America’s FLEX program provides opportunities for students ages 15-17 to spend a year in the United States, living with a host family and attending an American high school. The following countries participate in the FLEX program: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine.

Since the program began, over 18,000 high school students from 12 Eurasian countries have studied in the United States under the FLEX program. The selection of participants is based on upon English ability, personality, social skills, academic achievement, and leadership potential. All students undergo extensive orientation to life in America and pursue a full course of study at an American high school.

The selection process for the FLEX program is as follows:

1. Round 1, Pre-Test: Students who meet age and grade requirements are invited to take a 16 question, multiple choice English test, which is designed to screen applicants for their English language abilities. Every year more than 50,000 students throughout Eurasia take the pre-test, approximately one-third of which move onto Round 2.
2. Round 2, Pre-TOEFL/SLEP and Essay Test: Eligible students are invited to take either the pre-TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the SLEP (Secondary Level English Proficiency test. Students are also asked to write three in-class essays (in English) in response to questions designed to display the student’s maturity and suitability for international exchange.
3. Round 3: Students with the highest-scored assessments pass to the next level, where they are asked to submit complete applications and are interviewed. Approximately 15% of the original applicant pool is invited to this level. Applicants also participate in a group activity, which gives the evaluators an opportunity to assess how they interact with their peers.
4. Selection: Approximately 1,200 finalists are selected for each year’s FLEX program.

The process of selection begins each year in September. For more information, please go to the US State Department website: exchanges.state.gov/youth/programs/flex.html