Future Leaders Exchange Program, Ukraine 
2012-2013
The
Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX) in Ukraine will hold entrance testing
for the 2012-2013 academic year beginning September 10, 2011. FLEX is a program of the Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State, is
administered by American Councils
for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS (American
Councils) and supported by the Ministry of
Education, Science, Youth and Sports of Ukraine. The program provides Ukrainian high school
students with an opportunity to study in U.S. high schools and live in
American families for one academic year.
Below are a summary of the recruiting process and a
list of this year’s planned Test Centers.
Round One:
This
year 24 test centers are expected in Ukraine. Recruiters travel to each test center to hold recruiting activities. 8th, 9th and 10th form Ukrainian
students born from January 1, 1995 through July 15,
1997 are invited to
test at the test center most convenient for them. Testing at more than one location, and
testing more than once at the same location, is grounds for disqualification
from the program. Physically challenged
students currently in 8th, 9th,
10th or 11th form and born from March 15, 1994 through July 15, 1997, are also invited to test where convenient, but will be in competition
only with each other. To
participate in Round One students need to appear at a specific date, time and
location that are announced through mailings to Ukrainian schools and through
media advertising. Students may also
find the schedule on American Councils’
website or may contact the Kyiv office to inquire about testing in their
region. The
recruiting process begins in each test center
with a general informational presentation and the administering of the
Pretest. The Pretest is a short written
test of Basic English. Results of Round
One in one test center are typically available the same day as the
last
Pretests are given.
Below is a list of all test centers
planned for 2011 recruiting.
FLEX
Test Centers:
Cherkasy
Chernihiv
Chernivtsi
Dnipropetrovsk
Donetsk
Ivano-Frankivsk
Kherson
Khmelnytskyy
Kirovohrad
Luhansk
Lutsk
Mykolayiv
Odesa
Poltava
Rivne
Simferopol
Sumy
Ternopil
Vinnytsya
Zaporizhzhya
Zhytomyr
Round Two:
Those
candidates who pass the Pretest take a standardized test of English Reading and
Listening Comprehension as well as an in-class essay test on three assigned
topics. Round Two is typically held the
day after Round One and can take place over one-two days. All Round Two materials are evaluated by an
international selection committee in Washington,
DC.
Round Three:
Within 4-6 weeks after Round Two, recruiters
return to conduct Round Three activities with those students selected by the
international committee. These
activities include a meeting with candidates and one of their parents or
guardians. During this meeting,
recruiters give more detailed information about the program, including which
expenses are covered for the participants.
Applications are distributed and each page explained in detail to
candidates and their parents or guardians.
Candidates have two weeks from the date of the meeting to complete and
return their applications to the Kyiv office of American
Councils. Following
the meeting, candidates write a second in-class essay test on assigned
topics. Additionally, recruiters conduct
group activities with groups of 5-8 participants, followed by individual
interviews in English and the students’ native language.
Post-Recruiting:
After
applications are received from all candidates in a test center, Round Three
documents are sent to Washington,
DC for the selection committee to
review. Results of the competition are
expected in April 2012. Although there are no available
estimates of the number of candidates to be selected in 2012, there were 210 finalists and 40 alternates selected in 2011. Once results
are released, finalists and alternates prepare necessary documents for their U.S.
visa and school registration. All
finalists are required to attend a Pre-Departure Orientation in June or July 2012. Finalists
selected in April 2012 depart for the United States in August 2012 and return to Ukraine
in May and June 2013.
For testing schedule in each
oblast go to:
www.americancouncils.org.ua
For
more information contact the American Councils
office:
Kyiv
vul. Esplanadna 20, 6th floor
Kyiv 01001
tel.: (044) 289-39-52, 289-39-53,
289-39-77, 289-39-78
fax: (044) 289-39-21
email: flex@americancouncils.org.ua
http://vkontakte.ru/club11314235
