This article is from the archive of our partner .

Following a precipitous drop in applications, the Peace Corps announced it has streamlined its notoriously rigorous applications.

Even if you never actually went through with a stint in the Peace Corps, the mere fact that you even filled out the application used to garner astonishment at cocktail parties across the country. But alas, no more. From NPR:

Sixty-page forms that used to take more than eight hours to fill out have now been shortened and streamlined and can be completed online in less than an hour, Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet said on NPR's Here and Now."

Potential participants will also reportedly have more flexibility with their choice of countries. In the current system, applicants could list preferred countries, but ultimately fate (or a labyrinthine bureaucratic process) determined the location where volunteers would go.

Lastly, instead of waiting for as long as a year to find out where they will be stationed, Peace Corps applicants will be given a specific date for when they will receive their assignments.

I reached out to Elizabeth Johnston, who served in Paraguay for over two years, to get her take on the new system. Here's what she said:

Kids that aren't patient enough to wait a year probably aren't patient enough for the Peace Corps."

What's next? Sodastreams and air conditioning?

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.