text: is there a penalty for leaving the peace corps early? i have a friend who is going into the peace corps in a few weeks.  she has cold feet.  she signed the agreement already.  what happens if she backs out? there are a number of volunteers who never finish their assignment; more than half cannot handle the pressure.  so it is quite common.  until your friend actually goes to the staging location (dc most of the time), she will have the option of easily backing out.  some people never show up for staging, and some show up but then change their mind or don't pass medical exam.    once over there, it is still possible to quit, and we had about 5 who quit during training out of a group of 67.  she will not be in a massive amount of debt, but if she quits after finishing training she will have to return a certain sum of money -- like relocation allowance, living allowance, things that she should not have spent if she quits early.    i hope that she will not back out, as the experience is very rewarding.  i greatly enjoyed my time overseas and would like to have extended it, but the bureaucracy only approved a limited number to do so.    what country will she be going to?  what assignment -- teaching, environmental, health?    let me know if you and she have any more questions.