In the fall of 2022 FLEX Program will be conducting ONLINE testing for the 2023-2024 academic year. The FLEX Program competition is free and open to anyone willing to take part and fulfilling eligibility requirements.
Applicants can participate in the recruitment process from any location that has Internet access, using either a mobile device or a computer.
In order to participate in testing in 2022, participants have to meet all of the following criteria:
1. Date of birth: 01.01.2006-15.07.2008 (15.02.2005 -15.07.2008 for students with physical disabilities);
2. Must be enrolled in and attending:
- a secondary school in Ukraine, at the time of application, OR
- temporarily living and attending school outside of Ukraine, OR
- attending school remotely, due to the war;
3. Be a student of the 8th, 9th or 10th grade in school (8th ,9th, 10th or 11th grade for students with physical disabilities);
4. Have good and excellent grades;
5. Know English;
6. Be a citizen of Ukraine;
7. Meet the J-1 visa requirements.
8. Not having stayed in the USA for three (3) months or more during the past five (5) years.
Students may not participate if:
- he/she does not meet the above criteria;
- he/she has stayed in the USA for three (3) months or more during the past five (5) years;
- his/her family ( or member of family):
– has applied or is applying to emigrate to the USA;
– has made plans to emigrate or has already emigrated to the USA.
Questions:
What if I have left Ukraine due to the war and temporarily living in another country?
In this case, you must select “UKRAINE” when applying, even if you are living in another country that has a FLEX or YES program.
All participants must have a valid Ukrainian international passport to go on program.
What if I live in Poland, for example, or another FLEX country, could I select “Poland” or another FLEX country when applying?
If you indicate, for example, “Poland” or another FLEX country when applying for the program, you are only eligible to participate in the testing if you are a citizen of that country (for example, Poland) and have a international passport of that country by May 2023.
I have moved outside of Ukraine due to the war and currently not living in Ukraine. What place of residence should be indicated in the application form?
There is a place in the application form where you must indicate where you lived before the war (even if the participant lives in Ukraine, however, due to the war, he/she had to move to another city/region in Ukraine) and living now.
What if I am temporarily studying at a school outside of Ukraine due to the war, and the school has a different system of grades than Ukrainian one?
If you are attending a school in another country due to the war in Ukraine, and the school has a different system of grades, you can participate in the program if you were in 7th, 8th, or 9th grade in the past (2021-22) academic year.
Is it online or in-person testing this year?
Ukrainian participants may be invited to take the 3rd round of testing inperson with other Ukrainian participants temporarily residing in that country if the country has a FLEX program (except Ukraine). In other cases, the 3rd round will be held online.
Will this criteria be valid for next year’s applications?
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State made this decision in 2022 because of the war. There is no guarantee that this criteria will be valid next year. Participants usually must be enrolled in school and be a citizen of the country in which they are applying.