2016 Alternates Thread

[WhiteFang]

Lol! Limbo is totally fun! it's just business as usual here!

I don't hold much hope for being upgraded. It would be nice, but I've mostly accepted my fate!

[WhiteFang]

Sorry for the double post, but NOW I have a problem. I need a proof of graduation, which isn't that big of a deal, normally, but all these documents are due next Friday and all the schools are shutting down next week for Spring Break, which means I can't get a copy of my final transcripts in time. Now what?

[Frap]

Speak to the consulate. Always speak to the consulate.

[WhiteFang]

Yep! Gotta call them and my college! gonna be a fun day!

[Mega]

The proof of graduation isn't due until June I think. And when did you graduate? If you sent it in already with your app, I don't think you need to send another.

[WhiteFang]

I already went by my school and picked one up. They were very helpful. Slight crisis avert. I've got everything else, so all's good except this hurricane force weather we're having!

So, another dumb question. If we are so lucky to get upgraded, is it a phone call? How long do they give you to respond to the call or email? Just trying to cover all my bases.

[simplesam]

Depends on your consulate, but from what I hear, there will always be an email, possibly a phone call. If they need to get a hold of you, they're going to try whatever they can and give you a decent amount of time to respond. They understand most applicants are at work or school during business hours, so they're probably not gonna expect you to respond to a phone call right away and maybe just leave a voicemail. When they made the Houston mistake, they contacted each of us personally by phone and then emailed us if we didn't call them back or had a voicemail problem. My upgraded non-internet friends all had low-key emails, no phone calls.

[Mega]

With the getting upgraded thing, last year when I was alternate, I think that they tried to upgrade me in late November. I got email saying they had been trying to call me. (I had recently changed my number because I had forgotten about being an alternate because I was reapplying...) and asked me to call. I called maybe a day later. I told them I wasn't interested in JET that year because I had a job at the time I couldn't leave. But, the point of the story is that it seems they give a few days at least, which is comforting!

[Li'l Sebastian]

When I was upgraded through Houston in 2014, the head person called me. He didn't email because he said he liked to hear the happiness of the person.

[Zolrak 22]

When I was upgraded through Houston in 2014, the head person called me. He didn't email because he said he liked to hear the happiness of the person.

That sounds just like Miami, he was an awesome coordinator .

[OatsCurrySummer]

Hi, former Alternate here, got upgraded on December 10th 2015, the last of my entire country (Canada). Not going to lie, being an alternate sucks. By the time I got upgraded, I had signed a lease on an apartment, started a new phone contract, applied to grad school, got a full time job, booked a trip to Thailand and gotten more serious with my boyfriend. However, when I got that email, it only took me three minutes to decide to "set my life on fire" and come here. And I would do it all again to end up here in Okinawa, because I definitely wouldn't have gotten this amazing placement if I had been on the shortlist to begin with.
Anyways, fast forward four months. Last week I found out I had gotten accepted into Oxford, and though it's been my dream to study there since I was 15 and only eight people get accepted into the program every year, I declined so that I could stay here instead. But it's still comforting to know that even if I hadn't gotten upgraded, I still would have pursued at least one of my dreams. So I will just reiterate what everybody else has said: Continue as you were. Pursue other goals, and if you get upgraded, fantastic. If you don't, at least you will have been able to make one of your other dreams come true. Alternate purgatory sucks, but it doesn't have to be completely devoid of happiness.

Oh and one bit of advice: Don't be a salty little bitch like I was. GO TO THE ORIENTATION AND WORKSHOPS. Yes, I know it sucks to hear everyone talk excitedly about their placements as you secretly hope they back out last minute, but it will help you so so much. I had to scramble to watch all the training videos in the weeks before I left, and they certainly weren't as informative as actually attending the workshops would have been.

[simplesam]

When I was upgraded through Houston in 2014, the head person called me. He didn't email because he said he liked to hear the happiness of the person.

Houston has a female coordinator now. That's all I'm gonna say about the matter here...

@Anna.Mod: those sound like some tough decisions. I don't think I could ever decide that easily. Oh, and some consulates here in the US don't have workshops and training. They have a pre departure workshop, and that's about it. Not all of them are that way, but ours is.

[Zolrak 22]

Yeah... I don't think I would have said no to Oxford, just saying.

[OatsCurrySummer]

Yeah... I don't think I would have said no to Oxford, just saying.

I was smart enough to get in, but not enough to get funded. 60 grand for a year would have cost me my entire life savings plus 20k of debt. I figured learning Japanese would open as many doors for me as a Master's degree would.

[thatitguy]

Alternate from U.K reporting in

[WhiteFang]

Hello UK Alternate!

all my paperwork is in now! Spent forever trying to find my original passport photos, but now it's all good!

[simplesam]

Hey thatitguy. Welcome to our first aid center for JET Alternates. Here is a picture of a kitten comforting a puppy to depict my sentiment.

kitten-takes-care-of-puppy.jpg

[thatitguy]

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[WhiteFang]

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[Lakhuton]

Alternate from NZ, just got the paperwork so filling that in now. At least there's a few of us in purgatory I guess..