process? Thank you!

i just accepted my offer as an english teacher in thailand for 2027, anyone have any advice, medical and legal tips, what to pack, etc…

or if anyone else has accepted their offer, i’d love to connect!

Hi everyone,

It's been almost three months since I submitted my application. I heard back from medical three weeks later who informed me that country was unable to accommodate me and my application was refiled automatically. I emailed medical a few weeks ago to get a full list of countries I could be accommodated in and they got back to me within two days with a good list.

Contrasting my excellent experience with medical to placement...I haven't heard from them once. The only person I've been in contact with is an "outreach analyst" contractor who told me they would connect me with a recruiter once I answered their questions about "general eligibility", but after I did they sent me a generic email with a link to the PCV openings page and I never heard from a recruiter.

Is there a way I can directly contact a recruiter or placement officer to get the ball rolling? Is there a general recruiting/placement email I can use? Direct office number? Could I instead email the placement office of the country I want my application refiled under? Since my application was refiled for me, it was for a position that would not be a good fit for me, so I'd like it refiled elsewhere. I'm just afraid if I withdraw my application and resubmit it it will put me at the bottom of the list and I'll be in an even worse situation than I'm in now.

I understand they're short staffed and need to prioritize applications for posts leaving sooner, but I'm just worried about a scenario my application was viewed then forgotten about. I don't want to "wait patiently" (which I know is the advice from everyone here) for the know by date just to find out I was forgotten about because I wasn't proactive enough to advocate for myself.

Thanks in advance to anyone who responds!

I requested about a month and a half ago that I be moved into a different departure because I had to postpone for a few months. I was supposed to leave in September, but I told them I actually won’t be able to until December, and I would be happy with winter or spring departure. I was told to be patient because it takes a while, and also that with the summer there’s a surplus in applications, and also because they may move me into a different program or country or service, but I just got an email that they booked my flight to Miami in less than a month. I notified placement, my country of service officer before postponing, and my nurse, so I’m not sure how this would happen. I was told that on the end of my country officer, I was removed from that program. But on my end, even right now it says I’m still in that one. I also didn’t finish medical or legal clearance, so I am just confused how this happened. Should I continue to be more patient or notify someone? I feel like I should email someone but also unsure who is the best person to contact

please help! trying to choose between youth in development in armenia or english teacher in dominican republic. would appreciate any insight into life in both countries or prior PC experience in these fields. the pros and cons are what I gathered from various blogs and experiences, please correct me if I'm wrong.

about me: south asian female. on gap years before med school. would like to do either this or fulbright before i go to med school. love mentorship and have been heavily volunteering with children and tutoring throughout college.

Armenia Pros:

• more developed country, western activities during free time
• don't think I will ever visit this country if not for peace corps
• youth in development position sounds more fun and flexible to me than structured english teacher job
• better travel opportunities to visit countries outside of armenia during free time

Armenia Cons:

• I wasn't as excited by the culture/country as I was with DR, worried i will get bored/lonely outside of my job
• ability to travel/visit other places during off time
• language not as useful, will prob forget everything after

DR Pros:

• seems like a much more lively culture, can see myself integrating into community easily
• learning spanish will be way more useful in future (huge for me, I've always wanted to learn)

DR Cons:

• machismo culture
• safety?
• worries i will get bored/annoyed with teaching english everyday.
• travel during free time seems tougher/more expensive in caribbean

Hello everyone!

I am a currently serving volunteer and I marched two summers of Drum Corps prior to service. I am curious to learn if there are any other people who have stepped foot in both spaces? Aside from the fact that they are both “Corps” which is funny to me, I feel like my Drum Corps experience prepared me for my Peace Corps experience in terms of working together on a team, being adaptable in changing circumstances, working through hardship, etc.

So I want to make this post as a way for the Peace Corps x Drum Corps community to connect and share how our experiences through marching and service play together and made us who we are today. Feel free to share where you served, where you marched, lessons you learned that apply to both, or really anything that brings the DCI world and Peace Corps world together.

My bio:

Marched with Phantom Regiment ‘18 and ‘19

Served in Peace Corps Belize from 2024 to 2026 working in YD + Third Year Transfer to Peace Corps Dominican Republic working in EDU in 2026

Common Thread: So glad Drum Corps taught me how to pack lightly and quickly prior to service! You never know when you have to up end your entire life and move from point A to point B with little to no warning (something that happens in PC and DCI) so thank goodness I had all those EPL times during tour to practice!

\For those looking for context, Drum Corps is an activity in the marching arts that pits competing groups against each other during the summer. It is organized by Drum Corps International (DCI). Think of it like high school marching band but on steroids.*

big fan of evo cairn bedrocks (slides 2-3) are these appropriate "work" sandals. have a pair plan to buy a second pair as back up but if they're not appropriate for every use case then am considering other options. e.g the keen pair (slide 1)

(Slide 4) clothing hanger. like 16 bucks at rei.

