We're continuing our conversation with Jared Buto, Education USA program officer, and, now Jared, we'd like to talk to you a little bit more, about the advising, offered by Education USA. To begin, when a student goes to an advising center Where will they find these advising centers and what can they expect when they, when they go to an advising center? >> It's a, it's a very good question Erick and I know students may get tired of hearing this answer but the truth is that it depends. As I mentioned before, our network is, is very large. Over 400 centers operating in more than 170 countries. Which means that centers in, in different countries and in, even in different cities in the same country might be different in terms of facilities and size. Some of our centers are hosted in US embassies and consulates. And so a student would have to enter the US Embassy. In order to, to meet with an adviser in, in person. Some of our advising centers operate out of full-break commission in countries where we have physical full-break commission centers. In, in some parts of the world they operate out of binational centers. That's a common model in, in Latin and Southern America and in some cases we work with NGOs or nonprofit organizations in host countries and, and use facilities that, that they provide for us. So, the, the real answer is that Education USA might look different in every country or even in every city, but The, the, the point that I, that I want students to remember is that they can, they can visit our website and use the Find an Advising Center tool to identify the center closest to them and that will give them contact information where they can reach an adviser to ask questions. It will al, give them a physical address and, and even a phone number, so they'll know how to, how to access and, and contact the advisers. That are operating close to them. >> Jared, we've talked a lot about these advisers that are going to be helping the students. Who are Education USA advisers? >> Education USA advisers are a group of international education professionals, Many of whom have studied themselves at colleges or universities in the US. And this group of professionals are all trained under a common curriculum instead of training resources that are developed by our network, and supported by the US Department of State. They all have access to common resources that they use in their work with students. And we do a lot of training of our advisers and they do training locally in the, in the regions where they operate and we even bring them to the US on a very regular basis to represent our network and to get professional development so they are always updating their skills on how to work with students. Again the US higher education sector is big and diverse and complex and our advisers, just like us, need to constantly be updating our knowledge so we can advise students about the best options and opportunities for them. >> So, you talked about how Education USA advisers are familiar with and trained in the US educational system. Are they also experts in the educational systems of the, the host countries where they're, where they're working and living? >> They are. Our Education USA advisers work with students and professionals in the primary, secondary and post-secondary educational system. In the countries where they live. And it's one of the valuable services that we provide to the US higher education community, is that we help college and university recruiters better understand the context that the students they want on their campuses are coming from. And we help them understand the local school systems. And some of the unique opportunities and challenges for students in the countries where they work. >> So you mentioned the, the way that in country knowledge can help, admission officers. How can that in country knowledge also help the students? Well, I think the more the US college and university community and the recruiters that represent that community know about international students and the students from the individual countries where they're trying to recruit, the, the the better for, for students. You know, students need to understand US higher education, but US higher education needs to understand international students too. And we also know that, international students are, just as diverse as, the Education USA Network and the US higher education community, so, relying on, Education USA advisers to [INAUDIBLE], to, to, to provide information about students in each part of the world is an important service that we provide to the US higher ed community. So, before a student visits an advising center, what can they do so that they'll get the most out of that visit. >> It's a good idea for students to, to visit our website and find the center nearest them and online they'll find information about events that, that Education USA center will be holding near them Both in person events and virtual events and you might want to participate in a virtual college fair or an in person college fair. You might want to visit, an introductory advising session, to, to learn a little bit about the process in getting intro to our network, so there are lots of ways a student can Can use our online resources to familiarize themself both with the five steps and what they can expect in the application process and with our network and, and the centers nearest them before they actually pay a visit to our advisers in person. >> Jarrod, are there any limits to how much advising a student can receive? The quick answer to that question is no. Our advising services are available to any prospective student who wants to study in the U.S. I think the important thing for students to remember and recognize is that our advisors may be fielding questions from all across the country where they live and work and so Our, our advisors work very hard at their, at their jobs. If you sent a, a question via email or you've left a message please be patient and our advisors will bet back to you. Patience and persistence is, is an important part of Of, engaging with our network. >> You mentioned that advisers are fielding, a lot of questions, both from in-country and even, I mean, from the US side of things as well, but from the student side, what are some of the, most frequent questions or topics, that advisers address? >> Yeah. I think, this notion of, helping students to find their best fit, institution, is a really important one. With so many different options in the US it's, it's really important to the Education USA Network to help a student find a college or university where they are best positioned for success. And so our advisers talk a lot with students about how to identify which institution meets their needs and then work with them on the application process for those institutions. I think we also get a lot of questions about financing studies. And as we discussed earlier, our advisers are a great resource for helping students to find institutions that are within their price range, and then think about additional sources of external funding, be that from their home government in the form of a scholarship, or be that from, an institution that can support a student's studies financially. >> We'll be back with more from Jared Buto in just a minute. [BLANK_AUDIO]