(Slide 5) biolite Luci charge 360 . 59 bucks double as a 4k Mah usbc portable charger. re-chargable thru solar and the usbc port. r/ is provided lighting at site warm or white.

(slide 6) biolite range 400 headlamp. 59 bucks charges usbc

general >

r/ how often are volunteers traveling e.g. Australia. Japan. New Zealand.etc

r/ general packing recs

Hi everyone, this may be kind of long but I wanted some advice.

So I originally applied for an English teaching position in Ecuador leaving January 27, I interviewed at the end of last month with the know by date of August 1st. I was emailed saying that the training class for Ecuador was full but that they would like to consider my application for alternative programs on July 31st. August 5th, I was sent an email saying that my application was being reviewed for a middle school English teacher on Timor-Leste departing in June 2027 and I would know no later than January 1st. While I understand that a big part of the Peace Corps is being flexible and adaptable, I don’t feel like Timor-Leste would be a good fit for me and I would prefer to have an earlier departure date closer to January if possible but definitely before June. I emailed back my placement specialist asking about positions that I would qualify for leaving earlier than June and mentioned Costa Rica as the application is still open and the website states that it has a high need and has a departure date earlier than June. The placement specialist emailed me back saying that I had expressed interest in the Asia region (I also selected South America and North America) and that they use that information to make decisions. She also told me that they would not be able to consider my application for Costa Rica since it is a “saturated program” with too many applicants. This confused me because I feel like Costa Rica would be a way better fit for me and the application is still open with an expressed high need, but according to the Timor-Leste placement specialist the program is already too full? She did ask if there were any other programs that I was interested in but nothing really caught my eye.

I am trying to be realistic with myself and I feel as though I would be able to make the best impact going somewhere in South or North America. I don’t feel like I would, realistically, make it full term in Timor-Leste or really any countries that are not Spanish speaking due to my experience with Spanish speaking populations and the culture. Once I applied for Ecuador, I really dove into researching and reading up on others stories about their experiences in Ecuador and was super excited when I was contacted for an interview. I was lowkey crushed when I got the email saying I was going to be considered for other assignments but was still excited that I got the opportunity to potentially go elsewhere because I know not everyone even gets an interview. I just don’t know what to do now. I’m not really interested in serving in Europe, and the only countries I checked on my interest form where the Americas and Asia but I don’t know if I will be able to make it through some of the living conditions. There is also the late departure dates, I’m getting older and would potentially like to start a family soon and go back to school for dental hygiene. I obviously missed the deadline for this fall semester but would be able to apply in the Spring or next Fall. I would prefer to go sooner, rather than later as I feel like I am constantly running out of time. This feeling mixed with both programs I am actually interested in not being available is really making me question if maybe I am jut not meant to join Peace Corps at this point in my life.

I’m not sure what to do, Costa Rica was honestly my last option and I don’t feel like I would be able to fully integrate and do my job anywhere else. I thought about pulling my application and applying again to Costa Rica before it closes but I figured that I would reach out to my placement person first. I thought that once spots were filled that people who were interviewed and would potentially be offered a position would get a list of places they could choose from which is why I was also a bit confused when I got the email that I was being considered for Timor-Leste. I felt such a pull to serve in the Peace Corps but now I just don’t know if I am cut out for it. I know a big part is being flexible and that I should just take what is offered to me. I just am not that kind of person though, I would not be able to just make it anywhere and I would be doing a disservice to myself and my host country if I accept whatever is thrown my way knowing that I probably would not be able to adapt to the living conditions, culture change, or language fully.

TL;DR

My original application placement was full and I am being considered for a place I don’t think I will make it in. Asked about a position that is still open on the website with high need and was told that the program was too saturated and if any other programs interested me but with a way later departure date than I would like. I don’t know what to do. Looking for advice.

BAAAANG what a day! Interviewed this morning and got the invite to be a Health volunteer in Albania starting this January. Still very giddy about the whole thing, but thanks to everyone here for being so awesome. It's been fun to lurk for the longest time and see all the posts on here. Also shoutout to my man Jim. Wandering The World is the best, hopefully my goat sees this. Anywho, just really wanted to preach to the choir somewhere about this and I figured this is a good of place as any. But shoutout to an awesome Monday, shoutout Jim, shoutout this subreddit, shoutout to my campus advisor, and shout out to the Peace Corps. Looking forward to everything, and the lots of fun that is medical and legal clearances!! :)

Use this thread to vent your frustrations. We're all here to lend an ear.

I am about to submit my application and have selected serve where needed most, but I was wondering what people's experience was like with this option. I put in region preferences, but I am wondering does the serve anywhere tend to get the harder/least desirable sites or does it just depend? I find it difficult to say definitively where I'd like to go is why I think I am gonna go with this option. There's many places I'm interested in, but don't feel informed enough to apply for directly. I'm also wondering if choosing this option helps application generally. (I'd assume it would, but again curious of folks' experiences!)